John Owen, Richard Baxter and the Formation of Nonconformity

Reviews / Votes

Prize: Honourable Mention 2013 - The International John Bunyan Society's Richard L. Greaves Award for an outstanding book on the history, literature, thought, practices, and legacy of English Protestantism to 1700 'This is a dramatic and highly readable account of a poisonous feud between two thin-skinned giants of evangelical protestantism. This dual study not only gives us many new insights into the beliefs and actions of Baxter and Owen but (without taking sides) significantly deepens our understanding of the stress fractures within puritanism that led to the defeat of its hopes and expectations.' John Morrill, University of Cambridge, UK 'Tim Cooper, in this formidably learned study, examines the pre-history of separated Dissent: the rivalries from the 1630s to the 1650s among reformers over how to remodel a still-unified Church, and the internal conflicts that finally led not just to separation from the restored Church in the 1660s, but to separation from each other.' Church Times 'Cooper's book is unquestionably the most important study of Owen to have appeared in print, and it adds very significantly to our understanding of Baxter.' Congregational History Society Magazine 'Tim Cooper's accomplished study of the acrimonious relationship between Richard Baxter (1615-91) and John Owen (1616-83) sheds much light on the development of English Nonconformity... the theological ideas of the book are explained with a clarity and accessibility that will appeal to anyone interested in religious debate in the seventeenth century.' Renaissance Quarterly '... Cooper's work provides an intriguing window into the personalities of two of the most important men in seventeenth-century England.' Calvin Theological Journal 'Dr Cooper has done his work well and has produced an excellent and highly readable book. His work tells us much about the work of the two men, the political and religious machinations of the Commonwealth and Restoration periods, and the legacie