A Puritan Theology

“This is, undoubtedly, the magnum opus of Joel Beeke and Mark Jones — their greatest contribution to the study of our Calvinist forefathers, the Puritans. With this massive corpus, the authors make an enormous contribution to our understanding of Puritan theology by compiling this war chest of their teaching. this work is scholarly, well–researched, precise, and comprehensive in scope, yet accessible in style. this one–volume theology allows us to sit at the feet of these luminous figures and be taught by their Scripture–steeped, God–saturated writings.”

“Leading Puritan studies scholars, Joel Beeke and Mark Jones, join forces to offer a comprehensive and impressive treatment of Puritan teaching on most major loci or topics of theology, ranging from prolegomena to eschatology. this book is a unique achievement, for it supersedes all previous books on Puritan theology through its breadth of scope and its richness of both historical detail and theological insight. this book will interest a wide audience ranging from theologians to historians, from pastors to educated laymen who seek to learn about how the Puritans sought to renew theology in conjunction with the practice of piety. At the same time it shows the modern reader that in Puritan theology rational activity was not at the expense of a pious attentiveness to holy Scripture but embedded in a deep religious and spiritual receptivity that we rarely find in modern theology. indeed, Puritan theology is a doctrine for Life!”

“For their exegetical insight, theological precision, and heart–warming devotion, the Puritans remain a gold mine. There are great modern editions of many Puritan classics, anthologies collecting their quotes on various subjects, and myriad studies of the movement. So it's a little surprising that a Puritan systematic theology like this one has never been written. I'm just glad that it has been, and by two scholar–pastors whose familiarity with the primary and secondary sources is unsurpassed. I couldn't put it down and will return to it again and again. It is an ambitious undertaking, but the authors' pain is our gain. This will be an enduring reference work as well as devotional resource.”

“No expression of the Christian faith has excelled that of the great Puritans and those who followed in their steps. This excellent volume by Dr. Beeke and Dr. Jones presents to the reader a rich feast both in academic theology and practical divinity. It deserves to be read, studied, and re–read by all who are hungry to know God better and to know how to glorify Him more.”

“In this volume the tremendous renaissance in Puritan studies that has been going since the 1960s finds its magnum opus, a truly fabulous resource for all who are interested in and love the Puritans. While nearly as exhaustive as one could wish for, it is also replete with chapters that detail the thought of individual Puritans. Without a doubt, this will be an indispensable guidebook to Puritan thought and practice for years to come.”

“A Systematic Theology, covering the main loci of doctrine, from a Puritan perspective, with insightful comment and analysis from two respected Puritan scholars of our time. What more needs to be said by way of commendation? A necessary text for seminarians and all serious students of theology.”

“At last! A book that addresses not simply a single Puritan writer or a single doctrine but that presents the breadth of Puritan theology, and does so not for professional theologians alone but for every believer who wants to know the blessing of this ‘doctrine for life’ in his own life. the authors do this not by giving their own summary of Puritan thought, but presenting a great variety of Puritan thinkers and letting them speak for themselves, going to the primary sources and quoting them at length. this thousand page volume represents a lifetime of research and reflection by authors who share the Puritan faith. it is a truly magnum opus that will soon become a standard textbook for its subject.”

“In A Puritan Theology Joel Beeke and Mark Jones help us to taste in one serving some of the best from the Puritan theological buffet on the Christian life. Many of us who have feasted sumptuously from these choice servants of God have stood helplessly as we have seen their prodigious production, wondering how we can have a feel of the entire culinary. Here is an answer to our prayers! The size of this book should not make you hesitate to join the feast. Rather, may it only whet your appetite to delve deeper into the kind of meal that has turned many spiritual infants into mature manhood in Christ.”

“All serious–minded Christians will be thankful for the labor of love performed by Drs. Beeke and Jones in compiling A Puritan Theology. The book will be an excellent reference resource for all who study or teach theology or want to grasp what the Puritans thought or what contribution they made to a particular loci of theology. But since it is so well written, it also will be edifying for anyone who simply reads through it seriatim.”

“Experiential theology begins with this — Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It is personalized thus — He loved me and gave Himself for me. It can’t be studied in cold blood because of the grace that has delivered us from ignorance, shame, and hell. Who is the God who has done this? What am I that He should have done this for me? Theology answers these questions. Wrong answers will lead to wrong living. No body of men is more helpful in teaching the profoundest and yet the most accessible theology than the Puritans. They were lucid and passionate in explaining and applying what was true. This book will lead to deeper knowledge; it will also lead to greater love for Him who is the object of all true theology, the living God.”

“Joel Beeke's and Mark Jones's work marks a major milestone in the study of Puritan and early modern Reformed theology, setting forth in modern scholarly essays an examination of a full body of seventeenth–century divinity. The work evidences a significant understanding of the primary texts and an excellent grasp of the secondary literature, both providing a sound introduction to Puritan theology and setting aside the myths of a rigid, rationalistic, monolithic system of thought divorced from Christian life. Perhaps the most consistent and unifying theme in the book is the profound connection between faith and practice that, for the Puritans and other early modern Reformed, grounded the exposition of all doctrine. A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life will provide a starting point for further study of Puritan thought for years to come.”

“For more than half a century primary research on Puritan theologians and their teaching has been in full swing. Here now is a massive compendium of the findings, digested into sixty lively chapters. The authors' expository skill will keep readers on their toes, and the Puritans' own concern for godly living, which runs through everything, will send readers to their knees. This is a landmark book in every way.”