Traditional approaches to early Nonconformity have divided its history
at the Toleration Act of 1689. The intellectual history of the movement
has largely focused on the ideas of Richard Baxter and John Locke. These
conventions prevent a full understanding of the disunity and decline of
the movement in the early eighteenth century. Continuities across the
period and the gradual emergence of themes which would feed into
Evangelicalism have been obscured. The rich theological dynamics of
Dissent cannot be appreciated without detailed reference to the thought
of other contemporary leaders. Among the most important was John Howe
(1630-1705). Howe's career stretched from Cromwell to Queen Anne. His
irenic ecclesiology shaped the response to toleration and influenced key
leaders in the decades following his death. Crucial shifts in
Nonconformist thinking may be traced in his writings and those of his
successors, such as Calamy, Watts, and Doddridge. As a result, the
significance of the division at Salters' Hall in 1719 becomes clearer.
This study reexamines a neglected strand of Nonconformist thought and
proposes a new understanding of later Stuart Dissent. The distinct
characteristics of the movement are freshly defined and Dissent is
situated in historical continuity between Puritanism and early
Evangelicalism. The monograph thus provides a scholarly reinterpretation
of an important group in a crucial period of English history. The themes
that emerge inform the wider study of English ecclesiology and political
theory under the Tudors and Stuarts. 'Toleration in 1689 failed to bring
growth to English Dissent. Martin Sutherland's thorough study of John
Howe explains that his spiritual brand of ecclesiology was in part
responsible for the subsequent decay of the Dissenting interest.' -
David Bebbington, University of Stirling, UK 'This highly readable study
of a largely neglected Dissenter greatly advances the rehabilitation of
the theological foundations of late-seventeenth-century religious
debate, so crucial to political stability. It cogently and freshly
elucidates Church-Dissent relations and the decline of Dissent, in that
century and beyond.' - Marie Peters, University of Canterbury, New
Zealand 'Martin Sutherland's work will be essential reading for
historians of Stuart England. It provides remarkable insights into the
history and politics of Nonconformity in the later seventeenth century,
and does so by the simple means of taking seriously Nonconformist
theology. It is a striking reminder that all historians of the period
need to do the same.' - Glenn Burgess, University of Hull, UK Martin
Sutherland was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is Director of the
Carey Centre for Theological Studies in Auckland, New Zealand, and
editor of the New Zealand Journal of Baptist Research. He has published
articles in historical theology and church history. Martin is married to
Yvonne and they have three children.
