1/9/2024 0 Comments Wandering willows sequel![]() If you visit the famous ‘Reformation Wall’ in Geneva, Switzerland, you will see a huge statue of Roger Williams. Sharon James, adviser to the Christian Institute says, An excellent and truly thoughtful volume. ![]() Drawing upon the latest research on the Puritan author, Roberts outlines the contours of his life with special focus on his thought about religious liberty and why it is so important today. Like many pioneers, Williams had some quirks and oddities in his thought, which Mostyn Roberts' biography does not hide, but his clarity of thought about the necessary matrix of true Christianity was nothing short of remarkable and this is why he must be remembered. This new biography of the key Puritan thinker Roger Williams is most welcome. Michale Haykin of Southern Baptist Seminary, writes, And the story of Williams and his trials is itself fascinating and well-told: what an extraordinary challenge these people faced as they sought to construct societies from scratch on the other side of the world! Even for those of us unpersuaded by the two kingdoms project, Mostyn’s work can only serve to help us engage thoughtfully over the question of an adequate foundation for civil society. As Mostyn shows, Williams held some views still rightly regarded as eccentric, but his theory of mere civility as a viable basis for society is very close to the contemporary ‘two kingdoms’ theology that finds that basis in natural law. Mostyn deftly sets Williams in his historical context on both sides of the Atlantic without bewildering the reader with too many of the vicissitudes of seventeenth-century political history. In this engaging volume Mostyn Roberts provides us with an introduction to the life and theology of Roger Williams, as well as an encouragement to learn lessons from him on how to live in our own times. Garry Williams (Director, Pastors' Academy, London Seminary) says: You can find this book on Amazon and on 10of as well as on Evangelical Press's own website. Williams wrote a number of polemical works, a beautiful devotional book for his wife, and a remarkable guide to the language of the Native Americans (the Narragansetts) with whom he established exceptional relations.īut what of liberty of conscience today? And is religion necessary to the stability of state? Can we exist on civility or do we need the gospel? Can religious exclusivism survive within political pluralism?ĭoes Williams have something to teach us today? Contemporary authors like Os Guinness, Martha Nussbaum, Miroslav Wolf and Teresa Bejan think so. Freedom of conscience and separation of church and state were the two pillars on which his colonial venture was based. Williams obtained a charter that broke church and state apart (as American Historian John Barry says). Williams fought for decades to establish Rhode Island as a state for those 'distressed for conscience', a concept that made him obnoxious to many Massachusetts Puritans, though in the end some of them expressed a grudging admiration for him and some remained close friends. When he arrived he found the Puritans were not as pure as he would have liked, not was he as free as he would have liked. Williams went to Massachusetts as did many Puritans to find freedom of worship. It is a biography with some contemporary application of Roger Williams (1603-83) who founded the state of Rhode Island in the seventeenth century. and I do so shamelessly to promote a new book that Evangelical Press has published for me. John Benton, Director for Pastoral Support, The Pastors’ Academy, London SeminaryĪvailable from and .uk and (soon) bookshops.ĪT last I return to my blog. This excellent book provides us with all three. When we are criticised what we need is a cool head, Biblical common sense and the comfort of Christ. Any ministry, even the best, will take flak from time to time and it is easy to fall into crippling self-pity. To be able to handle criticism well is a skill which all pastors need to learn. Melvin Tinker, Director of Theology, The Christ Church Newland Network, Hull I could have done with it 40 years ago! A little gem of a book. I really enjoyed and benefited from reading this. By a combination of superb biblical exposition and sensitive application reflecting a wealth of personal ministerial experience, the author not only shows how to endure criticism but flourish through it. This book is a must for all those starting out in pastoral ministry and essential for all those wishing to continue in it.
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