In tribute to them and gratitude to God, I want to post a short series of posts in the next few days that set Puritan spirituality over against American evangelicalism. This helps, I think, with perspective. We tend to think way too much of ourselves, not realizing that many of our forebears in the faith outstripped us in so many ways, putting our faith to shame, making me want to weep from time to time over the present state of our Christian experience. To give some perspective on the Puritans, I want to turn to J. I. Packer's A Quest for Godliness, which I've already done at this blog a number of times.
Anyone who knows anything at all about Puritan Christianity knows that at its best it had a vigour, a manliness, and a depth which modern evangelical piety largely lacks. This is because Puritanism was essentially an experimental faith, a religion of 'heart-work,' a sustainded practice of seeking the face of God, in a way that our own Christianity too often is not. The Puritans were manlier Christians just because they were godlier Christians (A Quest for Godliness, 215).Packer then goes on to give three particular points of contrast between the Puritans and American evangelicals. More on this on the morrow. For now, Thank you, Gracious God and Heavenly Father, for giving the Puritans to the church as a portion of our rich heritage. "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful heritage" (Ps. 16:6).
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