RICHARD BAXTER AND CONVERSION
A study of the Puritan concept of becoming a Christian
By Timothy K. Beougher. Mentor. 238 pages. £10.99
ISBN 978-1-84550-310-9
Do you want to know what an Amyraldian is or what constitutes the ‘political method’ in interpretation? Then this is your book. But should you be somewhat less than enthusiastic about a publication which has a very large section of End Notes and is clearly an edited doctoral thesis, then heed these words of Jim Packer in the Foreword: ‘So do not be frightened by the apparatus of scholarship; look for the jewels of wisdom. You will find them, and you will be blessed’.
Richard Baxter was a wonderful blend of preacher, pastor, writer and scholar. He was a great soul winner in his ministry at Kidderminster in days not unlike the contemporary challenge to the church in this country. His quote on preaching as ‘a dying man to dying men’ hangs on my study wall to keep me on target. This book highlights Baxter’s balanced theology on the work of conversion — mostly a gradual process — and underlines the pre-eminence of passionate preaching in that process.
