A Critical Analysis of the Influence of the Separatists on the Ecclesiology of Early Congregationalism

Resumo

The goal of this paper is to examine the history and ecclesiology of the early Congregationalist leaders John Cotton (1586-1652), Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) and Phillip Nye (1595-1672) to answer the question: how much did they owe in the area of ecclesiology to the Separatists Robert Browne (1550? -1633) and John Robinson (1576-1625).
This paper contends that the origins of Congregationalist ecclesiology owes far less to the Separatist Robert Browne than has often been argued. This paper argues that the greatest influences are found in the old non-conformists, non-separating Puritans such as William Ames (1576-1633) and a closer proximity to some of the Scots Presbyterians than much of the historiography allows.

Data do prémio	8 mai. 2024
Idioma original	English
Instituição de premiação	University of the Highlands and Islands
Supervisor	Nick Needham (Supervisor) & Alasdair J MacLeod (Supervisor)