Puritan Spirituality : The Fear of God in the Affective Theology of George Swinnock

Without minimizing the validity of the social, political, and ecclesiastical approaches to this field of study, Yuille affirms that the essence of Puritanism is found in its spirituality. He demonstrates this by turning to a relatively unknown Puritan, George Swinnock (1627-1673). At the root of Swinnock's spirituality was his concept of fear of God as the proper ordering of the soul's faculties after the image of God. This concept is pivotal to Swinnock's spirituality, because he viewed it as the Christian's true principles of practice. Yuille shows the prevalence of this paradigm among Swinnock's fellow Puritans, and sets it in a historical tradition extending back to Augustine through Calvin.

Publisher: Wipf and Stock
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781556358678

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J. Stephen Yuille resides in Glen Rose, Texas, with his wife, Alison, and their daughters, Laura and Emma. He is the Teaching Pastor at Grace Community Church and Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas. He is the author of The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety (2007), Puritan Spirituality (2008), Trading and Thriving in Godliness (2008), and Living Blessedly Forever (2012).

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"All who see Puritan piety as an integral element in the church's evangelical heritage will find George Swinnock's teaching, both in his own writings and as set forth here, a rich and reliable resource for practice. . . . For successfully deploying what he has found, Dr Yuille must be profoundly thanked." James I. Packer