Geoffrey F. Nuttall (1911–2007)

“Better fanatic follies than to lie… Cold and unmoved in starched propriety.” In its older usage, the word enthusiasm meant possession by deity with resulting prophetic or poetic frenzy. These essays, on moral, didactic, emotional, and spiritual enthusiasm, represent the substance of six lectures delivered in 1945 at Woodbrooke, in the Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham, U.K. 96 pages.

Jeffrey Nuttall establishes the primacy of the doctrines of the Holy Spirit in 17th century English Puritanism and demonstrates the continuity of the Reformation tradition from the more conservative views of Luther to the more radical interpretation of the Quakers. Nuttall illuminates prominent spokesman, including Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, John Owen, Walter Cradock, Morgan Llwyd, and George Fox.

An English Congregational minister sends an Open Letter to Friends.

“Better fanatic follies than to lie… Cold and unmoved in starched propriety.” In its older usage, the word enthusiasm meant possession by deity with resulting prophetic or poetic frenzy. These essays, on moral, didactic, emotional, and spiritual enthusiasm, represent the substance of six lectures delivered in 1945 at Woodbrooke, in the Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham, U.K. 96 pages.