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Participation & Covenant in Puritan Theology
Davenant Press

Participation & Covenant in Puritan Theology

Studies in Protestant Irenics Vol. 4

by Simon J. G. Burton

Short, scholarly studies in Rich Protestant Wisdom

While from one vantage point the Reformation can look like the disenchantment of the world, our focus here will be on its re-enchantment. For it is a great mistake to see the Reformation as devaluing participation. Indeed, no less a figure than Karl Barth recognized an important Platonic strain in Protestant theology present from its origins. Rather, the Reformation must be seen as reconfiguring traditional notions of participation, above all within a covenantal matrix. In two senses the Puritans can be seen as important contributors to a revisionist perspective on participation and Protestantism. Firstly, they offer a chastened metaphysics of participation alive to the sheer contingency of all things and their covenantal bond with their Creator, which was Augustinian and indeed Scotist in spirit. Secondly, they provide evidence of the continued place of participation within Protestant and Reformed theology and its role in giving rise to a profoundly Christian, integrative vision of reality which remains an inspiration to this day.

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About the Author

Simon J. G. Burton

Simon J. G. Burton is currently the John Laing Senior Lecturer in Reformation History at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Hallowing of Logic: The Trinitarian Method of Richard Baxter’s Methodus Theologiae (Brill, 2012) and Ramism and the Reformation of Method: The Franciscan Legacy in Early Modernity (OUP, 2024). He has written widely on medieval and Reformed thought and is the co-editor of three books in this area, including Nicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Modern World (Brill, 2019). He is also the Editor of the journal Reformation and Renaissance Review . His research focuses on the Long Reformation, especially the relation between medieval and Reformed theology, Franciscanism and the wider movement of Christian Platonism and mysticism.

Publication Details

  • Publisher: Davenant Press
  • ISBN: 978-1-949716-71-9
  • Publication Date: October 2, 2025
  • Pages: 120
  • Author: Simon J. G. Burton
  • Price: $17.95

Endorsements

  • “Readers will be entranced by this significant and original presentation of Puritan thought, and its compelling analysis of how themes of participation and covenant were at the centre of Puritan thought and practice on both sides of the Atlantic. Burton shows us how this vision drew upon deep roots in medieval and reformation trajectories of thought, as the Puritans constructed their own synthesis and view of reality based and founded upon God’s Triune Love. This book will be very helpful for both scholars and any who are seeking to understand how the sophisticated thoughts of the Puritans are still relevant and inspiring for Christians today.”

    — William Hyland, Senior Lecturer in Church History, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews

  • “With careful attention to both the theology and the philosophy of early modern Reformed Protestants, Simon Burton shows how themes of “participation” and ideas of the biblical covenant interacted frutifully, especially in Puritan thought. Sensitive readings of scholars ranging from Perry Miller to Michael Horton allows Burton to describe Puritanism as a helpful refinement of medieval Christian theology rather than its repudiation.”

    — Mark Noll, Author of In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783

  • “Through patient and rigorous scholarship, Simon Burton shows how Puritan theologians adapted strong participationist themes from their medieval predecessors by integrating these with their distinctive covenantal themes. This is a lucid, accessible and important work that successfully challenges caricatures of the Reformed tradition as postulating an arbitrary divine will disjoined from creation.”

    — David Fergusson, Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge

  • “In a nutshell, Burton takes us through the big questions and discussions about participation and covenant theology in the Puritan tradition. His argument ends up with a reappraisal of Baxter, who brought together different theological insights in thinking from the baptismal covenant in which the triune God enters into a relationship with us.”

    — Willem van Vlastiun, Chair of Theology and Spirituality of Reformed Protestantism, Free University of Amsterdam, Dean Hersteld Hervormd Seminarium and Director Jonathan Edwards Center Benelux

More Endorsements (2)
  • “In this book we find proof of how fruitful going ad fontes can be. Dr. Burton’s profound knowledge of the sources of medieval and early modern theology serves us with new and fresh insights and helps to overcome enduring but incorrect positions.”

    — Herman Selderhuis, Professor of Church History at the Theological University Apeldoorn (TUA), President of the Reformation Research Consortium (REFORC) and President of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe)

  • “Simon Burton provides readers with a fascinating deep dive into the caverns of Puritan thought on covenant and its relationship to the metaphysics of participation. Far from abandoning the concept, Burton reveals how the Puritans enfolded the concept of participation into their covenantal writings on grace, the church, and society. A must read for readers interested in Puritan theology, its scholastic backgrounds, and its potential to inform current theological reflection.”

    — Robert Caldwell, Professor of Church History, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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