This is the first modern edition of A Holy Commonwealth, which was written in 1659 by the Puritan minister Richard Baxter (1615-91). It is a candid confession as to why a conservative Puritan fought for Parliament in the Civil War and gave his support to the Cromwells.
A Holy Commonwealth was written in 1659 by the Puritan minister Richard Baxter (1615-91), and proved to be the most controversial of all his works. He publicly repudiated it in 1670, and in 1683 the Oxford University authorities ordered it to be part of a book-burning that included the works of Hobbes and Milton. The scandal that surrounded it has obscured its merits as the most candid of confessions as to why a conservative Puritan fought for parliament in the Civil War and gave his support to the Cromwellian Protectorate.
