Richard Baxter ( 1615 - 1691) was one of the best known of the Puritan authors. He has been called “the most successful preacher, winner of souls, and nurturer of souls that England has ever had.” He had “no Calvinistic axe to grind,” and sought to mediate between Arminianism and Calvinism. He attempted to soften some points of Calvinism by advocating “free will.” Baxter’s method was a middle way, which he called “mere Christianity” (C. S. Lewis used this phrase from Baxter as the title of his famous book). After the Act of Uniformity, he was put in prison in the Tower of London for eighteen months because he was unwilling to stay in the Church of England.
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