ABSTRACT
One effect of the mutual interaction of doctrine and experience in the believer’s life was that each particular work of spiritual autobiography was an expression both of the Puritan tradition in general and of a personal response to it. This chapter looks at some autobiographies in detail to examine how writers with different loyalties shaped their experience, found their identity in relation to the commitment they had, and used their findings as evidence for the truth of their position. A feature of the Antinomian theology which Mrs Jane Turner now adopted was its vastly increased emphasis on experience and feeling: believers were encouraged to find spiritual comfort and peace without reference to objective criteria. Antinomianism offered comfort and peace without the painful Puritan disciplines, and by-passed serious consideration of the wrath, justice, and holiness of God. John Rogers was an Independent minister when he wrote his testimony, having earlier repudiated his Presbyterian ordination.
