ABSTRACT
The aim of this book has been to contribute to research on women’s part in revolutionary religion by examining, in its course, many under-utilised and under-discussed publications by female members of gathered churches, particularly those that are identifiably Baptist. Quite apart from the illicit behaviour, fascination with heresy, and propensity to be captivated by influential male figures that heresiographers were fascinated by, female-authored works present a view of Baptist women as godly co-inheritors of the kingdom of God, having equal interest in preparing the world for the coming of Christ. Although their work often conformed to the expectations and strictures of their male co-religionists, this did not prevent them from taking part in the separation and formation of gathered churches, contributing to the development of Baptist theology, and helping to nurture their fellow believers in their prophecies and writings. These women were not blindly following a new, attractive doctrine: they were actively strengthening and reforming the movement from within, often urging their ministers or elders to go further in their separation, or to clarify points of doctrine. By examining Baptist women’s publications more closely, this book has demonstrated a hitherto unappreciated level of achievement in these works by considering their conformity to, as well as their departure from, established and developing congregational practices, their use of different rhetorical strategies to support their participation in theological debate, and the responses of their male co-religionists to their activities and writings. This book’s literary approach has paid attention to both the content and the method of production of women’s writings, because the publishing environment and evidence of readership for the texts are an essential part of understanding their impact, both in Baptist communities, and in seventeenth-century revolutionary culture. Baptists were interested in recurring patterns and signs, so women’s works were directed to and interpreted by their communities, for example the conversion narratives of Deborah Huish and Jane Turner; this community context is important to understanding how and why they were produced. Without knowledge of the godly community these women wrote in and for, which this book provides, it is not possible to explore their contribution to community imperatives, or, indeed, just how extraordinary their body of work is.
