Samuel Tunnicliffe: English Presbyterianism, Learning From 1719, Richard Baxter, and Union With Christ

In the Coffee House, John-Mark is joined by Dr Samuel Tunnicliffe to discuss English Presbyterianism, doctrinal decline, and the influence of Richard Baxter.

Beginning with the State of Theology UK 2026 survey, Tunnicliffe considers what contemporary confusion about worship, religious pluralism, and the truthfulness of Scripture reveals about the need for careful pastoral teaching. He then explores the world of seventeenth-century London coffee houses, where Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists gathered for theological discussion, debate, and political activity amid persecution and religious upheaval.

Tunnicliffe traces the challenges facing English Presbyterian identity after 1662, examines resistance to imposing creedal tests, and considers the Salters’ Hall controversy of 1719 and its place in the story of doctrinal decline. The conversation concludes with Richard Baxter’s influence, the controversy over neonomianism, the importance of union with Christ, and recommended reading from John Owen and Sinclair Ferguson.