Best Defences of Congregationalism and Independecy?

[JD]

Can anyone reccomend books/treatises defending congregationalism and/or independency? Preferrably historical, and ideally interacting with presbyterian views?

There are a few old threads, which don't seem to turn up much.

Also I am aware that Bannerman's Church of Christ and Jus Divinum are considered amongst the standard ecclesiological treatments. To what extent do these interact with congregationalism or independency?

There seems to be no lack of literature in support of presbyeterianism, but I am struggling to locate similar works which arrive at the opposite conclusions.

Thanks in advance!

 

[NaphtaliPress]

The Grand Debate of the Westminster Assembly contains the papers passed between the presbyterian majority and the congregationalist minority regarding the latter's objections to the assembly's propositions on presbyterianism. The congregationalists are a bit weak, but then they were reticent to make any positive case for what they believed because they were simply doing stalling action till the politics turned in their favor. The presbyterian case is also not full because they could only argue for what had passed the assembly and nothing more. The Naphtali Press 2014 edition is OOP but the old original is online.

If you find a used NP copy, get it.

 

[Shanny01]

Thomas Hooker's A survey of the summe of church-discipline; https://archive.org/details/surveyofsummeofc00hook/page/n3/mode/2up John Cotton's Keys of the Kingdom; https://archive.org/details/keyesofkingdomof00cott/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater The Ways of the Churches in New England; http://quintapress.webmate.me/PDF_Books/John_Cotton/The_Way_of_the_Churches.pdf The Way of Congregational Churches Cleared in Two Treatises; http://quintapress.webmate.me/PDF_Books/John_Cotton/The_Keys.pdf John Owen True Nature of a Gospel Church; https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnowe185016owen/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater Inquiry; https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnowen185015owen/page/186/mode/2up?view=theater Thomas Goodwin Government of the Churches of Christ; https://archive.org/details/worksofthomasgoo11good/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater Richard Mather Church-government and church-covenant

There's also plenty of polemic and other treatises from the 17th Century from the same authors together with guys like John Norton, Isaac Chauncy, Increase and Cotton Mather, etc.

Of course, as you go into the 18th-19th centuries, Congregationalism has many writings in defense thereof, from guys like Doddridge, Wardlaw, the Haldanes, Angell James, and the like.

 

[JD]

The Grand Debate of the Westminster Assembly contains the papers passed between the presbyterian majority and the congregationalist minority regarding the latter's objections to the assembly's propositions on presbyterianism. The congregationalists are a bit weak, but then they were reticent to make any positive case for what they believed because they were simply doing stalling action till the politics turned in their favor. The presbyterian case is also not full because they could only argue for what had passed the assembly and nothing more. The Naphtali Press 2014 edition is OOP but the old original is online.

If you find a used NP copy, get it.

Thank you! I should have mentioned The Grand Debate in my original post. I have seen you reccomend it several times in older threads, and also have it on my list (though I've no yet found a used copy).

 

[JD]

Thomas Hooker's A survey of the summe of church-discipline; https://archive.org/details/surveyofsummeofc00hook/page/n3/mode/2up John Cotton's Keys of the Kingdom; https://archive.org/details/keyesofkingdomof00cott/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater The Ways of the Churches in New England; http://quintapress.webmate.me/PDF_Books/John_Cotton/The_Way_of_the_Churches.pdf The Way of Congregational Churches Cleared in Two Treatises; http://quintapress.webmate.me/PDF_Books/John_Cotton/The_Keys.pdf John Owen True Nature of a Gospel Church; https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnowe185016owen/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater Inquiry; https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnowen185015owen/page/186/mode/2up?view=theater Thomas Goodwin Government of the Churches of Christ; https://archive.org/details/worksofthomasgoo11good/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater Richard Mather Church-government and church-covenant

There's also plenty of polemic and other treatises from the 17th Century from the same authors together with guys like John Norton, Isaac Chauncy, Increase and Cotton Mather, etc.

Of course, as you go into the 18th-19th centuries, Congregationalism has many writings in defense thereof, from guys like Doddridge, Wardlaw, the Haldanes, Angell James, and the like.

Wow! Thank you! Is there a standard work in defense of congegationalism?

 

[Shanny01]

Wow! Thank you! Is there a standard work in defense of congegationalism?

Hhhhmmm, I guess the classic is John Cotton's Keys or the Independent's Apologetic Narration, and that principally because they were treated as such at the Westminster Assembly, but my guess is Owen has received more interaction over the past few centuries than some of the other authors.