A Golden Chain (or The Description of Theology, Containing the Order of the Causes of Salvation and Damnation, according to God’s Word)

Written by William Perkins (1558-1602), A Golden Chain is one of the best treatments of the doctrines of election and reprobation ever written. Due to its controversial nature, it is one of the few significant and influential works written by a Puritan which has not been widely republished as a standalone version. In this version of A Golden Chain, transcribed from the 1597 edition of Perkins' work, it has been lightly abridged and modernised with simplified language and new structural diagrams. This release will also include a brief introduction to both Perkins' life and work written by Perkins scholar, Matthew Payne.

Publisher: Tulip Publishing
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780648725053

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William Perkins (1558-1602) was a prolific and influential theologian of the Elizabethan era, whose writings aided in the popularisation of Reformed theology in England. He is widely remembered as the 'father of Puritanism'.

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"Perkins’s Golden Chain takes its character from the Apostle Paul’s ‘chain’ in Romans 8:28-30. Perkins intended the Golden Chain as an ‘ocular catechism’. The table readily connects with scripture. The diagram does not express fatalism, as some have supposed. It is a portrayal of divine free grace, the great acts of God and their consequences, using Paul as the inspiration. If we survey the context, we find that the chain has other stages, beginning with adoption (v.29f.) and ending with a splendidly-worded account of perseverance (verse 37 to the end of the chapter), when the power of divine grace is such that neither ‘height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus or Lord’. From eternity to eternity the triune God is fully engaged.The editors clearly have similar gifts to Perkins, providing other supplementary charts which mark a person’s state in grace. They give their readers a context of Perkins, of his era and his various gifts. They are to be congratulated on the production of this significant book on Puritanism and the Reformed faith, one that remains relevant today." Paul Helm, Emeritus Professor of the History and Philosophy of Religion, King's College, London