Perkins, and William Ames and the “Spiritual Brethren” who included Richard
Sibbes, John Preston, and John Cotton.^43 While she acknowledges the danger of
“oversimplif[ying] the complex ideas in question” she continues this approach.^44
Norman Pettit criticizes Knight for this very reason of attempting to force Puritans
into overly rigid categories.^45 Further, as with many typologies, a person might
equally fit in more than one category. This is clearly revealed by Brauer’s placement
of Samuel Rutherford in the nomist group whereas Jean Williams believes he “was
also a mystic.”^46 Additionally Brauer positions Sibbes in the evangelical stream in
part because of his numerous sermons on the Song of Songs yet this very placement
reveals the strong mystical flavor in his writings.^47 Philip Sheldrake helpfully
comments on the benefits of “types of spirituality.” However, he also raises cautions
asserting, “[t]here is a danger that, if applied too rigidly or exclusively, these
distinctions will force historical personalities into preconceived models which do
damage to their complexity.”^48 Further, Sheldrake is speaking more broadly across
the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions or within the major schools in the
Roman Catholic Church rather than in the more narrowly defined theological
movements. This raises another challenge of classification: how will the categories
be determined? Frequently, in seventeenth-century England ecclesiology was used to
distinguish between various types of Puritans. However, while Sibbes, Baxter, and
Owen are at different ends of the ecclesial spectrum than bishops Bayly, Hall, and
Reynolds they all share a fairly common theology and piety. One possible solution
(^43) Knight, Orthodo (^) xies in Massachusetts (^) , 2-3.
(^44) Knight, Orthodoxies in Massachusetts, 131.
(^45) Pettit, review of Orthodoxies in Massachusetts, 145-50.
(^46) Compare Brauer, “Types of Puritan Piety,” 46n19 with Williams, “Puritan
Enjoyment of God,” 9n37. 47
48 Brauer, “Types of Puritan Piety,” 48.^
typologies. Sheldrake, Spirituality and History, 209, cf. 196, 217-8 for the benefits of using