how Reformed theologians can handle the contemporary retrieval of Isaac Ambrose
and his sources.
Conclusion
This thesis has raised two important questions. Was Isaac Ambrose a Puritan
mystic and can contemporary Reformed Christians retrieve any wisdom from
Ambrose’s writings to guide their piety? This first chapter acknowledged the
difficulty of defining mysticism. Over its long history within the Christian Church
clearly there have been vivid illustrations of the strengths and potential dangers of
mysticism. Rather than ignoring or rejecting mysticism Bernard McGinn offers a
broader definition that reduces the distorted perceptions of many and expands the
possibility of recognizing the presence and importance of the mystical element more
widely in the Roman Catholic and even the Protestant Church. This chapter
substituted the language of contemplative-mystical piety for McGinn’s mystical
element since the former is more amenable and consistent with the Reformed
tradition. Further, Jean Williams has demonstrated through her extensive research
that mysticism and Puritanism are not mutually exclusive. While historians have
been quite willing to acknowledge the presence of mystics along the radical perimeter
of the Puritans, Williams guides readers in recognizing a similar reality in the
moderate Puritans. Additionally, this chapter introduced Isaac Ambrose as the
primary focus of this research. There has been no significant inquiry into Ambrose’s
theology or piety and therefore this study is unique. However, before it is possible to
confirm the nature and depth of Ambrose’s contemplative-mystical piety or whether
his writings can offer wisdom for the contemporary Church a thorough investigation
of his theology and piety must be made.