When God was King

I recently read Andrew Taylor's "The Ashes of London" set during the Restoration which concerned the Fifth Monarchy Men. I must here admit my ignorance for this term describing this extreme Protestant sect was not something I was familiar with, so I was delighted to read this excellent book by Martyn Whittock which covered them and other radical Christian and political groups who sought political power or the creation of a full or semi theocratic state in the 17th century. Martyn Whittock has produced numerous books of a historic theme and the most important thing for me was how he made accessible a somewhat complex subject for there are a myriad of different and sometimes overlapping groups, sects and sub sects and ever changing alliances.

Starting from the beginnings of the Reformation we see how Protestantism developed and how politics, society and religion was effected by this schism in Christianity. Covered in the book are such subjects as The Levellers, The Diggers, the Covenanters, Cromwell's wars in Ireland and the emigration of the "Godly" to North America. This is certainly a wide ranging book and at the end I felt both educated and entertained which is something that can not always be said from reading historical works. There is also an informative glossary at the end which may be useful and beneficial to read first.

Some of the most interesting chapters were the latter ones which dealt with the legacy of these movements, still particularly influential in the politics and social attitudes prevalent in the USA. So if you have an interest in history or religion at whatever level then I would most certainly recommend this well researched and well written work.

There is a good book to be written about Puritan, Presbyterian and other religious movements and their influence on (mainly British) politics of the mid-17th century. I am afraid I do not think this is it. One of the main problems for me was that I did not think the author had a clear enough focus on what he wanted to write about. 

The book is in three sections. The first is largely scene-setting. Early chapters explore both the narrative history leading up to the English Covil War and the history of religious ideas. The narrative passages dart back and forth in time in a way that can be confusing unless you have a clear outline knowledge of the history of the period, and that is sometimes repetitive. The middle section has chapters on witch-hunting, the brutal Cromwellian treatment of the Irish, and some of the main more radical religious groups - Levellers, Diggers, Fifth Monarchy Men, Ranters and Quakers. The final chapter in this section is a ragbag chapter on various aspects of Cromwell’s rule, from whether he was responsble for the attempt to suppress the celebration of Christmas to his experiments with different mechanisms to rule the country.  There is also a chapter on North America. The third and final section is on the later Stuart period and the subsequent legacy of the religio-political ideas of the mid-17th century in Britain and in the USA. This last section reads, probably inevitably, like a rushed job, and the chapter on the USA focuses primarily on the links from the thinking and attitudes of the 17th century to today’s intolerant religious right: there is a parallel narrative, which is not considered, of the evolution of a different, more tolerant, more inclusive and more compassionate, form of Christianity, and the experiments of some sects which distanced themselves from politics and mainstream society.

There are some substantial digressions. One of the longest is on the history of millenarianism: this is placed in the chapter on Fifth Monarchy Men. But in reality millenarian thinking lay behind much of the thinking of other groups, and of Cromwell himself. If this digression had to be included - and I think 2 or 3 paragraphs would have been enough - it should have come in the first, scene-setting part of the book.

Having said all this, there are some good things in the book. It does convey some sense of the relgious and political ferment of the period - and of the intolerance members of some of the groups had for each other - an intolerance of a kind which still exists, and which is similar to the intolerance shown in the 20th century between different varieties of communism: the Christian world is not unique in this respect. Martyn Whittock also is right to bring out how the radical political thinking of some groups stemmed from their religious beliefs.

Plain and simply--this is one of the most fascinating books I have read this year. I tend to read a lot of non-fiction and have a particular love of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. I am so glad that I had the opportunity. 

I found this entire book interesting, but one of the sections that stood out the most to me, was the discussion of Oliver Cromwell prior to his stint as Lord Protector of England. Some of the things that were done 'in the name of God,' were certainly underhanded and I think history had glossed a lot of these things over. This book highlights how a personal belief in something can justify actions that would otherwise be seen quite differently--very thought provoking. 

I liked that the author included histories of the different groups of people that combined their efforts to see change brought about and how they worked for the causes they believed in. Overall, this was a really informative and well-researched book with a lot to offer the reader. If you are interested in history, religion and politics, this is a book that you will not want to miss. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

While I am a history buff, reading When God was King, was slow going. Although it is interesting and full of history from the 16th and 17th century I just suffered from distractions and dissatisfaction. Perhaps it was just not my cup of tea. I do not wish to dissuade other non-fiction lovers from reading it because I did find it interesting, it just did not draw me in so I moved on to other reads.
Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

A fascinating and captivating look at the role religion played in 16th and 17th century. We get a look at the Puritans, as well as how religion "motivated" men during this time. 
When God Was King draws on little-known facts, things that have been looked over in history, and brings them to a more prominent position. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and even learning a bit more about Oliver Cromwell. I have always found him to be an interesting person, so to have him written about here was perfect.

A great read for those who love history!