Author Description

While civil wars turned politics in 1600s England upside down, its religious landscape was no less tumultuous; new ideas, "new light", new forms of religious expression and exploration gained ground with the common people. The most extreme form this exploration took was the brief Ranter movement, which adopted pantheism and denied morality, the afterlife, and the resurrection, while promoting free love and communism; and all of this while maintaining a Biblical worldview. And since they practiced what they preached, they were quickly suppressed by the authorities. The Ranter moment was like a fireworks show: dazzling, terrifying, beautiful, but quickly fading away.Still, the writings of the Ranters represent a unique combination of ideas in the history of religion. These fascinating books will continue to inspire students of the history of ideas in the areas of philosophy, religion, ethics, and freedom of thought.This collection includes:(anonymous) "A Justification of the Mad Crew"Laurence Clarkson, "A Single Eye, All Light, no Darkness; or Light and Darkness One"Abiezer Coppe, "A Fiery Flying Roll", "A Second Fiery Flying Roll"Jacob Bauthumley, "The Light and Dark Sides of God"