Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter (1615-1691), English Puritan writer and scholar, born in Shropshire. He was ordained in 1638 and served as chaplain in the army of the Puritan general Oliver Cromwell in 1645. In his preaching, however, Baxter opposed the execution of Charles I of England and the usurpation of power by Cromwell. In 1660, after the restoration of the monarchy, Baxter became court chaplain, but was forced to leave the Church of England when the Act of Uniformity became law in 1662. He was tried for alleged sedition in his Paraphrase of the New Testament (1685) and was imprisoned for 18 months. Chief among his works are Saints' Everlasting Rest (1650) and Call to the Unconverted (1657).