Though Cromwell has been lauded by many in our day, faithful lovers of truth in his day rejected him and the attendant errors of his Independent abettors.

Concerning Cromwell and company, the Act, Declaration and Testimony... by the Reformed Presbytery (1876 ed.) witnesses to the truth that Presbyterians, "both refused subjection unto, and testified against the usurpation of Oliver Cromwell and his accomplices (the Independents, RB), his invading the land," and "his anti-christian toleration of all sectarian errors and heresies," which were at that time "threatening the ruin and destruction of the true religion, as well as liberty."

Cromwell's so-called "tolerance" extended to the execution of one Presbyterian minister and the persecution of others. He played an instrumental part in scuttling the Christ honoring covenanted uniformity of the Reformed religion that was being fought for in the period covered by this book.

The debates, especially between the Independents and the Presbyterians, in this eventful period, are still with us today and have changed very little, if at all.

This is a good place to examine the historical context and the theological argumentation that is foundational to these two antagonistic systems.