Getting to know the Puritans cont'd.

I was discussing the Puritans with a friend yesterday. He asked me what it was that defined a Puritan and if there were any Puritans today. I answered as best I could, but in an effort to better answer his questions found this helpful summary by a Mark S. Ritchie. It's helpful because it gives a brief history of the English Puritans as an ecclesiastical and political movement and places them within the context of church history up until today. J.I. Packer points out that the story of the Puritans is one of failure. They failed to achieve their goals and by 1700 had pretty much died out as a distinct movement. Yet, their influence lives on due to their writings and patterns of Christian living and ministry. Moral of the story? The most lasting legacies are often born out of what seems like failure.