Oliver Cromwell & The Doctrine Of Interposition

by Dennis
(Portland, Oregon)

Jim Harrison's article entitled "Oliver Cromwell, Where Are You Now That We Need You?" provoked some interesting comment and interchange. Was Cromwell a tyrannical assassin or an heroic lower magistrate fighting against divine right of kings tyranny? The debate rages on, over 3-1/2 centuries after King Charles I was led to the chopping block by the Puritans.

The relevance of this debate to 21st Century America is obvious. Thomas Jefferson stated that a revolution was needed every 20 years for the preservation of liberty. Was he correct? Under what circumstances is such a revolution legally justified? These questions are bound up with the doctrine of interposition and the doctrine of the lower magistrate?

We pick up the debate in the following interchange and invite your response.