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This Is Normal Text View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by K-State Research Exchange THE ENGLISH INTERPRET ST. PAUL’S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FROM GOD SAVE THE KING TO GOD HELP THE KING, 1532 – 1649 by LIAM J. ATCHISON B.A., Kansas State University, 1977 Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981 AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2007 Abstract In England, 1532‐1649 was an era during which questions about obedience to rulers dominated ethical discussions. Most English people also respected biblical authority for governing certain behaviors. Obedience was central to the monarchy’s survival and the Bible was central to reformation of an English Church laden with medieval accretions. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans 13:1‐7 was the most important biblical passage for understanding the Christian’s relationship to civil authority during this period, and interpreters had such high regard for biblical authority that the backing of this passage was crucial to the acceptance of any political theory that involved ideas about obedience or disobedience. Though eisegesis was not out of the question as a technique among these interpreters, societal and political circumstances motivated most exegetes to examine the text more closely than they might have if St. Paul’s meaning had been irrelevant. These conditions led to creative handling of the text that permitted the exegetes to continue to submit to biblical authority while advocating their varied opinions on obedience to civil authority. Some interpreters moved outside the constraints of traditional views of monarchy and obedience to develop a theory that God mediated his call to rulers through those who elected them. Acceptance of this theory finally brought about rejection of divine right monarchy, as symbolized by the execution of Charles I in 1649. By too quickly concluding that these English expositors merely sought biblical justification for their views after the fact, scholars have failed to appreciate how Romans 13 positively shaped Reformation views of the Christian’s relationship to the state. As the title suggests, this study will examine the discernable shift from seeing Romans 13:1‐7 as a text that commands non‐resistance to rulers to one that not only permits disobedience, but requires it. Thus, Romans 13 is not simply an influential political text, but stands as the most important political text of the period under consideration. This dissertation supplies a needed analysis of representative exegesis of Romans 13:1‐7 during this critical period of English history and considers the influence of these expositions on the development of republican ideals. THE ENGLISH INTERPRET ST. PAUL’S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FROM GOD SAVE THE KING TO GOD HELP THE KING, 1532 – 1649 by LIAM JESS ATCHISON B.A., Kansas State University, 1977 Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981 A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2007 Approved by: Major Professor Robert D. Linder Copyright LIAM J. ATCHISON 2007 Abstract In England, 1532‐1649 was an era during which questions about obedience to rulers dominated ethical discussions. Most English people also respected biblical authority for governing certain behaviors. Obedience was central to the monarchy’s survival and the Bible was central to reformation of an English Church laden with medieval accretions. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans 13:1‐7 was the most important biblical passage for understanding the Christian’s relationship to civil authority during this period, and interpreters had such high regard for biblical authority that the backing of this passage was crucial to the acceptance of any political theory that involved ideas about obedience or disobedience. Though eisegesis was not out of the question as a technique among these interpreters, societal and political circumstances motivated most exegetes to examine the text more closely than they might have if St. Paul’s meaning had been irrelevant. These conditions led to creative handling of the text that permitted the exegetes to continue to submit to biblical authority while advocating their varied opinions on obedience to civil authority. Some interpreters moved outside the constraints of traditional views of monarchy and obedience to develop a theory that God mediated his call to rulers through the people who elected them. Acceptance of this theory finally brought about rejection of divine right monarchy, as symbolized by the execution of Charles I in 1649. By too quickly concluding that these English expositors merely sought biblical justification for their views after the fact, scholars have failed to appreciate how Romans 13 positively shaped Reformation views of the Christian’s relationship to the state. As the title suggests, this study will examine the discernable shift from seeing Romans 13:1‐7 as a text that commands non‐resistance to rulers to one that not only permits disobedience, but requires it. Thus, Romans 13 is not simply an influential political text, but stands as the most important political text of the period under consideration. This dissertation supplies a needed analysis of representative exegesis of Romans 13:1‐7 during this critical period of English history and considers the influence of these expositions on the development of republican ideals. Table of Contents Dedication____________________________________________________________ix Introduction: Thesis and Justification for This Study _______________________ 1 CHAPTER 1 ‐ The Rise of Reformation Exegesis __________________________ 28 Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 28 The Henrician Reformation and the Scriptures_______________________________ 30 Reformation and the People: Influence of Anti‐clerical Feeling and Lollardy ___ 36 Humanism and the Coming of a New Hermeneutic __________________________ 43 John Colet and Historical Interpretation in Pre‐Reformation England __________ 50 Conclusion ______________________________________________________________ 68 CHAPTER 2 ‐ The Non‐Resistance of Henrician and Edwardian Exegetes ____ 72 Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 72 Tyndale’s Exposition of Romans 13 _________________________________________ 74 Edward Fox and The True Dyfferes_________________________________________ 91 Tyndale’s John Hooper: A Nonconformist Approach to Romans 13____________ 105 The Homilies ___________________________________________________________ 122 Conclusion _____________________________________________________________ 128 CHAPTER 3 ‐ The Resistance Approach of Marian Exegetes_______________ 131 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 131 John Ponet: God’s Laws are the Higher Powers _____________________________ 132 John Ponet’s Exposition of Romans 13 _____________________________________ 134 vii The Geneva Pamphleteers and Romans 13__________________________________ 146 Christopher Goodman: Mouthpiece of the Blasting Trumpet? ________________ 148 John Knox: Taking Up the Dropped Sword _________________________________ 157 Conclusion _____________________________________________________________ 163 CHAPTER 4 – Rom. 13 and Addressing Threats to Elizabethan Settlement __ 168 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 168 Romans 13 and the Elizabethan Jesuit Apologists ___________________________ 170 Two Faces of the English Cardinal, William Allen___________________________ 173 Romans 13 and the Jesuit Missionary ______________________________________ 182 Institutionalization of Romans 13: The Homily Against Disobedience __________ 186 The Book of Homilies____________________________________________________ 188 Against Disobedience and Wylful Rebellion _______________________________ 191 English Anabaptists and Romans 13 _______________________________________ 202 Conclusion _____________________________________________________________ 214 CHAPTER 5 ‐ God Help the King ______________________________________ 217 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 217 The Tenure of Kings _____________________________________________________ 228 Conclusion _____________________________________________________________ 234 CHAPTER 6 ‐ Conclusion_____________________________________________ 236 Selected Bibliography ________________________________________________ 254 Primary Sources _________________________________________________________ 254 Secondary Sources_______________________________________________________ 265 viii Dedication This work is dedicated to my wife, Precious, whose belief in me has never flagged. You are the truest person I know and the greatest human influence in my life. This work is also dedicated to others who have longed for the completion of this project: To my children, Hope Evangeline and Jesse Nathaniel. You have taught me the wonder of grace. May you never lose your passion for truth and your love of beauty. To my parents, Dr. Ralph and Lucille Atchison. Thank you for passing on the love of books and the love of England, and your example of honesty, industry, and hard work. To my parents‐in‐law, Dr. Ivan
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