University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2011 John Cotton's Middle Way Gary Albert Rowland Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Rowland, Gary Albert, "John Cotton's Middle Way" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 251. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/251 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOHN COTTON'S MIDDLE WAY A THESIS presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History The University of Mississippi by GARY A. ROWLAND August 2011 Copyright Gary A. Rowland 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Historians are divided concerning the ecclesiological thought of seventeenth-century minister John Cotton. Some argue that he supported a church structure based on suppression of lay rights in favor of the clergy, strengthening of synods above the authority of congregations, and increasingly narrow church membership requirements. By contrast, others arrive at virtually opposite conclusions. This thesis evaluates Cotton's correspondence and pamphlets through the lense of moderation to trace the evolution of Cotton's thought on these ecclesiological issues during his ministry in England and Massachusetts. Moderation is discussed in terms of compromise and the abatement of severity in the context of ecclesiastical toleration, the balance between lay and clerical power, and the extent of congregational and synodal authority. These issues influenced debates about Congregationalist and Presbyterian reform of the English Church and religious diversity in Massachusetts. I find that Cotton's thought and practices while in England were more inclusive of religious differences than they were in his colonial ministry because he attempted to work within the doctrinal and ceremonial parameters of the English Church and his doctrine of adiaphora . Adiaphora , also called indifferent matters, were religious practices or doctrines that led neither to salvation nor damnation. During his English ministry, Cotton taught that most of the ceremonial practices that divided many Puritans and Conformists were adiaphora and could be tolerated in his congregation. There was also a subversive element to his teachings on adiaphora since, unlike some Puritans, Cotton was not willing to submit to church demands for conformity on most indifferent matters. In New England, Cotton became ii part of the religious and political establishment, and his doctrine of indifferent matters narrowed, because he did not have an incentive to subvert this new order or compromise with non-Puritan colonists. Cotton supported stricter church membership rules due to the influence of Separatism and competition between Precisionist and Antinomian strains of Puritanism. Cotton's congregational thought was more moderate towards those who attained membership. Through the fusion of Separatist and Presbyterian influences, Cotton created a church that was inclusive of lay and clerical power and balanced the autonomy of congregations with synodal authority. iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my wife Stacey, my daughter Emily, and my mother. I am thankful to them for their love and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Sheila Skemp and my committee members, Dr. Joseph Ward and Dr. Jeffrey Watt for their advice and patience. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................ .....................................................................................ii-iii DEDICATION................................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................1-4 I. FORMS OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT THAT INFLUENCED COTTON........................5-13 II. COTTON'S ENGLISH MINISTRY.....................................................................................14-48 III. COTTON'S EARLY COLONIAL MINISTRY..................................................................49-64 IV. THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY..........................................................................65-103 V. CONGREGATIONALISM..............................................................................................104-141 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................142-144 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................145-152 VITA............................................................................................................................................153 vi INTRODUCTION John Cotton was a seventeenth-century Puritan minister whose writings and practices influenced many of the most important ecclesiological and theological disputes of his time. Cotton was born in Derby, England in December 1584.1 He was the son of Rowland Cotton, a poor lawyer in the town. Little is known about his youth until he began his theological studies at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1597 at the age of thirteen. 2 He completed his education at Cambridge after fourteen years and began his ministry in 1612 as vicar of St. Botolph's in Boston, England in the Lincoln diocese. In 1633, he arrived in Boston, Massachusetts and became teacher of the Boston Church until his death in 1652. 3 Many of Cotton's writings reflected a common theme of a middle ground between divergent religious groups or moderation within his own congregations. The purpose of this thesis is to address how Cotton's views on ecclesiastical toleration or a middle ground between extremes were manifested in an inclusive or exclusive church structure during various stages of his ministry. Cotton's doctrines and practices concerning indifferent matters, church structure, and theology will be highlighted to illustrate the 1 Puritans often sought to reform the Church of England from what they considered remnants of popery such as church vestments, rituals, and icons. Many also disagreed with the organization of the church under governing bishops. In addition, most Puritans shared a strong commitment to moral piety through activities such as fasting and all day sabbatarianism. There were many strains of Puritanism that I will discuss throughout the thesis, so a detailed definition of Puritanism would be inappropriate here. 2 Larzer Ziff, The Career of John Cotton (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1962), 3, 4, 9-10. 3 A teacher is a minister in charge of instructing the congregation on doctrinal matters. 1 evolution of his thought. Most historians have analyzed religious arguments in early modern England through a binary good/evil kind of perspective often associated with Saint Augustine. However, a growing number of historians have begun looking at religious disputes during this period through the lense of moderation between extremes. 4 During the early Elizabethan era, the Aristotelian golden mean was associated with an amount proper under the circumstances rather than as a middle way between extremes. 5 Early modern English polemics began to portray the mean as a middle way between extremes following Richard Montague's argument in 1624 “'that the gap against Puritanisme and Popery'” should be filled by the Church of England. 6 This idea of a middle way did not necessarily equate to moderation in terms of toleration. Moderation was associated with restraint both of the self and the government to marginalize opponents. 7 Many of Cotton's writings and practices reflected a commitment to a middle ground, but Cotton's middle way was not always a reflection of ecclesiastical toleration. According to historian John Coffey, ecclesiastical toleration refers to “the degree of diversity tolerated within a particular church.” 8 Moderation may be used in this way and is often associated with compromise and the reduction of severity or harshness. Compromise and the reduction of severity in the context of church structure imply a level of inclusiveness that may 4 Ethan Shagan, “Beyond Good and Evil: Thinking with Moderates in Early Modern England,” Journal of British Studies , 49, no. 3, 488-513 (July, 2010): 489. 5 Louise Campbell, “A Diagnosis of Religious Moderation: Matthew Parker and the 1559 Settlement,” in Moderate Voices in the European Reformation , ed. Luc Racaut and Alec Ryrie, 32-50 (Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2005), 36. 6 Ibid., 34. 7 Shagan, “Beyond Good and Evil,” 492. 8 John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England, 1558-1689 (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2000), 12. 2 permit greater religious diversity to exist within a congregation. 9 Cotton's writings and actions will also be evaluated based on moderation in this sense. Thus, I will use the term moderation and ecclesiastical toleration to reflect an inclusive church structure. For example, churches with rigid membership requirements, an oppressively hierarchical church structure, and lay powerlessness would generally tend towards an immoderate form of church structure. When