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The Rational Apocalypse of the Latitudinarians in Restoration England

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The Rational Apocalypse of the Latitudinarians in Restoration England _________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses The Rational Apocalypse of the Latitudinarians in Restoration England Park, Jeongkyu How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ Park, Jeongkyu (2018) The Rational Apocalypse of the Latitudinarians in Restoration England. Doctoral thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa44763 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. The copyright for any work remains with the original author unless otherwise specified. The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder. Permission for multiple reproductions should be obtained from the original author. Authors are personally responsible for adhering to copyright and publisher restrictions when uploading content to the repository. Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ The Rational Apocalypse of the Latitudinarians in Restoration England Jeongkyu Park Submitted to Swansea University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Swansea University 2018 i Abstract This thesis examines latitudinarians’ apocalyptic ideas during the Restoration period. These Anglicans have been considered by historians in terms of their role in promoting rational theology. However, there has been little analysis of the whole aspects of latitudinarian apocalyptic belief. This thesis surveys a variety of works to demonstrate a continuing tradition of apocalyptic worldview in their political and religious from the Restoration to the Revolution of 1688-1689. Chapter one summarises the English apocalyptic tradition that spanned the sixteenth century to early seventeenth century. English Protestants formed the key patterns of apocalyptic thought, and this apocalyptic tradition continuously influenced the Cambridge Platonists and many latitudinarian divines in the seventeenth century. Chapter two demonstrates that apocalyptic notions played an important part in latitudinarians’ anti-Catholic sentiment. Chapter three explains how these moderate Anglicans utilized apocalyptic ideas to justify the English Reformation and the Church of England. Chapter four explores the way in which the latitudinarians placed the debate of the royal supremacy within the apocalyptic context of the godly ruler. Lastly, chapter five focuses on how their expectations of the future fulfilment of divine apocalyptic promises led to the emphasis of moral reform. The fear of divine judgment and the hope of complete salvation motivated the latitudinarian clergy to promote the moral reformation. It also demonstrates that the latitudinarians’ proposal of moral reform implied their optimistic view of human nature, perfectibility of men, achieved through religious edification. In a broad sense, the examination of various aspects of latitudinarians’ religious thought shows the existence of the traditional apocalyptic framework in late seventeenth-century England. ii DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ...................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ STATEMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ iii Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................... 20 The English Apocalyptic Tradition and the Cambridge Platonists 1.1. Apocalyptic Pattern: The Historical Interpretation of the Prophecies ............. 21 1.2. Apocalyptic Pattern: England the Godly Nation.............................................. 33 1.3. The Cambridge Platonists’ Apocalypticism ..................................................... 42 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................... 54 The Anti-Popery of the Latitudinarians and the Debate over Antichrist 2.1. Antichrist, Idolatry and Tyranny: The Characteristics of Antichrist ................ 57 2.2. The Political Context of Anti-Catholicism ...................................................... 68 2.3. The Debate over the Identity of Antichrist in the Restoration ......................... 73 2.4. The History of the Church’s Degeneration ...................................................... 79 2.5. Moderate Apocalyptic Thought ....................................................................... 83 2.6. The Possibility of the Salvation of Roman Catholics ...................................... 88 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................... 92 The Apocalyptic Vision of the True Church and the Church of England 3.1. The Providential Historiography of the Reformation ...................................... 94 3.2. Anglican Primitivism against Roman Gentilism ........................................... 107 3.3. Primitive Virtues and Rationality................................................................... 116 3.4. The Continuity between the Church of England and the Primitive Church .. 122 3.5. Motives for Further Reformation ................................................................... 125 Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................. 133 The Latitudinarian Ideal of the Godly Ruler 4.1. The Anglican Commemorations of the Restoration Monarch ....................... 135 4.2. The Glorious Revolution and the Apocalyptic Justification of the Monarch 142 4.3. The Royal Supremacy Debate ....................................................................... 146 4.4. The Latitudinarians’ Account of Royal Supremacy ....................................... 149 iv 4.5. The Charge of Erastianism against the Latitudinarians ................................. 157 4.6. The Godly Ruler’s Primary Duty: Religious Unity ....................................... 165 Chapter 5 .................................................................................................................. 174 Providence, Progress, and Moral Reform 5.1. The Fear of Divine Judgement ....................................................................... 179 5.2. The Necessity of Repentance ......................................................................... 185 5.3. Human Capacity for Moral Reform: Latitudinarian Soteriology .................. 191 5.4. The Hope for the ‘Perfection’ of Human Nature ........................................... 201 5.5. Anglican Moral Reform ................................................................................. 207 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 216 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 222 v Acknowledgements The research and writing of this thesis would have been impossible without the encouragement and support of the following people. First of all, I would like to give sincere thanks to Professor John Spurr for providing academic advice and helpful guidance. He gave me a great opportunity to conduct doctoral research under his supervision and helped me refine my ideas throughout my doctorate research candidature. He inspired me with his deep knowledge of seventeenth-century England. I am also thankful to Dr. Regina Poertner, my second supervisor, for her helpful suggestions about the anti-popery discourse and Catholicism in seventeenth- century Europe. I am grateful to the Kim Hee-Kyung Scholarship Foundation for European Humanities of South Korea for their funding and support of this research, which enabled me to complete this research. I am especially grateful to John Aaron. He read the final draft of the thesis and provided comments and suggestions which have been invaluable in helping me correct many errors weaknesses in this thesis. Dr. Soo- hyeong Kim’s comments on the introduction were also very helpful. All the staff and colleagues
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