DOCSLIB.ORG

The Role of the Covenant Doctrine in the Puritanism of John Hooper

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Role of the Covenant Doctrine in the Puritanism of John Hooper THE ROLE OF THE COVENANT DOCTRINE IN THE PURITANISM OF JOHN HOOPER door DR. J. H. PRIMUS Calvin College,Grand Rapids (Michigan) Some fifteen years ago Professor Leonard Trinterud wrote an im- portant essay on The Origins o Puritanism.1 He began with the observation that historians have searched too long for the origins of Puritanism in John Calvin's Geneva. He contended on the one hand, that Puritanism is more indigenous to English soil than many have been willing to admit, and on the other, that what foreign elements were absorbed into Puritanism "were taken up not primarily from John Calvin of Geneva, but from the Reformers of the Rhineland: Zwingli, Jud, Bullinger, Oecolampadius, Capito, Bucer, Martyr, and a host of other leaders in the Reformation movement in Zurich, Basel, Strassburg, and other Rhineland cities. The Genevan influ- ences came late, after the essential patterns of Puritanism had been established." 2 Trinterud then moves on to his central thesis: that the Rhineland element that was most enthusiastically exploited and eagerly im- ported by the early forerunners of Puritanism was the Rhineland conception of authority, "grounded in the divine law and a covenant 3 between God and man." Indeed, Trinterud finds this concept of authority, rooted in a conditional covenant idea, to be "the essential 4 genius of Puritanism." In this essay I wish to focus on Trinterud's thesis: that the early Puritan forerunners, under the influence of Rhineland theology, had recourse to an authority grounded in the divine law and cove- nant between God and man. I will attempt to illustrate the thesis by taking a close look at one of the early English Puritan forerunners 5 who did spend several years in the Rhineland, John Hooper.5 1 ChurchHistory, XX (March, 1951), pp. 37-57. 2 Ibid., p. 37. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid., p. 55. Cf., Jerald C. Brauer, "The Nature of English Puritanism," Church History, XXIII (June, 1954),pp. 103, 104; and Perry Miller,Errand into the Wilderness (Cambridge,Mass.,) 1956, pp. 48-98. 5 My attention was first drawn to John Hooper by Professor Dr. D. Nauta, in whose honor this essay is written, during the course of my doctoral study at the Free University 183 I Available information on Hooper's early life is very sketchy. It is known that he was born near the end of the fifteenth century in Somersetshire, and that he was apparently the beneficiary of both an Oxford education and subsequently, of the strict discipline of a Cistercian monastery. Sometime after the dissolution of the mo- nasteries under Henry VIII, Hooper moved to London where he came into contact with the writings of two Rhineland reformers: Zwingli and Bullinger, the Zurich Reformation leaders. By 1540 Hooper was thoroughly committed to Protestantism. After the passage of Henry VIII's Act of the six articles which, among other things, made denial of transubstantiation punishable by death, Hooper's Protestant convictions became increasingly difficult and dangerous to maintain. Late in 1545 he fled to the continent, resided for a few months in Bucer's Strassburg, returned briefly to England, and then spent two significant years in Zurich where he was enthralled by the thoroughness of reform. In i549, af- ter the death of Henry the VIII and the accession of Edward VI, Hooper returned to England where he became one of the most prominent Reformation leaders until his martyrdom under Mary in 1555. Hooper was one of the early forerunners of Puritanism in England. His Puritan spirit surfaced especially during the vestments contro- versy in which he quickly became embroiled after his return to England. And in his writings his Puritanism is apparent in his zeal for thorough liturgical reform, his emphasis on the good life and on the sin-experience in the Christian life, in his somewhat anti- theological, anti-historical biblicism, and in his inclination toward Sabbatarianism.2 of Amsterdam. He assigned to me at that time a research paper on the subject, "In how far must John Hooper, on the basis of the ideas he advocated, be considered as a fore- runner of Puritanism." Subsequently, Hooper also received considerableattention in the research for Part I of my doctoral dissertation written under the direction of Prof. Nauta, The VestmentsControversy: an historicalstudy of the earliest tensions within the Churchof England in the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth(Kampen: J. H. kok, 1960). 1 No full biography of Hooper's life has been published. For brief accounts see the Dictionaryof National Biography,the Dictionaryof English ChurchHistory, and W. M. S. West, John Hooper and the Origins of Puritanism (published for private circulation in 1955), a summary of an unpublished thesis. 2 West, op. cit. A. Lang, "Butzer in England," Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte,38 (1941), 230-239;and Puritanismus und Pietismus (Ansbach: C. Brügel und Sohn, 1941). .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • DISSERTATION-Submission Reformatted
    The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 By Robert Lee Harkins A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair Professor Jonathan Sheehan Professor David Bates Fall 2013 © Robert Lee Harkins 2013 All Rights Reserved 1 Abstract The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 by Robert Lee Harkins Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair This study examines the problem of religious and political obedience in early modern England. Drawing upon extensive manuscript research, it focuses on the reign of Mary I (1553-1558), when the official return to Roman Catholicism was accompanied by the prosecution of Protestants for heresy, and the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), when the state religion again shifted to Protestantism. I argue that the cognitive dissonance created by these seesaw changes of official doctrine necessitated a society in which religious mutability became standard operating procedure. For most early modern men and women it was impossible to navigate between the competing and contradictory dictates of Tudor religion and politics without conforming, dissimulating, or changing important points of conscience and belief. Although early modern theologians and polemicists widely declared religious conformists to be shameless apostates, when we examine specific cases in context it becomes apparent that most individuals found ways to positively rationalize and justify their respective actions. This fraught history continued to have long-term effects on England’s religious, political, and intellectual culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Protestant Letter Networks in the Reign of Mary I Ahnert, R; Ahnert, SE
    A Community Under Attack: Protestant Letter Networks in the Reign of Mary I Ahnert, R; Ahnert, SE ©2014 ISAST For additional information about this publication click this link. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/7540 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] John Cotton Steven Cotton John Flood Thomas Whittle's wife Hugh Fox John Devenish Female prisoners in the Counter Mistress Lounford All the true professor and lovers of God's holy gospel John Hullier Cambridge congregation John Hullier's Cambridge congregation London Filles William Cooper John Denley Robert Samuel Robert Samuel's congregation at Barholt? Christian congregation (at Barholt, Suffolk?) Cutbert Simon Jen John Spenser John Harman Mrs Roberts Nicholas Hopkins Katherine Phineas Mistress Wod Amos Tyms Richard Nicholl Tyms - all Gods faithfull seruantes Ms Colfoxe congregation of Freewillers scattered through Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Kent Master Chester Henry Burgess a female sustainer Anon_189 godly women from William Tyms's parish of Hockley, Essex Christopher Lister William Tyms's congregation in Hockley, Essex M. William Brasburge William Tyms's friends in Hockley, Essex William Mowrant Cornelius Stevenson Master Pierpoint Walter Sheterden Thomas Simpson John Careless's co-religionist AC John Careless's co-religionists in London g- Nicholas Sheterden's mother John Careless's co-religionist EH Agnes Glascocke Stephen Gratwick Margery Cooke's husband e- Anon_234_female_E.K. Watts Thomas Whittle a- n- John Ardeley John Cavell Margaret Careless Richard Spurge m- Clement Throgmorton r- George Ambrose lo the flock in London u- Nicholas Margery Cooke's mother John Simpson Anon_289_female_E.K.
    [Show full text]
  • John Hooper English Protestant Martyr
    BISHOPSANDCLERGYOF OTHERDAYS. OR, THE LIVES OF TWO REFORMERS AND THREE PURITANS. BY THE REV.J.C.RYLE,B.A., Vicar of Stradbroke, Suffolk. AUTHOR OF “EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS,” ETC. LONDON: WILLIAMHUNTANDCOMPANY, HOLLES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. IPSWICH:WILLIAMHUNT,TAVERNSTREET. 1868. 1 Bishop John Hooper English Protestant Martyr 1495 - 1555AD BISHOP HOOPER. CHAPTER I. HOOPER’S TIMES. VALUE OF HISTORICAL LIGHT—SEASONABLENESS OF A REFORMER’S LIFE IN THE PRESENT DAY—CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGLISH RELIGION BEFORE THE REFOR- MATION—DENSE IGNORANCE—DEGRADING SUPERSTITION—WIDE-SPREAD IMMO- RALITY—COVETOUSNESS AND IMPURITY OF CLERGY—A GREAT DEBT OWING TO THE REFORMATION. IN a day of religious controversy, no one is so useful to his generation as the man who contributes a little “light.” Amidst the din and strife of ecclesiastical warfare, amidst the fog and dust stirred up by excited disputants, amidst asser- tions and counter-assertions, a thinking man will often cry with the dying phi- losopher,—“I want more light: give me more light.” He that can make two ears of corn grow where one grew before, has been rightly called a benefactor to mankind. He that can throw a few rays of fresh light on the theological ques- tions of the day, is surely doing a service to the Church and the world. Thoughts such as these came across my mind when I chose the subject of this biographical paper: “John Hooper, the martyred Bishop, of Gloucester: his times, life, death, and opinions.” I chose it with a meaning. I have long felt that the lives and opinions of the English Reformers deserve attentive study in the present day.
    [Show full text]
  • How the English Reformation Produced a Tale of Two Churches 1
    Sutton: How the English Reformation Produced a Tale of Two Churches 1 How the English Reformation Produced a Tale of Two Churches High Anglican Low Anglican Grace Memorial Episcopal Westover Church (Episcopal) Lynchburg, Virginia Charles City County, Virginia David Sutton, Lynchburg College The event referred to as the English Reformation was much more than a mere offshoot of the larger Protestant Reformation. In fact, the English Reformation was a series and conglomeration of events that could arguably be considered a work still in progress. As the British Empire covered the world, so did its Church. As the British left the former colonies, the Church stayed. In contemporary times, a worldwide Anglican Communion of eighty million communicants in 160 countries still looks to the Archbishop of Canterbury as a symbolic figurehead in the continuing debate over scripture and liturgy.1 1 The Anglican Communion Official Website,Welcome, Accessed 24 November 2007, Available from http://www.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm. Published by Digital Showcase @ University of Lynchburg, 2008 1 Agora, Vol. 17 [2008], Art. 6 2 Who could have foreseen that ideas espoused by John Wycliffe in England during the fourteenth century would lay the seeds of not only the English Reformation but the general Protestant Reformation as well? Teaching from Balliol College at Oxford, Wycliffe attacked the secular wealth of the Roman Church, questioned papal supremacy, and disagreed with belief in transubstantiation. As Wycliffe’s teachings were adopted by the Lollards in England, Jan Hus took them to Bohemia and started to influence religious thinkers on the Continent.2 Still, it would be over a hundred years before Luther posted95 his Theses.
    [Show full text]
  • Pastoral Reflections on Peace: Living In
    Cover Page Table of Contents Contents Article Book Highlight Fighter Verse New Members Whatever the trial, our gut tells us something is wrong. Pastoral Reflections on We aren’t supposed to be crushed by anxiety, beaten up Peace: Living in the by worry, or battered by loneliness. In the midst of a world that seems to know no peace, we are left longing “Nevertheless” for rest. LIVING IN THE “NEVERTHELESS” I’ll never forget one of the first speeches I ever gave. My Tis lack of peace is especially problematic for boss, a U.S. senator, had been asked to address the Christians. We’ve read enough of the Bible to know God inaugural meeting of a bioethics advisory commission he expects us to be at peace. Nearly every New Testament made possible. But he couldn’t attend. He sent me, a letter begins with a call for peace to mark our lives (Rom young staffer, in his place. 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; 1 Tess 1:1; 2 Tess 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; A group of intimidating people filled the room: doctors, Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3; 1 Pet 1:2; 2 John 1:3; 3 John lawyers, professors, and political professionals. I was a 1:15; Jude 1:2; Rev 1:4). novice. My nerves rattled as I sat there in my grey suit, beads of sweat gathering on my brow, overwhelmed by Te apostles called the church to know the peace of God the sense that I was in over my head.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roots of English Sabbatarianism
    Avondale College ResearchOnline@Avondale School of Ministry and Theology (Avondale Theology Book Chapters Seminary) 2015 The Roots of English Sabbatarianism Bryan W. Ball Avondale College of Higher Education, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://research.avondale.edu.au/theo_chapters Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Ball, B. W. (2015). The roots of English sabbatarianism. In B. Ball, & R. McIver (Eds.), Grounds for assurance and hope: Selected biblical and historical writings of Bryan W. Ball (pp. 142-160). Cooranbong, Australia: Avondale Academic Press. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Ministry and Theology (Avondale Seminary) at ResearchOnline@Avondale. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theology Book Chapters by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@Avondale. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Selected Writings of Bryan Ball 137 Chapter 9: The Roots of English Sab- batarianism1 Bryan W. Ball The English seventh-day movement, as it began to emerge early in the seventeenth century, did so within the context of history. The Seventh-day Men, as English Sabbatarians were often known in their day, contended that the seventh day of the week had been observed both in England and on the Continent at various periods in the Church’s history. One of them, Thomas Bampfield, a lawyer, even argued that the seventh day had been kept in England in unbroken succession until the thirteenth century, and that there had been no law for the observance of Sunday until the time of Edward VI.2 Most advocates of the seventh day, however, were content to point to antecedents in the early Church, in medieval and contemporary Europe, or in parts of what is now North Africa, particularly Ethiopia.
    [Show full text]
  • “Faith Only Justifieth”: the Witness of Jane Grey, an Evangelical Queen1
    “Faith only justifieth”: The Witness of Jane Grey, an EvanGelical Queen1 © Michael A.G. Haykin* *Dr. Haykin is professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies. He was born in England of Irish and Kurdish parents. He has authored numerous books and articles. One of his latest was, Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church (Crossway, 2011). It is February 10 in the year 1554. We are in a room in the Tower of Lon- don, where the Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554), who had been Queen of England for little over a week the previous year – from July 10-19, 1553 – is imprisoned. She has been condemned to death by her cousin Mary I (1516-1558), also known to history as “Bloody Mary.” Though Mary, a die-hard Roman Catholic, is determined to end Jane’s earthly life, Mary also wants to save Jane’s soul. And so she has sent one of her most able chaplains, a Benedictine monk by the name of John Feckenham (c.1515-1584), to speak to Jane and convince her of her theological errors.2 Feckenham was no stranger to theological debate, since he had debated a number of leading Protestant theologians in the early 1550s, men like John Hooper (1500-1555) and John Jewel (1522-1571). He may well have thought that a young woman like Jane would be hard-pressed to withstand the power of his reasoning.
    [Show full text]
  • John Hooper and the Origins of Puritanism (Continued)
    John Hooper and the Origins of Puritanism (Concluded) VI. HOOPER IN GLOUCESTER A BRIEF SURVEY OF BISHOP HOOPER'S VISITATION BOOK206 OOPER went down to his bishopric about the beginning of H April, 1551. He now had a real opportunity to put his pre­ cepts . into practice. He felt himself responsible for the salvation of the people in his diocese and so the first thing he did was to carry out a visitation and examination of the clergy who, would be his . "brethren and fellow preachers "207 in this work. The result of that visitation cannot have been very encouraging and the results show the situation among the clergy in England at that t~e.208 . The examination consisted of questions concerning the Com­ mandments, the Apostles Creed and the Lord's Prayer. The clergy were asked the number of the Commandments, where they were to be found in Scripture, and whether they could repeat them. They were asked to repeat the Creed and prove it from Scripture and, concerning the Lord's Prayer, they were asked to repeat it, to say who its author was, and where it could be found in Scripture. The results were as follows: 311 clergy were examined, and 79 were reckoned as satisfactory. Of the unsatisfactory clergy, 9 did not .know how many Commandments there were, 33 did not know where they could be found in the Bible, and 168 could not repeat them. In the case of the Creed, 10 could not repeat it and 216 were unable to prove it. Concerning the Lord's Prayer, 39 did·not know where it appeared in the Bible, 34 were ignorant as to who its author was and 10 could not repeat it.
    [Show full text]
  • INTRODUCTION Late in the Year 1553, at the Peak of a Distinguished
    INTRODUCTION Late in the year 1553, at the peak of a distinguished academic career, Peter Martyr Vermigli departed hastily from England en route to Stras- bourg and Zurich. The great Italian reformer had served for six years as Regius professor of divinity in the University of Oxford at the per- sonal invitation of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. While at Oxford, Vermigli had participated in a critical disputation on the Eucharist, assisted Cranmer in the revision of the Book of Common Prayer (1552), and served on a royal commission for the reform of the canon law. Following the death of Edward VI, the course of the Reformation in England was suddenly reversed. During the ensuing persecution of Protestants under Queen Mary, numerous English scholars soon fol- lowed Vermigli to Strasbourg and thence to Zurich where they contin- ued to hear his lectures and to promote with him the cause of reli- gious reform throughout Europe. Several of these Marian exiles in Zurich were to become prominent players in the Elizabethan Settle- ment; among them were no less than six future bishops, a clutch of Privy Councillors, and some of the leading lights of humanist, classical scholarship in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Of twenty- three episcopal appointments made in the period 1559–1562,four- teen were returned Marian exiles.1 Among Elizabeth’s newly appointed bishops six had been Bullinger’s guests at Zurich: John Jewel of Salis- bury, Richard Cox of Ely, John Parkhurst of Norwich, Edwin Sandys of Worcester, James Pilkington of Durham, Robert Horne of Winchester.
    [Show full text]
  • Relics of the Amorites’ Or ‘Things Indifferent’? Peter Martyr Vermigli’S Authority and the Threat of Schism in the Elizabethan Vestiarian Controversy*
    [RRR 6.3 (2004) 313-326] RRR (print) ISSN 1462-2459 RRR (online) ISSN 1743-1727 ‘RELICS OF THE AMORITES’ OR ‘THINGS INDIFFERENT’? PETER MARTYR VERMIGLI’S AUTHORITY AND THE THREAT OF SCHISM IN THE ELIZABETHAN VESTIARIAN CONTROVERSY* Torrance Kirby Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, 3520 University Street, Montreal, Canada PQ H3A2A7 [email protected] Abstract In the years following the enactment of the Elizabethan Settlement, the threat of schism loomed over the Church of England with respect to provisions governing uniformity of ecclesiastical dress. Were the traditional vestments and ornaments of worship ‘relics of the Amorites’ whose use was inconsistent with a truly Reformed ecclesiastical order? Or were they rather ‘adiaphora’ and therefore to be tolerated? Numerous appeals by both parties to the dispute were made to Peter Martyr Vermigli, now settled in Zurich, for his judgement of the matter. Although Vermigli’s authority was cited by both sides, he emerges a staunch defender of the Settlement. Consistent with his intervention of 1550 in John Hooper’s brief period of resistance to the Edwardine vestments rubric, Vermigli counselled conformity with careful nuance. Vermigli’s stance in the vestiarian controversy in turn raises important questions about the ‘Reformed’ identity of the Elizabethan Church. Royal Injunctions Item her maiestie beyng desyrous to haue the prelacye and cleargye of this Realme to bee hadde as well in outwarde reuerence, as otherwyse regarded for the worthynesse of theyr ministeries, and thynkynge it necessarye to haue them knowen to the people, in al places and assembles, bothe ini the Churche and without, and thereby to receaue the honour and estymation due to the specyall messengers and mynysters of almyghtie Godde: wylleth and commaundeth that * For an explanation of the abbreviated terms OL, ZL 1, and ZL 2, refer to the Abbreviations list at the end of this article.
    [Show full text]
  • From Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 1889 Edition
    (from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, 1889 edition) TRUE LIFE AND MARTYRDOM OF JOHN HOOPER, BISHOP OF WORCESTER AND GLOUCESTER. John Hooper, student and graduate in the university of Oxford, having made great advances in the study of the sciences, was stirred with a fer- vent desire to the love and knowledge of the scriptures. Advancing more and more, by God’s grace, in ripeness and spiritual understanding, and showing withal some sparks of his spirit, being then about the beginning of the six articles, in the time of king Henry VIII fell quickly into the dis- pleasure and hatred of certain doctors in Oxford, who soon discovered their enmity to him, till at length, by the procurement of Dr. Smith, he was compelled to quit the university. Removing from thence, he was re- tained in the house of Sir Thomas Arundel, in the capacity of steward, till Sir Thomas, having intelligence of his opinions and religion, which he in no case did favour, and yet exceedingly favouring the person and charac- ter of the man, found the means to send him with a message to the bishop of Winchester, writing his letter privily to the bishop, by conference of learning to do some good to him, but in any case requiring him to send home his servant to him again. The bishop received him courteously; but after long converse with him, perceiving that neither he could do that good which he thought to him, nor that he would take any good at his hand, according to Arundel’s request, sent him home again, commending his learning and wit, but yet bearing in his breast a secret enmity against him.
    [Show full text]
  • A BRIEF HISTORY of the ENGLISH REFORMATION
    a BRIEF HISTORY OF The eNGLISh ReFORMATION © Mark Barry 2009 | visualunit.me | Please do not republish without permission, but feel free to copy for personal use. REIGN 1509-1547 1547-1553* 1553-1558 1558-1603 MONaRCH heNRY VIII eDWARD VI MARY I eLIZABeTh I SPOUSE/S 1) CATheRINe OF ARAGON * Delegated authority: PhILLIP II OF SPAIN ◄ (Spain) married: 1509; gave • Duke of Sommerset birth to Mary I; died: 1536. (1547-1550) • Duke of 2) ANNe BOLeYN Northumberland married: 1533; gave birth to (1550-1553) Elizabeth I; died: 1536. 3) JANe SeYMOUR married: 1536; gave birth to Edward VI; died: 1537. 4) ANNe OF CLeVeS (Germany) married: 1540; died 1557. 5) CATheRINe hOWARD married: 1540; died 1542. 6) CATheRINe PARR ◄ married: 1543; died 1548. STaTE From Papal Catholicism From Catholicism > From Protestantism > From Papal Catholicism RELIGION > to Catholicism to Protestantism to Papal Catholicism > to Protestantism aLLIES & • Thomas Cromwell • Duke of Sommerset • The Papacy • Archbishop Parker aDVISORS • Archbishop Cranmer • Duke of • Spain • Bishop Jewel Northumberland • Archbishop Grindal • Cardinal • Archbishop Cranmer • Archbishop Whitgift Pole • William Perkins • Bishop • Richard hooker Gardiner ENEMIES • The Papacy • The Papacy • France • The Papacy • Spain • Spain • Spain • elizabeth I • France • France • France • hooper, Ridley,q • Mary I Latimer & Cranmer • Mary Queen • Bishop (all executed) of Scots Gardiner • The Puritans? REIGN 1509-1547 1547-1553* 1553-1558 1558-1603 MONaRCH heNRY VIII eDWARD VI MARY I eLIZABeTh I STaTE From Papal Catholicism
    [Show full text]