Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Today's topic is the Elizabethan Settlement, and if there's a more recognizable image than that of the richly ornamented Tudor queen, I don't know what it is. Certainly Tyndale is not so well known, and yet the language of the Tyndale Bible, especially in the passages reproduced in Hillerbrand, is familiar to generations of English-speaking Christians, through its resemblance to the King James version. I'd like you to take note of passages that are familiar to you, as well as language that is unfamiliar.

The next two selections have to do with Anglicanism in its relation to challenges from Catholics on the one hand and Puritans on the other. The term "apology" means "defense," and the John Jewel defense begins by establishing the context in which he wishes readers to understand his church's struggle with its Catholic critics. What is that context? What are the Catholics' primary accusations again the Anglicans, and how does Jewel answer them? What does Jewel propose is the strongest evidence of God's favor?

After reading Jewel's defense, it is intriguing to see John Field and Thomas Wilcox arguing in the very next selection that the English church is corrupted in its similarities to Rome. What are the chief complaints? What kind of religious practice would the authors prefer to see?

Fianlly, we arrive at Richard Hooker, who is the author of the most theological of our three latter selections. This reading is heavy going, so I urge you to have patience, and yet not to attempt to understand every single word. I also urge you to follow the link and read the account given on that webpage of Hooker's most significant beliefs. Finally, pay attention to the following terms whenever they turn up in the reading:

Good luck!

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: November 27, 2007

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