Studies in Early Modern Religious Tradition, Culture and Society – serie

Some of England's Renaissance texts have been forgotten by historians, literary critics and theologians. The earliest printed Bibles in the English language provide a rich resource for interdisciplinary studies in the 21st century. This work is a close textual analysis of seven texts that for a wide range of reasons, but no good ones, have been reduced to paratextual entries in general histories of the English Bible. Through extensive collations of her own, the author uncovers the work of seven Renaissance Bible translator-revisers and argues forcefully for a new agenda to replace the outmoded and inappropriate one of evaluating Renaissance Bibles according to the extent of their influence on the 1611 King James Authorised Version. Every 16th-century text reflects something of the historical dynamic in which it was created, and English Renaissance Bibles, with their ever-changing text and paratext, have their own unique stories to tell.

P. G. STANWOOD OOKER, it might almost be said, is the name of a book rather than H the name of a man," wrote Christopher Morris in his introduction to the Everyman's Library edition of the first five books of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie. Now almost 100 years later, we know much more both about the book and the man. Of Hooker himself, C. J. Sisson's 1 Judicious Marriage of Mr. Hooker (1940) opened up and clarified many details of the life. His biographical research has been expanded in a number of ways, especially through the careful scrutiny and reassembling of Izaak Walton's early "official" Life (1666) by David Novarr in The Making of Walton's "Lives" (1958), and most recently by Jessica Martin in her fascinating study of Walton's Lives: Conformist Commemorations and the Rise of Biography (2001). Georges Edelen left his biography of Hooker unfinished at the time of his death, but much of his deep learning and scholarship is displayed in his detailed chronology of Hooker's life prefixed to the commentary volumes of the Folger Library Edition of the Works of Richard Hooker, and also in his editorial work on the Preface and Books I­ N of the Lawes in that edition. In addition, Philip Secor has recently published Richard Hooker: Prophet of Anglicanism (1999), a lively and engaging portrait aimed at a general audience.

Calvin’s Old Testament Exegesis in Context Calvin in Context Jean Calvin, the reformer and pastor of Geneva, is renowned as one of the most important figures in what came to be known as the Reformed and Presbyterian branch of the Protestant Reformation. Perhaps less well known is the fact that he devoted the bulk of his creative efforts to prea- ing, lecturing, and commenting on the Bible. Calvin envisioned a program of reform in Geneva in which the Bible, properly interpreted, would shape the minds and morals of the Genevan populace. The people of Geneva, whom Calvin viewed as a precise spiritual reincarnation of the “sti- necked, intractable Hebrews” of the Old Testament, were in need of some serious remedial education, and it was his duty as their chief minister to provide the requisite training in doctrine and godliness. Despite Calvin’s emphasis on preaching and producing biblical c- mentaries, however, scholars have often portrayed him as “a man of one 1 book”—that one book being the Institutes of the Christian Religion. In so - ing, they have produced a one-dimensional and consequently incomplete view of Calvin’s theological work. Scholars have tended to study Calvin’s theology exclusively from the perspective of his Institutes, without taking into account his work of biblical interpretation and preaching, or the re- tionship of those efforts to the Institutes.

"Calvinism's First Battleground" sheds new light on the origin of Calvinism and the Reformed faith through a detailed examination of the Reformation in the Pays de Vaud. A specifically Calvinist identity and theology emerged out of two key conflicts in the region: first, the fight to turn away from Catholic practices and traditions a population that had been forced to convert to Protestantism by the Bernese after their conquest of Vaud in 1536; second, the struggle against the Zwinglian political and theological ideas that dominated the Swiss Confederation and differed from the Calvinists' understanding of ecclesiastical discipline, the Eucharist, and predestination. The Pays de Vaud was central to this struggle, for it was subject politically to Zwinglian, German-speaking Bern, but many of its ministers were more strongly influenced by Calvin. Calvin himself was initially excited about the prospects for reform in the region, but frustrations with the Swiss led him and the Genevans increasingly to focus their efforts on France. This history helps us to understand the broader contours of the Reformation in French-speaking Europe, as its center of gravity shifted from Meaux to Vaud and Geneva, and back to France again on the eve of the Wars of Religion.

Divine accommodation in John Calvin’s thought has yet to receive the attention it deserves. To date it has not been the subject of a monograph-length treatment in any language (this study is the first) and the number of journal articles and book chapters devoted solely to it is small. The present work will, it is hoped, help to fill this lacuna in research on the topic, but additional research is undoubtedly still needed. Its title probably deserves a comment. The use of the word compromised is intended to raise the question of the extent of accommodation’s penetration into Calvin’s doctrine of God. It aims to suggest the idea that Calvin’s thinking on accommodation might possess qualities which push against traditional thinking on the divine attributes. The idea was first suggested by E. David Willis. The present study will aim to expand upon it. This monograph owes much to the efforts of Emeritus Professor of Patristic and Reformed Christianity, David F. Wright, who, as supervisor, colleague and friend, has offered assistance to me on innumerable occasions and has also demonstrated a level of scholarly excellence in his own work that has been enormously instructive and encouraging. Thanks are also due to a host of others. Thanks must be expressed to Professor Tony Lane, who offered very helpful criticisms of two earlier versions of this work and whose kindness has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

It then closely examines Bucer’s practice in the Cambridge lectures, to show the extent to which he was a theologian of the biblical humanist school, influenced by the method Erasmus set forth in the Ratio Verae Theologiaein which true theology begins, ends, and is best “done” as an exercise in the exegesis of the Word of God.

This book describes Martin Bucer (1491-1551) as a teacher of theology, focusing on his time as Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge between 1549 and 1551. The book is centered on his 1550 Cambridge lectures on Ephesians, and investigates them in their historical context, exploring what sort of a theologian Bucer was. The lectures are examined to find out how they represent Bucer’s method of teaching and “doing” theology, and shed light on the relationship between biblical exegesis and theological formulation as he understood it. Divided into two interconnected parts, the book first sets the historical context for the lectures, including a broad sketch of scholastic method in theology and the biblical humanist critique of that method. It then closely examines Bucer’s practice in the Cambridge lectures, to show the extent to which he was a theologian of the biblical humanist school, influenced by the method Erasmus set forth in the Ratio Verae Theologiaein which true theology begins, ends, and is best “done” as an exercise in the exegesis of the Word of God.

Some of England's most fascinating Renaissance texts have been forgotten by historians, literary critics and theologians alike. The earliest printed Bibles in the English language provide an astonishingly rich resource for interdisciplinary studies in the 21st century. Long Travail and Great Paynes is a close textual analysis of seven texts that for a wide range of reasons, but no good ones, have been reduced to paratextual entries in general histories of the English Bible. Through extensive collations of her own, Westbrook uncovers the work of seven Renaissance Bible translator-revisers and argues forcefully for a new agenda to replace the outmoded and inappropriate one of evaluating Renaissance Bibles according to the extent of their influence on the 1611 King James Authorised Version. Every sixteenth-century text reflects something of the historical dynamic in which it was created, and English Renaissance Bibles, with their ever-changing text and paratext, have their own unique stories to tell.

P. G. STANWOOD OOKER, it might almost be said, is the name of a book rather than H the name of a man," wrote Christopher Morris in his introduction to the Everyman's Library edition of the first five books of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie. Now almost 100 years later, we know much more both about the book and the man. Of Hooker himself, C. J. Sisson's 1 Judicious Marriage of Mr. Hooker (1940) opened up and clarified many details of the life. His biographical research has been expanded in a number of ways, especially through the careful scrutiny and reassembling of Izaak Walton's early "official" Life (1666) by David Novarr in The Making of Walton's "Lives" (1958), and most recently by Jessica Martin in her fascinating study of Walton's Lives: Conformist Commemorations and the Rise of Biography (2001). Georges Edelen left his biography of Hooker unfinished at the time of his death, but much of his deep learning and scholarship is displayed in his detailed chronology of Hooker's life prefixed to the commentary volumes of the Folger Library Edition of the Works of Richard Hooker, and also in his editorial work on the Preface and Books I­ N of the Lawes in that edition. In addition, Philip Secor has recently published Richard Hooker: Prophet of Anglicanism (1999), a lively and engaging portrait aimed at a general audience.

This study examines Jean Calvin's attempt to nurture a godly society and further his vision of ecclesiastical and societal reform by means of sound pedagogy and persuasive rhetoric. The focus of this work is Calvin's interpretation of the latter Pentateuch, and particularly the book of Deuteronomy. The author examines Calvin's exegesis and rhetoric in his commentary on the latter Pentateuch, as well as the sermons that Calvin preached on Deuteronomy -- material that has received little scholarly attention. Calvin's interpretations are compared with the preceding exegetical tradition and with his contemporaries, and always considered in the contexts of the early modern interest in classical rhetoric and that of the reform of church, theology, and society in Switzerland and beyond. Commonly held assumptions about Calvin's methodology, such as his alleged aversion to rhetoric and the scholarly fixation on his laconic style, are challenged, nuanced, and corrected.Because of its fresh, contextual approach to Calvin's thought, this study will be an important resource for students of the history of exegesis as well as for Calvin scholars, and it will appeal to seminary as well as university students.

This book sheds new light on the origin of Calvinism and the Reformed faith through a detailed history of its progress in the Pays de Vaud. A careful examination of twin conflicts -- the forced conversion of a Catholic populace to Protestantism by the Bernese; and the struggle of Calvinists against the Zwinglian political and theological ideas that dominated the Swiss Confederation -- helps show why the Reformation bloomed where and when it did.

Divine accommodation in John Calvin’s thought has yet to receive the attention it deserves. To date it has not been the subject of a monograph-length treatment in any language (this study is the first) and the number of journal articles and book chapters devoted solely to it is small. The present work will, it is hoped, help to fill this lacuna in research on the topic, but additional research is undoubtedly still needed. Its title probably deserves a comment. The use of the word compromised is intended to raise the question of the extent of accommodation’s penetration into Calvin’s doctrine of God. It aims to suggest the idea that Calvin’s thinking on accommodation might possess qualities which push against traditional thinking on the divine attributes. The idea was first suggested by E. David Willis. The present study will aim to expand upon it. This monograph owes much to the efforts of Emeritus Professor of Patristic and Reformed Christianity, David F. Wright, who, as supervisor, colleague and friend, has offered assistance to me on innumerable occasions and has also demonstrated a level of scholarly excellence in his own work that has been enormously instructive and encouraging. Thanks are also due to a host of others. Thanks must be expressed to Professor Tony Lane, who offered very helpful criticisms of two earlier versions of this work and whose kindness has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.