Manchester University Press
6 Justifying faith and faith as a virtue in the theology of Richard Hooker
Abstract
Like many of his contemporaries among the magisterial reformers, both in England and on the continent, Richard Hooker’s moral theology is inseparable from his theology of grace. Justifying grace is for Hooker the source of the theological virtues, without which there can be no attainment to moral fulfilment – beatitude. The chief theological concern of the Reformation is the formulation of the principles of soteriology, and it is within the frame of this task that discussion of the virtues is undertaken by the reformers. While Hooker emphatically embraces ‘virtue ethics’ he none the less does so in a manner comparable to other magisterial reformers, and consistently with Article XII of the Articles of Religion (1563/71). This chapter will attempt to distinguish between ‘justifying faith’ and ‘faith as a theological virtue’ in the thought of Richard Hooker with a view to demonstrating his adherence to the Reformed mainstream.
Abstract
Like many of his contemporaries among the magisterial reformers, both in England and on the continent, Richard Hooker’s moral theology is inseparable from his theology of grace. Justifying grace is for Hooker the source of the theological virtues, without which there can be no attainment to moral fulfilment – beatitude. The chief theological concern of the Reformation is the formulation of the principles of soteriology, and it is within the frame of this task that discussion of the virtues is undertaken by the reformers. While Hooker emphatically embraces ‘virtue ethics’ he none the less does so in a manner comparable to other magisterial reformers, and consistently with Article XII of the Articles of Religion (1563/71). This chapter will attempt to distinguish between ‘justifying faith’ and ‘faith as a theological virtue’ in the thought of Richard Hooker with a view to demonstrating his adherence to the Reformed mainstream.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- List of abbreviations x
- Introduction 1
- I Ecclesio-political and liturgical contests 19
- 1 Contests, contexts, and the boundaries of conformity in early modern England 21
- 2 Protestant jurisdictionalism and the nature of Elizabethan puritan nonconformity 44
- 3 Cathedrals, the Reformed, and the Elizabethan Church 71
- 4 Sir Francis Hastings, Jacobean nonconformity, and the House of Commons, 1604–10 97
- 5 Zachary Crofton, the Restoration Church of England, and the dilemmas of partial conformity, 1662–65 117
- II Reformed conformist theology and ecclesiology 139
- 6 Justifying faith and faith as a virtue in the theology of Richard Hooker 141
- 7 The best religion? The revived ambitions of the Reformed conformist establishment, 1637–40 157
- 8 The Reformed conformist tradition, 1640–62 179
- 9 Edward Reynolds and the making of a presbyterian bishop 199
- 10 The Reformed theology of Thomas Hobbes 222
- 11 Reformed orthodoxy as conformity in the post-Restoration Church of England 245
- Afterword 263
- Index 271
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- List of abbreviations x
- Introduction 1
- I Ecclesio-political and liturgical contests 19
- 1 Contests, contexts, and the boundaries of conformity in early modern England 21
- 2 Protestant jurisdictionalism and the nature of Elizabethan puritan nonconformity 44
- 3 Cathedrals, the Reformed, and the Elizabethan Church 71
- 4 Sir Francis Hastings, Jacobean nonconformity, and the House of Commons, 1604–10 97
- 5 Zachary Crofton, the Restoration Church of England, and the dilemmas of partial conformity, 1662–65 117
- II Reformed conformist theology and ecclesiology 139
- 6 Justifying faith and faith as a virtue in the theology of Richard Hooker 141
- 7 The best religion? The revived ambitions of the Reformed conformist establishment, 1637–40 157
- 8 The Reformed conformist tradition, 1640–62 179
- 9 Edward Reynolds and the making of a presbyterian bishop 199
- 10 The Reformed theology of Thomas Hobbes 222
- 11 Reformed orthodoxy as conformity in the post-Restoration Church of England 245
- Afterword 263
- Index 271
