THEOLOGY.
Passages relating to justification by faith, to the election of grace, and to the adoption of believers, do not stand out in their writings, as do the other class of passages to which I have referred. In this respect the Anglicans differed from the Puritans. By the latter, texts bearing upon the topics now mentioned, in connection with other texts touching the Divinity of our Lord, and the Holy Trinity, and the satisfaction made by Christ upon the cross, were most abundantly cited, illustrated, and enforced. The Puritans regarded such texts as distinctive of the Gospel—as rendering it a suitable message of redemption and love to sinful men. I scruple not to say that I warmly sympathize with them in this last respect. The Gospel is glad tidings of great joy to all people: this is the pith of the blessed message, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” But whilst I admire and honour the Puritans for their attachment to evangelic truth, I cannot conceal my conviction that they too, in their turn, are chargeable with one-sidedness. They had their favourite verses, and, in some instances, dwelt upon them to the neglect of others, and without fully considering the general current of Scripture instructions—which current is really still more important and decisive than particular sentences, which are apt to be looked at apart from their connection. Some of the Puritan Divines did not sufficiently consider those passages which recognize in the Atonement an element of moral power over the human soul; or those passages which present justification and sanctification, in their inseparable relation, as two sides of one and the same redemption; or those passages which teach the power of the human will, the free agency of man, and his personal responsibility; or those passages which unfold the sweet and beautiful fatherhood of Almighty God. The reaction produced by the errors of Popery in identifying sanctification with justification, in overlooking the free grace of the Gospel, and in fostering notions of human merit, drove the Puritans into extreme antagonistic positions, where the forensic idea of righteousness too often overshadowed the moral idea, and an inevitable and resistless fatalism took the place of Divine parental government at once merciful and righteous. Some of the Puritans, indeed, lie less open to such exceptions than did others, as will appear in the subsequent analysis of their works.
The Latitudinarians also had their favourite portions of hallowed Writ, raising the moral teaching of the New Testament, and what they considered the large and liberal views of humanity given in the Bible, above the doctrinal sentences which so much occupied the attention of Anglicans on the one hand, and above those which equally occupied the attention of Puritans on the other. To Latitudinarians, Christianity seemed more an ethical than a doctrinal system; and in their writings evangelic truth shines with a very subdued and chilly kind of illumination.
The Quakers, too, had their favourite verses, and were continually insisting upon those which, as they thought, supported the idea of an inward light.
What has now been imperfectly advanced in relation to predominant lines of thinking in the seventeenth century is to be accepted only in a general sense. One writer differed so much from another, that, whilst resemblances exist, mere general statements respecting them are likely to mislead, unless they are checked and modified by a careful review of individual opinions.
Such a review is now to be attempted, with a full conviction of its very great difficulties.
THEOLOGY.
Taking the period between the opening of the Long Parliament and the Revolution (1640–1688), I might divide it into two epochs—the one extending as far as the end of the Commonwealth, the other beginning at that crisis. Modes of thought of the kind just pointed out can be traced along the whole course, abreast of each other. The two antagonistic systems are Anglicanism and Puritanism; and from 1640 to 1660, Puritanism is seen in the ascendant, as a reaction against Anglicanism; and from 1660 to 1688, Anglicanism is in the ascendant, as a reaction against Puritanism. No doubt some slight differences obtained between the Anglicanism of the first twenty years and the Anglicanism of the last twenty-eight, and the same may be said of the Puritanism of the first and second of those generations; but there is no necessity for breaking the history into two parts, since the general identity of each system is preserved throughout the whole period, and all the leading representatives lived and studied, and most of them acted and wrote, both before and after the Restoration; besides, to separate their later from their earlier works would destroy the unity of this narrative, and create confusion in the reader’s mind. The Latitudinarians appeared at Cambridge before the death of Oliver Cromwell, and at that period began to produce some effect upon theological speculation and religious life; but it was not until afterwards that their characteristic tendencies became fully apparent. Quaker Mysticism took its rise in the midst of the Commonwealth era, and continued its course, with increasing power, up to the hour of the Revolution. Therefore to cut in two the theological history of this half century would be inconvenient; and although the plan which I adopt is open to objection, I shall select examples of the teaching throughout that period, without adopting any chronological subdivision. I shall begin with the Anglicans, then notice the Latitudinarians, then touch upon the Quaker Mystics, and end with the Puritans. My endeavour will be to state them as fairly as I can; not to indulge in vague generalization, but to give their own words and turns of thought whenever it is possible; and, by references as well as citations, to supply the means of rectifying any mistakes into which I may unfortunately happen to fall. In stating arguments on different sides, I shall endeavour to guard against colouring reports of opinion with my own predilections or prejudices. At the same time, I shall not refrain from occasionally indicating, in a few words, my own belief; for no man who has deep convictions touching these subjects, however he may strive to write with impartiality about various parties, will dare to write with indifference upon what he conceives to be vital truths. Moreover, it appears to me very important to notice certain circumstances in the lives of these authors; for it is quite clear to my mind, that we cannot accurately understand the history of theology, or duly estimate theological opinions, apart from the biography of the theologians themselves.
Herbert Thorndike first claims attention. He possessed a mind which was singularly acute and comprehensive. He had trained himself to the practice of subtle reasoning, yet he generally gives, in his writings, indications of no small measure of what Englishmen call common sense; and, on every page, he exhibits those rich and varied treasures of theological learning which a quiet life of study alone can enable any one to accumulate. It cannot be denied that the formal method employed in his arguments is often quite unimpeachable; yet, whilst logical in reasoning, he is illogical in arrangement; and his discursive habits of thought often tempt him into zigzag courses, and lead him to double his path, and retrace his steps, and come back to some point which the reader concludes the author had finished. And to this serious defect he adds another: his crabbed and crooked style presents the most infelicitous collocation of words, perhaps, to be found in English literature, many of his sentences needing to be translated into some plainer form before they can be understood. What a contrast, in point of style, does the student find, when, leaving the majestic diction of Hooker, or the flowing rhythm of Jackson, he turns to the perusal of Thorndike’s paragraphs! Yet, in spite of drawbacks, Thorndike deserves to be carefully studied. No other theologian of his age, or, indeed, of any other, has wrought out the Anglican theory with such elaboration and completeness. The disciples of that system find in his books an arsenal of defence; and its opponents should examine carefully his positions, if they would overthrow the citadel in which Divines of his order are wont to entrench themselves. But he ought not to be studied simply for controversial purposes: any large-minded student, with sympathy for God’s truth wherever found, may derive great advantage from many parts of this good man’s writings.
ANGLICANS.—THORNDIKE.