If books are food, then we might all think of some that are memorable three-course meals that satisfy. Others might be a good midnight snack, like a short, cozy mystery. Still other works might fall into a forgetable fast food gobble that is quickly forgotten and does the soul little if any good. And there are works which are more ipecac than food and we wish we could violently upchuck their contents.
Given these gastronomical ideals for the discipline of reading, I propose that Philip Edgcumbe Hughes' Theology of the English Reformers is a full, delectable dinner of fine food, excellent wine, and solid conversation at table with worthy folk. One could even imagine savoring good victuals and drink in a proper setting, like the refectory of St. Anselm's Theological College in P.D. James' Death in Holy Orders. Hughes runs the full gamut of Anglican excellence from the glory days of the Reformation cut from the Henrican, Edwardian, and Elizabethan cloth of its day.
Hughes is not writing to narrate the developments of the English Reformation, although one can track its path throughout the ample quotations provided. Rather, Hughes' goal is to synthesize and provide a harmony of the theological probings of the English Reformers, whether from the pens of Thomas Cranmer or Richard Hooker, the proclamations of Hugh Latimer or John Jewell, or the "captivity epistles" of John Frith or Nicholas Ridley. And yes, he succeeds magnificently.
Hughes scores literary arrangement points by placing a beginning chapter filled with excerpts from the prison letters of Reformers who languished in jail awaiting sentence or execution. He does so to demonstrate that what follows in succeeding chapters is of supreme importance. These are no dry, ivory tower pontifications, but doctrines and Biblical captivations that demanded the Reformers follow to the bitter end if need be.
Throughout the remainder of the book, Hughes arranges the Reformers' core values by systematic topics: Holy Scripture, justification, sanctification, preaching, worship, the sacraments, pastoral ministry, the relation of church and state, and the importance of truth dwelling in proper unity with others.
Hughes carefully organizes his presentation, spending time crafting each Reformers' statements in each chapter, but he keeps the theological sections moving along through varied nuances. Each chapter is worth the price of the book alone many times over.
The reader comes away from Hughes' magnum opus with a clear view of the teaching of the English Reformers and the consistency of their teachings. In addition, the words of Cranmer, Jewell, Hooker, et al, demonstrate a fundamental and deep connection and consistency with the doctrine of the New Testament and primitive Church of ancient history. These are not Johnny-come-lately innovations, but the fruits of a historic faith.
One added strength of the book come with its appendices. We are given a glossary of key players in English Reformation history, be they monarchs, pre-Elizabethan Reformers, or churchmen of Elizabeth's reign, plus a listing of continental Reformers of influence. There is also a re-statement of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion in modern English, which wasn't necessary but appreciated by this reader.
A final note: In this age of disconnectedness and tribalism, I was greatly encouraged by the final chapter on "Truth and Unity". Hughes laid out Cranmer's considerable correspondence with Reformers throughout Europe in the years following the death of Martin Luther. We find that Cranmer was building connections and momentum toward a magnificent council of Reformed churchmen, which included Lutherans like Philip Melancthon as well as the French/Genevan reformer, John Calvin himself. Seeking to bridge the areas that separated them and to find concord on the particulars of Holy Communion, Cranmer was receiving much accord and acclamation for this idea, and Calvin himself wrote the following in response to Cranmer's invitation: "As far as I am concerned, if I can be of any service, I shall not shrink from crossing ten seas, if need be, for that object. If rendering a helping hand to the kingdom of England were the only point of issue, that of itself would be a sufficient motive to me. But now--when the object sought after is an agreement of learned men, gravely considered and well framed according to the standard of Scripture, by which churches that would otherwise be far separated from each other may be made to unite--I do not consider it right for me to shrink from any labors or difficulties."
That gives me chills, which is not to be surprising. The entire scope of Hughes' tome did that from opening cover to final page. It's difficult to conceive of any other work of its kind that compares.
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