Early Puritanism

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Early Puritanism
CHURCH HISTORY IILesson 11

• An historical introduction to English
  Non-Conformity to 1625

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Agenda

• Identity and Definitions
• Historical Overview
• Lessons we can learn

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• Identity and Definitions

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Who were the Puritans?

• English
• preachers
• who wanted to reform
• church life
• further than the episcopal establishment would
  allow
• in the 16th and 17th centuries

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Whats in a name?

• Puritan Cathari
• Lumped with Donatists, Montanists, Novatians,
  Cathari, Anabaptists
• Also called Precisians
• Puritans came to accept the name Puritan
• Proper name would be English Dissenters or
  Non-Conformists

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• Historical
• Overview

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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Preparing the SoilSlide 1/2

• Wycliffe the Lollards
• Proto-puritan forerunners
• William Tyndale (1531)
• John Frith (1533)
• William Turner John Bale (1543)
• Miles Coverdale (1548)
• John Bradford (1550)
• John Hooper (1550)

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Preparing the SoilSlide 2/2

• The First Vestments Controversy (1550-1551)
• John Hooper
• vs
• Bp. Nicholas Ridley

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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EmergenceSlide 1/6

• The Troubles at Frankfort (1555)

John Knox
Knoxs Form of Prayers
Richard Coxs Party
Calvin on the 1552 Prayer Book it contains Many
foolish, tolerable things
1552 Book of Common Prayer
?
Whittingham others
Liturgy of Compromise
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EmergenceSlide 2/6

• Geneva (1556-1560)
• First Reformed service in English
• Heavy influence from Calvin
• Geneva Bible

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EmergenceSlide 3/6

• Return to England (1558-1560)
• Act of Uniformity (1559)
• Queens Injunctions
• Holy Days
• Clerical celibacy
• Habits / square caps
• Collegiate choirs
• Some ministers scruple the habits
• Conforming ministers (Coxians) elevated to bishops

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EmergenceSlide 4/6

• Elizabethan Settlement (1562)
• Petitions to Parliament to remove
• Vestments
• Kneeling
• Private baptism / cross in baptism
• Collegiate Choirs Organs
• Holy days
• 1552 Book of Common Prayer confirmed
• Thirty-nine Articles

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EmergenceSlide 5/6

• Suppression of Dissent (1564)
• Secretary Cecils report to the queen
• Bishops cave in and break promise
• Sampson Humphreys
• Interaction with Reformed leaders
• Non-conforming ministers deprived

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EmergenceSlide 6/6

• Summary
• Puritanism arose from four ingredients
• Dissent over ceremonies
• Left out of positions of authority
• Failed to gain concessions from majority party
• Pressured to conform against their conscience

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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The Spread of DissentSlide 1/2
Regulative Principle of Worship In the worship
service, it is unlawful to do anything except
what God has prescribed in His Word, excepting
only minor matters of public order.
Separationists, Independents, Baptists, Strict
Puritans

• Cambridge dissent (1565)
• Puritan pamphleteers
• First separationists
• Plumbers Hall congregation
• Richard Fitz Privye Church
• Field, Wilcox and Cartwright (1572)
• Admonition to the Parliament
• Many conform after Reformed letters published

in-between position Every church is free to
adopt practices in its worship service without
specific warrant from Gods Word if they are
moderate, edifying and reasonable applications
of general biblical principles and serve to
enhance, rather than detract from, those
practices that God has commanded.
Reformed, Moderate Puritans
Excursus The Regulative Principle of Worship
the pure vnmingled and sincere worshippinge of
God, accordinge to his blessed and glorious worde
in al things, onely abolishinge and abhorringe
all tradicions and inuentions of man
We hold nothing that is not warranted by the
word of God we will be tried by the best
reformed churches
Anglicans, Lutherans
Normative Principle of Worship Every church is
free to adopt practices in its worship
service without warrant from Gods Word as long
as their practices are not contrary to the Word
of God, nor thought of as necessary for true
worship.
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The Spread of DissentSlide 2/2

• Summary
• Puritan sentiments spread rapidly
• The people in the cities largely sided with them
• The Puritans
• Most remained faithful to Anglicanism
• Many began promoting Presbyterianism
• A few broke off and became Separationists

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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Full-blown PersecutionSlide 1/1

• AB Grindal imprisoned for defending Puritans
  (1577)
• AB Whitgift sets up High Commission (1583)
• Martin Mar-prelate tracts (1588-1589)
• Brownists / Barrowists
• Robert Brown Reformation without tarrying for
  any (1582)
• Barrowe, Greenwood and Penry hanged (1593)
• Brownists flee to Holland

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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A Lull in the BattleSlide 1/1

• Parliament backs off
• Richard Hookers Ecclestiastical Policy (1597)
• Ascession of King James (1603)
• Millenary Petition (1603)
• Hampton Conference (1604)

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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Renewed PersecutionSlide 1/2

• Book of Canons (1604)
• AB Bancroft renews High Commission (1604)
• Puritans defend themselves in pamphlets
• Loyalty to king emphasized
• Small groups of Puritans flee to Holland,
  Virginia
• Parliament defends Puritans and is dissolved
  (1610)

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Renewed PersecutionSlide 2/2

• Fracturing of the Separationists
• Brownists excommunicate each other
• John Smith becomes first Baptist
• Gathers church in Leydon, Holland
• Embraces Arminianism
• Eventually merge with the Mennonites
• John Robinson becomes first Independent
• Leaves Brownism under influence from Dr. William
  Ames
• Intra-Puritan debate over separation

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Historical Overview

• Preparing the Soil (1376-1555)
• Emergence (1555-1565)
• The Spread of Dissent (1565-1577)
• Full-blown Persecution (1577-1595)
• A Lull in the Battle (1595-1604)
• Renewed Persecution (1604-1610)
• Polarization of a nation (1610-1625)

1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600
1610 1620 1630
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Polarization of a NationSlide 1/2

• Dr. Abbot becomes archbishop
• King James Bible published (1611)
• Separationists return to England
• Baptists Thomas Helwys (1612)
• Independents Henry Jacob (1616)
• Declaration of Sports (1618)
• Part of John Robinsons congregation leaves
  Holland for New England (1620)

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Polarization of a NationSlide 2/2

• Three Alarming Trends
• The growth of Arminianism
• The growth of Roman Catholicism
• Growing tensions between the king and parliament

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Historical Overview

• Summary
• Puritans pressed to violate their consciences
  over ceremonies
• Pressure increases dissent and drives them
  further away
• Begin to splinter into various groups that
  disagreed among themselves
• Suffered severe persecution while maintaining
  loyalty to the state
• Became staunch defenders of Calvinism
• Eventually found most of the nation politically
  on their side against the growing threat of
  Catholicism.

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• Lessons
• we can learn

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Lessons we can learn Slide 1/3

• Lesson 1
• GOOD Supremacy of the Word of God in all
  matters (all)
• BAD Naïve to think that the Bible gives us a
  complete order of worship and church government
  (most)

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Lessons we can learn Slide 2/3

• Lesson 2
• GOOD Conscientious about the protecting the
  gospel (all)
• BAD Made too much out of insignificant matters
  over which many were willing to leave the
  ministry over (many) and some to quarrel among
  themselves and divide (Separatists)

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Lessons we can learn Slide 3/3

• Lesson 3
• GOOD Serious about church discipline (all)
• BAD Often too ready to excommunicate and
  disfellowship over minor matters (Separatists)

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• The End