Richard Hooker: A Companion to His Life and Work

by W. Bradford Littlejohn

Publisher:

Cascade

, 2015

Overview

Although by common consent the greatest theologian of the Anglican tradition, Richard Hooker is little known in Protestant circles more generally, and increasingly neglected within the Anglican Communion. Although scholarship on Hooker has witnessed a dramatic renaissance within the last generation, thus far this has tended to make Hooker less, not more accessible to general audiences, and interpreters have been sharply divided on the meaning of his theology. This book aims to draw upon recent research in order to offer a fresh portrait of Hooker in his original historical context, one in which it had not yet occurred to any Englishman to assume the label “Anglican,” and to bring him to life for all branches of the contemporary church.

Part one examines his life, writings, and reputation, puncturing several old myths along the way. Part two seeks to establish Hooker’s theological and pastoral vision, exploring why he wrote, how he wrote, whom he was seeking to persuade, and whom he was seeking to refute. Part three analyzes key themes of Hooker’s theology—Scripture, Law, Church, and Sacraments—and how they related to his late Reformation context. Finally, the concluding chapter proposes Hooker’s method as a model for our confused contemporary age, combining fidelity to Scripture, historical awareness, and a pastorally sensitive pragmatism.

Key Features

• Draws upon recent research in order to offer a fresh portrait of Richard Hooker
• Examines Richard Hooker’s life, writings, and reputation
• Analyzes key themes of Richard Hooker’s theology

Contents

• Richard Hooker: The Myth
• Richard Hooker: The Man
• Richard Hooker: The Book
• Hooker as Protestant
• Hooker as Polemicist
• Hooker as Philosopher
• Hooker as Pastor
• Key Themes: Scripture
• Key Themes: Law
• Key Themes: Church
• Key Themes: Liturgy and Sacraments
• Richard Hooker: Contemporary

Top Highlights

“On the contrary, he argues, the public exercise of the Christian religion is simply the full, purified, and rightly-directed expression of this natural impulse to do ‘the utmost of that we can do to honour him.’ Christ is the fulfillment of long ages of pagan yearning, and so our worship of Christ, far from seeking to rid itself of any resemblance to non-Christian religions, should seek to adopt and perfect all that is best in them.” (Page 88)

“Grace is not an enemy to nature, God is not hostile to that which he has made” (Page 90)

“Logically, this move involved something of an inversion of the original claim to Christian liberty, and threatened to impose instead a new legalistic burden: instead of ‘nothing but what is in Scripture may be required for belief’ it was now ‘nothing but what is in Scripture may be used or believed.’” (Page 37)

“the mythical Hooker is the great retriever of Thomas Aquinas, who had been rejected by his Protestant predecessors.” (Pages 6–7)

“Hooker’s concern to soften what he saw as some of the most pastorally dangerous formulations of Calvinism” (Page 64)

Praise for the Print Edition

Richard Hooker is a name that many church people have heard of, but few have ever dipped into his works... Brad Littlejohn brings to bear an impressive range and depth of scholarship and critical insight to set Hooker in the context of the controversies of his time, and guides us through the maze of contemporary interpretations of Hooker’s thought and significance.

—Paul Avis, professor of theology, University of Leeds

Littlejohn’s companion, Richard Hooker, offers a splendidly accessible introduction to the life and work of this eminent but popularly neglected early-modern English theologian and philosopher... This volume offers an excellent point of departure for both scholars and non-specialist readers.

—Torrance Kirby, professor of ecclesiastical history, McGill University

Richard Hooker is the theologian of Anglicanism. But is he a theologian for Anglicans alone? Assuredly not! In this companion to Hooker, Littlejohn has produced a clearly written and accessible work that utilizes the recent resurgence of scholarly interest in Hooker to commend him to a wider audience... It is sure to be a resource of choice for those seeking a way into the thought of this great post-Reformation divine.

—Oliver D. Crisp, professor, Fuller Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Richard Hooker: A Companion to His Life and Work
• Author: W. Bradford Littlejohn
• Series: Cascade Companions
• Publisher: Cascade
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2016
• Pages: 222
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Theology; Richard Hooker; Anglican Theology
• ISBNs: 9781625647351, 9781498280006, 1625647352, 1498280005
• Resource ID: LLS:CASCADERHOOKER
• Resource Type: text.monograph.study-guide
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:30:23Z

About W. Bradford Littlejohn

W. Bradford Littlejohn (Ph.D, University of Edinburgh, 2013) is President of the Davenant Trust, an organization that supports historical research at the intersection of the church and academy. He also teaches philosophy at Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of several articles and book chapters on Richard Hooker and the Reformation period, and serves as editor of the Mercersburg Theology Study Series.