From James Kiefer at the Lectionary:
On any list of great English theologians, the name of Richard Hooker would appear at or near the top. His masterpiece is "The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity". Its philosophical base is Aristotelian, with a strong emphasis on natural law eternally planted by God in creation. On this foundation, all positive laws of Church and State are developed from Scriptural revelation, ancient tradition, reason, and experience.
The occasion of his writing was the demand of English Puritans for a reformation of Church government. Calvin had established in Geneva a system whereby each congregation was ruled by a commission comprising two thirds laymen elected annually by the congregation and one third clergy serving for life. The English Puritans (by arguments more curious than convincing) held that no church not so governed could claim to be Christian.
Upon the recommendation of Tobias Haller at In A Godward Direction, I began reading a collection of excerpts from the title mentioned above. It's not easy reading, but the language is beautiful. I find that if I read aloud, I understand more. His sentences are sometimes long and convoluted, and I also notice that I retain only the vaguest notion of what I'm reading, even when I do understand the words.
When I met Tobias in New York, I told him that I was reading Hooker, and, only half-jokingly, that I needed the CliffsNotes to help me understand his work. Tobias recommended a name of an author who might be helpful, but I did not write it down, and now it's gone. I'll have to get back with him on that.
Another challenge in reading Hooker is that, in his time, the traditionalists, like Hooker, were fairly open-minded, and those whose views he was arguing against were the Puritans, who were doing the new thing and took a narrower view of who could be part of the Kingdom of God. For me it requires a Screwtape sort of mind-bending to keep that straight. It's slow-going, and I'm reading other materials in between my attempts to understand and absorb Hooker.
James Kiefer recommends reading Hooker's sermon, "A Learned discourse of Justification" as the best of his shorter works. This link gives online access to the sermon.
READINGS:
Psalm 37:3-6,32-33 or 19:7-11(12-14)
1 Corinthians 2:6-10,13-16
John 17:18-23
PRAYER
O God of truth and peace, who raised up your servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great charity the catholic and reformed religion: Grant that we may maintain that middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Hi Mimi. The book is "Hooker's Blueprint" by Michael Russell. You can find it on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteJohn Locke famously referred to him as "the Judicious Hooker", a term which stuck and which conjures up interesting ideas.
ReplyDeleteTobias, mon ami, merci. Je l'ai mentenant.
ReplyDeleteLapin, leave it to you and that encyclopedic mind of yours to contribute that neat bit of information.
I learn so much from the two of you.
Here's a note from the author pf Hooker's Blueprint, Michael Russell, at Amazon:
ReplyDeleteThe net-distributor has not yet gotten details on this book up for the reader to view. This is an "essence outline" of Richard Hooker's "Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity" that distills down each subsection of all eight books into their core ideas. Think of it as a "Cliff's Notes" of the Laws. Until they get details posted here you can read excepts and get more information at www.viamediapress.com Being the author I am rather partial to the book, you will have to rate it for yourself!
I did not make this up.
Hooker is certainly worth reading. I have the Keble edition, dated 1845, and I read in it frequently.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, ABEBooks offers Robbins' book for $22.95 with free shipping.
Allen, thanks for the information about free shipping at ABEBooks. At Amazon, I'd have to bump up the purchase over $25 to get the book shipped free.
ReplyDeleteYour old edition of Hooker dates to the year our church was dedicated.
Tell Liz I said, "Hi", and that I hope she's doing well.
I also like Hooker but find him tough to slog through. I will definitely check out Russell's book!
ReplyDeleteMimi,
ReplyDeleteMike Russell is the Rector of All Souls' Church in Point Loma (San Diego), and he is a frequent contributor to the HoB/D mailing list... his posts often being... ummm... "pointed." He defends his views from the perspective of Hooker (and he is an expert on that, after all!), but woe to the poor unfortunate who is the recipient of his deliciously sharp criticism. I always agree with him (well, almost always), but I sometimes feel sorry (well, again almost) for his victims on the list.
Mimi, you will note that I have dropped my middle name, Charles, from my Google profile name so as to avoid having people (ahem) refer to me as Charles. Not that I have any dislike for my middle name... in fact I prefer it to my first name. But the only reason I was using it on the blogs was to avoid confusion with the British cartoonist, Dave Walker. So let people be confused! They can tell me how much they like my cartoons, and they can tell him what they think of his music! I've always delighted in a degree of ambiguity anyway.
Agha, maybe Russell will help both of us with Hooker. I need something.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I believe I am one of those who called you Charles. I find it hard to remember if it's David Charles or Charles David. Now I know it's just David, and I believe I will remember that.
I found your hymn in our hymnal. I had no idea that was yours. Usually I take note of the composer of the words and music, and even if I had seen the name, I very likely would not have connected it with you. You are gifted, my friend.
Have you heard how your mass went at Elizabeth's church this morning?
Haven't heard yet. I asked Brandon (Elizabeth's organist) to be brutally honest & tell me even if they hated it. The problem with writing music so simple that it can easily be sung at first sight is that it may end up being completely boring. I hope it wasn't, but anyway... no word yet.
ReplyDelete