English Public Theology: A Reformation Response to the Crisis of Natural Rights

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This study commends the public theology of the English Reformation as a fruitful though neglected resource for a critical analysis of the contradictions of freedom that riddle late-modern liberal democracies and a constructive response to them. Drawn from the key legal, liturgical, homiletic and confessional elements of the English Reformation, this foundational Anglican tradition provides a theological vantage point for understanding current moral and political impasses in the western legacy of natural rights. The extensive development of natural rights in pre-modern scholastic theory and practice and its continuity with theoretical development from the 17th century onward make the Reformers criticisms of scholastic moral, political, and ecclesial thought germane to identifying the problematic features of the prevailing modern tradition and to furnishing a theological alternative to them. These features are: an individualistic and voluntarist conception of moral agency, a regulative and juridical orientation to human relationships, and an anthropocentric concentration on human rather than on divine right, judgement, and freedom. The humanity they portray is detached from its created ordering to Christological perfection and bound within a self-enclosed ethical and political self-understanding. This is effectively countered by the English reformers presentation of the salvation of creation in Christ, faith working through love, the spiritual fellowship of the church, and the provisional character of political jurisdiction.

Reviews

English Public Theology is a tour de force of historical scholarship, theological acuity, and sharp critical analysis of the modern liberal tradition of human rights discourses. Probably only Joan Lockwood ODonovan could have written this extraordinary book, because her notable understanding of Reformation Tudor public theology, while not uncritical of its foibles and excesses, forces the reader to think backwards once more in order to go forwards. Is there a future for an established Church in England No one who cares about this topic (and especially no bishops) can afford to ignore the stringent arguments of this book. * Sarah Coakley FBA, University of Cambridge (UK), University of St Andrews (UK) and the Australian Catholic University. *
Grounded in an extensive and scholarly recovery of the public theology of the English Tudor Reformation, Joan Lockwood ODonovan has provided us with a wonderfully erudite and perceptive elaboration of her previous work. Her radical Christian critique of the dominant liberal-democratic rights tradition presents a powerful challenge to theologically-sensitive appropriators of that tradition. It will surely provoke reflection and reconsideration for many years to come. * Julian Rivers, University of Bristol Law School, UK *
This remarkable recollection of the significance of the English reformers public theology, taking form as an apology targeted at prevailing political pathologies, especially those concerned with subjective rights, provides an invaluable resource for current and future generations of theologians. Any concerned with the theological critique and reformation of both church life and political life owe a vast debt to Joan Lockwood ODonovan. Her landmark achievement in this volume will equip those who follow her guidance to deploy critically the English reformers convictions and insights regarding the Scriptural testimony to Jesus Christ in a variety of contemporary contexts. * Joshua Hordern, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, UK *

Author Bio

Joan Lockwood O'Donovan is Honorary Reader in the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews, UK.