Richard Hooker: Theological Method and Anglican Identity

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For some, Hooker and Anglicanism are basically reformed; for others, fundamentally Catholic; for some embodying a middle way between Roman Catholic and Protestant extremes; and for others simply confused and incoherent. This book challenges those perceptions by showing that reformed and catholic are not intrinsically opposed. Reading Hooker alongside a representative theologian of each tradition (the catholic Aquinas and the reformed Calvin) on theological method, Hobday shows there is much greater congruity between theologies and theologians often considered in tension. On the role of scripture in theology, the theological capacity of human reason, and the place of tradition, these 3 theologians have far more in common than many subsequent commentators have understood. This book shows how both Hooker and the Anglicanism he defended in such elegant prose, can be coherently both catholic and reformed (rather than one, or the other, or some middle way). Relocating Hooker, and Anglicanism, in this way reveals them to be rich, fruitful conversation partners in ecumenical dialogue and theological debates across Christian traditions.

Reviews

Learned, nuanced and adventurous, this is a fine contribution to the new wave of scholarship on Richard Hooker. It does full justice to the extent of Hooker's engagement with both Aquinas and Calvin, and expertly dismantles some received wisdom so as to show us a persuasively original figure, who has some unexpected and valuable insights for theological debate today * Rowan Williams, Cambridge University, UK *
The reception of Richard Hookers thought has always shown remarkable plasticity and debates over his theological identity have accordingly taken on an intractable quality over the centuries. Philip Hobdays remarkable work cuts the Gordian knot of how to locate Hookers theological identity by re-examining Hookers theological method. Hobday adeptly re-locates Hookers thought as a confluence rather than a conflict between Thomist and Calvinist influences, rendering Hooker as a creative, pragmatic, and protean thinker. Hobdays Theological Method and Anglican Identity connects Hookerian studies with a broader retrieval in Reformed and Thomist studies of the points of connection and continuity between theological traditions often cast in a reductionist and oppositional binary. Scholars of the Reformed, Thomist, and Anglican traditions are indebted to Hobdays luminous study. * Paul Dominiak, University of Cambridge, UK *
For too long, the mythic tale of a third way Anglicanism charting a path between the Roman Scylla and Genevan Charybdis, helmed by its hero Richard Hooker, has tyrannized over church historians and catechists, even as a richer understanding of medieval Catholicism and 16th-century Calvinism has rendered old dichotomies untenable. Philip Hobday does a wonderful service to the church by drawing deeply from both contemporary re-appraisals of Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin to argue that, when it came to fundamentals of theological method, much less separated the two men than we might imagine. On this basis, Hobday demonstrates convincingly that there was nothing especially surprising about Hooker's claim to be both reformed and catholic. Hooker's greatness lies not so much in forging a unique synthesis between fundamentally contrary elements, but rather in giving eloquent expression to a more widely-shared consensus about the relation of Scripture, reason, and tradition. With this volume, Hobday makes a decisive and valuable contribution not only to scholarship around Richard Hooker, but to contemporary debates about Anglican theological identity. * Bradford Littlejohn, The Davenant Institute, USA *

Author Bio

Philip Hobday is Sub-Dean of Wakefield Cathedral, UK.