Richard Hooker and Anglican moral theology PDF
Preview Richard Hooker and Anglican moral theology
RICHARD HOOKER AND ANGLICAN MORAL THEOLOGY This page intentionally left blank R I C H A R D H O O K E R A N D A N G L I C A N M O R A L T H E O LO G Y A. J. JOYCE 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,OxfordOX26DP OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwidein Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto Withofficesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress intheUKandincertainothercountries PublishedintheUnitedStates byOxfordUniversityPressInc.,NewYork #A.J.Joyce2012 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted DatabaserightOxfordUniversityPress(maker) Firstpublished2012 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress, orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,orundertermsagreedwiththeappropriate reprographicsrightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproduction outsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisbookinanyotherbindingorcover andyoumustimposethesameconditiononanyacquirer BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Dataavailable TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India PrintedinGreatBritain onacid-freepaperby MPGBooksGroup,BodminandKing’sLynn ISBN 978–0–19–921616–1 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 For Sinéad and Olivia This page intentionally left blank Preface RichardHookerhasbeencreditedwithbeingthefoundingfatherofAnglican moraltheology;yetisthisattributionjustifiedand,ifso,whatwastheprecise natureofhiscontribution? Twenty years ago, having come from a background in classics as well as theology, I began lecturing in Christian ethics on the staff of an ecumenical theological college. It was my experience of living and working within that ecumenical context that led me to appreciate anew the distinctiveness of Anglicanidentity,whichinturnfuelledmydesiretoexploreinmuchgreater depththanIhaddonepreviouslytheAnglicantraditionofmoraltheology. When Ibegan myresearch in this area, even acursory examination of the existing literature on the subject revealed that Richard Hooker was widely assumedtohavehadaformativeroleincreatingandshapingthistradition.It was surprising to discover, therefore, as I reviewed the modern scholarship, thatthemostsignificantstudyofHooker’scontributioninthisareaappeared to be found in the opening section of a work that was much broader in its overallscope,firstpublishedasfarbackas1949:H.R.McAdoo’svolumeThe Structure of Caroline Moral Theology. Beyond this (with one or two notable exceptions), Hooker’s role in relation to the unfolding tradition tended to be assumed,ratherthanexamined.Itwasevidentthatmoreworkonthissubject waswarranted. MyinitialresearchinrelationtoHooker’smoraltheologywasinlargepart driven by a desire to ascertain whether, and in what ways, Hooker’s work mightinformethicaldebateinmodernAnglicanism.Subsequently,however, I became increasingly aware of the pitfalls inherent in precisely this kind of approachtohiswritings.Perhapsasaresultofthescaleandcomplexityofhis principal work, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie, it is all too common to find modern scholars trawling Hooker’s text for principles, motifs, or quota- tions that are deemed useful or relevant to the debates of the present day, rather than studying his work in depth and in its own right. This can (and frequentlydoes)haveadistortingeffectuponthewayinwhichhiswritingsare readandinterpreted,aswasincreasinglyapparentfrommyownreadingofthe existingliterature. Itisinanattempttoavoid,asfaraspossible,preciselythatkindofproblem thatthisbooksetsouttoreconsiderandre-evaluateHooker’scontributionto thedevelopmentofAnglicanmoraltheology,rootingthis,firstandforemost, inacarefulinvestigationofHooker’stextinitsownterms,andinitsspecific historicalsetting.AlthoughtheprincipalfocusofmyconcernwillbeHooker’s viii Preface singlemajorwork,theLawes,Ishallalsotakeaccountofallofhisotherextant writings and sermons. I shall raise questions about how far Hooker can with justification be identified as the founder of the Anglican tradition of moral theology,andtakesomestepstowardsevaluatinghislegacyinthisarea.Ishall also consider the various factors that have served to shape his text and its content,includingtheimpactofhispolemicalconcernsuponthenatureand structure of his argument, all too frequently overlooked, or underplayed, in studiesofhiswork.Intheprocess,Ishallre-examinesomeoftheareasthatare of central importance to Hooker’s thought, including his theological anthro- pologyandhisunderstandingofthenatureandauthorityofscripture. Hence, although the principal subject matter of this book concerns Hooker’smoraltheology,arangeofinsightswillalsoemergeduringitscourse aboutthenatureofhisthoughtandhisworkasawhole,whichareconsider- ablymorewide-rangingintheirsignificanceandimplications. I should like to acknowledge with gratitude the help and support of the following people: Professor Ellen Davis, who facilitated an invaluable visit to Virginia Theological Seminary during the initial stages of my research; Pro- fessor Diarmaid MacCulloch, for responding to my enquiries with helpful advice and suggestions; the Rt Revd Dr Kenneth Stevenson (who sadly died shortly after this book was completed); and my Anglican and Lutheran partners in dialogue at the Anglo-Nordic-Baltic Theological Conferences at Riga,Joensuu,Uppsala,andCanterbury—anunparalleledcontextforcreative theologicaldiscussion. My thanks are also due to the staff of Gladstone’s Library (formerly St Deiniol’s) for providing me with a haven for uninterrupted research on countlessoccasions,andtotheRevdMarkPryce,Bishop’sAdviserforClergy ContinuingMinisterialEducation,andtheDioceseofBirminghamforhelping tofundmytimethere. My sincere and heartfelt thanks must also go to Dr Janet Johnson, who madeallthingspossible(‘nobodyforgetsagoodteacher’),andProfessorJoan BoothoftheUniversityofLeiden(likewise);toJoeJordan,LindaCaswell,and the wonderful community of Edgbaston Old Church for their love, support, and generosity of heart; to Mary Cohen, for endless inspiration and musical interludes;toPaul,forhiswillingnesstoreadinnumerabledraftsofthistext, andofferwiseobservationsandadvice,alwaysgratefullyreceived;and,finally, to Tom Perridge, Elizabeth Robottom, Tessa Eaton, and Laurien Berkeley, at Oxford University Press, and also Lucy Qureshi, formerly of the Press, for theirinvaluablehelpandguidanceinrelationtothisproject. A.J.J. Birmingham August2011 Contents ListofAbbreviationsandConventions x Part I. Orientation 1. Introduction:Anglicanism,MoralTheology,andthe MisappropriationofRichardHooker 3 2. HookerinHistoricalContext 19 3. ReadingHooker:Rhetoric,Irony,andWit 45 Part II. Richard Hooker and Anglican Moral Theology 4. Hooker’sTheologicalAnthropology 69 5. HookerontheNatureandAuthorityofScripture 103 6. HookerandtheMoralLife 149 7. MoralPrinciplesandPastoralPractice:Hookerandthe ExceptionalCase 197 8. Hooker’sThinkinginPractice:HolyMatrimony 215 Conclusion:HookerandBeyond 235 Bibliography 247 Index 261
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