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John Jewel (1522-1571) has long been regarded as one of the key
figures in the shaping of the Anglican Church. A Marian exile, he
returned to England upon the accession of Elizabeth I, and was
appointed bishop of Salisbury in 1560 and wrote his famous Apologia
Ecclesiae Anglicanae two years later. The most recent monographs on
Jewel, now over forty years old, focus largely on his theology,
casting him as deft scholar, adept humanist, precursor to Hooker,
arbiter of Anglican identity and seminal mind in the formation of
Anglicanism. Yet in light of modern research it is clear that much
of this does not stand up to closer examination. In this work, Gary
Jenkins argues that, far from serving as the constructor of a
positive Anglican identity, Jewel's real contribution pertains to
the genesis of its divided and schizophrenic nature. Drawing on a
variety of sources and scholarship, he paints a picture not of a
theologian and humanist, but an orator and rhetorician, who
persistently breached the rules of logic and the canons of
Renaissance humanism in an effort to claim polemical victory over
his traditionalist opponents such as Thomas Harding. By taking such
an iconoclastic approach to Jewel, this work not only offers a
radical reinterpretation of the man, but of the Church he did so
much to shape. It provides a vivid insight into the intent and ends
of Jewel with respect to what he saw the Church of England under
the Elizabethan settlement to be, as well as into the unintended
consequences of his work. In so doing, it demonstrates how he used
his Patristic sources, often uncritically and faultily, as foils
against his theological interlocutors, and without the least
intention of creating a coherent theological system.
This book offers a unique approach to Calvin by introducing the
individuals and groups who, through their opposition to Calvin's
theology and politics, helped shape the Reformer, his theology, and
his historical and religious legacy. Respected church historian
Gary Jenkins shows how Calvin had to defend or rethink his theology
in light of his tormentors' challenges, giving readers a more
nuanced view of Calvin's life and thought. The book highlights the
central theological ideas of the Swiss Reformation and introduces
figures and movements often excluded from standard texts.
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