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Auctoritas Patrum?

The Reception of the Church Fathers in Puritanism

by Ann-Stephane Schäfer (Author)
©2012 Thesis 449 Pages

Summary

This study focuses on how Puritans in England and especially New England used the church fathers when reading the Bible and defending Congregationalism. The analysis of a variety of textual genres and largely unedited sources written between 1592 and 1728 shows that patristic sources are often cited. Contrary to the widespread assumption that they embraced a fundamentalist Biblicism, Puritans prove to be fully engaged in the rich traditional theological discourse and display a remarkable knowledge of the church fathers. Their authority was that of close witnesses of the primitive age rather than conclusive evidence that would compromise the sola scriptura principle. The church fathers were an integral part of the professional training of Puritan ministers, who relied on them as interpretive aids in exegesis and as model homilists. The findings also suggest that Puritans perceived of New England in terms of typological continuity, with early Christians as models to be imitated regarding church membership, baptism, church office and discipline as well as endurance in times of persecution and dissent.

Details

Pages
449
Publication Year
2012
ISBN (PDF)
9783653017304
ISBN (Hardcover)
9783631607442
DOI
10.3726/978-3-653-01730-4
Language
English
Publication date
2012 (July)
Keywords
Patristic Learning Exegesis homiletics Ecclesiology baptism Congregationalism church discipline biblical commentary
Published
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2012. 449 pp.

Biographical notes

Ann-Stephane Schäfer (Author)

Ann-Stephane Schäfer graduated from Mainz University with a degree in Business Administration (2002) and American Studies, Business Administration and Economics (MA, 2004). In 2000/2001, she studied and worked at Georgia State University in Atlanta (USA), where she was involved in the first edition of Cotton Mather’s Biblia Americana. She received a doctoral scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation (2005-2008) and currently works as a senior lecturer of English at the Department of Business at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz and as an adjunct lecturer at Mainz University.

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Title: Auctoritas Patrum?