Description
Book SynopsisBenjamin Hoadly, Bishop successively of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury and Winchester, was the most controversial English churchman of the eighteenth century, and he has unjustly gained the reputation of a negligent and political bishop. His sermon on the nature of Christ''s kingdom sparked the Bangorian controversy, which raged from 1717 to 1720 and generated hundreds of books, tracts and sermons, while his commitment to the Whigs and the cause of toleration for Dissenters earned him the antagonism of many contemporary and later churchmen.In this powerfully revisionist study, Hoadly emerges as a dedicated and conscientious bishop with strong and progressive principles. His commitment to the ideology of the Revolution of 1688 and to the comprehension of Dissenters into the Church of England are revealed as the principal motives for his work as a preacher, author and bishop. Gibson also shows how Hoadly''s stout defence of rationalism made him a contributor to the English Enlightenment, wh
Trade ReviewWilliam Gibson's Benjamin Hoadly set a new standard for ecclesiastical biography on its first publication in 2004 and rescued its subject from caricature. This welcome second edition, taking account of the most recent scholarship, restates the convincing case for Hoadly's enduring influence and his centrality to theological debate for most of the eighteenth century. Nigel Aston, Honorary Fellow in History, University of Leicester, and Research Associate, University of York
Table of ContentsForeword by James E. Bradley Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Hero and Villain 2. Early Life, 1676-1701 3. Political Apprenticeship in a London Pulpit, 1701-1710 4. Sacheverell, Adversity and Triumph, 1710-1717 5. The Years of the Bangorian Controversy, 1717-21 6. Hereford and Salisbury, 1721-1734 7. Hoadly at Winchester, 1734-1761 Conclusion Appendix: Hoadly in Poetry References Bibliography Index
