Elizabeth and the Rise of the Puritans

When a monarchy runs the church. Inevitably, the stage is set for conflict. Stay tuned. Renewing Your Mind is next was certainly the case for the church of England in the 16th century, the new Queen may have been Protestant, but that didn't mean everyone welcomed her policies hunted Christians then respond and should we follow their example is Dr. Michael. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. It was with those words from Psalm 119 verse 23, the young Princess Elizabeth apparently greeted the news the Queen Mary, died. She was now Queen and no wonder she was relieved almost miraculously, she survived the Holocaust of assistance right and the country could now be reclaimed for Protestantism King Henry's younger toolset.

Elizabeth was very much a chip off the old block.

She was relentless, imperious, energetic, she had a quicksilver mind capable of lightning, false repartee, you did not want to argue with and she had enough political coming to survive Mary's right, without slipping up and being who she was. Everyone knew you she was going to reintroduce Protestantism off the roll off the walls and Bolin the very reason for Henry VIII split with Rome and since Rome refused to recognize Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn room believed Elizabeth was illegitimate and therefore couldn't be Queen so to be Queen. She stupid Protestant boss. It wasn't just she was forced to aunt Elizabeth is so happened was Protestant by personal and deeply held conviction within a year of becoming Queen in 1558 Elizabeth had undone all of Mary's religious reforms and a new act of supremacy declared Elizabeth to be supreme of the Church of England. Note the slight difference to Henry's title. He was supreme head of the church in England, but this title supreme governor was meant to be slightly less irritating, but the Catholic is and to Protestants who didn't believe a woman could be head of the church, but the really important point was that now once again the monarch not the Pope was in control and on top of this, a new prep book was provided, and again its distinctive theology really shows where things are at the two prep books. Cranmer had written 1549, 50, 52, and the movement between this next prep book. The first prep book of Elizabeth's reign was very much like Cranmer's second prep book just toned down a little bit on the second prep book and 50, 52, had prayed for deliverance from the Pope had referred to the popes tyranny and all his detestable annuities, strong language, anti-Catholic language that was toned down once again. It was the words used in the giving of the bread and communion that were really revealing of whether this theology was at the when he was given bread in this new 1515 19 prep book service. These the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is given for you to preserve your body and soul to everlasting life recognizes words is exactly the words from the 1549 firstborn Lutheran prep talk then you would go straight onto his take and eat.

This in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving, exactly the words from the second prep book. That's what Elizabeth's scrapbook was going to be. It was a compromise between the two. A compromise between the more Lutheran first prep book and more reformed Swiss second prep book that was exactly the sort of Protestantism that Elizabeth wanted to see it was daringly unmistakably Protestant, but it was neither one brand of Protestantism, nor another it was well if Henry had introduced very English as opposed to Roman Catholicism. Elizabeth wanted to produce a very English, but neither Lutheran or Calvinist Protestantism. It beats English Protestantism under Elizabeth England was to be a united Protestant nation and that meant everyone would have to go to church with everyone will be presented with the same norms specific Protestantism did not agree with conflicts. For example, were allowed to believe what they wanted to believe you just had to turn up if he didn't turn up. There was a very hefty fine for you to pay suit was an option in some rich nobles were able to pay that loyal Catholics and they have the money to pay this fine for not going to an Anglican church is one of the Queen's contemporaries footed the Queen does not To make Windows into men's souls. That's not what she was interested she wanted conformity.

She wanted to unite the nation onto herself and her face now. It would be a mistake to think that Elizabeth was merely a shrewd politician with no actual interest in theology wasn't the case. Elizabeth was personally convinced Protestant. She read the New Testament in Greek. Every day she read the Bible in English regularly.

She prayed in English and, for example, when a bishop we should just become Queen a Bishop happened in her private chapel to raise the bread he raise the bread in the Catholic way raising it so that it might be worshiped as the very body of Christ.

Elizabeth stormed out and forbade any repeat of such behavior a coronation specifically ordered that a Protestant preacher coronation and secretly the fearful she would financially aid Protestant support.

She was very much a Protestant.

Now knowing personal beliefs. English reformers shared sly winks with each other as they saw is very moderate Protestantism rolling out because they thought he is the old game again rolling Protestantism out slowly so the people can get acclimatized to it. So the reform as though this is just the beginning is a good stock. It came as quite a shock to them to realize Elizabeth so this was her final word on she made a settlement she was going to stick to it. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, the matter of religion in England was now decided it was to be English Mayor Protestantism and as for those who been off in Geneva with advanced ideas of how to reform the church had very little time for them. She was adamant England will be Protestant, but is no time for Protestant idealism. One of the reasons was political.

She knew that if England look to ideally Protestant to extremely Protestant. It might provoke anti-Protestant feeling on the constant threaten the safety of England, Spain or France might invade the one-day spring would this was the moment for the beginning of Puritanism which is really where you been wanting to get us to understand Puritanism. This was where Puritanism began Puritanism began when Elizabeth established the Church of England with own pecuniary norms. Specific Protestantism will Protestants would like to see England recovered from Mary's revocable. Of course those who would soon be cool.

Puritans simply couldn't set goal for what Elizabeth had created. It wasn't any of them wanted to leave the Church of England was some who left the Church of England in these early days the 1560s, but they generally not cold.

There are other terms for them. But it was still church they once deposited with the Puritans believed this new show in England was too wishy-washy by half and it was in need of a good deal more reforming and so many of them they'd seen for example how things could be in Calvin's Geneva, and it's well brother. Today, English.

They look at the train system in Switzerland and they long for such efficiency and so English and that they looked at Elizabeth's Church of England and they look to Calvin's Geneva shook their heads and salt content is a for example, Church of England ministers was still cold. Priests Puritans still does that not suggest to everyone that that that offer sacrifice, but lately they still with priestly vestments, which suggests that they had to do the old Roman Catholic things Robin to hold out Scripture, the word of God, the swing of the cross was still used a baptism sure the Puritans thought just encourages people think of baptism as a ritual is an interesting one. Wedding rings. The Puritans opposed the use of wedding rings.

This is an interesting one, because you get to see how something the Puritans opposed in that day because of validity. That doesn't necessarily carry with time is not always useful to say.

The Puritans said this, we should necessarily agree or disagree with. So you can see I'm wearing a wedding ring which would horrify the Puritans, but I actually agree with their occupants is the argument it was believed in Catholicism that the West seven sacraments just 27 sacraments marriage was one of them in the sacraments which marriage is one of the ways in which God gives his grace to each sacrament is attached an external sign water in baptism, bread and wine in communion.

The marriage ring was considered to be the external sign in marriage and so the Puritans thought if you gave a wedding ring does it just not cry out to everyone you think marriage is a sacrament for the time I think I was a very good argument knowing things like that course there are also other things. For example, praxis subject confirmation happened in the Church of England and the Puritans almost where is that in the Bible. Confirmation trouble was Elizabeth while she was a Protestant. She disliked what she called newfangled she liked the old ways and the sort of things that the Puritans squirmed at she just thought were inconsequential, she thought they were just being fussy in her mind the matter of religion in England was settled in numerous Protestant no more need to be set for the Puritans. The very idea of the religious sect Coleman undid a fundamental Protestant conviction that the church must continually be reforming the coming of the more purified and reformed by the word of God. You can never at any point say we've now got there, I wasn't just things looked on a Sunday, no Puritan could consider the work of reformation complete when the majority of this population still had little or no understanding of justification by faith alone. If they don't understand that the Reformation is definitely not complete. The Reformation was about not just transforming church old, but more transforming individual plaintiffs achieving not just an external Protestantism internal heart felt even Shattuck listen. One famous Puritans of a later generation Richard Baxter said this is it. Alas, can we think that the Reformation is ruled when we cost out a few ceremonies and change some vestiges of gestures and forms of notice us is the converting and saving of souls. That is all business fact is the chief's Plaza Reformation. Now the seed beds fertile with other universities, especially Cambridge, Hangzhou, particularly powerful place for the Puritans were influential Daltons or professors like Lawrence Chatterton took the view that the universities wealth for the raising up of preachers for the training, the education, the raising up of pastas and preachers and so in his college.

Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Chatterton wouldn't allow fellows to stay there for too long because you will be wanting to go out and get yourself a pulpit which nobody because those university connections Puritans tended to know each other. They don't being at University together and so they would know when they headed out to pastoral ministry. They would tend to know other Puritans in their area answer. Before long practice had grown up of gathering for what will cold prophesy's one if you can guess were prophesying would be were assigned was a moment where from an area ministers would gather together and they, one point and the old preaching time and then the ministers would discuss the summons with each other. Ministers would come and learn how to be better preachers by talking with each other and critiquing each other some and the people would come and get a months worth of summons and one day these are really wildly popular.

Thanks as people would travel from miles in an age where travel was slow and difficult to get such a hefty serving of preaching and the well-to-do, often did all they could to help sponsor these events. They give the preachers dinner and wine, and put them up and enable these things to happen and they were very, very significant here were moments when doctrine was freely discussed with reference to the Bible. It wasn't simply handed down from on high and can you see how dangerous that sounds to the authorities. Well, one of the effects of such freedom of discussion was that 10 is also into Elizabeth's reign, but by the 1570s. This was a generation had growing up there was less patient overweight for a full they discussed doctrine freely and they were willing to have stronger views so many began arguing that real Reformation meant that every part of the way the church operated should have direct biblical warrants this stuff to be a popular view to get a little strong at some point. For example, there was one person who argued this, the minister should stand in one spot. As he ministered France one says the Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples should be to Sunday services because numbers we read that there were two burnt offerings each Sabbath you see the logic going on that. Some also wondered if this model of the prophesy's was actually how the church should operate get rid of bishops and have instead groups of clergy meeting together and deciding how the church in that area should work. In other words, they were starting to advocate Presbyterianism Presbyterian form of church government. Now that sort of talk sounded extremely dangerous, seditious and not kick to those in control and the government is a win, a Prof. of Divinity at Cambridge University put on a series of lectures arguing for a Presbyterian form of church government.

He was quickly removed from his position and Elizabeth began to see these prophesying's are dangerous and she wanted to put an end to the whole mess she asked her Archbishop of Canterbury to suppress all prophesying's this Archbishop actually I was a thoroughgoing evangelical's name is Edmund Grindle. He couldn't countenance muzzling the word of God, so he refused the Queen which is a brave move. He was immediately put under house arrest Lambeth Palace with the Archbishop of Canterbury, lips couldn't do anymore. But his success was much more happy to order people and how they should behave and the Lions was starting to be drawn between a younger Puritan generation more impatient for reform and government more and more intolerant of such extremes, and then something rather foolish happened in 1588 someone we don't know who under Susan put out a series of scurrilous tracts against the bishops. It was clearly a probe Puritan and team bishops series of tracks and they were outrageous to the accused, the Archbishop of holding orgies and Lambeth Palace cooled bishops dunghill servants of Satan.

But something it was very foolish mudslinging. It was never going to be productive, and more than the Puritanism was now associated with in the hunt for the secret press now happened to find where these tracks that come from and it turned into an excuse to down dangerous nonconformity in any Puritan preacher's home within a few short years of legal clampdown on Puritanism is in place 1593 the parliamentary act against the Puritans and now in the 1590s, the lost decade of Elizabeth's reign. It became a very difficult time for many Puritan leaders. Because of this backlash among the Puritans, most bitter enemies with playwrights. Puritans had a number of grievances with playwrights because the finances of the day. In many ways functioned as the brothels of the day and there were no female activists everyone on stage was a male meaning any female pop had to be played by a man and men dressing up in women's clothes.

The Puritans thought is just opening a dangerous tool.

So the connection with brothels. The cross-dressing, the Puritans tended to not like one of them referred to one particular playwright to redo all of heard of the referred his plays as the very pumps of the devil and playwrights didn't like hearing. That's the thing about the master basis and so the Puritans was made a standard figure of fun in the place think that involve William Shakespeare. This is his heyday in the 1590s I think if you know 12th night Puritans Malvo Leo Pearson becomes a standard figure of fun and such lampooning loss teams well except the image of the Pearson very nicely in people's minds. Is this twisted thing that you could make fun of and people liked this salon told the Puritans because they didn't like having that alehouse and for tablets challenged by the Puritan these we don't days. This bond, a number of them would I know in the knowledge it wouldn't be long before James VI.

The king of England next best Dr. Michael Reeves with a message from you series the English Reformation and the Puritans were listening to Renewing Your Mind on this Thursday.

Thank you for joining us blindly. Web.

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