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Chapter 27 - The Language of Mystery

from Part IV - Laudianism and Predestination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2023

Peter Lake
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
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Summary

This chapter explicates the language of mystery, which was one of the Laudians’ preferred modes for treating the topic of predestination. The workings of the divine will were held to be so far above the puny categories of human reason that the process of subjecting the former to the demands of the latter was taken to be in itself a form of the presumption, perhaps even the sacrilege, of which the Laudians so frequently accused the puritans. The fine print of predestination was thus far better left wreathed in the language of mystery, a language that wise divines also used to deal with topics like the Trinity or Christology. There were, the Laudians maintained, central features of the Christian faith which were best simply believed rather than reduced to a list of numbered doctrinal propositions, to be then defended through entirely human procedures of syllogistic reasoning. In some circumstances, and certain moods, the Laudians held predestination to be one of those areas of difficulty, presented by God for human belief, rather than for theological enquiry.

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On Laudianism
Piety, Polemic and Politics During the Personal Rule of Charles I
, pp. 360 - 365
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Language of Mystery
  • Peter Lake, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
  • Book: On Laudianism
  • Online publication: 05 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009306829.035
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  • The Language of Mystery
  • Peter Lake, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
  • Book: On Laudianism
  • Online publication: 05 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009306829.035
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Language of Mystery
  • Peter Lake, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
  • Book: On Laudianism
  • Online publication: 05 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009306829.035
Available formats
×