Benjamin 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,
while his commitment to civil liberties made him a progenitor of the American
Revolution. Above all, however, the goal of reuniting of English Protestants
remained the heart of Hoadly's legacy.
- ISBN10 0227176774
- ISBN13 9780227176771
- Publish Date 31 March 2022 (first published 25 March 2004)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint James Clarke & Co Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 399
- Language English