William Perkins (theologian)

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox theologian William Perkins (1558–1602) was an influential English cleric and Cambridge theologian, receiving a B.A. and M.A. from the university in 1581 and 1584 respectively, and also one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England during the Elizabethan era. Although not entirely accepting of the Church of England's ecclesiastical practices, Perkins conformed to many of the policies and procedures imposed by the Elizabethan Settlement. He did remain, however, sympathetic to the non-conformist puritans and even faced disciplinary action for his support.

Perkins was a prolific author who penned over forty works, many of which were published posthumously. In addition to writing, he also served as a fellow at Christ's College and as a lecturer at St. Andrew's Church in Cambridge. He was a firm proponent of Reformed theology, particularly the supralapsarian theology of Theodore Beza. In addition, he was a staunch defender of Protestant ideals, specifically the five solae with a particular emphasis on solus Christus and sola Scriptura.

Early life

Perkins was born to Thomas and Anna Perkins<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref> at Marston Jabbett in the parish of Bulkington, Warwickshire, England in 1558,<ref name="Brook1994">Template:Harvnb</ref> the year in which the Protestant Elizabeth I succeeded her Catholic sister Mary as Queen of England. Perkins lived his entire life under Elizabeth I, dying one year before the Queen's death in 1603. Perkins's relationship with Elizabeth was ambiguous: on the one hand, she was Good Queen Bess, the monarch under whom England finally and firmly became a Protestant nation; on the other hand, Perkins and the other members of the Puritan movement were frustrated that the Elizabethan settlement had not gone far enough and pushed for further Reformation.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Little is known of Perkins' childhood and upbringing. Sometime in his early life he was rendered lame which forced him to write with his left hand.<ref name="Neal1843">Template:Harvnb</ref> His family was evidently of some means, since in June 1577, at age 19, Perkins was enrolled as a pensioner of Christ's College, Cambridge<ref name="Lea 1996 275">Template:Harvnb</ref> being trained in the tradition of the Reformed scholastic framework.<ref name="Pederson2006">Template:Harvnb</ref> He would receive his BA in 1581 and his MA in 1584.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

According to an unverifiable story, Perkins was convinced of the error of his ways after he heard a Cambridge mother say to her child, "Hold your tongue, or I will give you to drunken Perkins yonder."<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Whether or not the story is true, it is clear that Perkins had a religious awakening sometime between 1581 and 1584 during his time at Cambridge.<ref name="Pederson2006" /> Thomas Fuller's biographical profile of Perkins portrayed him as "very wild in his youth," skilled in mathematics, possessed of "a rare felicity in speedy reading of books," and preaching, early in his ministry, with a sternness that he mitigated in later years:

He would pronounce the word damn with such an emphasis, as left a doleful echo in his auditors' ears a good while after... . But in his older age he altered his voice and remitted much of his former rigidness; often professing that to preach mercy was that proper office of the ministers of the Gospel.<ref name="Fuller">Template:Cite book</ref>

Perkins's sermons, wrote Fuller, "were not so plain but that the piously learned did admire them, nor so learned but that the plain did understand them."<ref name=Fuller/>

Perkins thus began a lifelong association with the "moderate-puritan" wing of the Church of England which held views similar to those of the continental Calvinist theologians Theodore Beza, Girolamo Zanchi, and Zacharias Ursinus. Perkins's circle at Cambridge included Laurence Chaderton and Richard Greenham.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

Perkins as clergyman and Cambridge fellow

Following his ordination, Perkins also preached his first sermons to the prisoners of the Cambridge jail.<ref name="Brook1994" /> On one celebrated occasion, Perkins encountered a young man who was going to be executed for his crimes and who feared he was shortly going to be in hell: Perkins convinced the man that, through Christ, God could forgive his sins, and the formerly distraught youth faced his execution with manly composure as a result.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

In 1584, after receiving his MA degree, Perkins was elected as a fellow of Christ's College, a post he held until 1594.<ref name="Lea 1996 275"/> In 1585, he became a Lecturer of St Andrew the Great in Cambridge, a post he held until his death.<ref name="Ferguson1996">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Perkins's churchmanship

As a "moderate Puritan", Perkins was firmly opposed to non-conformists and other separatists who refused to conform to the Church of England.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He also opposed the Elizabethan regime's program of imposing uniformity on the church. For example, when Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift imprisoned Francis Johnson for Johnson's support of a presbyterian form of church polity, Perkins defended Johnson. This was not an isolated incident, and he appeared before the commission more than once.<ref name="Neal1843" />

On 13 January 1587, Perkins preached a sermon denouncing the practice of kneeling to receive Communion, and was ultimately called before the Vice-Chancellor as a result. During the final set of trials against Puritan ministers in 1590–1591, Perkins confirmed that he had discussed the Book of Discipline with Puritan ministers, but claimed that he could not remember whom he had talked to.

Perkins married Timothye Cradocke of Grantchester on 2 July 1595. (He had previously resigned his fellowship at Christ's College, since only unmarried men could be fellows.) They became the parents of seven children, three of whom died in youth from various causes, and one of whom was born after Perkins himself had died.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

Theological opinions

Perkins was a proponent of "double predestination"<ref name="Pederson2006" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and was a major player in introducing the thought of Theodore Beza to England. He viewed the Reformed concept of the Covenant of Grace, which is central to Reformed soteriology and double predestination, to be a doctrine of great consoling value.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He was responsible for the publication in English of Beza's famous chart about double predestination. Writing less than a century after Perkins's death, his biographer Thomas Fuller recounted an objection that Perkins's views on double predestination often prompted:

Some object that his doctrine, referring all to an absolute decree, hamstrings all industry, and cuts off the sinews of men's endeavours towards salvation. For, ascribing all to the wind of God's Spirit, (which bloweth where it listeth,) he leaveth nothing to the oars of man's diligence, either to help or hinder to the attaining of happiness, but rather opens a wide door to licentious security.<ref name=Fuller/>

In addition to adopting a Reformed soteriology, Perkins also strongly held to the doctrines of solo Christo and sola Scriptura which "serve as the twin foundation stones for what Perkins conceived as biblical preaching."<ref name="Lea 1996 275"/><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He was also a major proponent of literal interpretation<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> using the regula fidei, or Rule of Faith. This principle advocates that the unclear portions of scripture ought to be interpreted by the clear portions rather than by tradition or speculation.<ref name="Lea 1996 279">Template:Harvnb</ref> He did, however, leave room for figurative or analogical language when context demands.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Influence

Although relatively unknown to modern Christians, Perkins has had an influence that is felt by Christians all around the world.<ref name="Ferguson1996" /> and was highly regarded in the Elizabethan Church.<ref name="Lea 1996 275"/> In addition, Perkins's views on double predestination made him a major target of Jacobus Arminius, the Dutch Reformed clergyman who opposed the doctrine of predestination.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He also was influential in the theological development of the American puritan philosopher and theologian Jonathan Edwards.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> In addition, some consider the hermeneutics of Perkins to be a model that ought to be emulated.<ref name="Lea 1996 279"/>

In his lifetime, Perkins attained enormous popularity, with sales of his works eventually surpassing even Calvin's. When he died, his writings were selling more copies than those of many of the most famous of the Reformers combined.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

From his position at Cambridge, Perkins was able to influence a whole generation of English churchmen.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> His pupils include:

Death

In 1602, Perkins suffered from "the stone". After several weeks of suffering, he died on 22 October 1602 at age 44.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

James Montagu preached his funeral sermon, taking as his text Joshua 1.2, ‘Moses my servant is dead’. He was buried in St. Andrew's, the church which he had pastored for eighteen years.<ref name="Pederson2006" />

Publications by Perkins

A Hungarian translation of a work by Perkins, 1648

Posthumously:

Recent reprints:

  • The Work of William Perkins, ed. Ian Breward (1970)
  • The Works of William Perkins, ed. Joel R. Beeke and Derek W. H. Thomas, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2014–2020).

References

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Sources

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