Politics, Religion and the British Revolutions
The Mind of Samuel Rutherford

An intellectual biography of the Scottish theologian and political theorist Samuel Rutherford (1600–61).

John Coffey (Author)

9780521581721, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 August 1997

320 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.64 kg

'It is … a sensitive appraisal of a powerful mind in context, and sheds valuable light on the religious and political history of Caroline and Civil War Britain.' Journal of Religious History

This is the first modern intellectual biography of the Scottish Covenanters' great theorist Samuel Rutherford (c. 1600–61). The central focus is on Rutherford's political thought and his major treatise, Lex, Rex, written in 1644 as a justification of the Covenanters' resistance to King Charles I. The book demonstrates that while Lex, Rex provided a careful synthesis of natural-law theory and biblical politics, Rutherford's Old Testament vision of a purged and covenanted nation ultimately subverted his commitment to the politics of natural reason. The book also discusses a wide range of other topics, including scholasticism and humanism, Calvinist theology, Presbyterian ecclesiology, Rutherford's close relationships with women and his fervent spirituality. It will therefore be of considerable interest to a range of scholars and students working on Scottish and English history, Calvinism and Puritanism, and early modern political thought.

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Biography
3. The scholar
4. The puritan pastor
5. The reformed theologian
6. The political theorist
7. The ecclesiastical statesman
8. The national prophet
Conclusion: the failure of godly rule
Bibliography of Samuel Rutherford
General bibliography.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]