William Perkins (d.1602) is a familiar figure to those of us who study the English Reformation, a familiarity which stems from his own day. Perkins was one of the most widely known English theologians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, his works published in multiple editions and translated into eight languages. He was a foremost proponent of practical divinity, for which English theologians were known in the second half of the Reformation and, as Patterson convincingly argues, his ideas served as the basis for soteriological debates, sermons, and wider literature well into the seventeenth century.
Patterson’s brief introduction sets out the big question driving this study: how did England come to be a Protestant country, and what place did Perkins have in England’s transformation? Chapter one sets the stage nicely for Perkins’ contributions to English Protestantism by describing the religious milieu, marked by polemic, of England from the 1560s to the end of Elizabeth’s reign. Readers are treated to a narrative account of John Jewel’s Challenge Sermon, his controversy with Thomas Harding, the influence of Catholic polemicists like Thomas Stapleton and Nicholas Sander, the Vestments Controversy, presbyterianism, separatism, and Bancroft’s anti-puritanism. Much of this will be familiar terrain to scholars who will likely want to give this chapter a miss, though for undergraduates this will provide a remarkably accessible account of issues in the Elizabethan church. In fact, the majority of these chapters work as stand-alone pieces, with overlapping material, including the identification of key figures. Chapter two explores Perkins’ role as an apologist for the Church of England, something that will surprise the many people who picture Perkins as one of the coterie of ‘moderate puritans’ at Cambridge in the 1580s especially, not so much a staunch defender of Elizabethan orthodoxy à la John Jewel. In fact, Patterson analyzes the remarkably little evidence on which historians have determined Perkins to be a ‘puritan’ and instead offers a wealth of evidence linking him to ‘the mission of the established Church of his day’ (p. 49), placing Perkins within a trinity of Elizabethan theologian-apologists alongside Jewel and Richard Hooker. Chapter three gives weight to this by analyzing Perkins’ soteriological views, showing that Perkins’ understanding of the Christian community was inclusive, with the national church consisting of ‘the widest variety of Christian believers, representing many stages of spiritual development’ (p. 79). From here, Patterson devotes a chapter to the type of theology Perkins is best known for, practical divinity, demonstrating the central role Perkins attributed to conscience in negotiating moral dilemmas. Chapter five offers a corrective to studies that have characterized Perkins’ morally demanding preaching as increasingly unpopular in the seventeenth century, instead showing its lasting significance. Chapter six illuminates the way Perkins responded to the social and economic problems of the day, which he understood in a theological framework of vocation. Chapter seven discusses the controversy Perkins’ A Reformed Catholic (1597) stirred, providing a careful analysis of the polemical response written by William Bishop, later the Vicar Apostolic of England. A final chapter on the legacy of Perkins is divided into two sections. The first brings together bibliographical data from Ian Breward, Andrew Pettegree, and Ian Green to demonstrate the popularity and ongoing influence of Perkins’ works in England, Europe, and beyond. The second part moves beyond Perkins’ writings to the substance of his preaching, teaching, and theology. Here Patterson demonstrates the far reaching legacy of Perkins. His student Samuel Ward, for example, went on to represent England at the Synod of Dort, whose decrees gave Perkins’ view on predestination ongoing purchase. Patterson shows that he also left his mark on English poetry and in the works of other prominent preachers, but perhaps the most interesting paragraph, and it is a shame it does not warrant more discussion, is the way it influenced the spirituality of the laity.
This book has much to commend it. The first, it must be said, is the clarity of writing. When tackling complex theological ideas Patterson elucidates them with knowledgeable yet accessible language. The book also offers several new insights, subtly correcting assumptions that have driven interpretations of Perkins up to now, and does this lightly; for instance, the simple comment ‘Perkins was far more highly regarded within the leadership of the Church of England than has been generally recognized’ (p. 206) could have been followed with a barrage of examples from scholars, but instead serves to take readers into a web of connections and influence in the highest ranks of the Church of England. These instances, which appear throughout the book, - come together to paint a picture of Perkins that is distinct from and richer than what we had before. Gone is Perkins ‘the puritan’—even the ‘moderate puritan’!—replaced instead with a figure who not only defended the Church of England but delineated its theological substance, influencing its faith and practice. On this point, readers may feel that the author has missed an opportunity: by recasting a figure long considered a ‘puritan’ as a bastion of the established church, Patterson is well positioned to make historiographical contributions about identifying religious affiliations in Elizabethan England or current scholarly debates about defining puritanism, but this is regrettably absent.
Because of its accessibility, erudition, and breadth, this book will be valued by undergraduates and scholars alike. Patterson does justice to William Perkins, the Cambridge don, scholar, theologian, preacher, teacher, and religious writer at the heart of this study and, as Patterson proves, at the heart of a Protestant England. This convincing reassessment of a figure most of us will feel we knew is a welcome addition to the field.
