Richard Hooker and the Vision of God - Exploring the Origins of 'Anglicanism' (Paperback, New)

Charles Miller's rigorous and sensitive examination of Richard Hooker's theology makes a valuable addition to the field of study of the cleric, one of the founding theologians of modern Anglicanism. Miller examines Hooker's works in detail, leading the reader through different facets of his vision of God: creation, Scripture, the sacraments, and practices of Christian devotion. Hooker's theology challenges an increasingly time-bound, relativistic approach to doctrine and truth; his sources were as wide, as ancient, and as modern as Hooker could make them. Miller's thoughtful analysis is informed throughout by an understanding of the context of Hooker's theological development against the backdrop of continental Calvinism and the remnants of Roman Catholicism in England. The growth of interest in Hooker among specialists has been accompanied by an abandonment of the serious study of Hooker's thought among theological students, clergy and theologians. Miller's work addresses this lack; Hooker's insights must not be forgotten in the daily distribution of theological food to Christian people. A study which attunes readers to Hooker's particular theological 'voice' and teaches its value both in his own context and as a present-day interlocutor, this volume will be of great interest to Christians and theological students alike. Charles Miller is an Anglican priest who has taught theology, Anglican studies and spirituality in seminaries and universities in the United States and the UK. His books include: 'Toward A Fuller Vision: Orthodoxy and the Anglican Experience', 'Praying the Eucharist: Reflections on the Eucharistic Experience of God', and 'For the Gift of the World: An Introduction to the Theology of Dumitru Staniloae'. Since 2006 he has been Team Rector of Abingdon and Vicar of St Helen's Church in the Diocese of Oxford. 'Charles Miller has produced an amazingly comprehensive volume, covering a vast number of subjects and treating them with mature scholarship and erudition. He draws new attention to classical understandings of Anglican theology, formulated many years ago by More and Cross and subsequently embellished by Olivier Loyer and others. The next generation of Hooker scholarship will needs make frequent and grateful reference to the seventeen chapters of Miller's far-ranging volume.' J. Robert Wright, The General Theological Seminary, New York City.