'That is Best, Which Was First': Christian Primitivism and the Reformation Church of England, 1548-1722

Citation

Manning D (2011) 'That is Best, Which Was First': Christian Primitivism and the Reformation Church of England, 1548-1722. Reformation and Renaissance Review, 13 (2), pp. 153-193. http://essential.metapress.com/content/k226k61741g3w4kr/

Abstract
This essay explores the Church of England's theologico-historical sense of self during the tumultuous period of the ‘long Reformation.' By taking its claim to be ‘primitive Christianity restored' seriously it is argued that Church of England polemical apology was guided by Christian primitivism, an ideology shaped by a belief in the theological primacy of the beginning of Christianity. This made it intellectually possible to conceive of a past true, pure Church that should and could be re-formed in the present. In a more speculative vein it is also argued that this primitivism was formative in the Church's self-defining apologetic recourse to Scripture, reason, and tradition.

Keywords
Primitivism; Mircea Eliade; Tertullian; polemical apology; scripture; reason; tradition; Reformation

Journal
Reformation and Renaissance Review: Volume 13, Issue 2