Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Saturday, March 29, 2014

29 Mar 1602. Mr. (Rev. Dr.) John Lightfoot born.

29 March 1602. Mr. (Rev. Dr.) John Lightfoot was born. A Calvinistic Church of England Churchman (extremely rare today), Hebrew scholar (very rare today), Theologian (extremely rare today), and Contributor (never in our time) to The Westminster Confession of Faith (the vast unvarnished masses of Anglicans would not even know of the Confession...huh?). Back to the Hebraist Reformed scholar from the days when the Church of England wasn't so crap-faced and so full of crap (cf. Mal. 2.3). We introduce Dr. Lightfoot.


The story is told at: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/john-lightfoot-theologian-and-hebrew-scholar-11630049.html


Imagine becoming the best Hebrew scholar in your nation without once speaking to a Jew. That is what John Lightfoot did. He may never even have seen a Jew, for they were barred from England until late in his life.

 John Lightfoot was born on this day, March 29, 1602 in an England which was only just regaining the knowledge of Hebrew. Four hundred years before, King Edward I had kicked the Jews out of his nation. Many left manuscripts behind, which allowed scholars such as Roger Bacon to understand the ancient tongue. However, Hebrew studies were frowned upon by the church. Bacon himself was accused of using Hebrew to communicate with the devil.


Even as a youngster, John proved to be a natural-born scholar, especially good with Greek and Latin. However, he had only the minimum acquaintance with Hebrew. That changed after the twenty-year-old became a Church of England curate (a minister in charge of a parish) in Shropshire, England.
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One man who came every week to hear him preach was Sir Rowland Cotton. It happened that Sir Rowland had a good knowledge of Hebrew. He challenged John to learn it, saying that he could not really understand the Old Testament without understanding the language that it was written in. John felt embarrassed that a layman had more Bible knowledge than himself, a minister.



Helped by Sir Rowland, he quickly mastered the basics of Hebrew. Through incessant, diligent study, he surpassed his teacher and eventually became the greatest Hebrew scholar in all of England.
Studying Jewish writings, he showed from rabbinic teachings that Jesus was clearly identifiable as the Messiah. "Even the Lord's prayer is derived from expressions that had long been familiar in the schools and synagogues of Judea." His book Horae Hebraicae explained the New Testament in light of knowledge he had gleaned from the writings of rabbis. Many later commentators consulted it. John was also prominent in the formulation of the Westminster Confession of Faith.


John never forgot the debt he owed Sir Rowland. "He laid such doubled and redoubled obligations upon me by the tender affection, respect and favor, that he showed towards me, as have left so indelible an impression on my heart, of honor to his name and observance to his house of Bellaport, that length of time may not wear it out nor distance of place ever cause me to forget it."
He died in 1675, leaving behind a body of work which filled nineteen volumes.


Bibliography:


1. "John Lightfoot." Meet the Puritans. http://www.sdgbooks.com/sdgbooks/hall7_lightfoot.html
2. Welton, Daniel D. John Lightfoot, the English Hebraist. Oxford, 1880.

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