W. Bradford Littlejohn, Richard Hooker: A Companion to His Life and Work
The question some, if not most, readers will ask upfront is: who is Richard Hooker? Hooker was a 16th century pastor, theologian, philosopher and polemicist who is enjoying a revival of sorts in scholarly circles. W. Bradford Littlejohn, who studied for his PhD under Oliver O’Donovan at New College and is the President of the Davenant Trust, is playing a role in this revival. With this volume, Littlejohn also wants to translate the scholarly rejuvenation of Hooker into the language of the minister and layperson. His new book, Richard Hooker: A Companion to His Life and Work, is an excellent way to introduce yourself and others to this important, but neglected theologian. As it turns out, Richard Hooker has a lot to offer the reformed evangelical church, and Littlejohn’s offering will no doubt serve as a catalyst for further discussion and reflection on not only Hooker himself, but the debates of his own day and how they are relevant in our own context.
The book’s first and second sections offer an easy to understand overview of Hooker’s own life and work in the Church of England, as well as his theological vision and aims. The context within which Hooker worked and operated is obviously vital to understanding him properly, and Littlejohn does a first–rate job of exploring and explaining the controversies of the Elizabethan settlement in England during the latter decades of the 16th century. Hooker’s only major theological work, the ponderously titled Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, is ably summarised, and this section provides a very helpful digest of this major work of English reformed theology. Of interest to many readers of this website will be the battles Hooker had with the more extreme wing of the Puritan non–conformist movement, especially with regard to their position on the role of the civil magistrate and church governance.
The Puritans are a wonderful resource of godly spiritual writings and practical theology. Reformed and evangelical circles rightly tend to give them prominence. Richard Hooker shared many of the core theological beliefs of the Puritans but also differed on some key points. Exploring Hooker’s work gives us an opportunity to examine a polemic directed at the kinds of Puritan thinkers we often admire. The question one must ask at this point is: how might Hooker’s critiques apply to me? Littlejohn offers some interesting challenges to contemporary evangelicals in light of Hooker’s ideas. Readers should be aware that the line between Hooker’s and Littlejohn’s opinion is sometimes difficult to discern, and this rears its head throughout the book. However, if one focuses on the historical context of the critiques being offered then things can be seen more clearly.
The third main section of the book provides a high–level, but still theologically helpful, analysis of Hooker’s main emphases: the authority and role of the Bible, law, the Church, and liturgy and sacraments. The chapters which cover the latter two emphases are particularly useful. In a day when even those from high church backgrounds misunderstand or misinterpret the role of the visible church in the believer’s life and in society more broadly, Hooker’s thought will be provocative. Hooker, in a sense, de–spiritualises the visible church and thereby removes some of the so–called “spiritual” power of the clergy. However, after doing this, he counter intuitively re–emphasises it both as a part of the temporal realm and as a vehicle of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. As a part of the temporal realm (as opposed to the spiritual realm) the Church as an assembly of believers is like any other institution: the state, the family, the bowls club. For Hooker, it is not governed by special spiritual laws. It is still governed by external, earthly law. Therefore, the establishment of the Church by the state was acceptable and possibly desirable for Hooker. This doctrine of the Two Kingdoms is quite different to some of more popular contemporary conceptions. However, while it is not precisely the same, Hooker’s doctrine has greater similarity to Calvin’s and Luther’s two-kingdoms than some of his Puritan contemporaries.
However, Hooker does not entirely flatten out the visible church with the visible world. For Hooker the preaching of the Word and the Sacraments serve as one of God’s core ways of continuing to work in the Christian’s life. Therefore, the visible church is one of the primary vehicles that God uses to accomplish sanctification in the life of the believer. So even though the visible church is, in a sense, not as spiritual as we sometimes assume, Hooker understands that God works in spiritual ways to grow those who are truly his. Littlejohn’s related examination of Hooker’s sacramental theology will also be challenging to readers. In a time when baptism and the Lord’s Supper are becoming mere memorials and testimonials in many evangelical and reformed churches Hooker’s theology provides a rich counter–point without descending into Romanism. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “physical instruments” whereby God promises to impart “spiritual grace” to those who have faith, says Hooker. To our modern ears it may sound like he is walking a fine sacramental line, but he is actually very close to Calvin’s own doctrine at these points.
Littlejohn’s work in this book offers an edifying, well–informed glimpse into the thought and life of a towering figure often forgotten in our circles, and it is refreshing to read an account of the life and theology of minister and theologian who was both Reformed and “high church”. It also dedicates a final chapter to Hooker’s relevance for today’s church, a section which will prove helpful for readers as they think through the implications of Hooker’s theology. Importantly the book is also very accessible. Littlejohn takes a theologically informed, but uncomplicated route through the debates of Hooker’s day, traverses the theological and ecclesiological nuances in his writings, and helps new readers navigate the seemingly treacherous waters of Hooker scholarship. I am confident it will give both ministers and laypeople much to think about, also. Overall, the book is a very helpful work on a fascinating subject.
