Church and State
The English Experience
- 96 Pages
The prestigious Prideaux Lectures were given in 1990 by Adrian Hastings, published here in volume form. With a distinctive and fresh approach, he surveys the vast range of interactions between the Christian church and the English state both historically and theologically. The central theme is the tension between the intrinsic dualism within the Christian approach to church and state and the pressure towards monism inherent in the Reformation establishment. While contrasting Roman Catholic and Free Church with Anglican past experience, the concluding chapter assesses recent developments in which the established church has effectively recovered a dualist stance. At a time when the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury has heightened discussion about the role of the church in contemporary society, Professor Hastings makes a significant contribution to the subject. Church and State provides a frame of reference at once historical and theological, for a subject which is too frequently discussed merely descriptively or moralistically. It is in fact the frame of reference underlying the author's recent and much acclaimed works Robert Runcie and A History of English Christianity 1920-1985.
'Anybody who believes in a division of power will have no difficulty in accepting Hasting's line. But the ageing left, who think that they may have a powerful apostle for disestablishment, are in for a wonderfully rude awakening.' (Independent)
'To be told of this book…would be enough to whet the appetite. …Actually meeting the book goes beyond whetting appetites; it is somewhere near inflaming them. …There are some pungent axe-edged quotes laid to the root of the tree.' (Church Times)
Preface
1. Patterns of Dualism
2. The Triumph and Decline of Justinianism
3. A Tradition of Dissent
4. What Matters To Us Now
Epilogue
Further Reading
Index