Religious liberty and authority : Hobbes's use of the Bible in Leviathan in the context of the English Civil War
It has long been a great riddle why Hobbes expressed his bizarre view about Christian religion in Leviathan. This thesis is a serious attempt to explain it. The procedure followed is, in the first place, to identify the precise nature of arguments distinctive of Leviathan and of the new religious challenges Hobbes faced in Leviathan, and then to connect them with religious issues in the English Civil War. The issues identified are enthusiasm, âthe Fooleâ in Chapter 15, and the toleration controversy. The first context investigated is several rational justifications for the authority of the Bible as a reaction to enthusiasm. Works by William Chillingworth, Edward Leigh, John Goodwin, Seth Ward and Henry Hammond are examined, and the originality of Hobbesâs view on biblical authority in comparison with them is clarified. It lies in Hobbesâs radical scepticism towards all forms of the pretended word of God as his solution to the political threat of enthusiasm, and in the correspondent certainty of his answer, the civil sovereign as the foundation of biblical authority. Clarification has been given of several layers of his scriptural interpretation underlying the conclusion, such as the philological investigation
Okada, T.
Religious liberty and authority : Hobbes's use of the Bible in Leviathan in the context of the English Civil War. It has long been a great riddle why Hobbes expressed his bizarre view about Christian religion in Leviathan. This thesis is a serious attempt to explain it. The procedure followed is, in the first place, to identify the precise nature of arguments distinctive of Leviathan and of the new religious challenges Hobbes faced in Leviathan, and then to connect them with religious issues in the English Civil War. The issues identified are enthusiasm, âthe Fooleâ in Chapter 15, and the toleration controversy. The first context investigated is several rational justifications for the authority of the Bible as a reaction to enthusiasm. Works by William Chillingworth, Edward Leigh, John Goodwin, Seth Ward and Henry Hammond are examined, and the originality of Hobbesâs view on biblical authority in comparison with them is clarified. It lies in Hobbesâs radical scepticism towards all forms of the pretended word of God as his solution to the political threat of enthusiasm, and in the correspondent certainty of his answer, the civil sovereign as the foundation of biblical authority. Clarification has been given of several layers of his scriptural interpretation underlying the conclusion, such as the philological investigation
religious liberty authority hobbes use bible context english_civil_war long great hobbes express view christian religion serious_attempt explain procedure follow first_place identify precise_nature argument distinctive new religious challenge hobbes face connect religious issue english_civil_war issue identify enthusiasm toleration controversy first context investigated several rational justification authority bible reaction enthusiasm works william edward john ward henry examine originality hobbes view biblical authority comparison clarify lie hobbes radical scepticism towards form pretend word god solution political threat enthusiasm correspondent certainty answer civil sovereign foundation biblical authority clarification give several layer scriptural interpretation underlie conclusion philological investigation