The Importance of being Josiah: An Image of Calvinist Identity
Calvinist reformers expected secular authorities to champion religious reform. Preachers presented kings and princes with ideals of godly rule drawn from the history of biblical Israel-an aspect of the Hebraic patriotism that was pursued with much enthusiasm by early modern Calvinists-to encourage m...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1998
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1998, Volume: 29, Issue: 4, Pages: 1043-1059 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Calvinist reformers expected secular authorities to champion religious reform. Preachers presented kings and princes with ideals of godly rule drawn from the history of biblical Israel-an aspect of the Hebraic patriotism that was pursued with much enthusiasm by early modern Calvinists-to encourage magistrates to lead the implementation of reform programs. Many Calvinists found the life of King Josiah to be an excellent model for contemporary magistrates: Josiah as religious reformer, as iconoclast and destroyer of false religions, and as territorial expansionist. Calvinist writers also noted the prophecy of Josiah's violent death, which exemplified the fate believed to await those princes who failed to cooperate completely with projects of religious reform and social renewal. The importance to Calvinist rulers of "being Josiah" therefore reveals much about the political and cultural identity of Reformed Protestants across Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2543357 |