This study focuses on the relationship between Hooker's doctrine of law and his concept of "participation," which is an important feature of his sacramental doctrine. In The Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie (V.50--67), Richard Hooker discusses the saving work of Christ and man's participation in him through faith and the sacraments. How does Hooker understand participation in God? Hooker speaks of the Atonement, Justification and sacraments in the vocabulary of the magisterial Reform, but (perhaps uniquely) understands the same doctrines within the framework of law, the instrument by which God orders his creation. Hooker defines law in terms of Aristotelian causes to describe a process of participation: the causes that inform the natures, operations and ends of creatures accomplish a hierarchical process of emanation of being from God and return to God. Law therefore mediates between God and creation. Creatures participate in God through the natural law, but after the fall, man's participation is restored through the divine law. Hooker's account of the Incarnation and Atonement, justification through faith, and sacramental participation---the main features of the divine law---therefore takes into account the idea of law. Hooker's treatment of participation, then, is based on categories in classical physics, and his doctrine of law influences his treatment of specific theological loci.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.29508 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Irish, Charles W. |
| Contributors | Kirby, W. J. Torrance (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001956451, proquestno: MQ85859, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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