| Rutherford and Ussher |
| Friday, July 14, 2006 |
The soon to be vacationing Darrin Brooker at Running Well has posted that great old story of the interaction between two eminent Puritans, James Ussher and Samuel Rutherford. From what I understood, this story was apocryphal (Crawford???) but it is a great read none-the-less, and communicates the excellent truth of charity and hospitality. |
posted by Ian Clary @ 7:41 AM   |
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| 3 Comments: |
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yes, it is apocryphal, as far as I know. People have always said that Ussher was never in Scotland, though very very recent research by Alan Ford has moderated the force of this; but more importantly it is unfeasible that Samuel Rutherford (an arch-Covenanter) would ever have invited a bishop into his pulpit. It's a great story but it has its origins in c18th celebrations of Rutherford, which were rapidly elevating his piety above his (somewhat ferocious) ecclesiology ... in my humble opinion!
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Ferocious indeed! My friends used to call me a wet presbyterian, until I read Kingsley Rendell's biography of Rutherford. Then my "independency" became much more apparent! I couldn't stomach presbyterianism after it.
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John Coffey's book on Rutherford is magisterial (Cambridge, 1997). Coffey is generally brilliant, anyway. But hurrah for toleration!
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yes, it is apocryphal, as far as I know. People have always said that Ussher was never in Scotland, though very very recent research by Alan Ford has moderated the force of this; but more importantly it is unfeasible that Samuel Rutherford (an arch-Covenanter) would ever have invited a bishop into his pulpit. It's a great story but it has its origins in c18th celebrations of Rutherford, which were rapidly elevating his piety above his (somewhat ferocious) ecclesiology ... in my humble opinion!