Milton's Vision: The Birth of Christian Liberty - Hardcover

Hobson, Theo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184706342X ISBN 13: 9781847063427

Publisher: Continuum, 2008

Synopsis

No other writer is so grudgingly admired as Milton. He wrote great poetry, goes the received wisdom, but his creed was narrow, chilling, and inhuman. His reputation is that of a stereotypical Puritan and authoritarian. Yet Theo Hobson maintains that no one opposed religious authoritarianism with such vehemence. Indeed, he argues that no one was so adamant that political freedom is built into the Christian gospel.

Milton insisted that Protestantism was compatible with political liberty-that the two ideas are complementary. By treating all ecclesiastical authority with suspicion, he helped to establish the modern ideal of secularism. He was a Christian libertarian who wanted every form of church to wither away, so that the Gospel might be completely free of coercion. Milton's Vision is thus a vital contribution to the contemporary debate about the place of religion in public life. There has never been a study of Milton that highlights his relevance to the core issues of our day: how religion gives rise to and interacts with secular ideals.

About this title

About the Author

Mr. Theo Hobson has published a number of books and also writes regularly for The Times, The Tablet and The Spectator.

Review

"Theo Hobson takes no prisoners in his enthusiasm for Milton. This is a vigorous pen-portrait of one of Protestantism's greatest writers which has the great virtues of taking his Protestantism seriously, and of saying without any hesitation that Milton's Protestantism speaks to the modern Western world as much as it did to the tyrants and tidy-minded ideologues of his own day." Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, Theology Faculty, University of Oxford.

Title mention in The Times.

"A worthy addition to the literature on Milton" - Catholic Herald

Review in The Independent.

"The author's passion communicates itself to the reader, and he gives a stirring, lucid account of this extraordinary writer." - The Tablet

'Milton never published a systematic account of Christian liberty; Hobson duly compensates.' Church Times, February 2009

'A study written with a racy style and wit [...] but with a very serious point at its heart.' Baptist Times, March 2009

Title mention in author's own article in The Tablet, January 2009

Review in The Tablet, January 2009

"The author is well-known as an indepenent-minded critic of positions and people not often questioned in his particularly creative way ... His current topic, Milton, challenges those religious souls who embrace the subject as 'their type of Protestant' to juggle another thesis from the same man, namely that Protestantism per se equates with political liberty ... it is well written, worth reading."

The Church of Ireland Gazette, April 2009

Edition details

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 184706342X
• ISBN 13: 9781847063427
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192