A Treatise on Christian Moderation (Library of Early English Protestantism)

"Joseph Hall is one of the most humane, appealing and–yes–moderate Protestant voices to emerge from the maelstrom of seventeenth-century England. I hope this careful new edition helps him to find the modern readers he deserves."

– ALEC RYRIE
Professor of the History of Christianity, University of Durham

AN AGE OF DIVISION. Political and religious convictions, strongly held, are tearing families, communities, and slowly the whole country apart. The men with the most extreme personalities seem to rise to the top, while those urging moderation are mocked and sidelined.

This may sound like the present day–but it refers to England in the run-up to the Civil War in 1642. As the nation rolled towards a conflict which would claim tens of thousands of lives, Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656) called on his countrymen to exercise an unglamorous yet vital Christian virtue: moderation. Hall, one of the English representatives at the Council of Dort, was branded “our English Seneca” for his intellectual abilities. These abilities are on full display in this work as he musters Scripture, philosophy, and history into a comprehensive commendation of the virtue of moderation.

In this new edition of A Treatise on Christian Moderation, with extensive footnotes and a scholarly introduction, readers can rediscover a forgotten treasure of Protestant wisdom. Hall’s call for personal and public moderation was tragically ignored in his time. In our own increasingly immoderate age, may this work finally find the hearing it deserves.