Anthony Tuckney (September 1599, in

Kirton-in-Holland Kirton or Kirton in Holland is an English village and civil parish in the Borough of Boston, Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 5,371. History The Domesday Book of 1086 terms the village ''Cherchetune''. ...

– February 1670) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and scholar.

Life

Anthony Tuckney was educated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

, and a fellow there from 1619 to 1630. He was town preacher at

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of ...

from 1629 and in 1633, succeeded John Cotton as vicar of

St Botolph's Church, Boston St Botolph's Church is the Anglican parish church of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. It has been referred to as "Boston Stump" since it was constructed. Its tower is tall, and was long used as a landmark for sailors; on a clear day it can be s ...

. Tuckney was the chairman of the committee of the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopt ...

in 1643 and was responsible for its section on the

Decalogue The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

in the "Larger Catechism." From 1645 to 1653 he was

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Emmanuel and then from 1653 to 1661 Master of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. In 1655, he became the Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge – then the seat of Puritan thought. As Master of St John's, he defended his practice of giving fellowships for "learning", rather than "godliness": "With their godliness they may deceive me, with their learning they cannot."J.A.Gere and John Sparrow (ed.), ''Geoffrey Madan's Notebooks'', Oxford University Press, 1981, at page 24 After the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

in 1660, he was removed from his positions and retired from professional life. He was not a frequent controversialist, with only his replies to the letters of

Benjamin Whichcote Benjamin Whichcote (4 May 1609 – May 1683) was an English Establishment and Puritan divine, Provost of King's College, Cambridge and leader of the Cambridge Platonists. He held that man is the "child of reason" and so not completely depraved ...

(published in 1753) testifying to his suspicions about

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...

and the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its na ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuckney, Anthony 1599 births 1670 deaths English Calvinist and Reformed theologians Masters of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Masters of St John's College, Cambridge Westminster Divines Participants in the Savoy Conference Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People from Kirton, Lincolnshire Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Cambridge) 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians