Thomas Edwards (1599–1647) was an English

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

clergyman. He was a very influential preacher in London of the 1640s, and was a polemical writer, arguing from a conservative

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

point of view against the Independents.

Life

He graduated M.A. from

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

in 1625, and became a well-known preacher. He continued to reside at Cambridge, where, after taking orders, he was appointed a university preacher, nicknamed 'Young Luther.' In February 1627 he preached a sermon in which he counselled his hearers not to seek carnal advice when in doubt; declared he would testify and teach no other doctrine though the day of judgment were at hand, and was committed to prison until he could find bonds for his appearance before the ecclesiastical courts. After being frequently summoned before the courts, he received an order on 31 March 1628 to make a public recantation of his teaching in St. Andrew's Church, with which he complied on 6 April. Edwards did not remain much longer at Cambridge, and in 1629 a Thomas Edwards was licensed to preach in St. Botolph's, Aldgate. His career was cut short by

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

. :s:Edwards, Thomas (1599-1647) (DNB00) He was later able to campaign once more against 'popish innovations and

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

tenets' at various city churches, at Aldermanbury, and in

Coleman Street Coleman Street is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London and lies on the City's northern boundary with the London Borough of Islington. The ward, which includes land lying on either side of the former city wall, takes its name from ...

. In July 1640, on the delivery at Mercers' Chapel of a proudly nonconformist sermon he was prosecuted in the high commission court. He preached where he considered his services were most needed:

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, London,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

, Dunmow, and

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

to which at one time he commuted with three or four journeys a week from London. His base in London from 1644 was Christ Church, Newgate, an important Presbyterian centre. He was particularly concerned about religious sectarianism in the army, opposing the tendency emerging as the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

but not yet known as such. He overplayed his hand against the military, in July 1647. With other ministers in London, he encouraged a popular occupation of Parliament, to get reversed the measures taken to exclude eleven Presbyterian leaders. From 26 July for about a week the Presbyterian side, with City of London backing, were apparently in power in London. The Army then moved in, taking back control by 4 August. Edwards went into exile in the Netherlands, and died of ague before the end of the year.

''Gangraena''

His major work was ''

Gangraena ''Gangraena'' is a book by English puritan clergyman Thomas Edwards, published in 1646. A notorious work of heresiography, it appeared the year after Ephraim Pagitt's ''Heresiography''. These two books attempted to catalogue the fissiparous Prot ...

'' from 1646, a large catalogue of sectarian Protestant views, written from a fearsomely adversarial point of view and treating them as

heresies Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. He hoped that the list would silence or damage his opponents, but they responded, criticising Presbyterianism. In the work, as the first ideological identification of

Leveller The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its popul ...

s, Edwards summed up Levellers' views and attacked their radical political egalitarianism that showed no respect for the constitution. The prime targets in part III of his work were the men who were to be recognized as the leaders of the Leveller party.

Other writings

His first book was ''Reasons Against the Independent Government of Particular Congregations'' of 1641, an attack on

religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

and the Independent faction as it was coming to importance, and addressed to Parliament. It started a round of controversy, one participant being Katherine Chidley, another

William Walwyn William Walwyn (''bap.'' 1600–1681) was an English pamphleteer, a Leveller and a medical practitioner. Life Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War. He advocated religious toleration and emerged a ...

with '' A Whisper In The Eare of Mr Thomas Edwards'' in 1646 using mild satire. Another work was ''Antapologia'' of 1644, an attack on five members of the

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

belonging to the Independents (

William Bridge William Bridge (c. 1600 – 1670) was a leading English Independent minister, preacher, and religious and political writer. Life A native of Cambridgeshire, the Rev. William Bridge was probably born in or around the year 1600. He studied at Emm ...

Jeremiah Burroughs Jeremiah Burroughs (sometimes Burroughes; 1599 – London, 13 November, 1646) was an English Congregationalist and a well-known Puritan preacher. Biography Burroughs studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was graduated M.A. in 1624, bu ...

Thomas Goodwin Thomas Goodwin (Rollesby, Norfolk, 5 October 160023 February 1680), known as "the Elder", was an English Puritan theologian and preacher, and an important leader of religious Independents. He served as chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, and was impos ...

Philip Nye Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, and

Sidrach Simpson Sidrach Simpson (c.1600-1655) was an English Independent minister, one of the leaders of the Independent faction in the Westminster Assembly. Life Sidrach Simpson came from Lincolnshire. He was educated as a sizar at Emmanuel College and Queen ...

, collectively called the Five Dissenting Brethren). It has been called "the most elaborate and least gracious" of the

pamphlets on the Independents.

Family

His son,

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

, was a theologian. ''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'', article on John Edwards.

Notes

References

*Francis J. Bremer, Tom Webster, ''Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' (2006), s.v. pp. 85–87.

External links

*P. R. S. Baker
‘Edwards, Thomas (c.1599–1648)’
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 1 June 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Thomas 1599 births 1647 deaths English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England) Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English Puritan ministers