Thomas Jackson (1579 – 1640) was an English theologian, and President of

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

. Originally a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, he became in later life an Arminian.

Life

He was born at

Witton-le-Wear Witton-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, North East England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Wear, to the north-west of Bishop Auckland. Geography and administration Witton-le-Wear is part of the North West Durham Parliament ...

, County Durham, and educated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he attended Queen’s College from 1595. He became a probationer fellow of Corpus Christi College in 1606, and was soon afterwards elected vice-president there. In 1623 James Thomas Jackson was presented to the living of St Nicholas, Newcastle, and about 1625 to the living of

Winston, County Durham Winston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately east of Barnard Castle, on a crossroads between the A67 and B6274 roads. According to the 2011 UK Census the population was 431, the parish includes ...

. In 1631 he was appointed President of Corpus; and in 1632

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

presented him to the living of

Witney, Oxfordshire Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

. He was made a prebendary of Winchester in 1635, and was

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

from 1635 to 1639.

Works

His chief work was a series of commentaries on the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

, the first complete edition being entitled ''The Works of Thomas Jackson, D.D.'' (London, 1673), edited by

Barnabas Oley Barnabas Oley (1602–1686) was an English churchman and academic. A royalist figure of the First English Civil War, he was also the first editor of George Herbert and Thomas Jackson, and a personal friend of Nicholas Ferrar. In old age he was ar ...

. The commentaries were originally published in 1613 to 1657, as twelve books with different titles, the first being ''The Eternal Truth of Scriptures'' (London, 1613).

Views

Strongly against the Catholic doctrine on

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...

, he belonged to the " Durham House group" headed by

Richard Neile Richard Neile (or Neale; 1562 – 31 October 1640) was an English churchman, bishop successively of six English dioceses, more than any other man, including the Archdiocese of York from 1631 until his death. He was involved in the last burning ...

. He was an early anti-Calvinist among Oxford theologians. He made his views known only in the late 1620s, but stated that around 1605 he had already decided against

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

. In theology he was a syncretic

Platonist Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at l ...

. He took an interest in the

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Ep ...

view of

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

, but argued for a middle way accommodating the

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy * STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain * ...

criticism of the Epicureans. His humanistic Platonism has been compared to that of Robert Burton; and

William Prynne William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were presbyte ...

, arguing against

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 promotion of Jackson, claimed his learning only made him more dangerous.Angus Gowland, ''The Worlds of Renaissance Melancholy: Robert Burton in Context'' (2006), pp. 203-4.

References

External links

''Anglican Eucharistic Theology''
* http://www.seaham.i12.com/myers/m-jackson1.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Thomas 1579 births 1640 deaths 16th-century Protestants 16th-century English theologians 17th-century English theologians Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Deans of Peterborough English Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from Witton-le-Wear Presidents of Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Life

Works

Views

References

Further reading

External links