Thomas Coleman (1598–1647) was an English clergyman, known for his scholarship in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, which earned him the nickname ‘Rabbi Coleman’, and for his

Erastian Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians shou ...

view of church polity. In 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 adopte ...

he was the clerical leader of the Erastian party, alongside the lawyer

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learne ...

. Selden praised him, with

Thomas Erastus Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians shou ...

, in his ''De Synedriis''.

Life

He was a native of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, and entered

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

in 1615. He graduated B.A. in 1618, M.A. in 1621, and took holy orders. He held for a time the rectory of

Blyton Blyton is a village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east from Gainsborough. From Blyton the village of Laughton lies to the north, and Pilham to the south-east, ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

, which he exchanged in 1642 for that of

St. Peter's, Cornhill St Peter upon Cornhill is an Anglican church on the corner of Cornhill and Gracechurch Street in the City of London of medieval, or possibly Roman origin. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to the designs of Sir C ...

Anthony Wood Anthony Wood may refer to: * Anthony Wood (antiquary) (1632–1695), English antiquary * Anthony Wood (businessman) (born 1965), British-born American billionaire businessman * Anthony Wood (historian) (1923–1987), British school teacher and his ...

says that he died early in 1647.

Works and views

He published sermons and tracts. Lamont sees Coleman's preaching in 1644 as an important precursor of

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

, anticipating principles to be found in ''

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to so ...

''. In 1645 Coleman was strongly opposed by

George Gillespie George Gillespie (21 January 1613 – 17 December 1648) was a Scotland, Scottish theology, theologian. His father was John Gillespie, minister of Kirkcaldy. He studied at St Andrews University, and is said to have graduated M.A. 1629, tho ...

. In ''A Brotherly Examination Re-examined'' (1645), Coleman summed up the position: Gillespie had conceded that the opposition to the Erastians, the Presbyterian and Independent groups in the Assembly, had in common their aversion to the Erastian approach. Matters were left to drift while the Presbyterians made hopeful comments about the possible good to come from orderliness within the churches. He could point to

John Ley John Ley (4 February 1583 – 16 May 1662) was an English clergyman and member of the Westminster Assembly. Life He was born in Warwick and received his early education at the free school in that town. On 12 February 1602, he entered Christ Chur ...

arguing just this way, to attack John Saltmarsh. But they made for strange bedfellows, with the Presbyterians now borrowing the positions of the Independents, considering that the actual contemporary situation was a breakdown of order, and all for the sake of denying the Erastian position of effective control through the state,Lamont, pp. 146-7. According to Lamont: Lamont sums up the Erastians in relation to

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

in this way:

Notes

References

*William M. Lamont (1969), ''Godly Rule: Politics and Religion 1603-60'' ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Thomas 1598 births 1647 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests Westminster Divines Erastians Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People from Oxford