Thomas Long (1621–1707) was an English clergyman and writer on Church politics. He spent almost all of his life in
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
.
Life
He was educated at
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university.
The college was founde ...
, where he graduated B.A. in 1642. He was prebendary of Exeter from 1600 to 1701.
Writings
In 1678 he attacked the late
John Hales John Hales may refer to:
*John Hales (theologian) (1584–1656), English theologian
*John Hales (bishop of Exeter) from 1455 to 1456
*John Hales (bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) (died 1490) from 1459 to 1490
*John Hales (died 1540), MP for Canterb ...
, incidentally taking a swipe at
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...
.
After the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
he wrote from the Whig perspective, in ''A Resolution of Certain Queries'' (1689), advocating submission to the new government. He replied, however, to
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
's ''
A Letter Concerning Toleration'' (1689), by writing like
Jonas Proast, a
High Church
A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
critique of Locke’s advocacy of
religious toleration
Religious tolerance or 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, ...
.
After the 1690 republication of ''
Eikonoklastes
''Eikonoklastes'' (from the Ancient Greek, Greek εἰκονοκλάστης, "wikt:iconoclast, iconoclast") is a book by John Milton, published October 1649. In it he provides a justification for the execution of Charles I, which had taken pla ...
'', he entered the controversy over the authorship of the ''
Eikon Basilike
The ( ; , ), ''The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings'', is a purported spiritual autobiography attributed to King Charles I of England. It was published on 9 February 1649, ten days after the Execution of Ch ...
'', writing against
Anthony Walker and supporting
Richard Hollingworth.
[ John Kenyon, ''Revolution Principles'' (1977) p. 67.] He also attacked the Unitarian tract ''The Naked Gospel'' (1690), the work of
Arthur Bury
Arthur Bury, D.D. (1624-1714?) was an English college head and Anglican theologian of controversial views. His 1690 antitrinitarian work, ''The Naked Gospel'', first published anonymously, was commanded to be burnt at Oxford, and, in a complex seq ...
.
Works
*''Mr. Hales's Treatise of Schism Examined and Censor'd'' (1678)
*''A Resolution of Certain Queries'' (1689)
*''The letter for toleration decipher’d, and the absurdity and impiety of an absolute toleration demonstrated'' (1689)
*''An Answer to a Socinian Treatise called "The Naked Gospel"'' (1691)
*''Dr. Walker's true, modest, and faithful account of the author of Eikon basilike, strictly examined, and demonstrated to be false, impudent, and deceitful'' (1693)
*''Apostolic communion in the Church of England'' (1702)
References
*
Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article pp. 538–540.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Thomas
1621 births
1707 deaths
17th-century English Anglican priests
17th-century Anglican theologians
18th-century Anglican theologians