St. Paul and Protestantism, with an Essay on Puritanism and the Church of England

Matthew Arnold

Sep 2022 · DigiCat

About this ebook

This essay following the treatise on St. Paul and Protestantism, was meant to clear away offense or misunderstanding which had arisen out of that treatise. There still remain one or two points on which a word of explanation may be useful, and to them this preface is addressed. The general objection, that the scheme of doctrine criticized by me is common to both Puritanism and the Church of England, and does not characterize the one more essentially than the other, has been removed, the author hopes, by the concluding essay. But it is said that there is, at any rate, a large party in the Church of England,—the so-called Evangelical party,—which holds just the scheme of doctrine the author has called Puritan; that this large party, at least, if not the whole Church of England, is as much a stronghold of the distinctive Puritan tenets as the Nonconformists are; and that to tax the Nonconformists with these tenets, and to say nothing about the Evangelical clergy holding them too, is injurious and unfair.

About the author

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) was a distinguished Victorian poet, literary critic, and essayist whose work profoundly influenced the literary discourse of his time and beyond. Born in Laleham, England, he held the position of Inspector of Schools for over three decades, which allowed him extensive travel and insight into the state of education in England. Arnold's contributions extend beyond poetry into the realm of social and literary criticism. His seminal work, 'Culture and Anarchy' (1869), remains a landmark analysis of culture and society, wherein he famously advocated for 'culture' as the pursuit of perfection and the study of 'the best that has been thought and said in the world.' Arnold's writings on religion and society encapsulate in 'St. Paul and Protestantism, with an Essay on Puritanism and the Church of England' (1870), reflect his rationalist perspective on religious faith and critique of the contemporary state of Christianity. A master of intellectual prose and thought-provoking essays, Arnold's literary style is characterized by a preoccupation with spiritual issues and the conditions of modern society. His keen analytical abilities and elegiac poetic voice have secured his place as a central figure in the study of nineteenth-century literature and culture.