A Kind of Life Imposed on Man : Vocation and Social Order from Tyndale to Locke

Paul A Marshall

ISBN 10: 1487578695 / ISBN 13: 9781487578695

Published by University Of Toronto Press Dez 1996, 1996

About this Item

Neuware - Vocation, or calling - the idea that everyday work is the locus of Christian obedience - is, at first glance, peculiarly a theological notion. But doctrines of vocation formed the core of much of the economic and social theory of Protestantism at a time when such theory was culturally and politically influential. Hence it has also attracted attention from, and caused controversy among, sociologist, economic historians, and political theorists. Max Weber made vocation one of the foci of his celebrated studies of the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. In this book, Paul Marshall offers the first systematic study of the development of the idea of vocation in England from 1500 to 1700. Vocational theory illuminates four themes that are examined in this work: the relationship between Renaissance and Reformation social thought; the nature of the competing political forces in mid-seventeenth century England, particularly as they related to Puritan social views; the interpretation of seventeenth-century political theory, notably the thinking of John Locke; and contemporary theological discussions of the relationship of vocation to the existing social order, which parallel debates between the Levellers and their opponents during the civil war.The doctrine of calling was a key element in various English social theories. It emphasized personal responsibility yet still treated the social order as divinely sanctioned, and is produced a distinct Protestant ethic, if not the one that Weber had in mind.

Seller Inventory # 9781487578695

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Kind of Life Imposed on Man : Vocation and Social Order from Tyndale to Locke
• Publisher: University Of Toronto Press Dez 1996
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1487578695
• ISBN 13: 9781487578695
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 234W x 156H x 10D millimeters 234 millimeters width by 156 millimeters height by 10 millimeters depth
• Weight: 254 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Vocation, or calling – the idea that everyday work is the locus of Christian obedience – is, at first glance, peculiarly a theological notion. But doctrines of vocation formed the core of much of the economic and social theory of Protestantism at a time when such theory was culturally and politically influential. Hence it has also attracted attention from, and caused controversy among, sociologist, economic historians, and political theorists. Max Weber made vocation one of the foci of his celebrated studies of the ‘Protestant ethic’ and the ‘spirit of capitalism.’ In this book, Paul Marshall offers the first systematic study of the development of the idea of vocation in England from 1500 to 1700.
Vocational theory illuminates four themes that are examined in this work: the relationship between Renaissance and Reformation social thought; the nature of the competing political forces in mid-seventeenth century England, particularly as they related to Puritan social views; the interpretation of seventeenth-century political theory, notably the thinking of John Locke; and contemporary theological discussions of the relationship of vocation to the existing social order, which parallel debates between the Levellers and their opponents during the civil war.
The doctrine of calling was a key element in various English social theories. It emphasized personal responsibility yet still treated the social order as divinely sanctioned, and is produced a distinct ‘Protestant ethic,’ if not the one that Weber had in mind.

About the Author

PAUL MARSHALL is a professor of political theory at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. He is the author of Thine is the kingdom, and the editor, with J. Chaplin, of Politics and Christian Vision and, with S. Griffioen and R. Mouw, of Stained Glass: World View and Social Science.