CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

THE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION.

FLOURISHING state of the Church at the commencement of James

II.'s reign. Why James lost the Throne.-His promises.-How he

broke them. His appointment of Roman Catholics to Church Prefer-

ments.-Magdalen College, Oxford.-The High Court of Commission.

-First Publication of A Declaration for Liberty of Conscience.—Its

Republication. The Seven Bishops committed to the Tower.-Joy of

the Nation on their acquittal.-Flight of James from England.

pp. 1-32

PART I.

THE CHURCH AT ITS HIGHEST POINT OF INFLUENCE.

CHAPTER I.

THE NEW DEFENDER OF THE FAITH.

William III. and Mary II. elected King and Queen.—Character

of William.-His dislike to the English Church.-Defender of the

Faith. The Royal Supremacy in England.-Change in the Corona-

tion Oath. The meaning of the word Protestant.-Severity of the

Penal Laws.-William favourable to Toleration.—The Bishops favour

Toleration.-Difference between the Nonconformists at the Revolution

and in the present day.-Nonconformists when in power violent op-

ponents of Toleration
pp. 35-60

CHAPTER II.

THE BIRTH OF TOLERATION.

Toleration and Comprehension.-The Toleration Act passed.-The
House of Commons advise the summoning of Convocation.—Burnet
opposed to the plan.-The King summons Convocation.-Commission
to revise the Prayer-Book.-Extensive alterations proposed.-Convo.

cation. The Lower House object to the English Church being desig-

nated Protestant.-Commencement of the disputes between the two

Houses. Failure of the Comprehension Scheme.-Change in the rela-

tions between Church and State.-Nonconformity established.

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST GENERATION OF Nonjurors.

pp. 61-82

Fresh oaths to the new Government.—The Nonjuring Bishops.—

The other Nonjurors.-Loss to the Church by their secession.-Arch-

bishop Sancroft.-Bishop Ken.-Queen Anne offers to reinstate Ken.

-Ken's refusal.-The 'pious' Robert Nelson

pp. 83-109

CHAPTER IV.

THE LATITUDINARIAN BISHOPS.

Holland the Birth-place of Latitudinariansim.—Introduced into Eng-

land by Hales and Chillingworth.-The Cambridge Platonists.-Lati-

tudinarian Theology.-Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury. — His

writings. The other Latitudinarian Bishops.-Tillotson Primate.-

Dr. Sharp appointed to the See of York.-Death of Tillotson.-

Tenison appointed his Successor.-Death of Queen Mary.-Two Com-

missions for Ecclesiastical Preferments.-Erastian policy of Tenison.—

The King's Injunctions

pp. 110-138

CHAPTER V.

THE EARLY TRINITARIAN AND THE CONVOCATION

CONTROVERSIES.

Spread of Unitarianism and Deism.-Biddle.-Firmin.-The early

Trinitarian Controversy. - Dr. Wallis. — Sherlock. - South. Bing-

ham.-The King's Directions.-The Letter to a Convocation Man.-

The Convocation Controversy.-Wake.-Atterbury.-Kennet.-Gib-

son.-Convocation meets.-Disputes between the two Houses.-The

Lower House censure Burnet's Exposition of the XXXIX. Articles.

CHAPTER VI.

pp. 139-160

STATE OF THE CHURCH UNDER WILLIAM III.

The seeds of immorality and irreligion sown under the Puritans.—
Irreligion at the Revolution as depicted by the Nonjuror Kettlewell,

-Church Revival in William's reign.-The "Religious Societies."-

The "Societies for the Reformation of Manners."-Failure of the Socie-

ties. The "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge."-The "So-

ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel."-Religion in the Colonies and

America. Dr. Bray.-George Keith.-The "Associates of Dr. Bray."-

Charity Schools.-The Hon. Robert Boyle.-Severe Act passed against

the Roman Catholics.-Death of the Duke of Gloucester.-The Crown

vested, after the Princess Anne, in the House of Hanover.-Death of

James II.-His son recognized by the King of France and the Pope

as King. Imposition of fresh oaths.-Death of the King.

pp. 161-185

CHAPTER VII.

THE HIGH CHURCH REACTION.

Queen Anne.-Her Character.-Dissolution of the Commission for

Ecclesiastical Preferments.-Ascendancy of the Tories or Church Party.

-Occasional Conformity.-Bill against Occasional Conformity.-The

Bill defeated.-Ill-feeling amongst the Clergy.-Unpopularity of the

Queen.-Queen Anne's Bounty.-Manoeuvre of the Commons to get

the Occasional Conformity Bill passed.-Defeat of the "Tackers," and

of the Bill.-The "Church in danger."-Act of Union between Eng-

land and Scotland.-Convocation prorogued.-Sacheverell.-His trial.

-The result.-Popularity of the Church
pp. 186-214

CHAPTER VIII.

CONVOCATION IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE.

First Convocation of the Reign.-Small number of Bishops appointed

in Queen Anne's Reign.-This accounts for the continued disputes be-

tween the two Houses.-Disaffection of the Church party to the Whig

Government.-Letter from the Queen censuring the conduct of the

Lower House.-Open quarrel between Burnet and the Prolocutor.-

Prorogation of Convocation.-" Representation" of the Lower House.

-The Queen pronounces it as an invasion of her supremacy.-Sen-

tence of contumacy passed on the Prolocutor.-Convocation after the

Sacheverell Riots.-Atterbury chosen Prolocutor.-Case of Whiston.

-And of Dr. Clarke.-Atterbury appointed Bishop of Rochester.-

Better feeling between the two Houses

pp. 215-236

CHAPTER IX.

THE CHURCH AT ITS HEIGHT.

The Occasional Conformity Bill passed.-Great influence of the

Church. Grant for building fifty new Churches.-Care of the Queen

in the appointment of Bishops.-Dean Swift.-Dr. George Hooper.-

Dr. Beveridge. Dr. Bull.-Dr. Bull and the Quakers.-Sir Jonathan

Trelawney. Sir William Dawes, Archbishop of York.-The Queen's

appointment of Bishops distasteful to the Whig Government.-Comp-

ton, Bishop of London.-The Church reaches its highest point since

the Reformation.-Influence abroad.-Johann Ernst Grabe.-Daniel

Ernst Jablouski.-Intolerant Act passed against Dissenters.- Death

of the Queen

Pp. 237-266

PART II.

THE CHURCH AT ITS LOWEST POINT OF INFLUENCE.

CHAPTER I.

THE DECLINE OF THE CHURCH.

The decline of the Church throughout the Eighteenth Century.—

Growth of Dissent.-Character of George I.-Of George II.—Of

Queen Caroline.-Of Frederick, Prince of Wales. -The three Parties

in the State.-Character of Sir Robert Walpole.-The promotion of

Hoadly.-Evil effects of the suppression of Convocation.-The Bishops

in the eighteenth century. --Letter of George III. to Archbishop Corn-

wallis. Pluralities held by Bishops.-Many good Clergymen un-

known to fame.-The general run of Clergy.-State of the Univer-

sities. The general relaxation of morals.-Objections of the Libera-

tionists, true of the eighteenth century but untrue now.

-

CHAPTER II.

THE SILENCING OF CONVOCATION.

pp. 269-308

Religion mixed up with Politics.-Feeling of the Universities.—
Death of Burnet.-Archbishop Tenison.-Dr. Wake appointed his
successor.-Hoadly. The last Agenda of Convocation.—Its sup-
pression. The Bangorian Controversy.-The suppression of Convo-

cation a national calamity.-Powers of Convocation abridged by the

Act of Submission in the reign of Henry VIII.-The disputes between

the two Houses.-Church indebted to the Lower House for having its

Prayer-Book unmutilated.-Archbishop Wake.-Attempt for union

between the Anglican and Gallican Churches.-Dr. Courayer.

CHAPTER III.

THE NONJURING SCHISM.

PP. 309-340

Hickes and Wagstaff appointed Suffragan Bishops for the Non-

jurors. Hickes in ordaining Bishops in the Province of Canterbury

formally in Schism.-Short account of Hickes.-William Law.-Other

Nonjurors. The Nonjuring Bishops and the Patriarchs of the Oriental

Church. Schism in the Nonjuring bodies.-"The Usages."-Jeremy

Collier.-The Nonjurors become extinct.—Important place held by

them in Anglican Theology

CHAPTER IV.

THE DEISTICAL CONTROVERSY.

PP. 341-366

The supremacy of Reason established by Chillingworth.- Lord

Herbert of Cherbury.-Hobbes the Patriarch of Freethinkers.—An

impulse given to Freethinking by Locke.—René Descartes the parent

of English Deism.—The principal English Deists of the eighteenth

century.—Toland.-Lord Shaftesbury.-Collins.--Woolston.-Tindal.

-Morgan.-Chubb.-Lord Bolingbroke.-Conyers Middleton.-Three
Phases of English Deism. -Answers to the Deists.-Butler's Analogy.
pp. 367-397

CHAPTER V.

THE GROWTH OF TOLERATION.

The Dissenters urge their claims upon the Hanoverian Government.
-Lord Stanhope's Bill.-Passed, after the Clauses for the abolition of
the Test and Corporation Acts were withdrawn.-Quakers' Affirmation
Bill.-Bishop Atterbury.-His banishment and death in Paris.-The
Regium Donum to Dissenters.-Death of George I.—The Indemnity
Acts.-Agitation of Dissenters for Repeal of Test and Corporation
Acts.-Walpole's Dilemma.-Hoadly raised to the See of Winchester.
-Walpole opposes the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts.—
Quakers' Relief Bill.-Opposition in the country to establishing the