French Protestants following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) provided a rich theological tradition that has received relatively little scholarly attention.
In this book, Martin I. Klauber and his careful band of historians survey events leading up to the Revocation and various responses to it in the decades leading up to the Edict of Toleration (1787). They also investigate important theological contributions by leading French Reformed exiles like Pierre Jurieu, David Martin, Claude Brousson, Jacques Basnage, Jacques Abbadie, Daniel de Superville, and Jacques Saurin.
Whereas previous generations debated the definition of the true church, the doctrine of universal grace, and the nature of the Eucharist, post-Revocation theologians focused discussions on eschatological concerns, the problem of Nicodemism, and more political matters, such as the degree of allegiance owed to a king who had legally outlawed the Reformed faith in France.
Endorsements
“This careful examination of the theology of the Huguenot diaspora addresses timely and timeless issues surrounding religious refugees. Professor Klauber has assembled an impressive group of international scholars. He has, in addition, superbly orchestrated their findings on a significant yet relatively neglected subject. As Huguenot pastors sought safety abroad following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, what were the theological views associated with their exilic experience? The early chapters explore the historical contours and consequences of the crown’s proscription of Protestantism. A second clutch of essays offers fresh appreciation of more than a half dozen refugee pastors and their theological elaborations. The resulting insights are at once captivating and illuminating.”
—Raymond A. Mentzer, Daniel J. Krumm Family Chair in Reformation Studies, University of Iowa
“These essays march the reader adeptly through a little-known period of great upheaval for the French Reformed believers. The ‘church in the desert’ of the late-seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries in France suffered dragoons, death, and a dearth of leaders, but responded with prophesying, apocalyptic preaching, and apologetical treatises. The authors provide abundant primary source analysis to show how the persecuted French survived with Scripture as their source of comfort and instruction.”
—Theodore G. Van Raalte, author of Antoine de Chandieu: The Silver Horn of Geneva's Reformed Triumvirate
Contents
Introduction – Martin I. Klauber
Part One: The Historical Background
1. The Edict of Nantes and Its Revocation: A Balanced Assessment? – Jeanine Olson
2. The Huguenot Diaspora – Jane McKee
3. Prophets, Prophetism, and Violence during the War of the Camisards – W. Gregory Monahan
4. The Churches of the Desert, 1685-1789 – Pauline Duley-Haour
5. The Edict of Versailles or Tolerance of 1787: Tolerance versus Religious Identity – Marjan Blok
Part Two: Theology and Theologians in the Huguenot Refuge
6. The Apocalypticism of Pierre Jurieu (1637-1713) – Martin I. Klauber
7. David Martin (1639-1721) and Huguenot Apologetics – Richard A. Muller
8. Claude Brousson (1647-1698), Bellicose Dove – Brian E. Strayer
9. The Lettres pastorales of Jacques Basnage (1653-1723) – Martin I. Klauber
10. The Theological and Political Ideas of Jacques Abbadie (1654-1727) – John B. Roney
11. Daniel de Superville (1657-1728) and the Theology of Comfort – Martin I. Klauber
12. Jacques Saurin (1677-1730) and the Love of God – Michael A. G. Haykin
13. The First Sermon of Antoine Court (1695-1760) – Otto Selles
Appendix A: The Edict of Fontainebleau (Oct. 22, 1685), or the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Appendix B: The Edict of Toleration (Nov. 29, 1787)
Selected Bibliography
List of Contributors
Subject Index
