Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
In this paper, I argue that Lucy Hutchinson’s On the Principles of the Christian Religion functions as a clever navigation of Calvinist theology, wherein Hutchinson successfully addresses the potential pitfalls of contemporary belief and constructs an optimistic view of the self. I demonstrate this by comparing Principles to The Judgement of the Synode Holden at Dort to establish the orthodoxy of Hutchinson’s treatise. Then, I examine the emphasis that Hutchinson places on the varied timing and pace of the bestowal of grace and divine enablement and show that these emphases allow Hutchinson to disassociate conviction for sin from reprobation, or being predestined to damnation. Ultimately, this allows Hutchinson to avoid the potentially despairing view of the self that could be fostered by the doctrines of human depravity and predestination and instead advocate for a view of the self that relies on the uncertain but plausible possibility of election. By then personally adopting this view of the self, Hutchinson transcends both her own human fallibility as well as the weakness that contemporary theology assigned to women and assumes a priestly authority.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Jason Kerr
Navigating Orthodoxy: The Calvinist Self in Lucy Hutchinson’s On the Principles of the Christian Religion
In this paper, I argue that Lucy Hutchinson’s On the Principles of the Christian Religion functions as a clever navigation of Calvinist theology, wherein Hutchinson successfully addresses the potential pitfalls of contemporary belief and constructs an optimistic view of the self. I demonstrate this by comparing Principles to The Judgement of the Synode Holden at Dort to establish the orthodoxy of Hutchinson’s treatise. Then, I examine the emphasis that Hutchinson places on the varied timing and pace of the bestowal of grace and divine enablement and show that these emphases allow Hutchinson to disassociate conviction for sin from reprobation, or being predestined to damnation. Ultimately, this allows Hutchinson to avoid the potentially despairing view of the self that could be fostered by the doctrines of human depravity and predestination and instead advocate for a view of the self that relies on the uncertain but plausible possibility of election. By then personally adopting this view of the self, Hutchinson transcends both her own human fallibility as well as the weakness that contemporary theology assigned to women and assumes a priestly authority.