Spiritual Autobiography and Radical Sectarian Women's Discourse: Anna Trapnel and the Bad Girls of the English Revolution

We are lured by the sounds of the numbers stations—by the sounds of infinity— away from what men actually saw and touched and out into a voyeuristic thrill. But as we listen in on the numbers as they speak to each other, we ourselves begin to be changed into a hideous likeness to them. Because that, of course, is the great danger of any ‘listening in’. It never takes place neutrally or passively. It is because of this that the Word of God can save men. And it is also because of this that the numbers station of the totality of atomic facts can destroy them. Because listening is never about the content of what is being transmitted; it is about the tuning in. In this chapter, we learn the sense in which the Tractatus was a spiritual autobiography.

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Orthodox Radicals

10.1093/oso/9780190912369.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthew C. Bingham

Keyword(s):

Seventeenth Century ◽

Early Modern ◽

Group Identity ◽

Religious Toleration ◽

Men And Women ◽

Infant Baptism ◽

English Revolution ◽

Baptist Identity ◽

Ongoing Project

Orthodox Radicals explores the origins and identity of Baptists during the English Revolution (1640–1660), arguing that mid-seventeenth century Baptists did not, in fact, understand themselves to be part of a larger, all-encompassing “Baptist” movement. Contrary to both the explicit statements of many historians and the tacit suggestion embedded in the very use of “Baptist” as an overarching historical category, the early modern men and women who rejected infant baptism would not have initially understood that single theological move as being in itself constitutive of a new group identity. Rather, the rejection of infant baptism was but one of a number of doctrinal revisions then taking place among English puritans eager to further their ongoing project of godly reformation. Orthodox Radicals thus complicates our understanding of Baptist identity and addresses broader themes including early modern religious toleration, the mechanisms by which early modern groups defined and defended themselves, and the perennial problem of historical anachronism. By combining a provocative reinterpretation Baptist identity with close readings of key theological and political texts, Orthodox Radicals offers the most original and stimulating analysis of mid-seventeenth century Baptists in decades.

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Hearing, Speaking, Writing: Religious Discourse from the Pulpit, among the Congregations, and from the Prophets

10.1093/oso/9780198183112.003.0004 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Margaret J. M. Ezell

Keyword(s):

Church Of England ◽

Religious Discourse ◽

John Bunyan ◽

Religion And Spirituality ◽

George Fox ◽

Jeremy Taylor ◽

The University ◽

Anna Trapnel ◽

Second Coming

During the Commonwealth period, Parliament ejected over 2000 Church of England clerics from their livings, and multiple new Protestant congregations were formed, bringing new styles of discourses of religion and spirituality. Ministers ejected from their parishes, such as Jeremy Taylor and Thomas Fuller, published ecclesiastical histories, books of devotion and meditation, and advice for enduring hardship. Protestant sectarians preached informed by the spirit rather than the university or ordination; such ‘mechanic preachers’ included John Bunyan and women such as Katherine Chidley, who led a London congregation. More radical sects such as the Fifth Monarchists preached the second coming of Christ, and prophets such as Anna Trapnel urged England to become a godly country for his return and judgment. The Quaker movement, begun by George Fox, gathered believers who challenged both social and religious hierarchies and customs, leading to their persecution and imprisonment.

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