Description

An Age of Division.

Political and religious convictions, strongly held, are tearing families, communities, and slowly the whole country apart. The men with the most extreme personalities seem to rise to the top, while those urging moderation are mocked and sidelined.

This may sound like the present day–but it refers to England in the run-up to the Civil War in 1642. As the nation rolled towards a conflict which would claim tens of thousands of lives, Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656) called on his countrymen to exercise an unglamorous yet vital Christian virtue: moderation. Hall, one of the English representatives at the Council of Dort, was branded “our English Seneca” for his intellectual abilities. These abilities are on full display in this work as he musters Scripture, philosophy, and history into a comprehensive commendation of the virtue of moderation.

In this new edition of A Treatise on Christian Moderation, with extensive footnotes and a scholarly introduction, readers can rediscover a forgotten treasure of Protestant wisdom. Hall’s call for personal and public moderation was tragically ignored in his time. In our own increasingly immoderate age, may this work finally find the hearing it deserves.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction – Andre Gazal

To All Christian People

Commendation

The First Book: Moderation in Practice 

Part One: The Moderation of our Pleasures

I. The Use and Necessity of Moderation in General

II. Practical Moderation in Matters of the Palate

III. Some Extremities in Other Uses of the Body 

IV. The Extreme in Cases of Lust

V. The Liberty that God Gives in the Use of His Creatures

VI. The Just Bounds of Moderation in the Liberal Use of God’s Creatures

VII. The Limitation of Our Liberty in Respect of the Pleasures Themselves

VIII. The Limitation and Moderation of the Pleasure of Conjugal Society

IX. The Limitation of All Our Pleasures in their Manner of Use

X. Motives to Moderation in the Use of All Our Pleasures

XI. Moderation of Our Desires in Matters of Wealth and Honor 

Part Two: The Moderation of our Passions

XII. Moderation of Sorrow 

XIII. Moderation of Spiritual Sorrow

XIV. Moderation of Fear

XV. Moderation of Anger 

The Second Book: Moderation in Matters of Judgment

Part One: Immoderation, Lukewarmness, and Zeal

I. The Danger of Immoderation in Matters of Judgment

II. Lukewarmness To Be Avoided in Religion

III. Zeal in the Matters of God

Part Two: Rules for Moderation in Judgment

IV. (1) Distinguish Between Persons

V. (2) Distinguish Truths and Errors

VI. (3) Avoid Curiosity in the Disquisition of Truth

VII. (4) Rest in the Fundamental Truths Clearly Revealed in the Scriptures

VIII. (5.1) Be Remiss in Opinions Regarding Unimportant Matters

IX. (5.2) Be Remiss in Censure Regarding Unimportant Matters

X. (6) Do Not Trust the Word of an Adversary Regarding Their Opponent

XI. (7) Do Not Judge an Opponent’s Opinion by Inference

XII.  (8) Keep Opinions Within Their Bounds

XIII. (9) Do Not Prejudice a Man’s Cause By His Actions

XIV. (10) Draw as Near as Possible to Christians with Lesser Differences

XV. (11) Refrain from Railing Terms and Spiteful Provocations

XVI. (12) Compose Our Affections Toward Unity and Peace