The Practical Divinity of Universal Learning: John Durie’s Educational Pansophism By George M. Ella Preface What awaits the reader of a book on John Durie’s pansophism? “Pansophism” – that sounds like an esoteric secret science, like special occult teachings, like “Theosophy” and “Anthroposophy”. In fact, the opposite is true. Not an exclusive secret knowledge for the few, but free access to the entire knowledge of mankind for all, regardless of race, social class, age and gender, is what a correctly understood pansophism aspires. It does not look for an exclusive knowledge of God, man or the cosmos, but rather for an integration and connection of all knowledge and its free distribution. Pansophism is not… Full Article
Posts Tagged John Durie
Post-enthronement problems After Cromwell’s enthronement, his time was much taken up by the wars with Roman Catholic Spain, but his elevation, as Queen Christina of Sweden foretold, began to earn respect for him abroad. Thurloe’s State Papers include a letter from the English ambassador in Spain now informing Cromwell that Spain was eager for a treatise between the ‘King of England and the King of Spain’. The matter was most delicate as Durie and Penn at the time were campaigning for ecclesiastical and political agreements with England in Protestant Switzerland, Germany and Holland, but Roman Catholic France had put a price on their heads. Spain strongly supported the Roman Catholics against the Protestants in these… Full Article
The New Babel Confusion. Before Charles was placed in his coffin at Whitehall, it became clear that a number of the judges, now faced with punishment, had refused to sign the death warrant and others had been compelled to sign by force. Cromwell is said to have examined the head of the King at Whitehall to make sure it was totally severed and he was really dead, before saying, ‘If he had not been King, he would have lived longer’. The regicides now refused permission for Charles to be buried in Westminster Abbey and told Bishop Juxon that he could not give Charles a Church of England Prayer Book burial. The King was then interred on 9 February, 1648 (old style) at Windsor Castle. An enormous pamphlet war now took… Full Article
Lecture III: The Watershed: the Restoration of Uniformity My task and my sources My task is to present an overview of the 17th century lead-up to the Act of Uniformity of 1662. My primary sources besides the Prayer Book are the Calendar of State Papers; the Common’s Journals: the Thurloe Papers; Gardiner’s Constitutional Documents, Cardwell’s History of Prayer Book Conferences, the Hartlib Papers; Byfield’s Assembly Minutes; Walker’s and Shaw’s records; Evelyn’s and Pepys diaries: Burnet’s, Durie’s, Laud’s, Prynne’s and Fuller’s eye-witness accounts and the Bodleian Library’s Special Collections. My secondary research includes Hooker, Strype, Benton, Huntington, Butler, Parker, Blunt, Tatham,… Full Article
The Practical Divinity of Universal Learning: John Durie’s Educational Pansophism By George M. Ella O.St.R. (Land NRW); I. Staatsprüfung Sek. I und II (Duisburg); II. Staatsprüfung Sek. I und II (Essen); Översiktskurs in Theologie (Uppsala); fil. kand. (Uppsala); BD (London); PGCE (Hull); Dr. phil. (Duisburg); Dr. theol. (Marburg). ‘I highly recommend Dr. George Ella’s insightful work The Practical Divinity of Universal Learning. Dr. Ella sheds new light on the pioneering work of John Durie (1596-1680) in early attempts at universal education and Protestant church unity. Dr. Ella convincingly proves that Durie’s contributions to Europe’s educational and political reforms in the late 17th and early 18th… Full Article
The Puritanboard Most of my readers will be familiar with the on-line web-site The Puritanboard. The site often carries good, general articles of instruction and edification. At times, however, the contributors seem to be very strict and particular in their ecclesiastical views and their narrow understanding of church and denominational history. I have striven from time to time to visit their site, to offer praise and encouragement for certain positions they represent and to suggest solutions to some of their ingrained problems caused mostly through lack of background knowledge. However, I found entrance into their discussions technically extremely difficult, so I gave up trying. A couple of years ago, I had another go and… Full Article
A Brief Introduction to Durie’s Life Born 1596 in Scotland, John Durie was a descendent of noblemen, diplomats, ministers and rebels. When John was a child, James VI forced the family into exile. After extensive school and university studies in France and Holland, John tutored the son of a Huguenot merchant in France. A multi-linguist, he passed as a native citizen of Britain, France, Germany and Holland using variations of his name in each country. In Germany, he was always ‘Johannes Duraeus’. From 1625-30, Durie served as a diplomat and preached to the merchants and soldiers in Elbing, Prussia, which became Gustav Adolf’s administrative seat in 1626. He started writing on education in 1628…. Full Article
Sir: Ewan Wilson disregards Laud’s documented in casu necessitatis flexibility with Scottish Presbyterians who refused church union eventually enforcing a devastating politico-Separatist state-religion onto the English Church. They demanded absolute compliance with their own intolerant chauvinistic politics as the only way to citizenship and church membership. They punished Dissenters mercilessly and banned church self-rule. I merely claim here that Laud ought to be given an accurate hearing according to contemporary evidence. Yet, Mr Wilson still disregards my plea asking me ambiguously for Laud’s ‘satisfactory views on Sovereign Grace and Arminianism’ instead of consulting Laud himself. That the Presbyterians outdid… Full Article
