Difference between revisions of "Samuel Rutherford"
DavidB4-bot (talk | contribs) (→References: clean up) |
DavidB4-bot (talk | contribs) (→top: clean up & uniformity) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Samuel Rutherford''' (1601-1661) was a Scottish [[Puritan]] minister who defended the doctrine of grace, a key tenet of Calvinism. He was an advocate of [[limited government]] at a time when there was a struggle between the British Parliament and the king for power. | '''Samuel Rutherford''' (1601-1661) was a Scottish [[Puritan]] minister who defended the doctrine of grace, a key tenet of Calvinism. He was an advocate of [[limited government]] at a time when there was a struggle between the British Parliament and the king for power. | ||
| − | He published "Lex, Rex" ("The Law, the King") to argue for limitations on a divine right of kings.<ref>http://www.ccel.org/r/rutherford/</ref> The title was a play on the | + | He published "Lex, Rex" ("The Law, the King") to argue for limitations on a divine right of kings.<ref>http://www.ccel.org/r/rutherford/</ref> The title was a play on the phrase—and a refutation of it—known as "Rex Lex," which was the accepted view that the king ''is'' the law. |
Rutherford's idea became a foundation for [[Rule of Law]] in Anglo-American jurisprudence. | Rutherford's idea became a foundation for [[Rule of Law]] in Anglo-American jurisprudence. | ||
Latest revision as of 01:28, June 28, 2016
Samuel Rutherford (1601-1661) was a Scottish Puritan minister who defended the doctrine of grace, a key tenet of Calvinism. He was an advocate of limited government at a time when there was a struggle between the British Parliament and the king for power.
He published "Lex, Rex" ("The Law, the King") to argue for limitations on a divine right of kings.[1] The title was a play on the phrase—and a refutation of it—known as "Rex Lex," which was the accepted view that the king is the law.
Rutherford's idea became a foundation for Rule of Law in Anglo-American jurisprudence.
After the English Restoration of 1660, which returned Charles II to the throne, Rutherford was charged with treason, which is punishable by death. He refused to respond to a summons and died of natural causes soon afterward.