John+Foxe

The name John Foxe causes a great deal of discomfort in today’s politically correct religious community. Viewed as an unintelligent English rabble-rouser by many ecumenical leaders, Foxe and his crowning work, //Acts and Monuments,// have been cast upon the ever-rising dustbin of classic religious histories. Many even falsely charge Foxe as being responsible for the Anglican Church’s high-handed manner in dealing with dissenters. While one cannot deny that John Foxe was indeed biased in his religious outlook, completely discounting John Foxe as a vigilant historian, or charging him with English supremacist leanings is completely fallacious and improper. John Foxe was born in 1516 in Boston, Licolnshire (England) to a wealthy family.[1] His father died while John was still a young child, but his mother quickly remarried. This marriage would later prove to complicate his ministry. Having exhibited an extremely sharp intellect at an early age, John Foxe entered Oxford at the age of sixteen.[2] His mental prowess quickly distinguished him. He earned his B.A. in 1537, became a fellow in 1839, and taught logic from 1540-1541.[3] During this time he began his writing career by writing Latin comedies[4] as well as Latin Scripture plays.[|[5]] During this time he began an in depth study of both the Bible and the early fathers. Having already become a proficient Greek, Hebrew, and Latin scholar, he was afforded the opportunity of examining God’s Word and the fathers without the reliance upon third-party interpretations. To these sources he began to take his ever-mounting doubts of the Roman Church.[|[6]] These doubts contributed such weight to his mind that he often found it necessary to search for their answers late into the night (a habit he would never be able to change).[|[7]] His students eventually began to notice his late night/early morning trips to the forest, where he would pitifully plead for God’s wisdom and understanding.[|[8]] The school’s officials began to worry about the orthodoxy of one of their brightest future priests. After having been asked for an explanation to his unusual behavior, John Foxe admitted to rejecting Catholic teaching. Several of the doctrines that he was cited as having doubted included the teaching of celibacy and the timing of holy orders.[|[9]] Foxe was immediately condemned a heretic. While heresy, in that period of Foxe’s, was only considered a capital offence if the heresy was high-profile, Foxe’s former position necessitated his going into hiding. Foxe’s friends and family immediately ostracized him. Having lost public support and his vast inheritance, his father virtually disowned him, John Foxe sought refuge with a Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote near Stratford on Avon.[|[10]] While serving as a tutor in the Lucy household, Foxe married Agnes Randall. Unfortunately, the Catholic persecution quickly escalated in that area of the country. Fearing for both his benefactor’s safety and his own family’s safety, John Foxe departed. After living for a time with his wife’s family and even his own estranged step-father, John Foxe accepted one of the few jobs available to a wanted man, that of tutoring a condemned man’s children.[|[11]] Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his father were both incarcerated in the Tower of London at the time Henry’s sister offered John Foxe and his family refuge and sustenance in exchange for tutoring Henry’s children. This arrangement continued for several years, even after the children’s father was executed. Oddly, this association with a renegade nobleman’s family would later improve Foxe’s social standing. The children, who would later become a duke, an earl, and a countess, were largely responsible for making John Foxe a fashionable acquaintance following the fall of Catholicism in England. Foxe continued his tutorship of the Earl’s children until the release of their grandfather. At that time, Foxe sought other employment, but continued to exist under the protection of the oldest of the Howard children, who was now a duke. Beginning to feel the persecution intensifying as England’s new monarch, Bloody Mary, consolidated her power, John Foxe considered leaving the country. Hearing of his mentor’s intentions, the Duke sought to persuade him otherwise until a close call with the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Gardiner, nearly cost Foxe his life.[12] The Duke then made provision for Foxe and his pregnant wife to leave the country. Having narrowly escaped, [13] Foxe resettled in Europe and began to work, at the suggestion of Lady Jane Grey, on his //Acts and Monuments of the Church.// While in Europe, John Foxe occupied himself primarily with writing the original Latin version of his book, but he did succeed in becoming a leader amongst the exiled Believers. During this time Foxe obtained to secretaries to help in his work. One man, John Aylmer would later become a leading Anglican and bitter enemy of the Puritans. The other man, Edmund Grindal, would later become the leading Puritan and Archbishop of Canterbury.[14] After completing the Latin version of his book, Foxe returned home to an Elizabethan England. He lived for a short time with one of his former pupils, until he was ordained by Puritan Archbishop Edmund Grindal, his former secretary.[15] It is thought that he would have risen much higher in the Church and government had he not held to such right-wing Puritan doctrine.[16] From this time until his death, the primary focus of his life seems to have been translating (into English), revising, verifying, and expanding his already controversial work. In the preface to the fourth edition of his //Acts and Monuments// the editor speaks of the devotion to revision and verification that characterized this portion of Foxe’s life. “For the sake of greater correctness, he wrote every line of this vast book with his own hand, and transcribed all the records and papers himself, but, in consequence of such excessive toil, leaving no part of his time free from study, nor affording himself either the repose or recreation which nature required, his health was so reduced, and his person became so emaciated and altered, that such of his friends and relations as only conversed with him occasionally, could scarcely recognize his person.”[17] In spite of living in extreme modesty and virtual seclusion, John Foxe, as a result of being England’s most influential writer and having tutored several of England’s ruling class, became a celebrity amongst Britain’s elite. In addition to being acquainted with numerous dukes, earls, and duchesses, Foxe became familiar with such men as John Knox and Sir Francis Drake. While Foxe did not favor the attention he received, he did not oppose using his popularity amongst the socialites as a means of obtaining aid for the less fortunate.[18] John Foxe died April 18, 1587. John Foxe’s premier work, //Acts and Monuments of the Christian Church,// has generated debate since the time that rumors first began to circulate of John Foxe’s martyr research. In the beginning of this debate, the Catholicism dispensed great amounts of disinformation designed to discredit John Foxe as an unintelligent, dishonest rabble rouser. This approach was unsuccessful with the majority of Britain’s populace, many of whom had seen firsthand examples Rome’s harsh policies. Rome’s criticisms did, however, have a great impact upon Foxe’s future readers. Due to his devotion to intellectual honesty, John Foxe, after these attacks, determined to revise and verify his book. Rather than reducing the size of the volume, this expanded research only served to expand it. As to the Catholic Church’s argument of Foxe’s dull intelligence and inferior sources, readers can be assured that their author not only had the opportunity to observe Rome’s brutality in Britain, but was also able to read and study the firsthand accounts of the early church fathers. In modern times, John Foxe has obtained a new set of critics. Instead of only Catholic apologists attacking Foxe, many evangelicals, seeking closer ties with Rome, have begun to attack the great martyrologist. They not only claim that Foxe’s language is far too biased to be accurate, but also that he contributed to England’s religious supremacy. While one cannot deny Foxe’s bias against Rome, this bias does not invalidate his scholarship. Relativity defines modern society. Researchers are encouraged to mask their motives and express their views subtly. Today, individuals, who state views strongly, especially if they are backed by facts, are usually viewed as bigots. In Foxe’s day, researchers were encouraged draw definite conclusions from their work. John Foxe wrote from this perspective. Knowing the atrocities committed against Christians by the Church from both research and personal experience, John Foxe, as he stated, wrote //Acts and Monuments// as a thesis against the Roman Church and religious persecution in general.[19] Seeing as the great martyrologist nearly experienced martyrdom himself, his great passion is understandable. John Foxe in no way endorsed the religious elitism fostered by the Anglican Church. His own writings explicitly state all religious persecution is immoral. Any misconception the English may have possessed concerning their religious supremacy did not originate in John Foxe. David Loades states, “Although he [John Foxe] probably would have been gratified by the strength of the anti-Catholic feeling which he succeeded in generating, and by its durability, he died deeply disappointed with his countrymen. His aim indeed had been to purge England of the dregs of the Antichrist, but not to replace them with a kind of secular chauvinism.”[20] John Foxe believed that the English were not worthy of their spiritual heritage. Additionally, Foxe demonstrated his belief in universal religious liberty by his intercession on the behalf of the Flemish Anabaptists. After this group had been arrested and sentenced to death in an Anglican England, John Foxe, now an elderly man, fervently pleaded with Queen Elizabeth on the part of these Anabaptists. Interestingly, Foxe believed these individuals possessed errant doctrine.[21] John Foxe, in spite of his critics, preserved the legacy of thousands of martyrs for the inspiration of generations of Christians to come. The testimony he left of both his untiring work and commitment to his Lord illustrate the perseverance that all Christians should strive to emulate. Viewing the life of this man, one can clearly see that his writings merely reflect the type of life he lived. ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/John_Foxe_from_NPG_cleaned.jpg/220px-John_Foxe_from_NPG_cleaned.jpg width="220" height="291" caption="John Foxe"]] || JOHN FOXE

 **References:** [|[1]] Charles K. Moore, preface to //Fox’s Book of Martyrs,// (New York: Charles K. Moore, 1846) 12

[|[2]] “John Foxe,” [], accessed 30 March 2012

[|[3]] Ibid.

[|[4]] Charles K. Moore, preface to //Fox’s Book of Martyrs,// (New York: Charles K. Moore, 1846) 12

[|[5]] “The Life of John Foxe,” [|http://www.luminarium.org/renlit /foxebio.htm], accessed 30 March 2012

[|[6]] Charles K. Moore, preface to //Fox’s Book of Martyrs,// (New York: Charles K. Moore, 1846) 13

[|[7]] Ibid.

[|[8]] Ibid.

[|[9]] “John Foxe,” [], accessed 30 March 2012

[|[10]] “John Foxe,” [], accessed 30 March 2012

[|[11]] Charles K. Moore, preface to //Fox’s Book of Martyrs,// (New York: Charles K. Moore, 1846) 14

[|[12]] Ibid. 15

[|[13]] Ibid. 16

[|[14]] “John Foxe,” [], accessed 30 March 2012

[|[15]] Ibid.

[|[16]] Ibid.

[|[17]] Charles K. Moore, preface to //Fox’s Book of Martyrs,// (New York: Charles K. Moore, 1846) 16

[|[18]] Ibid. 17

[|[19]] Ibid. 18

[|[20]] David Loades, //John Foxe at Home and Abroad,// (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2004) X

[|[21]] “The Life of John Foxe,” [|http://www.luminarium.org/renlit /foxebio.htm], accessed 30 March 2012