Robert Jenkin (theologian)
Encyclopedia
Robert Jenkin was an English clergyman, a nonjuror
of 1698, later Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity
, and opponent of John Locke
.
, Kent
, baptised in the parish of Minster
on 31 January 1656. He was educated in the King's School, Canterbury, and at St. John's College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1678; was admitted a fellow of St. John's on the foundress's foundation 30 March 1680; and proceeded M.A. in 1681. After taking orders he was collated by Bishop Francis Turner
to the vicarage of Waterbeach
, Cambridgeshire
, which he held with his fellowship. He also became chaplain to Bishop John Lake
of Chichester, who collated him 1688 to the precentorship of Chichester Cathedral
. He was one of the subscribers to Bishop Lake's declaration on his deathbed (27 August 1689) of his adherence to the doctrines of the church of England, part of which consisted of passive obedience
and non-resistance.
At the revolution he declined to take the oath of allegiance to William III, and gave up his ecclesiastical preferments, but was allowed to retain his fellowship. In 1690 he was appointed domestic chaplain to Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex
and he was residing at Burghley
as late as February 1698. In 1700 he was created D.D. He was then or soon after residing in the family of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth at Longleat
, Wiltshire
.
His political opinions changed, and he was able to take the oaths to Queen Anne. He became master of St. John's College 13 April 1711, on the death of Humphrey Gower
, whom he also succeeded the same year as Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity. On the accession of George I he was reluctantly compelled to eject all the fellows of his college who refused the abjuration oath. His mind failed for some years before his death, and he moved to his elder brother's house at South Runcton, Norfolk
, where he died on 7 April 1727. He was buried in Holme Chapel in South Runcton, where a mural monument with a Latin inscription, was erected to his memory.
Both The Reasonableness and Certainty of the Christian Religion (volume 1) and Remarks on some Books lately publish'd contain extended attacks on the writings of John Locke.
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
of 1698, later Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity
Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity
The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, in 1502....
, and opponent of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
.
Life
He was son of Thomas and Mary Jenkin of the Isle of ThanetIsle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet lies at the most easterly point of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the nearly -wide River Wantsum, it is no longer an island ....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, baptised in the parish of Minster
Minster-in-Thanet
Minster-in-Thanet, also known as Minster, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. The village is situated to the west of Ramsgate and to the north east of Canterbury; it lies just south west of Kent International Airport and just north of the River Stour...
on 31 January 1656. He was educated in the King's School, Canterbury, and at St. John's College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1678; was admitted a fellow of St. John's on the foundress's foundation 30 March 1680; and proceeded M.A. in 1681. After taking orders he was collated by Bishop Francis Turner
Francis Turner (bishop)
Francis Turner D.D. was Bishop of Ely, one of the seven bishops who petitioned against the Declaration of Indulgence and one of the nine bishops who refused to take the oath of allegiance to William III.-Family and education:...
to the vicarage of Waterbeach
Waterbeach
Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village located 6 miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. The parish covers an area of 23.26 km².- Village :...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, which he held with his fellowship. He also became chaplain to Bishop John Lake
John Lake (bishop)
John Lake was a 17th century Bishop of Sodor and Man, Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Chichester in the British Isles.-Life:He was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire and educated at St John's College, Cambridge...
of Chichester, who collated him 1688 to the precentorship of Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...
. He was one of the subscribers to Bishop Lake's declaration on his deathbed (27 August 1689) of his adherence to the doctrines of the church of England, part of which consisted of passive obedience
Passive obedience
Passive obedience is a religious and political doctrine advocating the absolute supremacy of the Crown and the treatment of any dissent as sinful and unlawful...
and non-resistance.
At the revolution he declined to take the oath of allegiance to William III, and gave up his ecclesiastical preferments, but was allowed to retain his fellowship. In 1690 he was appointed domestic chaplain to Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex
Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex
Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex PC was an English nobleman, a soldier and courtier. He was the son of Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex and Elizabeth Percy. After his father's suicide in 1683, Capell became the 2nd Earl of Essex...
and he was residing at Burghley
Burghley
Burghley may refer to:*William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , chief minister of queen Elizabeth I of England*Burghley House, a sixteenth century country house in Lincolnshire, built for the above...
as late as February 1698. In 1700 he was created D.D. He was then or soon after residing in the family of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth at Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
His political opinions changed, and he was able to take the oaths to Queen Anne. He became master of St. John's College 13 April 1711, on the death of Humphrey Gower
Humphrey Gower
Humphrey Gower was an English clergyman and academic, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge and then St. John's College, Cambridge, and Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity.-Life:...
, whom he also succeeded the same year as Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity. On the accession of George I he was reluctantly compelled to eject all the fellows of his college who refused the abjuration oath. His mind failed for some years before his death, and he moved to his elder brother's house at South Runcton, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, where he died on 7 April 1727. He was buried in Holme Chapel in South Runcton, where a mural monument with a Latin inscription, was erected to his memory.
Works
His works are- 'An Historical Examination of the Authority of General Councils: shewing the false dealing that hath been used in the publishing of them; and the difference among the Papists themselves about their number,' 2nd edition, London, 1668. Reprinted in Edmund GibsonEdmund GibsonEdmund Gibson was a British divine and jurist.-Early life and career:He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's College, Oxford...
's 'Preservative against Popery,' ed. 1738, vol. iii.; ed. 1848-9, vol. xv. - 'A Defence of the Profession which . . . John [Lake], late Lord Bishop of Chichester, made upon his Deathbed concerning Passive Obedience and the New Oaths; together with an Account of some Passages in his Lordship's Life,' London, 1690.
- 'The Reasonableness and Certainty of the Christian Religion,' 2 vols., London, 1696-7, dedicated to the Earl of Exeter; 2nd edition, 2 vols., 1700; 3rd edition, corrected and enlarged, 2 vols., London, 1708, though this edition is described on the title-page of vol. ii. as the second; 4th edition, 1715; 5th edition, 1721; 6th edition, 1734. A French translation was published at Amsterdam in 1696. 'A Plain Introduction to the Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion . . .exhibiting much of the substance of Dr. Jenkin's work on the same subject. By a Clergyman of the Church of England' [John Plumtre], was published in 2 vols., Kidderminster, 1705.
- 'An Account of the Life of Apollonius Tyanaeus,' translated from the French of Le Noire de Tillemont, 1702. 'A brief Confutation of the Pretences against Natural and Revealed Religion,' 1702.
- 'Defensio S. Augustini adversus Johannis Perephoni [Jean Le Clerc] in ejus Opera Animadversiones,' 1707; editio altera, Lond. 1738.
- 'Remarks on some Books lately publish'd; viz. Basnage's "History of the Jews," Whiston's "Eight Sermons", Lock's Paraphrase and Notes on St. Paul's epistles. Le Clerc's "Bibliotheque Choisie," London 1709.
- 'De Potestate Ecclesiastica Praelectiones in Schola Theologica Cantab, habitae,' 1711, &c. (manuscript in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge).
Both The Reasonableness and Certainty of the Christian Religion (volume 1) and Remarks on some Books lately publish'd contain extended attacks on the writings of John Locke.