This essay aims to examine the significance of "Pagans" in the history of Christian thought and its development, by focusing on the theology of Richard Hooker, a member of Anglican Church during the reign of Elizabeth I in the late 16th century. In the context of the history of Christian thought, "Pagans" generally refers to those who have faith in religions other than Christianity, those who are religious outsiders of Christianity, so to speak. However, in 16th century England, most of people, except Jewish people, were Christian, and there were no Pagans. Nevertheless, Hooker often refers to "heathens" in his main work The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. What did he mean by the word "Pagans"? To sum up, for Hooker, "Pagans" are those who have reason, that is, "mere natural men". And insofar as the essence of Paganism is defined in terms of having reason, Hooker believed that Pagans and Christians share a common way of being, which is that both of them possess reason. This understanding of Paganism may shed light on the difficult question that academic researchers in Hooker have been grappling with: how can reason and grace cooperate with one another in Hooker? While Hooker took a position of "rationalism of his own, he concurs with the reformed Revelational-Biblicism by emphasizing "grace" over reason in conversion. His ambivalent and complex attitude has caused interpretive difficulties as to how reason and grace can work together in the theology of Hooker. However, because Pagans is the best example of a person who has experienced conversion, this case study could reveal how reason and grace cooperate with one another in the theology of Hooker. We can expect that an interesting aspect of "rationalism in faith" is to emerge from an analysis of Hooker's understanding of Paganism.
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