"K" is for Knox

     Elizabeth I and her successor James I settled on a "middle way" in religion that preserved certain aspects of Catholicism yet at the same time rejected Papal authority in England.  This "middle way" was probably motivated by political interests; i.e., a desire to put an end to religious conflict in England.  John Knox, c. 1514-1572, however, was not inclined to settle for a "middle way", and as a result was instrumental in bringing a religious reformation to Scotland which was of a very different nature.  Knox was greatly influenced by time spent among the "radical" Protestants of Geneva where he resided in exile during the reign of Mary Tudor, Catholic Queen of England. 
     Wikipedia writes:  In the summer of 1558, Knox published his best known pamphlet, The first blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women.   In calling the "regiment" or rule of women "monstrous", he meant that it was "unnatural".  Knox states that his purpose was to demonstrate "how abominable before God is the Empire or Rule of a wicked woman.  The women rulers that Knox had in mind were Queen Mary I of England and Mary of Guise, the Dowager Queen of Scotland and regent on behalf of her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots.  Although Know had not targeted Elizabeth Tudor, he deeply offended her because of this pamphlet, and she never forgave him.
     Knox also distanced himself from the Church of England by challenging the English Book of Common Prayer on the grounds that it preserved a number of worship practices that were, in his estimation, Roman Catholic in nature.  Wikipedia writes:  On August 1, 1560, the Scottish Parliament met to settle religious issues in Scotland.  Knox and five other ministers were called upon to draw up a new confession of faith.  Within four days the Scots Confessions was presented to Parliament, voted upon, and approved.  A week later, the Parliament passed three acts in one day:  the first abolished the jurisdiction of the Pope in Scotland, the second condemned all doctrine and practice contrary to the reformed faith, and the third forbade the clebration of the Mass in Scotland.  Knox and the oither ministers were given the task of organizing the newly reformed church in Scotland. 
     Wikipedia continues:  Knox was a ruthless and successful revolutionary and it was this revolutionary philosophy that had a great impact on the English Puritans.  Despite his strictness and dogmatism, Knox has also been described as contributing to the struggle for genuine human freedom, by teaching a duty to oppose unjust government in order to bring about moral and spiritual change.  Knox was notable not so much for the overthrow of Roman Catholicism in Scotland, but for assuring the replacement of Roman Catholicism with Presyterianism rather than Anglicanism.  It was thanks to Knox that the Presbyterian polity was established.  In that regard, Know is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination whose members number millions worldwide.
     Below, images from the OCHF Library's copy of writings by Knox in The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland, David Buchanan, editor printed in London by John Raworth, 1644.  (Click for larger image).

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