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‘Lately Gone into Germany’: Thomas Tillam and his Treatises on Marriage, Divorce and Polygamy

‘Lately Gone into Germany’: Thomas Tillam and his Treatises on Marriage, Divorce and Polygamy Thomas Tillam lived in the middle of the seventeenth century and stands out as one of the most intriguing figures among the religious dissenters of the time. Having had short-term success establishing Baptist churches at Hexham and Colchester, he encouraged 100–200 families to emigrate to Southern Germany and set up a Judaeo-Christian community. In 1660–1665 his publications entitled Temple of Lively Stones and The Unequal Yoke Unloosed, reveal his attitude to marriage and divorce. He seems to have moved from his declaration that ‘I know not any door of divorce (opened in the Gospel) except adultery’ to defending the divorce of ‘unacceptable wives’ and supporting polygamy by Old Testament precedents. The reason for this change of belief is considered in the light of rumours and accusations from contemporary commentators and the marital situation of his benefactor, Karl I Ludwig. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Baptist Quarterly Taylor & Francis

‘Lately Gone into Germany’: Thomas Tillam and his Treatises on Marriage, Divorce and Polygamy

Baptist Quarterly , Volume OnlineFirst: 13 – May 9, 2023
13 pages

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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© The Baptist Historical Society 2023
ISSN
2056-7731
eISSN
0005-576X
DOI
10.1080/0005576X.2023.2200339
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Thomas Tillam lived in the middle of the seventeenth century and stands out as one of the most intriguing figures among the religious dissenters of the time. Having had short-term success establishing Baptist churches at Hexham and Colchester, he encouraged 100–200 families to emigrate to Southern Germany and set up a Judaeo-Christian community. In 1660–1665 his publications entitled Temple of Lively Stones and The Unequal Yoke Unloosed, reveal his attitude to marriage and divorce. He seems to have moved from his declaration that ‘I know not any door of divorce (opened in the Gospel) except adultery’ to defending the divorce of ‘unacceptable wives’ and supporting polygamy by Old Testament precedents. The reason for this change of belief is considered in the light of rumours and accusations from contemporary commentators and the marital situation of his benefactor, Karl I Ludwig.

Journal

Baptist QuarterlyTaylor & Francis

Published: May 9, 2023

Keywords: Thomas Tillam; marriage; divorce; polygamy

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