Jeremy Taylor on the Practice of Theology

Abstract

This article seeks to highlight the practical nature of the work of Jeremy Taylor, developing his understanding of the place of theoretical knowledge in its relation to moral living. I argue that Taylor is devoted to the realization of the theoretical in everyday life, and does not overemphasize the moral to the detriment of the theological. In exploring this argument, I analyze his description of the practice of the presence of God and the contemplation of the eternal, two examples from his work of the integration of the theoretical with the practical for the sake of moral improvement.