Muggletonianism

The Muggletonians, named after Lodowicke Muggleton, were a small Protestant Christian sect most prominent in 17th and 18th century England. It had been one of a number of nonconformist dissenting groups that emerged around this time, one with a long-living presence.

History

The movement was born in 1652 from "visions" and the "commission from God" of a tailor, John Reeve. Reeve believed that both he and his cousin, Lodowicke Muggleton, whom his followers considered the "Voice of the last Prophet of God" were the two witnesses spoken of in the third verse of the eleventh chapter of the Biblical book of Revelation. After Reeve's death, Muggleton had a brief struggle for control of the group with Laurence Clarkson, a former ranter and subsequently with followers of John Reeve who did not accept Muggleton's authority.

They emphasized the Millennium and the Second Coming of Christ and believed, among other things, that the soul was mortal, that Jesus was God (and not being Trinitarian that when he died there was no God in heaven, Moses and Elijah looking after heaven until the resurrection), that Heaven was six miles above earth, that God was between five and six feet tall and, like the Quakers, that any external religious ceremony was not necessary. Some scholars think Muggletonian doctrine may have influenced the work of the artist and poet William Blake.

The Muggletonians had a belief that they could damn and bless according to the will of God and the apparent success of such damning (apparently resulting in the death of certain religious, mainly Quaker, opponents) brought the sect great prestige. A vigorous tract war ensued with their Quaker opponents that lasted until the death of Muggleton.

During the nineteenth century this formerly non-proselytizing Protestant sect became increasingly vocal and published several books intended for general audiences. In 1846, for example, the Muggletonian Isaac Frost published Two Systems of Astronomy, a lavishly illustrated book outlining the anti-Newtonian cosmology of the Muggletonians. This activity arose from the activity of the Frost brothers (Joseph and Isaac) who having made their fortune in the Derby Brass Foundry business proceeded to spend significant sums on publicising their sect once the family moved to London. A great quantity of books were published but very few were actually sold.

The group survived up to the twentieth century. The last Muggletonian, Phillip Noakes of Matfield, Kent, died on 26 February 1979; the sect's records, which he had kept, were then transferred to the British Library.The published works of the Muggletonian Brethren are still available from Gage Postal Books of Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex.

References

See also

• Religion in the United Kingdom
• English Dissenters
• 17th century denominations in England

External links

• Publisher's website

Further reading

• F. Reid, "Isaac Frost's Two Systems of Astronomy (1846): plebeian resistance and scriptural astronomy", in: The British Journal for the History of Science (2005), 38: 161-177
• E.P. Thompson, Witness against the Beast ISBN 0-521-22515-9