HOBBES' VISION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE LEVIATHAN: A CONSIDERATION OF THE RELIGIOUS ALLUSIONS IN AND THE RELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS OF HOBBES' 'LEVIATHAN'

A study of the religious basis of Thomas Hobbes' seminal work Leviathan. The study commences with a brief overview of the life and times of Thomas Hobbes making clear that, though never a political or religious leader, he had access to many of the leading political figures of his day and was well-known in the intellectual circles of Europe. There follows a consideration of selected major "schools of thought" in Hobbes Studies, with particular attention paid to the contribution of the scholars to an understanding of the religious aspects of Leviathan. The works of F. C. Hood, Leo Strauss and C. B. MacPherson are reviewed.; Then there is a chapter detailing (and explaining) the reactions of certain of Hobbes' contemporary critics, most of whom were drawn from the clergy. Hobbes' contemporaries, like the modern critics, concentrated primarily upon his "civil philosophy" ignoring the religious ideas expounded in the latter part of Leviathan.; Next the Leviathan is investigated and the significance of its symbolism of order and chaos explored. (Leviathan is a metaphor for the role of the State in this age, the interim age prior to God's return as King over a new Heaven on earth.) Leviathan is also central to Hobbes' vision of the future Kingdom of God. The eschatological and apocalyptic elements of Hobbes' views are discussed.; In the conclusion the implications of Hobbes' fundamentally religious vision are considered. If so important a text as Leviathan can be proven to have a vigorous religious basis, then, might other seminal texts of the "secular" modern world also owe allegiance to Christian ideas? The implications of the religious basis of Hobbes' Leviathan could be far reaching.