Passive obedience

Passive obedience

Passive obedience is a political/religious doctrine advocating the absolute supremacy of the Crown and the treatment of any dissent (or more precisely, disobedience) as sinful and unlawful. It was usually associated with the seventeenth-century Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and was central to the ideology of the Jacobites. It is most generally seen in reference to Tory opposition to the Revolution of 1688, which saw Parliamentary determination of the succession of the English crown against primogeniture and the wishes of James II. The most notable publication was Bishop George Berkeley's "A Discource on Passive Obedience" on Christian Doctrine of not resisting the Supreme Power.

The Scottish theologian John Cameron's support for passive obedience at the start of the 17th century meant that he was principal of the University of Glasgow for less than a year.

In Calvinism, salvation depends on Christ's active obedience, obeying the laws and commands of God the Father, and passive obedience, enduring the punishment of the crucifixion suffering all the just penalties due to men for their sins. The two are seen as distinct but inseparable; passive obedience on its own only takes men back to the state of Adam before the Fall. [http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?1179] [http://www.apuritansmind.com/Justification/McMahonActivePassiveObedienceJesus.htm]

Passive obedience appears twice in Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables", first as a scene heading "The Heroism of Passive Obedience" when the bishop entertains Valjean, and later in the text on the impact of armies when describing French intervention in Spain in 1823.

Not to be confused with passive resistance, a doctrine advocating the refusal to follow a law combined with the willful acceptance of punishment for that refusal.

External links

* [http://www.econlib.org/library/LFBooks/Hume/hmMPL36.html David Hume "Of Passive Obedience"]


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  • Passive obedience — Passive Pas sive, a. [L. passivus: cf. F. passif. See {Passion}.] 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene. [1913 Webster] The passive air Upbore… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Passive obedience — Obedience O*be di*ence, n. [F. ob[ e]dience, L. obedientia, oboedientia. See {Obedient}, and cf. {Obeisance}.] 1. The act of obeying, or the state of being obedient; compliance with that which is required by authority; subjection to rightful… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • passive obedience — noun : absolute obedience or submission of a subject to the authority of a ruler regarded by some political writers as mandatory even when the ruler is bad compare divine right * * * passive obedience Unresisting and unquestioning obedience to… …   Useful english dictionary

  • passive obedience — obedience characterized by a lack of oppositional activity …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Passive — Pas sive, a. [L. passivus: cf. F. passif. See {Passion}.] 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene. [1913 Webster] The passive air Upbore their… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Passive movement — Passive Pas sive, a. [L. passivus: cf. F. passif. See {Passion}.] 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene. [1913 Webster] The passive air Upbore… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Passive verb — Passive Pas sive, a. [L. passivus: cf. F. passif. See {Passion}.] 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene. [1913 Webster] The passive air Upbore… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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