Calvin and Winthrop Between the Ages: Medievalism, Hierarchy, and Modernity (Part 1 of 4)

The following post is Part 1 of a series on Calvinism and Modernity. The first three posts will show that Calvin’s social and political philosophy is conservative by medieval standards, though there are important modifications to medieval thought. Calvin is not the first modern, a proto-modern or the foundation of modern politics, as many have …

Reformation era background to the discussion of archetypal and ectypal theology

The discussion of “archetypal” and “ectypal” theology seems to follow from an understanding of Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law…” Muller moves from a discussion of …

Aquinas gets this wrong, and much confusion follows

There are a lot of moving parts in this discussion, I admit. Here we have a discussion about a concept, in which the discussion moves from Aristotle to Aquinas to Scotus to Luther to Calvin to Turretin and Warfield. In my recent blog post, Luther’s Theology of the Cross and Metaphysics, I cited Muller as …

Luther’s Theology of the Cross and Metaphysics

One of the elements of late medieval Scotist and nominalist theology that had a profound impact on Luther was its denial of any analogy between God and man and its consequent recognition of the impossibility of formulating a rational metaphysic concerning God. All knowledge of God must rest on authoritative testimony, primarily on that of …

The hermeneutic of the WCF vs the hermeneutic of Newman

Here is my look at a comment that is instructive because it seeks to show how “Roman Catholics and Protestants do the same thing”, but where really, they are doing something completely different. In seeking to compare the Roman Catholic doctrine of “the Church” with Reformed doctrines, Erick said: Just as the expansive explanation for …

The Reformation and the Formation of an Orthodoxy

The title here is Muller’s section title. He posits that “the Reformation” and “the formation of an Orthodoxy” are two related, but separate events or eras. A final element of the thesis or the approach to Reformed orthodoxy found both in this and in the subsequent volumes concerns the nature of a Protestant “orthodoxy” itself. …

Reformed “Orthodoxy”: Toward Definition

Richard Muller describes a two-phased process: first, the early reformers sought to correct “a host of abuses and nonscriptural doctrinal accretions” that they tried to correct. And second, the later writers, and indeed the process of “confessionalization” (the writing of and attempts to organize their lives by confessions), sought to “provide definitions of all doctrines …

The Reformation Made Easy

Having grown up as a Lutheran, I have always been interested in the Reformation, since Luther was certainly a central figure in that movement. And so I decided to purchase “The Reformation Made Easy” by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon.  Does this book make the Reformation “easy?” I would say that it goes a long way to …

Effort in Sanctification? What Says Westminster?

“Justification is monergistic.  Sanctification is synergistic.”  Perhaps you’ve heard that explanation of the relationship between justification and sanctification.  What do you think of it?  At first and for a long time, I found it helpful.  I first heard it from RC Sproul (full disclosure:  I love RC Sproul.  I’m Reformed today – and a pastor …

Bonhoeffer on Luther and Costly Grace, part 2

Justification by God’s costly grace involves the justification of the sinner, not the justification of the sin. Following up on the first part of Bonhoeffer’s treatment of Luther and Costly Grace, I want to point out that it’s Roman Catholics who want to “justify sin”. Consider this explication from the not too distant past: What’s …