Complementarianism and Why Natural Law Needs a Community

In the past few weeks, a few Christian bloggers (mainly from the Reformed camp) have engaged each other in a discussion on complementarianism. The discussion has missed, to my mind, a key element and requirement in natural law practical reasoning. It all started with John Piper who, commenting on women in the workforce, distinguished between …

Reformed Natural Theology – Part 1 (Calvin)

This is part 1 of a series on natural theology and reason in the Reformed tradition. See Part 2. Before directly discussing Calvin’s thinking on natural theology and reason, we must lay some theological groundwork. In particular, we will have to discuss what is called the duplex cognitio Dei. In Calvin, there is a twofold …

Natural Rights and the Calvinist Political Tradition (1)

In the last couple decades, many scholars have recognized the contribution of Calvinist theologians and political theorists to the formulation of natural rights. Prior to this, largely due to Leo Strauss, Calvinists were lumped in with the pre-modern notions of objective natural rights. These, according to Strauss, …are doctrines [that] taught the duties of man; …

Calvin and Winthrop Between the Ages: Medievalism, Hierarchy, and Modernity (Part 2 of 4)

This is Part 2 of a series on Calvin and modernity. This post covers Calvin’s two-kingdom theology and his theology of work. I show that Calvin’s thought cannot be the foundation of modernity and that his thought is a modification of medieval thought, not a radical break from it.                                 Chillon Castle, near Geneva, Switzerland …

Natural Theology 1: Toward Clarity and Apologetics

Muller goes on at some length about distinctions among archetypal and ectypal theologies, and I may or may not return to that topic, but next in his queue is the question of “natural theology”. Commenting on “Calvin’s view of general and special revelation”, Stephen cited Warfield “that while fallen man continues to receive natural revelation …