Trajectories in Aristotelianism and Rationalism in Early Reformed Orthodoxy

I am often asked, “at a time when there is a flood of people leaving Roman Catholicism, why does it seem that so many intellectuals seem to be moving in the opposite direction?” There are a number of reasons for this – some Anglicans are converting because of the rampant liberalism and decline in morality …

Philosophies that didn’t help: Philosophical Issues and Developments in the Post-Reformation Era 2

Man is created for worship. And if he will not worship the one true God, he will find something else to worship. “Atheists”, “deists”, “practical atheists”, even followers of ancient Hermes all found something to hold onto with the resurgence of the various “reappropriations” of classical philosophies. In some respects, it was the second century …

Philosophical Issues and Developments in the Post-Reformation Era, 1

Philosophy was an “add-on” to theology for the post-Reformation writers. It was “an aid to learning” (“ancilla”) but it did not contain the substantive material that was to be considered when evaluating “theology proper” (i.e., issues surrounding the Doctrine of God, etc.). In other instances, it was found, some philosophies were outright hostile to Christianity. …

Post-Reformation Systematization and Continuities

It was one thing for the Reformers to rebel against the abuses of Rome; it was quite another thing to put together a cohesive program of what the church ought rightly to be in the world. To this end, the generations of thinkers following the Reformation looked to other disciplines. So, not only was “systematization” …

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 …

Fudging Aristotle: A Digression (Part 2): “’Not Informed by God’s Revelation”

Ever since Tertullian famously asked “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” the relationship between theology and philosophy has been full of ups and downs. And while Christianity emerged from Old Testament Judaism, in Palestine, Christianity itself entered a world that was largely Greek-speaking and “Hellenistic” – that is, one that was shaped by Greek …