Reformed orthodoxy
Reformed orthodoxy or Calvinist orthodoxy was an era in the history of Calvinism in the 16th to 18th centuries. Calvinist orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Lutheranism and tridentine Roman Catholicism after the Counter-Reformation. Calvinist scholasticism or Reformed scholasticism was a theological method that gradually developed during the era of Calvinist Orthodoxy.
Theologians used the
Continuity in Reformed theology
Part of the series on Modern scholasticism | |
Title page of the Operis de religione (1625) from Francisco Suárez. | |
Background | |
---|---|
Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation Aristotelianism Scholasticism Patristics | |
Modern scholastics | |
Second scholasticism of the School of Salamanca | |
Reactions within Christianity | |
The Jesuits against Jansenism | |
Reactions within philosophy | |
Lutherans Spinozists against Dutch CalvinistsDeists against Anglicanism John Locke against Bishop Stillingfleet | |
In the past, scholars described the
Scholastic method
Medieval schools of theology used methods of instruction known as lectio-meditatio-quaestio and disputationes. In the first method, teachers would first read an authoritative text with some commentary (lectio), allow students to consider the text silently (meditatio), and finally the students would ask questions of the teacher to get at the meaning (quaestio).[4]
History
Scholasticism was used by Protestant theologians primarily from 1560 to 1790, which is known as the period of orthodoxy because of the importance of adherence to and defense of the newly written Reformed confessions of faith for these theologians.[5]
John Calvin (1509–1564)
Early orthodoxy (1560–1620)
Though scholasticism can already be seen in early Reformed theologians, especially
The early 17th-century
Through the influence of refugees from continental Europe such as
High orthodoxy (1620–1700)
Following the Synod of Dort, which ended in 1619, the Reformed began to give greater definition and detail to their theological system by writing comprehensive systematic theologies.
In the Netherlands, three strands within Reformed orthodoxy may be distinguished, though all of these stayed within the boundaries provided by the Canons of Dort.
In France,
In England, many of the Reformed, along with some other Protestants refused to remain within the
Late orthodoxy (1700–1790)
During the eighteenth century the scholastic method of theology began to stagnate in favor of exegetical and historical theology.[27] The Age of Enlightenment brought about greater reliance on reason and less dependence on the authority of authoritative texts such as the Bible,[28] leading to the rise of biblical criticism and natural theology.[29]
In the Netherlands the "Green Cocceians" (named after Henricus Groenewegen, Groen = Green in Dutch) surpassed the Voetians who had been dominant in the 17th century. They attempted to find a mediating position between Enlightenment thought and Reformed theology, which resulted in intense controversy with other Reformed scholastics.
Reformed scholastic theology was more dominant in Scotland. The
In Switzerland the Enlightenment had a significant impact on the shape of Reformed theology.
Important figures
- Wilhelmus à Brakel
- John Owen
- Francis Turretin
- Peter Martyr Vermigli
- Gisbertus Voetius
- Hermann Witsius
- Johannes Wollebius
- Girolamo Zanchi
See also
Notes
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 9
- ^ Fesko 2000.
- ^ Wenger 2007.
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 59
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 5–6
- ^ Steinmetz 2006, pp. 16–30.
- ^ Benedict 2002, pp. 298–299.
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 108
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 109
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 109–110
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 121
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 123
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 124–125
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 113–114
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 132–133
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 137
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 135
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 121
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 139
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 141–142
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 142–144
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 148–149
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 151
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 152
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 153
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 154–155
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 167
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 168
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 170–172
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 174–175
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 177–179
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, pp. 180–181
- ^ van Asselt et al. 2011, p. 182
References
- ISBN 978-1-60178-121-5.
- Benedict, Philip (2002). Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300105070.
- Fesko, J.V. (June–July 2000). "An Introduction to Reformed Scholasticism" (PDF). The Counsel of Chalcedon.
- Steinmetz, David C. (2006). "The Scholastic Calvin". In ISBN 978-0853648536.
- Wenger, Thomas L. (June 2007). "The New Perspective on Calvin: Responding to Recent Calvin Interpretations". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. 50 (2): 311–328. ISSN 0360-8808.
Further reading
- van Asselt, Willem J.; Dekker, Eef (2001). Reformation and Scholasticism: An Ecumenical Enterprise. Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0801022425.
- Muller, Richard A (2003). After Calvin: Studies in the Development of a Theological Tradition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195157017.
- Muller, Richard A (2003). Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1, Prolegomena to Theology. Baker.
- Selderhuis, Herman J., ed. (2013). A Companion to Reformed Orthodoxy. Leiden: Brill.