Leslie The Light of Grace: John Owen on the Authority of Scripture and Christian Faith

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-3-647-55090-9
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band Band 034, 300 Seiten

Reihe: Reformed Historical Theology

Over the past several centuries, John Owen's writings on scripture have captured the attention of numerous interpreters across a relatively diverse range of disciplines. His own distinctive contribution to this doctrine was forged with a genuine fear for the on-going pre-eminence of scriptural authority in the English church firmly in view. In the face of various rival perspectives, Owen insists every Christian believer ought to be clear on the reason they believe scripture to be the word of God. Focussing on the treatise Reason of Faith (1677) in conversation with his wider theological corpus, Andrew M. Leslie studies Owen's approach to scriptural authority and Christian faith. He argues that Owen creatively drew upon an ecumenical dogmatic and metaphysical heritage to restate and refine the traditional Reformed position on scripture's divine authority, sensitive to developments in his own late seventeenth-century context. In particular, Leslie explores how Owen shares a growing concern to ground Christian faith in objective evidence, all-the-while ensuring that its ultimate foundation lies in the irresistible authority and truthfulness of God, mediated 'in and by' the inspired text of scripture. Leslie also draws out the broader significance Owen ascribes to scripture in shaping a believer's relationship with the Triune God, especially its vital role in their gradual transformation into the likeness or image of Christ.

Andrew M. Leslie, PhD, is Lecturer in Christian Doctrine at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leslie, Andrew M.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Christliche Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Geschichte der Theologie, Einzelne Theologen
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Cover;1
2;Title Page;4
3;Copyright;5
4;Table of Contents;6
5;Body;10
6;Acknowledgements;10
7;Abbreviations;12
8;1. Introduction;14
8.1;1.1 Prologue;14
8.2;1.2 The evolving scripture “principle”: some issues;20
8.3;1.3 Scope and shape of this study;32
9;2. Reason of Faith (1677) and the problem of certainty;38
9.1;2.1 Introduction;38
9.2;2.2 “Certainty of adherence” and “certainty of evidence”;39
9.3;2.3 “Infallible” versus “moral” certainty;43
9.4;2.4 John Owen and certainty: Reason of Faith (1677);50
9.4.1;2.4.1 “Infallible faith” defined;52
9.5;2.5 “Motives of Credibility” and the insufficiency of “Moral Certainty”;57
9.6;2.6 Conclusion;65
10;3. Implanted law and the light of nature;68
10.1;3.1 Introduction;68
10.2;3.2 “Natural light” and the exercise of reason;70
10.2.1;3.2.1 Excursus: “Illumination” within the Christian cognitive tradition;72
10.2.2;3.2.2 The “light of nature” and practical reasoning in seventeenth-century England;78
10.3;3.3 Owen and the “law” and “light” of nature before the Fall;81
10.3.1;3.3.1 The lex operationis;81
10.3.1.1;3.3.1.1 The lex operationis and Adam's covenantal end;82
10.3.1.2;3.3.1.2 The lex operationis and Adam's “light”;84
10.3.2;3.3.2 Owen and the “light of nature”;86
10.3.3;3.3.3 “Positive” commands;92
10.3.4;3.3.4 Summary;95
10.4;3.4 The “light of nature” after the Fall;96
10.5;3.5 Conclusion;103
11;4. The Habit of Grace;106
11.1;4.1 Introduction;106
11.2;4.2 “Supernatural illumination” and the light of grace;107
11.2.1;4.2.1 The infused “habit of grace”;108
11.2.2;4.2.2 Habitual grace, the Word of God and “special illumination”;116
11.3;4.3 A new “spiritual sense”: habitual grace, the will, affections and the internal “testimony” of the Spirit;127
11.4;4.4 Conclusion;133
12;5. Scripture, evidence and the imago Dei;136
12.1;5.1 Introduction;136
12.2;5.2 Evidence and reason;137
12.3;5.3 Evidence and faith;146
12.3.1;5.3.1 Scripture's self-evidencing “light”;150
12.3.2;5.3.2 Scripture's self-evidencing “power”;155
12.4;5.4 A spiritual “intuition”;158
12.5;5.5 The imago Dei and the authority of scripture;161
12.6;5.6 Conclusion;175
13;6. From Christ to scripture: the origin and inspiration of scripture;182
13.1;6.1 Introduction;182
13.2;6.2 Excursus: the problem of “inspiration” in the historiography of Early Modern Protestantism;183
13.3;6.3 The origin of scripture;191
13.4;6.4 The inspiration of scripture;204
13.4.1;6.4.1 Prophecy;205
13.4.1.1;6.4.1.1 Prophetic inspiration;206
13.4.1.2;6.4.1.2 Divine concursus;210
13.4.2;6.4.2 Scripture;210
13.4.3;6.4.3 Summary and evaluation;213
13.5;6.5 Conclusion;217
14;7. From scripture to Christ: authority, perspicuity and the life of faith;220
14.1;7.1 Introduction;220
14.2;7.2 The perspicuity of scripture;220
14.2.1;7.2.1 Illumination and the “unction” of the Spirit;221
14.2.2;7.2.2 The “proper” object and motive of faith, love and obedience;226
14.2.3;7.2.3 Spiritual unction and the church;230
14.2.4;7.2.4 Summary;235
14.3;7.3 The proper object of faith: a hermeneutical principle?;236
14.4;7.4 The perspicuity of scripture and the use of “means”;241
14.5;7.5 Conclusion;247
15;8. Conclusion;250
16;Appendix: Owen and the rudiments of cognition;258
17;Bibliography;266
17.1;1. Primary sources;266
17.2;2. Secondary sources;271
18;Names Index;294
19;Subject Index;298

Über Autor(innen)

Leslie, Andrew M.
Andrew M. Leslie, PhD, is Lecturer in Christian Doctrine at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia.