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Grace and Freedom addresses the issue of divine grace in relation to the freedom of the will in Reformed or "Calvinist" theology in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. It with a focuses on the work of the English Reformed theologian William Perkins, especially his role as an apologist of the Church of England, defending its theology against the Roman Catholic polemic, and specifically against the charge that Reformed theology denies human free choice.
Sommario
- Preface
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. William Perkins and his Contemporaries on "Free Will"
- Chapter 2. Knowing and Willing in Freedom: Divine and Human
- Chapter 3. The Nature of the Will and its Strength
- Chapter 4. Liberty and Mutability: the Strength of the Will and the Loss of Grace
- Chapter 5. Liberty Restored: Grace and the Will in Redemption and Glorification
- Chapter 6. The Harmony and Consent of Divine and Human Willing
- Chapter 7. Conclusions
- Bibliography
Info autore
Richard A. Muller is Senior Fellow at Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research and P. J.
Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology Emeritus at Calvin Theological Seminary
Riassunto
Grace and Freedom addresses the issue of divine grace in relation to the freedom of the will in Reformed or "Calvinist" theology in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. It focuses on the work of the English Reformed theologian William Perkins, especially his role as an apologist of the Church of England, defending its theology against the Roman Catholic polemic, and specifically against the charge that Reformed theology denies human free choice. Perkins and his Reformed contemporaries affirm that salvation occurs by grace alone and that God is the ultimate cause of all things, but they also insist on the freedom of the human will and specifically the freedom of choice in a way that does not conform to modern notions of "libertarian freedom" or "compatibilism." In developing this position, Perkins drew on the thought of Reformers such as Peter Martyr Vermigli and Zacharias Ursinus, on the nuanced positions of medieval scholastics, and several contemporary Roman Catholic representatives of the so-called "second scholasticism." His work was a major contribution to early modern Reformed thought both in England and on the continent. His influence in England extended both to the Reformed heritage of the Church of England and to English Puritanism. On the continent, his work contributed to the main lines of Reformed orthodoxy and to the piety of the Dutch Second Reformation.
Testo aggiuntivo
No-one has done more than Richard A. Muller to shape our approach to early modern historical theology ... [an] important new book
