- Systematic Theology, Doctrine of God, Karl Barth, Analytic Philosophy of Religion, Reformed theology, Reformed scholasticism, and 30 moreDuns Scotus, Systematic and Historical Theology, Predestination, Free Will, Free will and determinism debate, Doctrine of the Trinity, Evangelical Theology, Theological Engagement with Culture, Missional Theology, Theological Ethics, Pastoral Theology, Doctrines of Scripture, The Doctrine of the Trinity, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Historical Theology, Early Christian Muslim Dialogue, Theology of Religions, Arabic Contextual Theology, Systematic Theology, Mission Studies, Ecumenics, Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus, Daniel Tossanus, Analytic Philosophy, Christology, Theological Hermeneutics, Trinitarian Theology, Reformation Theology, Augustine, Reformation Studies, and St Thomas Aquinasedit
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The notion of analogy plays an important role in Steven Duby’s project of theologia. Traditional Reformed theology understands analogy as an “analogy of attribution” based on the creature’s participation in God’s own perfections. Duby’s... more
The notion of analogy plays an important role in Steven Duby’s project of theologia. Traditional Reformed theology understands analogy as an “analogy of attribution” based on the creature’s participation in God’s own perfections. Duby’s discussion of analogy addresses its grounds, main forms and variations, and limitations. In response, this article suggests supplementing Duby’s broadly Thomistic explanation with key elements from the Scotist theory of univocal predication. The first benefit of this integration is a clearer balance of apophatic and kataphatic tendencies in the doctrine of God. The second result is a more sophisticated account of the doctrine of divine simplicity, combining Thomas’ emphasis on the common ratio for predicating terms of God and creatures with the Scotist notions of disjunctive properties and distinctio formalis. While speaking about God’s essence by different concepts is necessary because of our limited understanding, it is also grounded in the reality...
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This article examines how Reformed scholasticism can be relevant for systematic theology today. ‘Reformed Scholasticism’ denotes the academic practice in which the doctrines of the Reformation are expounded, explained, and defended. It is... more
This article examines how Reformed scholasticism can be relevant for systematic theology today. ‘Reformed Scholasticism’ denotes the academic practice in which the doctrines of the Reformation are expounded, explained, and defended. It is primarily a method and attitude in search of the truth, based on a careful reading of Scripture, drawing on patristic and medieval traditions, and interacting with philosophy and other academic disciplines. In addition to these methodological features, important contributions on various doctrinal topics can be discovered. The doctrine of God has a foundational role in the sense that God is the primary subject of the other topics (creation, salvation, etc.). Reformed scholastic theology not only examines God’s inner essence, but also the concrete relation and operation of God toward his world. In a Trinitarian understanding of God’s essence, a distinction is maintained between God’s immanent relatedness as three divine Persons, and his outward relat...
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This paper compares the theological profiles of John Calvin and Jerome Zanchi, especially in their doctrines of predestination, on the basis of Calvin’s De aeterna Dei praedestinatione and Zanchi’s De natura Dei. It turns out that Calvin... more
This paper compares the theological profiles of John Calvin and Jerome Zanchi, especially in their doctrines of predestination, on the basis of Calvin’s De aeterna Dei praedestinatione and Zanchi’s De natura Dei. It turns out that Calvin and Zanchi show substantial agreement in their understanding of predestination, both as election and as reprobation. At the same time, significant differences in presentation and argumentation can be detected. Placing both in their historical, ecclesiastical, and academic contexts, it is argued that Calvin’s insights, based on key biblical texts, require further conceptual exploration and clarification as provided by Zanchi.
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This article sketches the theological profile of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625) by focusing on its exposition of the doctrine of God. Earlier disputations by Leiden theologians Franciscus Junius (1545–1602) and Franciscus Gomarus... more
This article sketches the theological profile of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625) by focusing on its exposition of the doctrine of God. Earlier disputations by Leiden theologians Franciscus Junius (1545–1602) and Franciscus Gomarus (1563–1641) are discussed as a background for the theology of Antonius Thysius (1565–1640), the author of the disputation in the Synopsis on God’s nature and attributes. For a further specification of the doctrinal position presented in the Synopsis, it is contrasted with the more innovative accounts proposed by Jacob Arminius (1559–1609) in his disputation “De natura Dei” (1603) and by Conrad Vorstius (1569–1622) in his Tractatus theologicus de Deo (1606). This analysis yields the conclusion that both Arminius and Vorstius advocated a structural differentiation between God’s inner essence and his outward operations, which leaves room for human freedom and independence. While the Synopsis does not explicitly discuss their views, in its own formulat...
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'Reformed scholasticism' refers to a form of theology that is historically situated in the period from ca. 1560 to 1750. It is embedded in the confessional and institutional identity of churches emerging in the Reformed... more
'Reformed scholasticism' refers to a form of theology that is historically situated in the period from ca. 1560 to 1750. It is embedded in the confessional and institutional identity of churches emerging in the Reformed strand of Protestantism, while its texts are written in the distinctive genre of scholasticism. The basic pattern of scholastic discourse begins with a 'question' (quaestio), which clearly presents the issue under discussion. This is followed by arguments for and against certain positions in respect of the question, and finally by a solution by means of definitions and distinctions that respond to the various positions. This scholastic method is particularly suitable for instruction, inquiry and discussion at an academic level, and developed in diverse ways within different ecclesiastical contexts: Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Reformed. While it is worth noting the structural similarities and vivid interaction between scholastic writers across confessional boundaries, this chapter focuses on the scholasticism typical of the era of 'Reformed orthodoxy' in which the confessional identity of the Reformed churches was being shaped, codified and institutionalised. The development of scholastic Reformed theology is sketched in its institutional context of the early modern universities. The different polemical frontiers against which Reformed doctrine was defended and explained are surveyed. The final section of this chapter points to the continuing relevance of scholastic thought for Reformed theology today.
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Religious texts represent a specific rhetorical genre. What does it mean to construct these texts? In order to answer this question we reflect upon our experience of co-authoring a religious text, the Ordinary Catechism (Gewone... more
Religious texts represent a specific rhetorical genre. What does it mean to construct these texts? In order to answer this question we reflect upon our experience of co-authoring a religious text, the Ordinary Catechism (Gewone Catechismus), published in 2019. The findings include insights in collaborative spirituality, a dynamic interaction with tradition, and various levels of abstraction in theologizing. Further, we analyze these findings by using genre theory. It is concluded that religious texts are responses to a rhetorical situation; they are part of genre repertoires that religious communities use to express and to experience the Christian faith.
'Reformed scholasticism' refers to a form of theology that is historically situated in the period from ca. 1560 to 1750. It is embedded in the confessional and institutional identity of churches emerging in the Reformed strand of... more
'Reformed scholasticism' refers to a form of theology that is historically situated in the period from ca. 1560 to 1750. It is embedded in the confessional and institutional identity of churches emerging in the Reformed strand of Protestantism, while its texts are written in the distinctive genre of scholasticism. The basic pattern of scholastic discourse begins with a 'question' (quaestio), which clearly presents the issue under discussion. This is followed by arguments for and against certain positions in respect of the question, and finally by a solution by means of definitions and distinctions that respond to the various positions. This scholastic method is particularly suitable for instruction, inquiry and discussion at an academic level, and developed in diverse ways within different ecclesiastical contexts: Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Reformed. While it is worth noting the structural similarities and vivid interaction between scholastic writers across confessional boundaries, this chapter focuses on the scholasticism typical of the era of 'Reformed orthodoxy' in which the confessional identity of the Reformed churches was being shaped, codified and institutionalised. The development of scholastic Reformed theology is sketched in its institutional context of the early modern universities. The different polemical frontiers against which Reformed doctrine was defended and explained are surveyed. The final section of this chapter points to the continuing relevance of scholastic thought for Reformed theology today.
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Kan de gereformeerde leer van de twee naturen wel rechtdoen aan de ene Persoon van Christus? De Synopsis uit 1625 ziet het concrete feit van de incarnatie als constitutief voor de eenheid van God en mens in Christus. De menselijke natuur... more
Kan de gereformeerde leer van de twee naturen wel rechtdoen aan de ene Persoon van Christus? De Synopsis uit 1625 ziet het concrete feit van de incarnatie als constitutief voor de eenheid van God en mens in Christus. De menselijke natuur heeft geen zelfstandige eigen persoonlijkheid, maar bestaat 'in' de Persoon van de Zoon van God. De bijzondere eenheid van God en mens in Jezus heeft als doel het verrichten van zijn taak als Middelaar, door te lijden en te sterven en zo de mensen met God te verzoenen.
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This paper compares the theological profiles of John Calvin and Jerome Zanchi, especially in their doctrines of predestination, on the basis of Calvin’s De aeterna Dei praedestinatione and Zanchi’s De natura Dei. It turns out that Calvin... more
This paper compares the theological profiles of John Calvin and Jerome Zanchi, especially in their doctrines of predestination, on the basis of Calvin’s De aeterna Dei praedestinatione and
Zanchi’s De natura Dei. It turns out that Calvin and Zanchi show substantial agreement in their understanding of predestination, both as election and as reprobation. At the same time, significant differences in presentation and argumentation can be detected. Placing both in their historical, ecclesiastical, and academic contexts, it is argued that Calvin’s insights, based
on key biblical texts, require further conceptual exploration and clarification as provided by Zanchi.
Zanchi’s De natura Dei. It turns out that Calvin and Zanchi show substantial agreement in their understanding of predestination, both as election and as reprobation. At the same time, significant differences in presentation and argumentation can be detected. Placing both in their historical, ecclesiastical, and academic contexts, it is argued that Calvin’s insights, based
on key biblical texts, require further conceptual exploration and clarification as provided by Zanchi.
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Bram van de Beek schrijft een scheppingstheologie die helemaal in het kruis van Christus is geconcentreerd. Vanuit dit centrum worden enkele vragen naar de omtrek gesteld: - is er niet in meer richtingen samenhang tussen schepping en... more
Bram van de Beek schrijft een scheppingstheologie die helemaal in het kruis van Christus is geconcentreerd. Vanuit dit centrum worden enkele vragen naar de omtrek gesteld:
- is er niet in meer richtingen samenhang tussen schepping en verlossing, en moeten we geen trinitarische spreiding van Gods werken aanhouden?
- moet de vraag naar het 'begin' niet vasthoudender gesteld en beantwoord worden?
- wat is de aard van het kwaad, dat door Van de Beek zo indringend in de verbinding van schepping en kruis wordt gebracht?
- is er bij Van de Beek een onderliggende monistische visie op de verhouding van God en werkelijkheid?
- is er niet in meer richtingen samenhang tussen schepping en verlossing, en moeten we geen trinitarische spreiding van Gods werken aanhouden?
- moet de vraag naar het 'begin' niet vasthoudender gesteld en beantwoord worden?
- wat is de aard van het kwaad, dat door Van de Beek zo indringend in de verbinding van schepping en kruis wordt gebracht?
- is er bij Van de Beek een onderliggende monistische visie op de verhouding van God en werkelijkheid?
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Presentation given at the book launch of volume 1 of "Synopsis of a Purer Theology". The publication of this Latin-English, annotated edition is a matter of teamwork: it requires several domains of knowledge and skills. In its own time,... more
Presentation given at the book launch of volume 1 of "Synopsis of a Purer Theology". The publication of this Latin-English, annotated edition is a matter of teamwork: it requires several domains of knowledge and skills. In its own time, the Synopsis purioris theologiae (1625) was the fruit of co-operation of four professors, together with their senior students. In a deeper sense, the Synopsis displays theological teamwork by its constant incorporation of patristic, medieval, and comtemporary references. The ecumenical attitude of the Synopsis is exemplified on the question of the "filioque": important insights from Eastern Orthodox trinitarian theology are endorsed and combined with the Western emphasis on the distinct Persons of Father, Son, and Spirit.
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This article sketches the theological profile of the Synopsis purioris theologiae (1625) by focusing on its exposition of the doctrine of God. Earlier disputations by Leiden theologians Franciscus Junius (1545-1602) and Franciscus Gomarus... more
This article sketches the theological profile of the Synopsis purioris theologiae (1625) by focusing on its exposition of the doctrine of God. Earlier disputations by Leiden theologians Franciscus Junius (1545-1602) and Franciscus Gomarus (1563-1641) are discussed as a background for the theology of Antonius Thysius (1565-1640), the author of the disputation in the Synopsis on God’s nature and attributes. For a further specification of the doctrinal position presented in the Synopsis, it is contrasted with the more innovative accounts proposed by Jacob Arminius (1559-1609) in his disputation “De natura Dei” (1603) and by Conrad Vorstius (1569-1622) in his Tractatus theologicus de Deo (1606). This analysis yields the conclusion that both Arminius and Vorstius advocated a structural differentiation between God’s inner essence and his outward operations, which leaves room for human freedom and independence. While the Synopsis does not explicitly discuss their views, in its own formulations it maintains the common Reformed orthodox notion of divine simplicity, and keeps the balance between – on the one hand – the (hypothetical) necessity of God’s foreknowledge and decree, and – on the other hand – the contingency and freedom in the created world.
