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The keys of the kingdom: an historical and doctrinal study of the power of the keys in the Reformed Church, with special reference to the Church of Scotland for the period 1560-1712

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MacDougallAG_1964redux_Redacted.pdf (60.13Mb)
Date
1964
Author
MacDougall, Alexander Goodwill
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Abstract
 
 
In dealing with the power of the keys in the Reformed Church in this thesis,the approach is as follows: there are six chapters. In the Introduction, the main passages in the New Testament on which this doctrine is based and the way in which they were interpreted by the Apostolic Church are considered. During the centuries preceding the Protestant Reformation this doctrine underwent several changes, there¬ fore, an assessment of these is given in order to see the position at the time of the Reformation.
 
In the second chapter the Reformed position as found in the teach¬ ing of John Calvin is examined. This necessitates a summary of the main points in his teaching on the meaning of justification by faith. Then, in order to see the misconceptions which the Reformed teaching was trying to correct, and the background against which it had to work, a comparison is made with the teaching of the Council of Trent on this subject.
 
The third chapter deals with the application of the Reformed doctrine of the exercise of the power of the keys as practised in Geneva in the time of Calvin and under his leadership. Two points in particular are brought out: first, the place of Christian instructionpreaching, teaching, and pastoral care—in the exercise of the power of the keys; and secondly, the position of the Church in the exercise of ecclesiastical discipline, as well as the aims which this duty is meant to achieve.
 
The fourth chapter deals with the teaching and emphasis of the Reformed Church in Scotland on this subject. This involves an examination of the subordinate standards of this Church, especially the relative sections of the First Book of Discipline and the Order of Excommunication and of Public Repentance; the changes effected by the advent of the Second Book of Discipline and of the Westminster Confession are noted. This chapter also deals with a question which caused much controversy in the seventeenth century, namely, the depository of the keys.
 
The fifth chapter is concerned with the means used by the Reformed Church in Scotland for carrying out her mission in the exercise of both the kerygmatic act and the .judicial act of the power of the keys. An assessment of these is made, and the conclusion is that while the was Reformed Church in Scotland was as sincere and zealous in endeavouring to perform faithfully what she believed to be her solemn duty in regard to the exercise of the power of the keys, and although many of her efforts in this regard were highly commendable, yet in some respects, chiefly in the matter of church censures, she was guilty of re-introducing what amounted to practices against which the Reformation had been a revolt; furthermore, the type of censures she used was almost sure to give the average church member a wrong understanding of the nature of justification.
 
The final chapter draws some conclusions from the foregoing and makes comparisons with the conditions in which the Church has to work today.
 
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30410
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