| dc.description.abstract | This study examines the relationship between scriptural authority and the life of faith in
the prominent English Reformed orthodox theologian, John Owen. While aspects of
Owen’s argument have caught the attention of scholars across a relatively diverse range
of fields, no full-length historical treatment of this theme has yet appeared, and many of
its distinctive features remain unexplored. The thesis particularly seeks to show how
Owen creatively drew upon an ‘ecumenical’ dogmatic and metaphysical heritage to
restate and refine the traditional Reformed position on scriptural authority, sensitive to
intellectual developments in his own late seventeenth-century context. The broader
intention is to enrich the expanding scholarly interest in Owen’s thought, alongside
Puritan, Reformed orthodox thought in general, and also, perhaps, to serve as a
resource for those approaching this general subject from other disciplines. The thesis
concentrates on Owen’s Reason of Faith (1677), in conversation with his wider mature
corpus.
After an introduction which presents the background and parameters for the study,
chapter 2 introduces the central themes of Reason of Faith. It points to Owen’s
engagement with contemporary apologists and their deleterious reliance on well-worn
rational arguments or ‘evidences’ as the foundation for faith. Chapters 3, 4 and 5
examine Owen’s own constructive position. While recognising and incorporating the
value of ‘objective evidence’ in faith, Owen offers his own critical reformulation that
preserves the integrity of faith as something resting exclusively on divine testimony.
Chapters 3 and 4 focus upon the role of subjective divine illumination in the perception
of natural truths (chapter 3), and the gracious truths revealed in scripture (chapter 4),
noting especially Owen’s use of habitual terminology derived from scholastic thought.
Chapter 5 examines the critical function of scripture’s ‘light’ and ‘power’ as the divine
‘evidence’ or ‘objective testimony’ which appeals uniquely to the regenerated and
elevated faculties, and secures faith. The chapter also aims to observe how Owen
relates this authority to important christological and redemptive themes emerging
elsewhere in his thought, not least the restored ‘image of God’. The final two chapters
shift attention to related features of scripture. Honouring the essentially confessional
nature of scripture’s authority, chapter 6 shows how Owen locates scripture within a
covenantal frame, drawing upon a traditional account of inspiration. Chapter 7 explores
the relationship Owen sees between scriptural authority and perspicuity, which enables
an immediate, ongoing relationship between the rule of Christ and his church, and
regulates the way it is read and understood by believers using the means of grace. The
conclusion summarises Owen’s unique contribution to the Reformed consensus on
scriptural authority in the face of an increasing fragmentation of confessional orthodoxy
on this issue.
Three compact appendices are added: Appendix A discusses Owen’s reliance on
peripatetic cognitive metaphysics; Appendix B provides a survey of key historical
developments in the Augustinian doctrine of natural illumination; Appendix C addresses
some historiographical problems pertaining to inspiration in Reformed orthodoxy and
Owen in particular. | en |
