After Merit

John Calvin’s Theology of Works and Rewards
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-3-525-55248-3
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Buch, Englisch, Band Band 034, 190 Seiten, gebunden, Format (B × H): 165 mm x 242 mm, Gewicht: 449 g

Reihe: Refo500 Academic Studies (R5AS)

In this study Charles Raith II fills a gap in Reformation-era scholarship by analyzing Calvin’s teaching on works and reward in light of medieval theological developments surrounding the doctrine of merit. While significant analysis has been given to Calvin’s doctrine of justification, its relation to sanctification, the notion of union with Christ, and the role of participation, there is as yet no sustained analysis of how these teachings are shaped by the most hostile and pervasive of his polemics, namely, his confrontation with a merit-based framework for understanding Christian salvation. This volume, however, interprets Calvin’s own theological constructions as contextually determined by the reigning polemics of his day. In addition, previous scholarship on these topics has largely failed to properly contextualize Calvin’s own thought against the background of scholastic theological developments—developments that Calvin both accepts and rejects in the formulation of his own theology. After Merit addresses these gaps by (1) analyzing Calvin’s tracts, scriptural commentaries and Institutes to demonstrate Calvin’s unique distain for the doctrine of merit among the early Reformers and the pervasiveness of this polemic within his theological program; (2) reviewing the scholastic developments surrounding the doctrine of merit from the High to Late Middle Ages as background to Calvin’s thought; (3) highlighting Calvin’s principle problems with the doctrine of merit: the competitive-causal schema between divine and human causality, merit as a basis for justification, and good works as “deserving” of reward; and (4) unpacking Calvin’s theology of justification, sanctification, the worth of works, and the role of works in salvation as an alternative to the “opponents” doctrine of merit. The volume concludes by reflecting on the reception of Calvin’s theology of works and reward in later Reformed thought.

Autoren/Hrsg.

II, Charles Raith

Weitere Mitwirkende

Frank, Günter

Mahlmann-Bauer, Barbara

Schilling, Johannes

Wassilowsky, Günther

Westphal, Siegrid

Rasmussen, Tarald

Lamberigts, Mathijs

Gordon, Bruce

Whitford, David M.

Tóth, Zsombor

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Christliche Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Geschichte der Theologie, Einzelne Theologen
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Protestantismus, evangelische und protestantische Kirchen Reformierte Kirchen, Calvinisten, presbyterianische Kirchen

Über Autor(innen)

Tóth, Zsombor
Dr. Zsombor Tóth is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Literary Studies at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Gordon, Bruce
Dr. Bruce Gordon is Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School.

Schilling, Johannes
Johannes Schilling ist Professor im Ruhestand für Kirchengeschichte an der Universität Kiel.

Rasmussen, Tarald
Tarald Rasmussen ist Professor für Kirchengeschichte an der Universität Oslo.

Wassilowsky, Günther
Dr. Günther Wassilowsky ist Professor für Kirchengeschichte an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Westphal, Siegrid
Prof. Dr. Siegrid Westphal ist Inhaberin des Lehrstuhls für Geschichte der Frühen Neuzeit an der Universität Osnabrück sowie Direktorin des Forschungszentrums Institut für Kulturgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit.

Mahlmann-Bauer, Barbara
Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer ist Professorin em. für „Neuere deutsche Literatur“ an der Universität Bern.

Frank, Günter
Dr. Günter Frank ist Direktor der Europäischen Melanchthon-Akademie Bretten und außerplanmäßiger Professor am Karlsruher Institut für Technologie.

II, Charles Raith
Charles Raith II, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy and Director of the Paradosis Center for Theology and Scripture at the John Brown University in Siloam Springs, USA.