Beyond Dordt and de Auxiliis: The Dynamics of Protestant and Catholic Soteriology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

by Jordan Ballor (Editor), Matthew Gaetano (Editor), David Sytsma (Editor)

An exploration of post-Reformation inter-confessional theological exchange between Reformed, Dominican, Arminian, and Jesuit theologians on controversial soteriological topics. These essays bring theological works into meaningful points of contact in a European-wide struggle with the legacy of Augustine.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Vagabond of Letters, DLitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for any Thomist, student of early modern theology, or student of Protestant-Catholic polemics.

[Jordan Coy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great work of scholarship on the doctrinal disputes between the Thomists/Jesuits during De Auxiliis and between the Calvinists/Arminians at Dordt. Much of the work shows how Protestants and Catholics argued for their respective sides of predestination but also how they utilized each other's arguments and the (reluctant) agreements between each other.

The Reformed saw the Spanish Dominicans, not only as "Outside voices" in support of Reformed theology but used some of the key concepts from Dominicans in their debates with Molinism in the Calvinist/Arminian debates. The most significant example is the idea of physical premotion. As Richard Muller summarizes, "All creaturely movements, including the volitional acts of rational creatures, are ontologically dependent on God, who, in order for any creaturely motion to take place, must will that motion concurrently with the creature." (page 8)
Reformed figures such as John Owen, Samuel Rutherford, and Francis Turretin accepted physical promotion. (8)

The reoccurring thesis of the irreconcilibility between Thomism and Reformed theology (primarily from 20th century scholarship and/or the current day detractors) is seriously undermined by this book. Figures such as Franciscus Junius, John Davenant, and Gisbertus Voetius appropriate Aquinas' theology or Banez's arguments against Molinism to use against Arminians who had accepted Molina's middle knowledge.
From the other side, several Dominicans will argue that Dordt was Thomist in its formulations.
"According to the Dominican Gazzaniga, the Synod of Dordt was basically sound & even Thomistic on the crucial doctrine of predestination and reprobation. Ames, Perkins, Du Moulin, Twisse, and other "infralapsarians" had embraced Thomistic ideas not only about reprobation but also about the integrity of human liberty under the influence of efficacious grace." (317)

4/5 A great read detailing the inroads of Reformed Theology and Thomism on the doctrines of Grace, predestination, and free-will

[C. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting read. Reading about perspectives on predestination from both the Roman Catholic and Reformed camps is deeply enriching, and reveals the immense complexity of 16th-17th century intra- and extraconfessional debates.