The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology: The Historical Background of an Ecclesial Tradition

by Bruce P. Baugus

Reformed moral teaching embraces the authority of Scripture, a stable moral order from creation, and the moral law expressed in the Ten Commandments as a guide for developing a virtuous life. But did such ideas radically appear during the Reformation? In The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology , Bruce P. Baugus traces the story of moral theology from its biblical origins to the eve of the Reformation, demonstrating that Reformed moral sensibilities were received and developed from the greater church tradition. The result is a commendable survey that pays particular attention to the questions and themes most significant to the formation of what became a distinctly Reformed moral theology.

Table of
1. The Character of Reformed Moral Theology
2. Origins of Moral Theology
3. Redemptive Old Testament
4. Redemptive New Testament (Part 1)
5. Redemptive New Testament (Part 2)
6. Early Church History
7. Late Antiquity and Medieval Eras
8. High Medieval Thomas
9. Late Medieval Scotus and Ockham

Genres: Theology

360 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2022

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an ambitious book that aims to set out the theological and historical background to Reformed moral theology as it developed in the post-reformation period. It begins with the survey of Scripture in both testaments and then the early church. But when Baugus comes to the medieval period he really steps up the intensity of the analysis, and I really did enjoy his close discussion and explanation of Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus and the Nominalism that formed the backdrop to the Reformation. His conclusion is that, via different routes, both affirmed the natural law.

I cannot resist including this terrible Barth quote, which Baugus includes:
"There is no law of nature which is both recognisable as such and yet also has divine character and authority. There is no law and commandment of God inherent in the creatureliness of humanity as such, or written and revealed in the stars as a law of the cosmos, so that the transgression of it makes a human being a sinner. It is characteristic of the sin of man and one of its results--that man should think he can know such a law of nature and direct and measure himself and others in accordance with it ." Oh dear.