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Mackenzie, Jonathan Peter UHI Thesis - pdf download summary Thomas Boston and the doctrine of God’s will MacKenzie, Jonathan Peter DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (AWARDED BY OU/ABERDEEN) Award date: 2011 Awarding institution: The University of Edinburgh Link URL to thesis in UHI Research Database General rights and useage policy Copyright,IP and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the UHI Research Database are retained by the author, users must recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement, or without prior permission from the author. Users may download and print one copy of any thesis from the UHI Research Database for the not-for-profit purpose of private study or research on the condition that: 1) The full text is not changed in any way 2) If citing, a bibliographic link is made to the metadata record on the the UHI Research Database 3) You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain 4) You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the UHI Research Database Take down policy If you believe that any data within this document represents a breach of copyright, confidence or data protection please contact us at [email protected] providing details; we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 05. Oct. 2021 Student Declaration “I, Jonathan Mackenzie, confirm that I composed the thesis, that it has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree, that the work is my own, and that all quotations have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information specifically acknowledged.” Jonathan Mackenzie 1/12/10 1 Acknowledgements With the completion of this thesis I would like to thank a number of people who helped form and shape the final product. Prof. A. T. B. McGowan, my supervisor, both pushed me to attain a high standard and encouraged me in those efforts; my sincere thanks go to him and to his wife, for turning up at their house on numerous occasions. Thanks also to my other supervisor Dr. Don Wood at Aberdeen University, for patiently steering the thesis into a manageable project and always asking the right questions. The thesis would not have been possible without the help of Martin Cameron, librarian of the Highland Theological College, whose ability to source obscure articles and find time to be interested was immeasurable in value. Many other people have had smaller parts to play in this project but nonetheless have helped enough for me to remember their contributions. These include the brief but encouraging interactions with Dr. Donald Bruggink and Dr. Philip Ryken, two significant voices within Boston studies, and my conversations with Prof. Paul Helm on the Calvin material. The Postgraduate Conferences the UHI Millennium Institute organized were always highlights of the academic year. Finally, I delight to say thank you to my wife Amanda and my two lovely children, Lara and Lewis – for the time they have given to me for completing my thesis and for the joy, rest and change, they have brought throughout writing it. I can finally answer their oft repeated question of ‘have you finished studying yet?’ not with a ‘yes, for today,’ but with a simple ‘yes.’ 2 Abstract The focus of this thesis is the Reformed doctrine of the will of God and its pastoral application in the theology of Thomas Boston (1676-1732). The objective of this thesis is to establish Boston’s doctrine of the will of God and how he applies that doctrine pastorally. We shall argue that one significant key to understanding Boston and his theology is the use he makes of the doctrine of the will of God, particularly in relation to God’s providence. This is a common theme in Reformed theology but the way in which Boston worked the theme out in his practical theology and in his pastoral care marks him out as significant. We shall begin (chapter 1) with a brief introduction to the life and thought of Thomas Boston, before concentrating (chapter 2) on his Memoirs, in which it becomes very clear that his understanding of the doctrine of the will of God, particularly in relation to God’s providence, is not only a theological idea but an intensely personal way of understanding his own life and circumstances and those of his parishioners. In order to understand Boston’s doctrine of the will of God in its context within the wider Reformed tradition, we shall consider (chapter 3) very briefly the contribution of the Fathers, before focussing in on the writings of John Calvin (1509-64). We shall then consider the use of the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), which was adopted as the Principal Subordinate Standard of the Church of Scotland in 1647 and to which Boston, as a Minister in that Church, would have been required to subscribe. We shall also consider in passing the influence upon Boston of John Flavel’s The Mystery of Providence (1676-77). With that background and context we shall then (chapter 4) examine closely Boston’s doctrine of the will of God, particularly in relation to the doctrine of the providence of God. This will encompass such themes as God’s being and attributes; the decrees of God; the problem of evil; election and reprobation; and free will. The pastoral and practical applications of this theological perspective will then be examined (chapter 5), demonstrating how significant a theme the will of God was for the way in which Boston ministered to his congregation in his preaching and pastoral care, as well as his wider ministry to the church through his writings. We shall then draw the threads of the study together and offer some conclusions as well as some suggestions for further study (chapter 6). 3 Abbreviations ST – Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas. CVE - Creation, Variety and Existence, ST Vol. 8, Thomas Aquinas SCG – Summa Contra Gentiles, Thomas Aquinas. CG – City of God, Augustine. CW – Complete Works, Thomas Boston. CL – Crook in the Lot, Thomas Boston. CEPG – Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, John Calvin. SPG – The Secret Providence of God, John Calvin. BLW – The Bondage and Liberation of the will, John Calvin. GFC – Of Grace and Free Choice, Bernard of Clairvaux. PRRD – Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, Richard Muller. WCF – The Westminster Confession of Faith. WCF, LC – The Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism. WCF, SC, – The Westminster Confession of Faith, Shorter Catechism. 4 Index Student declaration ………………………………………………………………..1 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….2 Abstract …………………………………………………………………………...3 Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………..4 1. – Introduction to Thomas Boston and the doctrine of God’s will ........8 1.1 – Boston – the man and his reputation .......................................................8 1.2 – Boston – his situation and inheritance ...................................................11 1.3 – Boston’s ministry ...................................................................................15 1.4 – Boston’s works .......................................................................................18 1.5 – Works on Boston ....................................................................................22 1.6 – The doctrine of the will of God ..............................................................24 1.7 – The general concept of God’s will in Reformed theology .....................24 1.8 – Literature specifically on God’s will ......................................................27 1.9 – Thesis limitations ...................................................................................32 1.10 – Conclusion to the introduction ...............................................................34 2. – Boston’s Memoirs .................................................................................35 2.1 – Divine providence in the Memoirs of Thomas Boston ..........................36 2.2 – Personal characteristics ..........................................................................37 2.3 – The observation of providence ...............................................................40 2.4 – How Boston behaved under his own trials .............................................46 2.5 – Submission to the will of God ................................................................50 2.6 – God’s will as related to his being and attributes ....................................54 2.7 – The influence of Flavel’s The Mystery of Providence on Boston ..........56 2.8 – Conclusion to the Memoirs ....................................................................63 3. – Boston’s Reformed context .................................................................66 3.1 – Aristotle ..................................................................................................68 3.1.2 – The Early Church Fathers – Augustine ..................................................69 3.1.3 – The influence of the Medieval Church Fathers ......................................72 3.1.4 – Bernard of Clairvaux ..............................................................................73 3.1.5 – Peter Lombard ........................................................................................75 3.1.6 – Thomas Aquinas .....................................................................................76 3.1.7 – Summary of pre-Reformation influences
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