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This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Recovering the Meaning of Baptism in Westminster Calvinism in Critical Dialogue with Thomas F. Torrance John Andrew Scott Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh 2015 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed by myself, and that the work herein contained is my own. I, furthermore, hereby indicate that this thesis does not include work submitted for any other academic degree or professional qualification Signed Rev Dr John Andrew Scott January 2015 Abstract This thesis examines and critiques the doctrine of baptism in the theology of Thomas Torrance and utilises aspects of Torrance’s doctrine to recover and enrich the meaning of baptism in Westminster theology. Torrance’s doctrine of baptism has suffered from misunderstanding and has been widely neglected. This arises from Torrance introducing a new soteriological paradigm, that is claimed by Torrance, to be both new, and at the same time to be a recovery of the work of the early church fathers and Calvin. It is the contention of this thesis that Torrance’s soteriological paradigm is more ‘new’ than it is a recovery of either the early church fathers or Calvin. Torrance’s new paradigm is not easily identified as ‘new’ because of Torrance’s creative use of Irenaeus, Athanasius and Calvin. His theology is further misunderstood by many because it is partly seen to derive from his criticism of a caricature of Westminster theology. The purpose here is to provide an exposition of Torrance’s doctrine of baptism, identifying union with Christ and Christ’s vicarious humanity as key doctrines that inform his theology of baptism. Torrance has a distinct and unique soteriological paradigm based on an ontological healing in the incarnation. He refers to this as a ‘dimension in depth’ where the atonement takes place from the virgin birth through to the ascension, where the work of Christ is the person of Christ. It will be argued that Torrance exaggerates the degree to which his views may be found in the early church fathers and in Calvin. It is also suggested that many of his criticisms of Westminster theology have some basis, but that his detailed arguments diminishes his more valid general criticisms. The thesis identifies Torrance’s distinct voice from the early church fathers and Calvin and attempts to dismiss Torrance’s caricature of Westminster theology, so that Torrance’s distinct soteriology can be recognised, his genuine criticisms of Westminster theology considered, and the contribution that he has made on baptism be recovered. The doctrine of baptism that emerges from incorporating many of Torrance’s insights is a reformed covenantal doctrine of baptism that stresses the importance of ontological union for covenantal solidarity, but will reject Torrance’s redemptive understanding of ontological healing. Torrance centres the meaning of baptism in Christ and Christ’s one vicarious baptism for the church, and serves to identify how the church has lost its focus on what lies at the centre of baptism. However Torrance’s doctrine of baptism that argues for the theological primacy of infant baptism lost the debate in the Church of Scotland, which now places a greater emphasis on adult baptism. It is suggested that the reasons for this failure is that Torrance’s doctrine of baptism was developed outside of the framework of covenant theology, and that his doctrine of soteriology on which his doctrine of baptism was based left little room for the human response. The thesis concludes that Torrance’s doctrine of baptism can serve as a model for the recovery of the meaning of baptism. While the central thrust of Torrance’s redemptive ontological union with Christ is rejected, Torrance’s emphasis on union with Christ, the incarnation, the person and work of Christ, and Christ’s vicarious baptism can be incorporated into the reformed doctrine of baptism to recover its meaning. Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1.0 Locating Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism and the Major Influences that Shaped His Doctrine of Baptism 9 1.1 The General Influences that Shaped Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 9 1.1.1 The Augustinian Tradition 12 1.1.2 The Roman Catholic Church and Baptismal Regeneration 13 1.1.3 Zwingli and Baptism as Symbolic 17 1.1.4 Calvin’s Instrumental View of Baptism 21 1.2 Specific Influences on Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 25 1.2.1 The Ecumenical Movement 28 1.2.2 The Liturgical Renewal Movement 34 1.2.3 Barth and Barth’s Changing views on Baptism 41 (i) Barth’s Influence on Torrance 41 (ii) Barth’s First Baptismal View 42 (iii) Barth’s Second Baptismal View 46 (iv) Barth’s Third Baptismal View 52 1.2.4 Conclusion 57 CHAPTER 2.0 Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 59 2.1 Torrance’s Description of His Doctrine of Baptism 67 2.1.1 The Old Testament Background of Proselyte Baptism 68 2.1.2 The New Testament Theology of Incarnation 76 2.1.3 Distinguishing Baptismos and Baptisma 77 2.1.4 Christ’s Vicarious Baptism 81 2.1.5 Baptism and the Great Commission 86 2.1.6 Baptism, the Trinity and the Incarnation 86 2.1.7 Torrance’s New College Lectures on Baptism 88 2.1.8 Baptism, Judgement, Eschatology and Covenant 94 2.2 Torrance’s Defence of His Doctrine of Baptism 95 2.2.1 Problems with the Doctrine of Baptism in the Early Church 95 iii 2.2.2 Trinitarian Baptism Provides the Solution 99 2.3 Important Features in Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 100 CHAPTER 3.0 Torrance’s Work as Convenor of the Church of Scotland’s Special Commission on Baptism 103 3.1 Establishing the Special Commission on Baptism 103 3.1.1 May 1955 Report: The Doctrine of Baptism 107 3.1.2 May 1956 Report: Baptism in the Early Church fathers 114 3.1.3 May 1957 Report: Baptism from Medieval times to the Reformation 114 3.1.4 May 1958 Report: Baptism in the Church of Scotland 115 3.1.5 May 1959 Report: Baptism from 1843-1959 118 3.1.6 May 1960 Report: Towards a Doctrine of Baptism and Torrance’s Correspondence with Barth 120 3.1.7 May 1961 Report 123 3.1.8 May 1962 Report 123 3.2 Beyond the Work of the Special Commission 125 CHAPTER 4 A Quest to find the Real Torrance 130 4.1 The Key Doctrines Identified in Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 131 4.1.1 The Homoousion 131 4.1.2 The Hypostatic Union 135 4.1.3 The Anhypostatic and Enhypostatic Couplet 136 4.1.4 Union with Christ and Human Participation 139 4.1.5 Objective/Subjective Tension in Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 143 4.2 Establishing Torrance’s Distinctive Voice 145 4.2.1 Torrance’s use of Irenaeus and Athanasius 147 4.2.2 Torrance’s Revision of Wotherspoon and Kirkpatrick: Manual of Church Doctrine 152 4.2.3 Torrance’s Criticism of Westminster’s Baptismal Theology 154 1. Sacramental Theology 156 2. Baptism as a Means of Grace 158 3. Sacramental Dualism 162 4. Loss of the Meaning of Baptism 162 5. Covenant Theology 163 iv 6. Union With Christ 164 7. Federal Theology 166 8. Atonement 170 9. Election 171 10. The Incarnation 171 Conclusion 173 CHAPTER 5 Recovering the Meaning of Baptism in Reformed Theology 175 5.1 Bavinck’s Doctrine of Baptism 176 5.2 Critiquing Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 182 5.2.1 The Human Condition Dealt with in the Atonement 183 5.2.2 The Nature of the Solution to the Human Condition 184 5.2.3 The Ground of Baptism 185 5.3 Critique of Torrance’s Use of Scripture in His Doctrine of Baptism 187 5.4 Torrance’s Focus on the Meaning of Baptism 188 5.4.1 Can Torrance Serve as an Example to Recover the Meaning of Baptism 189 5.4.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Westminster’s and Torrance’s Doctrine of Baptism 194 5.4.3 Competence of Each Tradition to Answer the Questions that Arise 197 1. What is the Link Between Faith and Baptism 197 2. What is the Link Between Regeneration and Baptism 202 3. What Presumptions, if any, are made with Regard to the Baptised Infant 203 4. What Value does the Baptism of Someone who Turns Away from the Faith in Later Life Have 205 5.4.4 To What Extent is a Synthesis Possible 206 5.5 The Meaning of Baptism in Reformed Theology 206 6.0 CONCLUSIONS: Is There a Torrance Legacy on the Subject of Baptism 211 BIBLIOGRAPHY 222 APPENDIX 1 238 APPENDIX 2 240 v Acknowledgements It was not the initial intention to write a thesis engaging with Torrance’s doctrine of baptism.
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