Notes on R. Muller's PRRD I

Chapter 1. The Study of Protestant Scholasticism (27-84)

1.1. Orthodoxy and Scholasticism in Protestant Thought (27-46)

A. Identifying the Phenomenon: The Eras and Assumptions of Protestant
Orthodoxy (27-33)

1. The orthodox contribution – historical assumptions (27-30)

Compared to the Reformation, the history and theology of the post-Reformation (p-R) has been virtually neglected. But this is not surprising. “Codifiers and perpetuators, like the theologians of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, simply do not receive the adulation given to the inaugurators of the movement” (27). However, we should not ignore the efforts of those who sought to codify what others inaugurated. With regards to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, “The Reformation is incomplete without its confessional and doctrinal codification” (27). In other words, what the Reformation initiated, the p-R solidified and expanded. Therefore, the theologians of the p-R should not be seen simply in relationship to the Reformation but in the greater context of Western Christianity – a part of a “reformed catholicity” (28).

Muller highlights two important historical and contextual aspects of the p-R.

First, Reformed orthodoxy (R-o) is not a monolithic movement but represents a continuumof confessional theology.

Second, R-o is an “international phenomenon” (28). For example, when studying the theology of John Owen or Richard Baxter the intellectual context in Britain and the Continent needs to be considered.

When comparing the p-R to the Reformation care should be taken when evaluating levels of theological continuity and discontinuity. The theological dynamics of the p-R serve as a helpful reminder of the historical and intellectual progress of the church on the one hand (discontinuity) and the preservation and maintenance of doctrinal integrity on the other (continuity).

Before we proceed, some basic definitions are important: scholasticism, orthodoxy, and Calvinism.

First, scholasticism refers to a type or method of academic discourse.

Second, reformed orthodoxy refers to an individual or theology within the boundaries of the confessional norms of the Reformation. R-o extends from the last half of the 16th century to the early 18th century.

Third, regarding the use of the terms “Calvinist” and “Calvinism.” Given the doctrinal and methodological diversity of the p-R period and that Calvin was not the primary author of any confessional document, these terms should be rejected in favour of the more generic term “Reformed.”