After Calvin: Studies in the Development of a Theological Tradition (review)

This book is a collection of essays dealing with various aspects of Reformed theology of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This period has suffered from a historiography which caricatures the methodology and conclusions of its theologians: they have been accused of rationalism, proof-texting, deriving their theology from a single central dogma, leaving behind the humanism and devotional warmth of Calvin and other earlier reformers, and so on. Perhaps most annoyingly, modern theologians have frequently attacked the Protestant scholastics for not using historical-critical exegesis (which would not be developed for over a century after the period) and for not following neoorthodox approaches to theology, which are too frequently read back into Calvin. Muller's book is a frontal assault on this approach to Post-Reformation Protestantism.

Muller's introduction outlines the history of Reformed scholasticism and identifies key theological issues in the development of the tradition. He notes a number of continuities with the Reformers, including the methodological approaches that guided Post-Reformation theology, which Muller sees more as developments of trends within the Reformation than entirely new approaches. This then sets up the historiographic issues, which he deals with in part 1 of the book; part 2 follows from this discussion with six essays dealing with specific examples of the kinds of problems raised in part 1.

Part 1 begins with scholasticism, arguing that it was the methodology used in academe rather than a philosophy or theology. Thus, depending on the circumstances, humanists and reformers alike could and did use scholastic methods, despite their rhetoric against "scholasticism." Post-Reformation Protestant theologians utilized a wide range of sources in the development of their theology, including the reformers, church fathers, medieval theologians, creeds and confessions, and above all, Scripture. Muller's next pair of essays deals with the "problem" of "Calvin vs. the Calvinists." In a nutshell, Muller says there is no problem, because the Calvinists were in fact heirs of Calvin's methodology and theology. The essays outline the historiography of Post-Reformation theology and reframe the discussion through an emphasis on continuities from medieval theology through the Reformation to the Protestant scholastics. The essays call for sensitivity to the nuances of individual theologians, point out that the methodologies, conclusions, and even the dialectic of the period were not static, and explicitly reject reading the period through the lens of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theology, central dogmas, etc.

Part 2 gives specific examples of Muller's understanding of proper historical method and is a corrective to the wrong approaches that have dominated the discussion up until now. These six essays cover a broad range of topics, including the relationship of philosophy and theology and the problem of "double truth," the principles of theology, debates over vowel points, exegetical method, and the covenant of works and its broader role in theology. The first essay in this part of the book, which deals with the relationship of piety and, indeed, pietism, and the Protestant scholastics is particularly telling in view of the stereotype of Post-Reformation Protestantism as "rigid," "dry," "dead," "legalistic," and cold. Muller identifies a number of theologians of the period who discussed the nature and purpose of theological education. Voetius and Witsius, for example, argued that theology students not only needed to learn dogmatics and apologetics, but also needed to develop proper character, piety, and godliness as well. In fact, Voetius's students were among the founders of Dutch pietism.

This collection of essays is a valuable overview of the best work being done in the area of Protestant scholasticism to date. The historiographic surveys, if a bit combative, are particularly useful orientations to the movement and make an effective case for a more nuanced study of the movement and sensitivity to the theologians' historical contexts. Muller has for years specialized in this type of study: with the exception of the introduction...