This is a follow up to Part 1 in this blog series where I will go through the works of John Owen detailing where he has mentioned Thomas Aquinas. I hope that this series is helpful.In this second part, I would like to look at a couple of different types of usage that we find. First will be some cases where there is an editorial footnote that mentions Thomas Aquinas. Secondly, there will be a mention of a story that Thomas wrote about. Again, note that these first two posts do not deal with Owen’s usage of Aquinas in the Hebrews volumes. I believe I will begin working through those in part 5, I believe.As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, 20 books out of the 36 works do not have any mention of Thomas Aquinas (not even in editorial footnotes). And from the other 16 books there are only 36 mentions of Thomas Aquinas. The first part covered 5 of those 36 mentions and this post will cover an additional 6.Mentions of Thomas Aquinas in Editorial FootnotesIn “Owen’s Works, Volume 03, Part 1 – Pneumatologia”, we have the following mention in Chapter 5. In a discussion of “disputes managed by some of the ancients” which Owen saw as “altogether needless”, the editor refers us to where both Aquinas and Ambrose discussed this. The context does make it appear that Owen had Aquinas in mind here as you can see from the footnote.The same work is assigned to both as causes of a different kind — it is assigned to the Holy Spirit as the active, efficient cause, who by his almighty power produced the effect. And the disputes managed by some of the ancients (350) about “de Spiritu Sancto” and “ex Spiritu Sancto” were altogether needless; for it is his creating efficiency that is intended. And his conceiving is ascribed to the holy Virgin as the passive, material cause; for his body was formed of her substance, as declared before. And this conception of Christ was after her solemn espousals to Joseph, and that was for various reasons; Footnote 350: For example, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Third Part, ‘Treatise on the Incarnation,’ q. 32, point 2. Reply to Objection 1: Christ’s body, through not being consubstantial with the Holy Ghost, cannot properly be said to be conceived “of” [de] the Holy Ghost, but rather “from [ex] the Holy Ghost,” as Ambrose says (De Spir. Sanct. ii.): “What is from someone is either from his substance or from his power: from his substance, as the Son who is from the Father; from his power, as all things are from God, just as Mary conceived from the Holy Ghost.”And in “Owen’s Works, Volume 03, Part 2 – Pneumatologia”, Owen mentioned the schoolmen and there is a footnote defining what Scholasticism is and who some of them were.Schoolmen: Scholasticism is a method of critical thought taught in medieval universities in Europe c. 1100-1700. Practitioners were called “scholastics” or “schoolmen.” They included Aquinas, Anselm, Abelard, Scotus, Bernard of Clairvaux, et al.In “Owen’s Works, Volume 10, Part 1 – Display of Arminianism” we have two mentions in Chapter 14 of Aquinas in footnotes only (later we will see him mentioned in the text along with other footnotes to the Summa).In this first one, Owen stated that Diego Alvarez demonstrated something the schoolmen “universally consented to this truth” about. And in the footnote, it is just stated that Aquinas’ commentaries were often used in opposition to Molinism.So certain is God of accomplishing all his purposes, that he confirms it with an oath: “The LORD of hosts has sworn, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,” Isaiah 14:24. And indeed it would be a very strange thing if God intended what he foresees will never come to pass. But I confess this argument will not be pressing against the Arminians, who question that prescience of God. Yet, they should also observe from the Scripture that the failing of wicked men’s counsels and intentions is a thing that God is said to “deride in heaven,” as in Psalm 2:4. He threatens them with it. “Take counsel together,” he says, “and it shall come to nothing; speak the word, and it shall not stand,” Isaiah 8:10. See also chapter 29:7-8. And shall they be enabled to recriminate, and cast a similar aspersion on the God of heaven? No, surely. Says St. Austin, “Let us take heed that we are not compelled to believe that Almighty God would have anything done which does not come to pass.” 149 The schoolmen have universally consented to this truth, also, as shown by Alvarez, Disput. 32, pro. 3. 150 Footnote 150: Probably Diego Alvarez (1550-1635), who represented the Dominicans in a dispute concerning the heretical teachings of the Spanish Jesuit Luis de Molina (from whom ‘Molinism’ arose, c.1558). A debate ensued (Congregatio de Auxiliis) that didn’t end until 1607 when the Dominicans and the Jesuits agreed to disagree. By decree of the Inquisition in Dec 1611, intended to keep the peace between these two factions, no book could be published pro or con about efficacious grace without the consent of the Holy See. That prohibition lasted through most of the 17th century – although Thomas Aquinas’ commentaries were often quoted by the Dominicans in opposition to Molinism.In this second example from Chapter 14, the Summa is given as an example where Aquinas was citing Augustine and discussing how the number of the elect is set. It would appear that Owen does have Aquinas in mind by the language used by Owen and that provided in the editorial footnote.The article is clear that the object of this predestination is some particular men chosen out of mankind; that is, it is an act of God that concerns some men in particular. It is taking them aside, as it were, from the midst of their brothers, and designing them for some special end and purpose. The Scripture also abounds in asserting this truth, calling those who are so chosen a “few,” Mat 20:16 – which must denote some certain persons; and the “remnant according to election,” Rom 11:5; those whom “the Lord knows to be his,” 2Tim 2:19; men “ordained to eternal life,” Acts 13:48; “us,” Rom 8:39; those whose names are “written in the Lamb’s book of life,” Rev 21:27. All of these verses and various others, clearly prove that the number of the elect is certain – not only materially, as the Arminians say, that there are only so many [unspecified persons], but formally also: they are these particular persons and no others, which cannot be altered. 160 The very nature of the thing itself so demonstrably evinces it, that I wonder that it could possibly be conceived of under any other notion. To apprehend an election of men that is not circumscribed to particular persons, is such a conceited, Platonical abstraction, that it seems strange for anyone to dare profess to understand that there can be predestination, and yet none are predestined; an election, and yet none are elected; a choice among many, and yet none are left or taken; a decree to save men, and yet salvation by that decree is destined for no one man – either in deed or in expectation.161 In a word, asserting that there can be a purpose of God to bring men to glory, which stands inviolable, even though no one ever attained the purposed end, is such a riddle that no Oedipus can unfold it.Footnote 160: Aquinas Summa Theologica, Quest 23, Predistination; Art. 7 Obj. 3: Augustine says (De Corr. et Grat. 13): “The number of the predestined is certain, and can neither be increased nor diminished.” I answer that, The number of the predestined is certain. Some have said that it was formally, but not materially certain; as if we were to say that it was certain that a hundred or a thousand would be saved; not however these or those individuals. But this destroys the certainty of predestination; of which we spoke above (Article 6). Therefore we must say that to God the number of the predestined is certain, not only formally, but also materially. It must, however, be observed that the number of the predestined is said to be certain to God, not by reason of His knowledge, because, that is to say, He knows how many will be saved (for in this way the number of drops of rain and the sands of the sea are certain to God); but by reason of His deliberate choice and determination.Mention of story that Thomas Aquinas wrote aboutIn both “Owen’s Works, Volume 08 – Sermons to the Nations” (Sermon 1) and “Owen’s Works, Volume 10, Part 1 – Display of Arminianism”, we see that Owen related a story that Thomas wrote about. As his wording is quite similar in both volumes, I will just cite from Volume 10, Chapter 11 below.It is true, indeed, that some of the ancient fathers, before the rising of the Pelagian heresy, had so put on Christ, as Lipsius put it, that they had not fully put off Plato. They unadvisedly released some speeches seeming to grant that various men before the incarnation, who were living “according to the dictates of right reason,” might be saved without faith in Christ. This is well-shown by the learned Casaubon in his first Exercitation on Baronius. But let this be accounted part of that stubble which shall burn at the last day, with which the writings of all men who are not divinely inspired may be stained. It has also since (and what has not?) been drawn into dispute among the wrangling schoolmen. And yet (which is rarely seen) their verdict in this particular almost unanimously affirms the truth of it. Aquinas tells us a story of the corpse of a heathen that was to be taken up in the time of the Empress Irene and her son Constantine; he had a golden plate on his breast, in which was this inscription: “Christ is born of a virgin, and I believe in him. O sun, you shall see me again in the days of Irene and Constantine.” But the question is not whether a Gentile believing in Christ may be saved, or whether God revealed himself and his Son extraordinarily to some of them. For shall we straiten the breast and shorten the arm of the Almighty, as though he might not do what he will with his own? The question is whether a man may come to heaven by the conduct of nature, without the knowledge of Christ,? This is the assertion which we condemn as a wicked, Pelagian, Socinian heresy. We think it was well said by Bernard, “That many laboring to make Plato a Christian, prove themselves to be heathens.”

James White, April 8, 2022April 8, 2022, Abortion, Christian Worldview, Homosexuality, Mormonism, Personal, Road Trip, The Dividing Line Never dreamed in the early 1980s I would someday be doing a live “webcast” (of all things!) from Salt Lake City, but here we are! Discussed the Jackson-Brown issue in light of the Christian worldview and many other related issues. Also listened to Brandan Robertson twist John 11 into a homosexual-affirming pretzel.
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As there continues to be pushback against those of us who would refer to ourselves as “Biblicists” (or, better yet, as “Reformed Biblicists“), I have been looking at the history of the usage of the term. This is not very hard to do, yet some professors and pastors seem to have difficulty with it. In my previous article, which detailed the first usage that Matthew Barrett lists in his forthcoming Systematic Theology, I looked at its usage in 1827 by a Roman Catholic Priest. Dr. Barrett stated that “The earliest usage of the word ‘biblicism’ in English occurred in 1827 in a work by Sophei Finngan in criticism of ‘biblicism’.” I took his word that this was indeed the “earliest usage”. In that article, I also demonstrated that Finngan used the term to describe what we know as the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura. Of course, for Finngan, the positive doctrine of sola scriptura would be something of which he would provide criticism.More recently, I have seen a blog post by Josh Sommer titled “Sola Scriptura & Biblicism: What’s the Difference” in which he critiques a modern-day iteration of “Biblicism”. I posted some initial responses to that post on Twitter / X here. Regarding the origins of the term, Josh wrote the following:The term “biblicist” or “biblicism” evidently first appeared in the 19th century, notably used by Jon Jacob van Oosterzees and Thomas Carlyle. Both men apparently use the term derogatorily. Oosterzees defines it as “idolatry of the letter,” in his Dogmatics.[4] Carlyle uses the term in passing, either to characterize those opposed to England’s Lord Protector in the 1650s or the opposition to the crown during the 1640s.We note that Matthew Barrett and Josh Sommer both mentioned Oosterzees. His usage is a mention, in passing, from his “Dogmatics” of 1874 (about 50 years after Finngan). There is no definition of the term offered. Josh also mentioned Carlyle. The usage was from Carlyle’s “The Life of Friedrich Schiller and the Life of John Sterling” from 1905. As a bit of a correction, Carlyle was actually quoting a letter written to him by John Sterling so it was Sterling who was using the term in passing.After some further research, I would like to offer a few more examples of earlier and later 19th Century uses of the term “Biblicism”. Some of these have context which further demonstrates that Protestants used the term with good intentions and/or as shorthand for sola scriptura.In 1821, a few years prior to the usage I have detailed from Finngan, Daniel Wilson used the term in a funeral sermon upon the passing of Rev. Thomas Scott. Wilson mentioned the “scriptural and moderate Articles of Religion” used by Protestant churches to “guard against the intrusion of heresy”. But he saw confessions and “articles of faith” as “only an outline”. He stated “that a scriptural divinity – BIBLICISM, if I may be allowed the term – is of the greatest importance, and will be most apparent. And I consider it as the harbinger of a better day for the universal church…that the Bible is the true point of union…” Further, it was Scripture itself and “not certain propositions deduced from it” which should be “the source and model of a scriptural theology”.We never can expect a general and extended revival of pure primitive religion, till God in his holy book is more honoured, and man in his fallible systems less. I say not this to reflect on the scriptural and moderate Articles of Religion by which our own, or any other Protestant Church, endeavours to guard against the intrusion of heresy, and to perpetuate a succession of pure evangelical Ministers. Something of this kind seems a necessary part of discipline in every church. It is in the filling up of the picture, of which articles of faith are only an outline, that a scriptural divinity—BIBLICISM, if I may be allowed the term—is of the greatest importance, and will be most apparent. And I consider it as the harbinger of a better day for the universal church, that it seems to be the conviction of the most eminent persons, in common with our departed and esteemed friend, that the Bible is the true point of union, and that this book itself, and not certain propositions deduced from it, is to be the source and model of a scriptural theology.Jean Henri Merle d’Aubigné wrote a book in 1851 titled “Rationalism and Popery Refuted: Three Discourses on the Authority of Scripture”. In this book, he mentioned “biblicism” several times. According to the Banner of Truth biography page, “Jean Henri Merle d’Aubigné (1794–1872), the most popular church historian of the nineteenth century, was born on 16 August 1794 into a well-known Huguenot family in Geneva.” In a passage on pages 25-26, d’Aubigné would write what we see below. He would repeatedly pronounce that “This is biblicism!” when he refers to Paul and Apollos reasoning directly from the Scriptures.in his first epistle, he gives directions regarding the manner of acting in the church as stewards of the grace of God? If any man speak,” says he, “let him speak as the oracles of God.” This is thorough biblicism!And Paul of Tarsus; how does he act? When he was at Rome, did he speak against biblicism, like Pius VII., Gregory XVI., Pius IX., and others? Oh, no! He appeals to the Bible. Amid the Israelites assembled in his house, he teaches them the things which refer to Jesus, according to the law of Moses and the prophets.” This is biblicism! When he writes to Corinth, how does he express himself? I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” This is biblicism!But, it is chiefly in teaching Christian doctrines, it is when they labour to prove that Jesus is the Christ, that the apostles recur to the Scriptures. Paul is at Thessalonica! How does he act there? Paul, according to his custom,” says Luke, his companion, “went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures; opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” This is biblicism!But this is not the only case. Let us proceed to Corinth, and behold a man of great eloquence, who speaks in the assemblies. He is called Apollos. How does he act? He mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly.” says Luke, “showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” This is biblicism!And on pages 58-59, d’Aubigné mentioned Catholics stating things to the effect that “Biblicism is the scourge of the church!” He would ask if a proper “deference to the authority of the Bible, that biblicism” is indeed a scourge of the Church.Thus, while treating of the authority of Scripture, Roman Catholics and Rationalist Protestants toss the ball between them—neither party will retain it. That authority, according to each of the two parties, is an invention of the other. In our day, and among ourselves, the ideas Of Lessing and of Staphylus have been renewed regarding the recent invention of the authority of Scripture. Let us try to ascertain the mind Of the first ages; and, upon this subject, let us see if they believed — yea or nay — that deference to the authority of the Bible, that biblicism, in short, is the scourge Of the Church.He would also pick the discussion of biblicism back up on page 73 where he mentioned Wycliff’s translation – which was a “biblicism” which the Roman Church did not like. And, finally, he would state the following on page 95. He believed that “biblicism is the salvation of the Church.”If there be a salvation for the church, it is needful that the church recognise that salvation ; and in order to such a recognition, she must have a revelation from God to announce it. If there be no Word of God in the world, there is no salvation. It is necessary that a message come from heaven to earth, or never will my soul be raised from earth to heaven. Christian instruction should be founded on the Bible. Its substance should be biblical. Without that holy, without that living biblicism, we cannot have a saving communication Of eternal truth.Yes, my brethren—that is what I ask of you—biblicism is the salvation of the church. Servants of the Word of God, and private believers, we have all been remiss in this respect. It is requisite that every one begin anew the study Of the Bible, as if he had never studied it before. We must not adhere simply to the grammatical or edifying interpretation of the isolated meaning of a single passage, as the Christians of our day too exclusively do; we must examine the order, the connection of the passage—the relation of each passage of the Bible to the entire system of the Bible.Dr. William Garden Blaikie wrote in “The Catholic Presbyterian” in 1880 that he wanted to focus on some “chief characteristics of the Reformation three centuries ago.” He proceeded with a discussion of six characteristics which he stated were: 1. Nationalism, 2. Biblicism, 3. Confessionism, 4. Intellectualism, 5. Fraternalism, and 6. Liberalism. According to the Banner of Truth biography page, “Dr William Garden Blaikie (1820-99) was Professor of Apologetics and Pastoral Theology at New College, Edinburgh, from 1868 to 1897….He was Moderator of the General Assembly in 1892.” He wrote the following on page 244:2. Biblicism — The Reformation was eminently a Biblical movement. It sought an authority external to that Church which had overlaid and stifled the Gospel by ifs traditions, and it found that authority in the Bible. Therefore, to translate the Bible, to circulate it, to interpret it grammatically and honestly, to read it in churches in the vulgar tongue, were objects of the greatest the strongest weapons to be found against the Church of Rome. Luther, Calvin, and Tyndale took the right way to counteract all the decretals and menaces that Rome could issue. They caused men to know the Holy Scriptures, and to bow down before the supreme authority of the Word of God. By this Word, Popes and Councils, decrees, traditions, usages, ceremonies, dogmas — all were to be tried and judged.Is this characteristic fading from our modern Protestantism? Does not the Bible retain its place of authority on our reading-desks and pulpits? Is it not road in our families and schools as the incomparable and inspired Book? Yes.And then, on page 246, we read the following:The interpretation of the Bible is not with us fixed and perfected. There is a science of Hermeneutics—a living: progressive science. We encourage our scholars to devote themselves to this science, and hold that each generation should make an advance in exegetical accuracy. We also most anxiously desire that our divines should so handle the Bible as to exhibit its organic unity under diversity; state correctly, and neither overstate nor understate, what is meant by its being Theopnoustic – man-written but God-breathed; and apply a true historical perspective to what is really a series of compositions stretching over a very long period in the authorship, and avowedly referring to a succession of religious dispensations. The Biblicism of the future may not quote texts exactly in the same way as that of the Reformers or of the Puritans; but Biblicism there must be, or Protestantism dies, and infidelity and superstition divide the world between them.Still earlier, we find in “The British Review, and London Critical Journal, Volume 16” of 1820 a review and discussion of “Horae Homileticae; or Discourses (in the Form of Skeletons) upon the whole Scriptures” by Rev. C. Simeon, M.A. Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. The identification of the author of “The British Review” appears to be lost to us, but his description of “biblicism” is interesting, nonetheless. Some of his statements from pages 137-138 are quoted below. It seems that one of his concerns is that Simeon “still uses without hesitation or constraint all the hortatory, and alarming language which the Scriptures furnish.” in order to arrive at his conclusions. Yes, this author was alarmed that Simeon used the language of Scripture! And later on page 141 he mentions that an excess of Simeon is his “over-statement” and that “the danger which would otherwise arise from this excess, is, moreover, very much neutralized by the leading characteristic of the work, to which we have before adverted – it’s biblicism.”It is of course impossible for us to present our readers with any thing like a detail of such a copious store of theological topics. We will advert to a few leading points.On the main characteristic endeavour of the whole work, BIBLICISM, if such a word may be forgiven, we find perpetual examples of the most free and unfettered discussions of man’s fall and impotency, and of his duty and obligation to repent; of the universal redemption by Christ, and its efficacy to the believer only; of the importance of the sacraments, and yet their inutility if improperly relied on; of justification by faith alone, and the necessity of abounding in every good work ; of the Divine purposes, and man’s free agency; ot the promises of God to the humble Christian that he shall continue unto the end, and the cautions, warnings, and alarms, which are addressed to him. On this latter topic we are disposed to think the merits of our author to be more considerable than on some others; and we mention it, because, after all, it is perhaps the most important point in the practice and application of religion, and that on which, theoretically, divines have been found the most widely to differ. Our author, holding, as he does, the doctrine of the perseverance of the sincere Christian in faith and holiness, and conceiving this to be secured by the promises of God and the intercession of the Mediator, still uses without hesitation or constraint all the hortatory, and alarming language which the Scriptures furnish.Finally, in “The New Annual Register” of 1804, there is a passing mention of “biblicism” on page 365 in a discussion of “Foreign Literature, Biblical and Theological”. This may be the first mention of the term, at least in the 19th Century. This first chapter is brief and does not lend us much in the way of a definition of “biblicism as a science”.On page 364 there is a discussion of “the different ramifications of the Kantian school” as there has been some attempt at an “amalgamation”. It was stated that “the gospel can gain nothing from transcendental philosophy.” He then goes on to mention the expansion of the Gospel in Germany and England. There is mention of missionary work to the Cape of Good Hope “and it is to this church also that the missionary society of the established church of England has applied for adventurous legates. While neither Spain, Portugal, nor Italy has offered us any thing worthy of individual enumeration, biblicism as a science has occupied but little attention in France. The religion which has once more come an engine of this last State, has merely presented to the hands of its votaries new editions of books that were formerly in esteem, and of which many ought never to have sunk in the public estimation.”In summary, we have seen Matthew Barrett mention the earliest uses of Biblicism being by Finngan (1827) and Oosterzees (1874) and Josh Sommer mentioned Carlyle’s use quoting Sterling (1905). All of these “earliest” and “first” uses of the term are related to us in a way which is meant to scare us. Finngan was “in criticism”, Oosterzees said it was “idolatry of the letter” and Sterling’s use may have been in opposition to the English civil leadership. But these examples arrive quite short in giving an objective picture of the earliest usage of the term.To conclude, allow me to summarize some of the data we have found in the following timeline from the 19th Century. There are seven uses of the term from the 19th Century which we have detailed (I also noted some other 19th Century Catholics using it derisively, but which do not have any bearing except in seeing that the Catholics continued, after Finngan, to use the term as synonymous with sola scriptura). Five of them are positive uses and two of them are negative. It should be noted that only the two negative uses were mentioned by Matthew Barrett. This would have the effect of leaving his readers with a skewed understanding of the earliest uses of the term in English.1804 – “The New Annual Register” in passing referred to it as “Biblicism as a science”1820 – “The British Review” referred to it as using “without hesitation or constraint all the hortatory, and alarming language which the Scriptures furnish” and saw Biblicism as a safeguard for the potential danger of Simeon’s overstatements1821 – Daniel Wilson, in a funeral sermon for Rev. Thomas Scott stated that “Biblicism, if I may be allowed the term – is of the greatest importance, and will be most apparent. And I consider it as the harbinger of a better day for the universal church…that the Bible is the true point of union…”1827 – Sophei Finngan, Catholic Priest, was indeed critical of Biblicism – because he saw it as being equivalent to Protestantism’s sola scriptura1851 – Jean Henri Merle d’Aubigné referred to Paul’s (and others in the NT) quotation and “appeals to the Bible” under a constant refrain of “This is biblicism!” He would also note the Catholics’ derisive usage of the term.1874 – Oosterzees labeled biblicism as “idolatry of the letter”. However, he saw that it was far better that the simple man read Scripture than the Roman Catholic Church’s prohibition against allowing the church to be read in the vulgar.1880 – Dr. William Garden Blaikie referred to Biblicism as a “chief characteristics of the Reformation” and a way to prevent Protestantism from dying!