"Few scholars possess Richard Muller's knowledge of early modern theology or his ability to analyze with precision Reformed teaching on the central question of divine and human causality. The breadth and depth of Muller's command of Reformed thought displayed in this book are unrivaled, ensuring that Divine Will and Human Choice will quickly establish itself as a must-read for all students of Protestant theology."  
\--__Bruce Gordon__, Yale Divinity School  
  
"There is not a more contested area in the study of Reformed orthodoxy than issues of divine foreknowledge, human free will, and the nature of contingency. The matter is highly complicated and involves multiple questions of interpretation and reception, including how Aristotle was appropriated by medieval schoolmen, such as Aquinas and Scotus, and how the medievals were then used by the Reformed. Those new to the field can easily become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of primary literature and the confusing subtlety of the arguments. In this context, Divine Will and Human Choice is a welcome addition to the literature because it offers both the neophyte and the scholar a superb account of the various questions involved and provides judicious critiques of the contemporary debate."  
\--__Carl R. Trueman__, Westminster Theological Seminary  
  
"Once again Richard Muller has provided us with an extremely careful and insightful analysis on the development of Reformed theology. He has approached the topics of freedom and necessity in Reformed thought from his extremely knowledgeable background of ancient philosophy and medieval theology. In so doing he has provided a trajectory that demonstrates that Reformed thought cannot be understood in isolation from the Western tradition as a whole. This is a superb study, and there is much to learn from this volume."  
\--__Susan Schreiner__, University of Chicago Divinity School  
  
"Muller's masterful treatment of God's will and human free choice is exemplary. It clearly and accurately presents the positions held by medieval and early modern Reformed theologians rather than spinning them in favor of a preferred position or conclusion. Muller has command of both the historical and contemporary philosophical categories and positions involved in theological debates, and he fruitfully relates historic positions to current philosophical and theological debates without anachronistically treating our theological ancestors as our philosophical contemporaries."  
\--__John Cooper__, Calvin Theological Seminary  
  
"Muller continues to surprise readers with fascinating news from historical sources, and this rich volume is the latest fruit of his ongoing research. His careful analysis in Divine Will and Human Choice shows that this theme remains highly relevant for church and society today. Here Muller reevaluates positions, challenges readers, and serves theology with another fine work."  
\--__Herman Selderhuis__, Theological University Apeldoorn; director of Refo500

__Richard A. Muller__ (PhD, Duke University) is P. J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology Emeritus and senior fellow of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of numerous books, including the multivolume Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics.

"Divine Will and Human Choice exhibits all the characteristics we have come to expect from Richard Muller. Through his compelling historical argumentation and mastery of ancient, patristic, medieval, and early modern sources, Muller demonstrates that the contemporary categories of compatibilism and libertarianism fail to capture the rich and variegated approaches of early modern Reformed theologians to questions of divine and human freedom, necessity, and contingency. The result is a new perspective on Reformed orthodox teaching about God and providence with new possibilities for constructive theology."  
\--__Scott R. Swain__, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando  
  
"At long last we have a comprehensive historical study of the Reformed understanding of divine will and human free choice in its pre-Edwardsian formulation. Muller's analysis first introduces readers to the current state of the question, focusing particularly on synchronic contingency and its variant understandings. With a close reading of primary sources--reaching back to the various receptions of Aristotelian ideas among the medievals and centering on Aquinas and Duns Scotus--Muller unpacks how early Reformed thinkers and their heirs, the Reformed orthodox, treated matters surrounding necessity, contingency, and freedom relative to the divine will. Engaging the most prominent Reformed writers, including Calvin, Zanchius, Junius, Gomarus, Twisse, Owen, Voetius, and Turretin among others, this study demonstrates how these matters have been forgotten or misapprehended in modern discussions. Muller's work amply succeeds in showing how the Reformed orthodox knit a theological garment that does not well fit the modern categories and nomenclature of incompatibilism (or libertarianism) and compatibilism, that is, an indeterminism versus a raw determinism. In doing so, this volume is destined to propel the theological discussion surrounding necessity, contingency, and human freedom for decades to come."  
\--__J. Mark Beach__, Mid-America Reformed Seminary  
  
"This book provides a major reassessment of ancient and medieval antecedents of the Reformed understanding of contingency. Devoting specific attention to Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus, Muller highlights the eclecticism of Reformed orthodoxy. In particular, he develops a multilayered argument showing that Duns Scotus was both less of an innovator in his own day and less of a formative influence for later Reformed orthodoxy than has sometimes been suggested."  
\--__Aza Goudriaan__, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

This fresh study from an internationally respected scholar of the Reformation and post-Reformation eras shows how the Reformers and their successors analyzed and reconciled the concepts of divine sovereignty and human freedom. Richard Muller argues that traditional Reformed theology supported a robust theory of an omnipotent divine will and human free choice and drew on a tradition of Western theological and philosophical discussion. The book provides historical perspective on a topic of current interest and debate and offers a corrective to recent discussions.

An internationally-respected scholar of the Reformation and post-Reformation eras shows how the Reformers and their successors analyzed and reconciled the concepts of divine sovereignty and human freedom, offering a corrective to recent discussions.

__Contents  
  
Part I: Freedom and Necessity in Reformed Thought: The Contemporary Debate__ 1. Introduction: The Present State of the Question  
2. Reformed Thought and Synchronic Contingency: Logical and Historical Issues  
__Part II: Philosophical and Theological Backgrounds: Aristotle, Aquinas, and Duns Scotus__ 3. Aristotle and Aquinas on Necessity and Contingency  
4. Duns Scotus and Late Medieval Perspectives on Freedom  
__Part III: Early Modern Reformed Perspectives: Contingency, Necessity, and Freedom in the Real Order of Being__ 5. Necessity, Contingency, and Freedom: Reformed Understandings  
6. Scholastic Approaches to Necessity, Contingency, and Freedom: Early Modern Reformed Perspectives  
7. Divine Power, Possibility, and Actuality  
8. Divine Concurrence and Contingency  
9. Conclusions

Muller, Richard A.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Part I Freedom and Necessity in Reformed Thought: The Contemporary Debate

1. Introduction: The Present State of the Question

2. Reformed Thought and Synchronic Contingency

Part II Philosophical and Theological Backgrounds: Aristotle, Aquinas, and Duns Scotus

3. Aristotle and Aquinas on Necessity and Contingency

4. Duns Scotus and Late Medieval Perspectives on Freedom

Part III Early Modern Reformed Perspectives: Contingency, Necessity, and Freedom in the Real Order of Being

5. Necessity, Contingency, and Freedom: Reformed Understandings

6. Scholastic Approaches to Necessity, Contingency, and Freedom: Early Modern Reformed Perspectives

7. Divine Power, Possibility, and Actuality

8. Divine Concurrence and Contingency

9. Conclusions

Notes

Index

Back Cover

Divine Will and Human Choice

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