In a study devoted to Reformed virtue ethics, I wondered “why it is worthwhile to spend so much time on Calvin when there were others—his contemporaries and succeeding generations—who did take up the question of virtue more extensively and systematically.” While I still believe this latter claim is true, recent work by my colleague David Sytsma has convinced me that there is much more material in Calvin’s work that is amenable to and indeed best understood within a virtue-ethical framework than I had previously thought (or, for that matter, than Nolan demonstrated in his study).

In “John Calvin and Virtue Ethics: Augustinian and Aristotelian Themes,” available via open access from the Journal of Religious Ethics, Sytsma observes:

As a theologian, Calvin himself did not write a treatise on ethics such as Melanchthon, Vermigli, and others did. But his theology integrates traditional concepts of virtue and he assumes the usefulness of philosophical ethics for civil society. There is no support in Calvin’s writings to support the supposed “repudiation of teleological virtue ethics” by the magisterial reformers for which Gregory argues (2012, 265). Instead, Calvin’s theological works provide ample justification for the subsequent development of Reformed virtue ethics, whether in the form of ethical treatises on the virtues or commentaries on the Decalogue, which correlate the commandments with virtues.

So even if we perhaps shouldn’t start with Calvin or look solely to his work in our efforts to understand the relationship between the Reformed tradition and virtue ethics, Calvin certainly should be part of the conversation.

Sytsma’s article is wide-ranging and worthy of close study. Hopefully its appearance in the Journal of Religious Ethics will help to temper some of the mainstream caricatures and misunderstandings of Calvin in particular and the Reformed tradition more generally.

Sytsma’s piece joins a growing body of important revisionist literature that corrects older and even some contemporary scholarship about the relationship of the Reformed tradition to the broader Augustinian and Thomistic traditions. This literature is such that the researcher today can be said to be left without excuse for repeating and rehearsing erroneous tropes about the scope and substance of discontinuity between someone like Calvin or Vermigli or Zanchi and the patristics and medieval scholastics, to say nothing of their Roman Catholic and Lutheran contemporaries.

For some examples of this kind of work with relevance for the development of Reformed virtue ethics after (and in addition to) Calvin, I recommend:

• Manfred Svensson, “Aristotelian Practical Philosophy from Melanchthon to Eisenhart: Protestant Commentaries on the Nicomachean Ethics 1529–1682,” Reformation & Renaissance Review 21, no. 3 (2019): 218-238.
• Kirk M. Summers, Morality After Calvin: Theodore Beza’s Christian Censor and Reformed Ethics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).
• Sebastian Rehnman, “Virtue and Grace,” Studies in Christian Ethics 25, no. 4 (2012): 472-493.

The issue features a contribution from McGinnis, “Charity and Commerce: Joseph Hall’s Reception of Catholic Casuistry and Economic Thought.” As McGinnis observes, Hall makes significant use of Roman Catholic casuistry in the development of his own treatise on conscience, Resolutions and Decisions of Divers Practicall Cases of Conscience. This shows that, in contrast to the claims of some of the scholarly literature on this question, “some English Protestants were not only reading Jesuit moral texts, but were willing to adapt and adopt ideas from their arch theological opponents.”

I have also co-authored a piece with Cornelis van der Kooi for this issue, “The Moral Status of Wealth Creation in Early-Modern Reformed Confessions.” In this piece we survey the exposition of the 8th commandment against theft, particularly as it is expounded positively, in a variety of Reformed confessional documents. We find that there is a generally positive evaluation of wealth creation in these texts, which although they are not absolutely uniform in their treatments, do present a broadly unified perspective. This piece is available via open access, and all of the contents of the issue are available digitally to subscribers.

I had the distinct honor of co-editing this volume along with David S. Sytsma, research curator at the Junius Institute, as well Matthew T. Gaetano, associate professor of history at Hillsdale College. The origin of the project was conversations some years ago concerning intriguing cross-confessional dialogue among and between the Reformed, Dominicans, Arminians, and Jesuits in the early modern era, particularly over issues related to predestination and free choice.

Here’s more detail about this volume:

Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis explores post-Reformation inter-confessional theological exchange on soteriological topics including predestination, grace, and free choice. These doctrines remained controversial within confessional traditions after the Reformation, as Dominicans and Jesuits and later Calvinists and Arminians argued about these critical issues in the Augustinian theological heritage. Some of those involved in condemning Arminianism at the Synod of Dordt (1618-1619) were inspired by Dominican followers of Thomas Aquinas in Spain who had recently opposed the vigorous defense of free choice by Jesuit Molinists in the Congregatio de auxiliis (1598-1607). This volume, appearing on the 400th anniversary of the closing of the Synod of Dordt, brings together a group of scholars working in fields that only rarely speak to one another to address these theological debates that cross geographical and confessional boundaries.

More details will be forthcoming as the volume progresses through the publishing process. But in the meantime, I have posted a document including the table of contents, list of contributors (including JI senior fellow Richard A. Muller), and a draft of the substantive introduction to the volume.

1) JI research curator David Sytsma has an article in Reformation & Renaissance Review, “Vermigli Replicating Aquinas: An Overlooked Continuity in the Doctrine of Predestination.” From the abstract: “Vermigli not only drew upon Aquinas’s doctrine in general, as he does elsewhere, but reproduced the details of Aquinas’s article in the Summa on whether foreknowledge of merits is the cause of predestination.”

2) JI senior fellow Richard A. Muller has a three-part review essay of a recent study of Aquinas at Reformation21 (part 1, part 2, part 3). A comprehensive version will be forthcoming in Calvin Theological Journal.

3) The edited volume Aquinas among the Protestants, edited by Manfred Svensson and David VanDrunen is out, and includes contributions from me, “Deformation and Reformation: Thomas Aquinas and the Rise of Protestant Scholasticism,” as well as David Sytsma, “Thomas Aquinas and Reformed Biblical Interpretation: The Contribution of William Whitaker.”

The first volume of the second series, On the Law of Nature: A Demonstrative Method, is by Niels Hemmingsen and is due out later this month. E. J. Hutchinson of Hillsdale College is the translator and editor, and wrote an introduction with fellow Hillsdale professor Korey D. Maas.

Over at Christian’s Library Press, Franciscus Junius’ De Politiae Mosis Observatione is now available for purchase in English translation as The Mosaic Polity. 

If you are familiar with the archetypal and ectypal distinction found in Junius’ prolegomena of theology, De Theologia Vera (in translation as A Treatise on True Theology | RHB: 2014), you may be surprised to learn that this piece on law, jurisprudence, and the Mosaic polity deploys the distinction and predates that work. One of the happy results of having these two translations in print is that a broader audience can begin to see a conception of the relation between theology and law in the early modern period and how for Junius the character of God informs both.

This project is the fruit of the vision of Dr. Jordan Ballor and Dr. Stephen Grabill for early modern treatises on law, economics, and social thought from an array of Christian traditions. These scholars invited me to participate in this project as the translator several years ago, for which I am humbled, honored, and grateful. The first several chapters appeared in the Journal of Markets & Morality and led to conversations in various conference venues in the United States and abroad. The support and encouragement of the Acton Institute by way of Dr. Ballor and Dr. Grabill has been tremendous. After the draft was completed, Dr. Drew McGinnis, my friend and fellow colleague in the doctoral program at Calvin Theological Seminary, enriched the translation with his keen editorial insights over the past year or so as the editor of the work. We co-authored the introductory essay. Both Drew and I appreciated the opportunity to present on various aspects of this translation and Junius’ thought in colloquia sponsored by the Junius Institute and Calvin Theological Seminary in the Fall of 2014 and the Spring of this year. These conversations with other scholars and colleagues have assisted in some measure in spurring our thoughts to consider various lines of approach to this work. The collaboration and camaraderie on this piece has truly been a joy.

It is our hope that this piece penned for the Dutch Republic at the close of the sixteenth century will not only be of use to scholars of the period but also as a point of contact for further reflection on the Christian theological contributions to the natural law tradition that has shaped modern legal and political thought on the nature of justice, law, and human rights.

A key work by the institute’s namesake, Franciscus Junius, has the honor of being the first such Digital Companion. Partnering with Reformation Heritage Books, who recently published Junius’ A Treatise on True Theology, our JI Companion links the English text on the left hand side with the printed edition of the Latin (1613 edition) on the right. Of course there are some places where the English version has no analog in the original, such as the front matter and other introductory material. But as you scroll through the contents of the source document itself on the left, the Latin page will sync on the right, making reference to the original Latin much easier as you read along.

JI research curator David Sytsma developed the companion, which includes embedded hyperlinks to other sources that are referenced as available, as well as links to author pages on the Post-Reformation Digital Library. So, for instance, when Richard Muller refers to the “friendly correspondence” between Junius and Jacob Arminius in his foreword, there are live links to both the English translation (via the Internet Archive) and the Latin text (via Google Books) embedded in the companion. Dr. Sytsma has also developed pop-ups so that when you hover over certain links you can get an overview of the person and his or her work.

There are a number of other features that you will encounter as you explore the companion, including references to the pagination of the printed text as it appears in both the English and original language publication. And speaking of the published text, be sure to check out the printed version from Reformation Heritage Books for your bookshelf. This is technology that can be used anytime regardless of access to the Internet!

We have plans to develop other digital companions in the future, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, please be sure to explore the JI Digital Companion to Junius’ A Treatise on True Theology and let us know what you think.

In the latest issue of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Stephen Hampton of Peterhouse, Cambridge, had this to say:

The contribution that Richard Muller has made to the study of early modern Protestant theology is little short of astonishing. A brief look at the full bibliography of Muller’s works, which appears towards the end of this excellent Festschrift, helpfully reminds the reader of the sheer breadth, subtlety and significance of his work. It is no exaggeration to say that he has transformed and enriched our understanding of the Reformed tradition to such a degree that much older scholarship seems to be addressing a quite different phenomenon. In Muller’s hands, early modern Reformed theology has become more diverse, more subtly textured, more intellectually flexible and ambitious, and much more closely related to the other intellectual trends of the period.

Hampton proceeds to survey the various components of the volume, and concludes that “this volume is both a worthy tribute to the scholar whom it celebrates, and an excellent introduction to the kind of work which he has inspired in others.”

You can read the entire review in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History.

The video for this event, which features a second screen in which Dr. Sytsma demonstrates the digital companion for Junius’ True Theology, is now available:

“Jonathan Edwards”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the reasons the Junius Institute exists is to help disseminate scholarship on the Reformation and post-Reformation eras, and so when some of our scholars and associates publish items, we’re happy to take note.

To wit, JI senior fellow Richard Muller has had an ongoing discussion with Paul Helm on the place of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in relationship to the Reformed tradition. The most recent issue of Jonathan Edwards Studies, a notable online journal of scholarship relating to the “greatest American theologian,” has the latest installments.

Here’s a list of the essays in order so you can catch up on the state of the question:

• Richard A. Muller, “Jonathan Edwards and the Absence of Free Choice: A Parting of Ways in the Reformed Tradition,” Jonathan Edwards Studies 1, no. 1 (2011): 3-22.
• Paul Helm, “Jonathan Edwards and the Parting of the Ways?” Jonathan Edwards Studies 4, no. 1 (2014): 42-60.
• Richard A. Muller, “Jonathan Edwards and Francis Turretin on Necessity, Contingency, and Freedom of Will. In Response to Paul Helm,” Jonathan Edwards Studies 4, no. 3 (2014): 266-285.
• Paul Helm, “Turretin and Edwards Once More,” Jonathan Edwards Studies 4, no. 3 (2014): 286-296.

To access the articles, all you need to do is register on the JES site and you can download these and other offerings for free. Jonathan Edwards Studies is a publication of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, which offers a wealth of other resources as well.