Necessity, Contingency and the Freedom of God

In this paper I attempt to argue that Antonie Vos’ claims respecting the relations between Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy regarding the doctrine of God are exaggerated, with no convincing support. I argue, from the writings of Calvin, that he is not a necessitarian, but holds that God wills freely, c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of reformed theology
Main Author: Helm, Paul (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2014
In: Journal of reformed theology
IxTheo Classification:KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages
KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KDD Protestant Church
NBC Doctrine of God
Further subjects:B synchronic contingency divine freedom necessity eternal Calvin Scotus Antonie Vos
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:In this paper I attempt to argue that Antonie Vos’ claims respecting the relations between Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy regarding the doctrine of God are exaggerated, with no convincing support. I argue, from the writings of Calvin, that he is not a necessitarian, but holds that God wills freely, choosing between alternatives in one eternal act. Furthermore, I have argued, on conceptual grounds, that in any case the doctrine of synchronic contingency applied to the life a timelessly eternal God does not deliver an intelligible account of divine freedom.
ISSN:1569-7312
Contains:In: Journal of reformed theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15697312-00803002