a guest post by Ryan Hedrich

(More from Ryan Hedrich may be found at Unapologetica).

Background

In Justification, J. V. Fesko wrote:

In the theology of Aquinas, and those committed to realism, the idea that universals have an existence separate from specific concrete entities, which drew upon the philosophy of Plato (c. 427-.c 348 B.C.) and is also known as the via antiqua (the “old way”), there was a greater emphasis upon seeing justification strictly in ontological terms. With the turn from ontology to discussions on the will of God in the theology of those committed to nominalism, the idea that universals do not have real existence but are merely names applied to qualities found within certain individual objects and that is also known as the via moderna (the “modern way”), for example, in the theology of Biel and William of Ockham (c. 1288 – c. 1348), we see the development of the intellectual framework in which the doctrine of justification could be considered in something other than in terms of ontology. In other words, it seems that nominalism opened the door to a consideration of the forensic nature of justification, and more specifically, the doctrine of imputation. This development, combined with the renaissance of Augustinianism in the fourteenth century, such as in the theology of Thomas Bradwardine (c. 1290 – 1349) and Gregory of Rimini (c. 1300 – 58), contributed to the intellectual development that made the Reformation possible.

McGrath notes six things that one finds in late medieval Augustinian theology that likely contributed to the theology of the Reformation:

1. A strict epistemological nominalism.
2. A voluntarist, as opposed to intellectualist, understanding of the ratio meriti (“reckoning of merit”). Voluntarism emphasizes the role of the will contrasted with that of reason or intellect.
3. The extensive use of the writings of Augustine, particularly his anti-Pelagian works.
4. A strongly pessimistic view of original sin, with the fall being identified as a watershed in the economy of salvation.
5. A strong emphasis upon the priority of God in justification, linked to a doctrine of special grace.
6. A radical doctrine of absolute double predestination.

With these intellectual developments in mind, we can move forward to consider the doctrine of justification in the Reformation and post-Reformation periods. It is against this backdrop that one sees the Reformation begin to give a more precise expression and definition of the doctrine of justification.

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