pdf - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

Thomas BradwardincThis weakness is evidenced in that Bradwardine does notcontrast the horrible depths ofsin with the greatness ofgrace. Herather finds the great contrast between grace and merit. No doubtthis emphasis is due largely to the contest he faces with theUModern Pelagians" holding forth the ability of man to meritGod's grace. Yet it is also plain that Bradwardine had not eXpt~nencedthe intense spiritual struggle (over sin) ofan Augustine, orof a Luther. Therein too may lie one of the reasons thatBradwardine's monumental defense of the truth of sovereignpredestination had so Iittle lasting effect. The Cause ofGod is abrilliant and scholarly treatise to which the learned of his dayreacted. In contrast with that, Luther's works address the commonbeliever.Bradwardine's Influence and SignificanceDetermining the influence of Bradwardine and his thoroughrefutation of Pelagianism is difficult and puzzling. On the onehand, the work was apparently widely disseminated and discussed.Courtenay notes that Bradwardine's work '~was being cited inParis within a yearortwo ofits completion in 1344."23 He adds thatBradwardine's thesis quickly became a cause celebre at Oxfordand, later. at Paris. Few theologians did not take up the challengeand attempt to protect the freedom of man from what looked tothem like a thoroughgoing. predestinarian. even predeterminedview of the divine plan. It made Bradwardine a household nameamong the educated, inside and outside the university. and putforward a particular interpretation of Augustine that had its ownlong and interesting history.~4That, in fact. seems to have been the most notable effect - anegative reaction to the doctrines Bradwardine propounded. Thechurch ofthat day was. at best, Semi-Pelagian, and Bradwardine'stheology did not find wide acceptance. Most seemed to ignore it.A number of theologians reacted against it, though most of them23. Courtenay. Schools and Scholars, p. 347.24. Courtenay. Schools and Scholars. p. 322.November, 200 1 21