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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
did not identify Thomas Bradwardine's theology as the object oftheir attack. Oberman demonstrates conclusively thatBradwardine's contemporary and fellow Mertonian, ThomasBuckingham, attacked the theology of The Cause ofGod in hisQuestiones. The subtitle reads:Questions treated by Thomas Buckingham. late Chancellor ofExeter Cathedral, showing that there is a Catholic middle coursebetween the errors ofPe/agius, Cicero andScotus and that eternalpredestination, preordination andprevo/ution are consistent withfreedom ofwill and human merit. 2~At certain points Buckingham even takes the words ofBradwardine from The Cause ofGod but adds the word "non"' totake the opposite position from Bradwardine. 26 A contemporary(Thomas ofCracow) claims that Buckingham taught for a time inParis and there "made a name for himself as a critic ofBradwardine."21John Baconthorp (d. 1348), in his Commentary on theSententiae, did attempt to set forth Bradwardine's meaning, and ina sense therefore defended Bradwardine. The trouble was that hedid not capture the true meaning of Bradwardine, nor was heuncritical of his theology.2RAnother contemporary reaction to Bradwardine is found inJohn Rodington, particularly in his Quodlibet de Conscientia.Bradwardine's influence is seen in that Rodington does hold topredestination, but in effect denies the sovereignty of God andaJIows that man can merit eternal life without grace. It is especiallyin the area of merit and man's will that Rodington was reactingagainst Bradwardine's theology.29The controversy did not die out immediately. Uthred ofBolden (d. 1397), a memberofthe Benedictine Order, writes ofthe25. Oberman, Archbishop Bradwardine, p. 190.26. Oberman, Archbishop Bradwardine, pp. 192-193.27. Oberman, Archbishop Bradwardine, p. 189.28. Oberman, Archbishop Bradwardine, pp. 194-195.29. Oberman. Archbishop Bradwardine, pp. 196-198.22 PRTJ
Page 1 and 2: ProtestantReformedTheologicalJourna
Page 3 and 4: EDITOR'S NOTESProf. Russell J. Dyks
Page 5 and 6: For there are many, even l unruly,
Page 7 and 8: happen to hold unwittingly to some
Page 9 and 10: tion oftheir false teachings. II Pe
Page 11 and 12: est, they are very weak, at worst,
Page 13 and 14: truth~' (see I Tim. 4: 1 - 4). Ever
Page 15 and 16: Thomas Bradwardine:Forgotten Mediev
Page 17 and 18: ated grace and uncreated grace. Unc
Page 19 and 20: Bradwardine faces the question ofth
Page 21: the age, namely, that having set fo
Page 25 and 26: The first is that Bradwardine was a
Page 27 and 28: to Bradwardine as oneof"two pre-emi
Page 29 and 30: Gospels, Acts, and Revelation. Sir
Page 31 and 32: power of the papacy in Bradwardine'
Page 33 and 34: The Serious Callof the Gospel -Is t
Page 35 and 36: elieve th~s proclamation with uprig
Page 37 and 38: to bring good news with their "fig
Page 39 and 40: nation, we read of Melchisedek, the
Page 41 and 42: official activity ofa monarch's her
Page 43 and 44: 8): "Calling is ofthose elect and r
Page 45 and 46: ut all his posterity unable to obey
Page 47 and 48: alone, and He saves whom He will. E
Page 49 and 50: have moved away from the notion oft
Page 51 and 52: every member ofthe visible, institu
Page 53 and 54: fulfilling this calling is their pa
Page 55 and 56: contingent. Further, Calvin did not
Page 57 and 58: ofacceptance in terms of merit, ins
Page 59 and 60: covenant ofgrace and works, or it i
Page 61 and 62: Spiritual, Suffers Them to DefileTh
Page 63 and 64: the gospel is preached" (p. 212).In
Page 65 and 66: "They do not hold that JesusChrist
Page 67 and 68: II Corinthians 3:6 that "the letter
Page 69 and 70: is to oppose and to repulsethat sec
Page 71 and 72: Rightly Divided: Readings inBiblica
Page 73 and 74:
is necessary speaks volumesabout th
Page 75 and 76:
Guilt, Grace and Gratitude,Lectures
Page 77 and 78:
76ted under the new? If it wererigh
Page 79 and 80:
er to keep himself holy; forthe Sab
Page 81 and 82:
there is room for both positionsin
Page 83 and 84:
Dr. Gannett's eschatologyalso effec
Page 85 and 86:
that, but man has a corrupt nature(
Page 87 and 88:
the love of God is "universal"(p. 5
Page 89 and 90:
ever, throughout the book thereis n
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