Consciences and the Reformation: Scruples over Oaths and Confessions in the Era of Calvin and His Contemporaries-nurbook

Consciences and the Reformation: Scruples over Oaths and Confessions in the Era of Calvin and His Contemporaries book cover

Consciences and the Reformation: Scruples over Oaths and Confessions in the Era of Calvin and His Contemporaries

Author(s): Timothy R. Scheuers (Author)

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: August 15, 2023
Language: English
Print length: 276 pages
ISBN-10: 0197692141
ISBN-13: 9780197692141

Book Description

This book examines the contentious relationship between oath-taking, confessional subscription, and the binding of the conscience in reforms led by John Calvin. Calvin and his closest Reformed colleagues routinely distinguished what they believed were impious rules and constitutions in the Roman Church–human traditions claiming to bind the consciences of the faithful by putting them in fear of losing their salvation–and legitimate church observances, such as oaths and formal subscription to Reformed confessional standards. Doctrinal and moral reform in the cities became difficult, however, when friends and foes alike accused Calvin and his partners of burdening consciences with extra-Scriptural statements of faith composed by human authorities–a claim that, if true, would necessarily shape our assessment of the integrity of Calvin’s Reformation.

In light of these conflicts, author Timothy R. Scheuers offers a close reading of the texts and controversies surrounding Calvin’s struggle for reform. In particular, he shows how they reveal the unique challenges Calvin and his colleagues encountered as they attempted to employ oath-swearing and formal confession of faith in order to consolidate the reformation of church and society. This book demonstrates how oaths and vows were used to shape confessional identity, secure social order, forge community, and promote faithfulness in public and private contracts. It also illustrates the complex and difficult task of protecting the individual conscience as Calvin sought to bring his new take on Christian freedom into Reformed communities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“‘Let your yes mean yes, your no mean no.’ In the history of biblical interpretation, very few commands of Christ have been more vigorously debated or roundly ignored than Jesus’ statement on oaths. Scheuers’ detailed and critical study uses Calvin’s approach to and demands for oath taking as a strategic way to pry open the reformers’ understandings of communal reform, liberty, and the conscience in the Reformation era.” — David M. Whitford, Professor of Reformation Studies, Baylor University

“This rich investigation explores tensions between freedom of conscience and appreciation for church constitutions, subscription to confessions, and oath swearing. Focusing on Calvin and situating Geneva’s theoretical and practical negotiations among wider protestant movements, Scheuers paints a nuanced portrait of the relationships among biblical authority, conscience, and human traditions in the Reformation era.” — Barbara Pitkin, author of Calvin, the Bible, and History: Exegesis and Historical Reflection in the Era of Reform

“Pitkin’s study provides a window into the historical consciousness of Calvin the exegete and reveals a sophisticated method of biblical interpretation that effectively rendered ancient texts relevant to the lives and faith of early modern believers.” — Raymond A. Blacketer, Theology and History

“A thorough investigation into the Early Modern meaning of objectivity.” — W.H.Th. Moehn, Theologia Reformata

About the Author

Timothy R. Scheuers received his PhD in Historical Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2021. He is presently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Providence Christian College (Pasadena, CA), and the Associate Pastor of First United Reformed Church (Chino, CA). Scheuers’ research and publications have focused on the theology and pastoral ministry of John Calvin, as well as various loci of systematic theology.

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