Power and Right: Divine Dominion and Moral Economy in John Owen(T&T Clark Explorations in Reformed Theology)

In this compelling work, Baylor draws on the works of John Owen to address critiques of a Reformed theology of God's power and right. Modern outlooks on the world often encourage individuals to think of themselves as free and self-possessed sovereigns, rather than as subjects responsible to some higher authority. Christian responses to this have rightly sought to re-assert the creature's dependence upon God, often focusing criticism on modernity's possessive moral logic, and its disenchanted view of the world. However, Protestant theology is frequently caught in the crossfire, because many argue that the disenchantment of the modern world is driven by a Protestant vision of God's rule as absolute and arbitrary. This rigorous study shows that Reformed theology has the resources to answer these criticisms and offer a compelling account of God's rule. Baylor turns to Owen's theology of divine “dominion”, an attribute that sought to integrate reflection on God's power and justice. By tracing Owen's richly textured vision of the creature's relation to God, Baylor shows that Reformed theology sought to condition our notions of God's power by the forms of the creature's dependence upon God within God's moral economy. In doing so, this book offers a nuanced account of God's relation to creatures, and a powerful rebuttal to contemporary critics that depict Reformed visions of God's power as arbitrary and tyrannical.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Preface Introduction 1. “A Great King Above All Gods”: Divine Perfection and Dominion 2. “In Him We Live and Move and Have Our Being”: Divine Power and the Natural Dependence of Creation 3. “Not a Mere Free Act of His Will”: Divine Right and the Moral Dependence of Rational Creatures 4. “The Only Foundation of All Relation Between God and Men”: Justice, Merit, and the Promise of God 5. “To Bring Man by Due Obedience Unto the Rest of God”: Covenant, Sabbath, and the Ends of Human Existence Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Timothy R. Baylor is Associate Professor of Religion at Calvin University, USA.

Review :
Baylor offers a magisterial synthesis of Owen's richly sophisticated account of God's dominion and its relation to creaturely integrity. Situating this within historical and contemporary debates, he shows how Owen can offer a corrective to misreadings of the Reformed tradition and become a fruitful dialogue partner in wider conversations about the nature of power and the relation of power to justice. As such, this volume both makes a significant contribution to Owen studies and opens up highly suggestive directions for constructive theology and theological ethics. The divine attribute of 'dominion' serves as a hinge in the system of theology between God's life ad intra and God's works ad extra. In this lucid study, Baylor provides a historically informed treatment of John Owen's account of divine dominion that engages issues of perennial interest to theology and ethics. The reward for its readers is a clearer picture of Owen's thought and a fertile resource for contemporary reflection.