Conscience from creation to new creation.
The God who created conscience is Father, Son, and Spirit. Thus, conscience is properly understood in relation to our Triune God and his work in the world―the Father's creation, the Son's redemption, and the Spirit's perfection.
In The Fall and Redemption of Conscience, Andrea Ferrari explores conscience in Trinitarian and redemptive-historical contexts. Ferrari draws from Scripture and theologians of the past―particularly John Calvin and John Webster―to build a comprehensive theology of the human experience in relation to God. Conscience is a covenantal awareness and vocational responsiveness. As such, conscience is how we recognize our lives and responsibilities as created and redeemed beings in covenant with God. The book includes a foreword by Paul T. Nimmo.
About the Author :
Andrea Ferrari (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is pastor of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia in Perugia, Italy, and author of John Diodati's Doctrine of Holy Scripture.
Review :
"Andrea Ferrari draws 'conscience' out of the theological purgatory where it had been languishing. Following the lead of the late John Webster, Ferrari offers some possible avenues toward a renovation of this theme, which had been vehemently set aside by Karl Barth and others in the last century due to its 'bridging' and mediating function between the Creator and the creature. Conscience is not just conscientia, an inner faculty to form judgments, it is also (following Calvin) sensus, a kind of subjective, immediate awareness. This study is an interpretation of conscience that pays close attention to the Scriptures and that frames this theme in a Trinitarian and covenantal way. An impressive achievement!"
--Christophe Chalamet, professor of systematic theology, University of Geneva, Switzerland
"With theological insight and spiritual maturity, Andrea Ferrari provides something we've needed for a long time: a Reformed theology of conscience. Ferrari offers a compelling argument that conscience is a recurring theme in the Old and New Testaments and that conscience must be understood in the context of theology proper, anthropology, and soteriology. This is an enriching study that will be foundational for all future Reformed reflection on the topic."
--David VanDrunen, Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics, Westminster Seminary California
"A richly Reformed and biblical study of conscience--as created, fallen, justified, and perfected. Ferrari shows how important conscience is for the Reformed tradition, beginning with John Calvin, whose position differs in intriguing ways from Thomas Aquinas's. This superb study fills a notable gap for students of Christian anthropology and ethics."
--Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
"Building on the traditional Reformed framework of creation-fall-redemption, Andrea Ferrari formulates a constructive doctrine of conscience. Well-attuned to developments in systematic theology, his book carries real potential application for Christian ethics, particularly in our increasingly relativistic world. Ferrari's historically informed and theologically grounded project helps the church articulate a more robust account for why we are without excuse before the Lord and in need of the saving gospel of Christ."
--Harrison Perkins, pastor, Oakland Hills Community Church (OPC), Michigan; author of Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction
"With this thorough study on a neglected topic in present-day Protestant theology, Andrea Ferrari has reflected on the biblical and theological significance of the conscience for Christian anthropology. Intertwining exegesis and biblical theology, Ferrari locates the subject in robust Trinitarian and covenantal frameworks, and dialogues with the most important voices in the Protestant tradition--from Calvin's sensus divinitatis to John Webster's seminal essay 'God and Conscience." Contrary to intellectualist notions (like Aquinas), Ferrari expounds a perceptual and intuitive explanation of the conscience that better fits the biblical account and human experience. With this study, Ferrari has not only provided a state-of-the-art academic monograph but also a constructive way forward to appreciate the relevance of conscience for Protestant theology as a whole."
--Leonardo De Chirico, lecturer in historical theology, Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione, Padova, Italy
"Though he doesn't mention it, Ferrari exposes the shortcomings Krister Stendahl's 1963 influential essay 'The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West, ' insisting that a full-orbed biblical picture of conscience is less about guilty subjective interiority than the constant awareness, before God, of our human covenantal vocation, its privileges and responsibilities. Here is a properly theological account of conscience as created, fallen, redeemed, and perfected that will be of interest not only to introspective Westerners, but to people of every tribe and nation."
--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Illinois
"Theological interpretation of Scripture has made tremendous strides over the past two decades, and Ferrari's work exemplifies its maturity. With careful attention to traditional literary, linguistic, and exegetical tools yet guided and enriched by psychological, philosophical, and--above all--theological categories and insights, this biblical-theological treatment of conscience demonstrates the depth and promise of theological interpretation for hearers of God's word. Old Testament specialists in particular will appreciate Ferrari's sensitivity to their field and will benefit not only from the content of his theological synthesis, but also from an illustrative and compelling method that refuses to divorce theology from exegesis."
--R. Andrew Compton, professor of Old Testament, Mid-America Reformed Seminary, Dyer, Indiana
