John Owen

An exciting new volume on John Owen is due out in a few months: The Ashgate Research Companion to John Owen’s Theology, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Mark Jones (Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate, 2012), 360 pp.

Here are the details.

Overview

John Owen (1616–1683) is regarded as one of the greatest theologians Britain ever produced. Owen has had an important historical and theological influence, and his significance is widely recognized today. As a revival in Owen studies and reprints has taken place, this much-needed companion by an international group of leading scholars, helpfully explores key questions related to Owen’s method, theology, and pastoral practice. Examining his thought through such topics as his epic work on the Holy Spirit, his developed view of faith and reason, and his contribution to the place of toleration, this book offers an authoritative exploration of one of Britain’s greatest theologians.

Contents

• Preface, Carl Trueman

Section 1: Method

• “Reformed or Reforming? John Owen and the Complexity of Theological Codification for Mid-17th-century England,” Ryan Kelly
• “John Owen on Faith and Reason,” Sebastian Rehnman
• “John Owen’s Commentary on Hebrews in Context,” John Tweeddale
• “Covenant Theology as Relational Theology: The Contributions of Johannes Cocceius and John Owen to a Living Reformed Theology,” Willem van Asselt
• “Impetration and Application in John Owen’s Theology,” Gert van den Brink
• “John Owen, Renaissance Man? The Evidence of Edward Millington’s Bibliotheca Oweniana (1684),” Crawford Gribben

Section 2: Theology

• “The Spirit as Gift: Explorations in John Owen’s Pneumatology,” Kelly Kapic
• “Beholding the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ: John Owen and the ‘Reforming’ of the Beatific Vision,” Suzanne McDonald
• “Christ’s Priestly Oblation and Intercession: Their Development and Significance in John Owen,” Edwin Tay
• “The Significance of John Owen for Modern Christology,” Alan Spence
• “John Owen on the Trinity in Its Catholic Context,” Robert Letham
• “Justification and Mystical Union with Christ: Where Does Owen Stand?,” George Hunsinger

Section 3: Practice

• “Owen’s Personality: The Man behind the Theology,” Tim Cooper
• “John Owen and the Puritan Toleration Controversy, 1646–59,” John Coffey
• “‘The Fire That Kindleth All Our Sacrifices to God’: Owen and the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer,” Daniel Hyde
• “From Life’s First Cry: John Owen on Infant Baptism and Infant Salvation,” Lee Gatiss
• “John Owen’s Gospel Offer: Well-Meant or Not?,” Martin Foord

• Index

About the Editors

Kelly M. Kapic is Professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Communion with God: The Divine and the Human in the Theology of John Owen, The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics, and Mapping Modern Theology: A Thematic and Historical Introduction.

Mark Jones is Senior Pastor at Faith Vancouver Church (PCA) and Research Associate at the University of the Free State (Bloemfontein). He is the author or editor of several books, including Why Heaven Kissed Earth: The Christology of the Puritan Reformed Orthodox Theologian, Thomas Goodwin (1600–1680), Drawn into Controversie: Reformed Theological Diversity and Debates within Seventeenth-Century British Puritanism, and A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life.

Endorsements

Scholarly interest in the life and work of John Owen has been growing now for some years, both as part of the renaissance of interest in Reformed theology and as part of the increased prominence given to intellectual history in studies of early modern England. This volume offers an excellent overview of the kinds of scholarship currently being pursued and represents a significant contribution to our understanding of this intriguing figure and his times.

—Professor Carl R. Trueman

John Owen is arguably one of the most important Reformed theologians to have written in the English language. His work demonstrates what is best about constructive theology: a deep and sympathetic engagement with the tradition, a broad understanding of human learning, and an incisive and nimble mind, able to zero in on the most fundamental theological questions. These characteristics are explored in the essays of this volume, which give a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in the recent resurgence of interest in his work. They offer an overview of Owen’s thought, his intellectual context, and his ongoing significance for theology today that places beyond doubt his significance for the wider Church. This is a most welcome Companion to the study of one of the greatest Puritan minds.

—Oliver D. Crisp, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA

Owen’s reputation as one of the most distinguished minds of the seventeenth century is by now well established. This collection of well-informed interpretative essays provides an excellent guide to the range of his thought.

—John Webster, University of Aberdeen, UK