THE CLAIMS OF TRUTH: JOHN OWEN'S TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY
By Carl R. Trueman
Paternoster. 267 pages. £19.99 (paperback)
This is an important interpretation of John Owen, an outstanding Puritan and one of the greatest of English theologians. His significance cannot be denied although the value of his contribution to theology has been the subject of considerable debate.
The restoration of Charles II in 1660 effectively removed Owen from his place in the academic life of the English universities, although even opponents recognised his stature as a theologian. His popularity has waxed or waned in the succeeding years with the degree of appreciation of reformed theology. All of his published works are again in print. More recently, Owen has been attacked for scholastic theology. Carl Trueman refers to writers who write of Owen in terms 'analogous to one of the poor wretches in Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Verses, a salutary lesson to any tempted to feel that Calvin's thought was not the last word in Christian theology.' This book seeks to redress the balance.
Owen is, however, not the easiest of writers to read; he demands the full attention of his readers. In recent years, Sinclair Ferguson charted the field with a masterly survey of the Owen literature. Now Carl Trueman has set him in his historic context.
Like all great writers, Owen interacted with his own age, but at the same time the reader discovers a timelessness in his work because he dealt with issues that always demand attention. To deal with the issues of his day, he also drew from his predecessors, church fathers, medieval schoolmen and Reformers, but used them to deal with 17th-century issues. He was, of course, several generations on from the Reformation struggle, and while he never lost sight of the big issues of that time, the scene had changed. Owen is not therefore a revamped Calvin. He had to face major challenges from within Protestantism, namely Unitarianism and Arminianism. Carl Trueman has shown how he did this. Over against the challenges of his day, Owen taught a theology which was vigorously Trinitarian. The focus of Scripture is the incarnate Christ, but sinful man can only know Christ through the work of the Spirit, who reveals the Son who is himself the revelation of the Father. Owen sees the doctrine of the Trinity as the key to the understanding of Scripture.
After setting Owen in his historic context, Trueman discusses the principles of his theology, his doctrine of God, the person of Christ and the nature of satisfaction.
Owen has been criticised for his way of doing theology. Trueman defends him in the context of his time and presents a stimulating study which is a must for all who want to study in depth the theology of the 17th century in general and Owen in particular.
