This book is concerned with the religious and socio-ethical aspects in the writings of selected idealists. It addresses the question: was post-Hegelian philosophical idealism, in its friendliest guise, more a help than a hindrance to the expression of Christian convictions and the articulation of Christian doctrines?
This book is the first comprehensive study of the systematic, doctrinal, and constructive theology produced within the major Nonconformist traditions during the twentieth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, modern biblical critical methods were fairly widely adopted, evolutionary thought was in the air, and doctrinal modifications, especially concerning the fatherhood of God, were underway. Sell charts the influence on Nonconformist thinking in the twentieth century of the New Theology associated with R. J. Campbell, the First World War, the reception of Karl Barth, the theological excitement of the 1960s, and growing religious pluralism. The second lecture concerns the major Christian doctrines of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity. Whereas in the early decades of the century there was considerable emphasis upon the atonement, during the concluding two decades the Trinity received more attention than had formerly been the case. In Lecture Three attention is directed to ecclesiological and ecumenical themes. The Nonconformists are presented as Protestant, and as displaying some zeal in propagating their particular understanding of the Church. The doctrinal aspects of their national and international moves toward inner-family unity and of their broader ecumenical relationships are considered. Eschatology is treated in the concluding lecture prior to Sell's assessment of the significance of twentieth-century Nonconformist theology, and his observations regarding its current state, its future content, and its practitioners.
What is it to confess the Christian faith, and what is the status of formal confessions of faith? How far does the context inform the content of the confession? These questions are addressed in Part One, with reference to the Reformed tradition in general, and to its English and Welsh Dissenting strand in particular. In an adverse political context the Dissenters' plea for toleration under the law was eventually granted. The question of tolerance remains alive in our very different context, andin addition we face the challenge of confessing and commending the faith in an intellectual environment in which many question Christianity's relevance and rebut traditional defences of it. In Part Two it is recognised that Christian confessing is an ecclesial, not simply an individual, calling, and that the one confessing church catholic is visibly divided over doctrine and practice. Suggestions for ameliorating this situation are offered, though the final resolution may be a matter for theeschaton. Until then Christians are called to witness faithfully and to live hopefully as citizens of heaven. In an epilogue the challenges and pitfalls of systematic theology as a discipline involving both confession and commendation are explored.
This is the first comprehensive study of the thought of the Welsh theologian-philosopher Huw Parri Owen (1926-1996). Indebted to the heritage of Christian thought, and not bewitched by Barth, bothered by Flew, or bewildered by Bultmann, Owen brought considerable biblical, philosophical, and theological acumen to the articulation of a reasonable, experientially grounded faith. A sharp-minded Christian thinker--a number of whose discussions of philosophico-theological themes remain pertinent to current scholarly debate--is here rescued from unjustified neglect.
Where Christian apologetics are concerned, is Locke to be endorsed, repaired, modified, or forsaken?' The diverse answers given to this question by the eighteenth-century divines form the complex subject of this book, which offers the first detailed account of his influence upon the religious thinkers of the eighteenth century. The work is based upon a thorough search of relevant materials, many of them scarce and widely dispersed. But the question is still relevant three centuries after Locke's death, and Professor Sell's objective in this volume is not only historical. From this study of the reception of Locke by the divines there emerge pressing questions about method, reason, faith, revelation, and authority which need to be addressed by those who would attempt Christian apologetics as Christianity's third millennium approaches. Although this book stands in its own right, it can also be read as a companion volume to the author's Philosophical Idealism and Christian Belief (University of Wales Press, 1995). Together, the two books represent soundings taken in important Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment intellectual traditions. The question whether an apologetic method may be found which avoids the pitfalls exposed both by the examination of Locke and the idealists, and which circumvents latter-day embargoes upon Christian apologetics, will be addressed in a third and final volume.
The heart of this book is the claim that the one church catholic comprises all who, on the ground of Christ's saving work, are called and gathered by God the Holy Spirit into a fellowship whose only Head is Christ himself; and that all thus called are granted the high privilege of sharing in a variety of ways in the one ministry of Christ. This is the vision of the Reformed churches past and present. Alan Sell argues that far from being a parochial enquiry, the nature of the ministry and the work and education of all the ministers are issues as relevant to the life and practice of particular local churches as they are to ecumenical discussions between the several Christian world communions.
In ÒThe Great DebateÓ, Alan Sell draws attention to the debate on the question human salvation. By examining the findings of the Calvinists and the Arminians, the author hopes to remind us that convictions concerning God's grace and human's need are of central importance to any vital theology.
This is a series of four substantial volumes designed to demonstrate the range of interests of the several Protestant Nonconformist traditions from the time of their Separatist harbingers in the 16th century to the end of the 20th century. It represents a major project of the Association of Denominational Historical Societies and Cognate Libraries. of such topics as theology, philosophy, worship, socio-political concerns, and so on. Prepared by a team of 12 editors, all of whom are expert in their areas, and drawn from a number of the relevant traditions, it should provide a much needed comprehensive view of Nonconformity, told largely in the words of those whose story it is. Nonconformity. Through contemporary writings it provides a lively insight into the life and thought of the Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians and other groups that formed pieces in the diverse mosaic of the 19th-century chapels. Each aspect of Nonconformity has an introductory discussion, which includes a guide to the secondary literature on the subject, and each passage from a primary source is put in context.
Professor Sell explores the lives and ideas of four unjustly neglected Anglican philosophers: W.G. De Burgh (1866-1943); W.R. Matthews (1881-1973); O.C. Quick (1885-1944); H.A. Hodges (1905-1976). This study fills an important gap in the history of twentieth-century philosophical and theological thought. Sell argues that these writers covered a wide range of philosophical topics in an illuminating way, and that a comparison of their respective standpoints and methods is instructive from the point of view of the viability or otherwise of Christian philosophizing. He discusses the challenges these four philosophical Anglicans issued to certain important trends in the philosophy and theology of their day, and argues that some of them are of continuing relevance.
What may happen when Christians take doctrine seriously? One possible answer is that the shape of churchly life "on the ground" can be significantly altered. This pioneering study is both an account of the doctrine of the person of Christ as it has been expounded by the theologians of historic English and Welsh Nonconformity, and an attempt to show that while many Nonconformists held classical orthodox views of the doctrine between 1600 and 2000, others advocated alternative understandings of Christ's person; hence the evolution of the ecclesial landscape as we have come to know it. The traditions here under review are those of Old Dissent: the Congregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians and their Unitarian heirs; and the Calvinistic and Arminian Methodist bodies that owe their origin to the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century.
Mill on God is Professor Sell's latest impressive study in a long list of substantial theological writings, and historical and philosophical works on religion. Drawing upon several of Mill's classic philosophical texts, his posthumous publications on religion, and a range of informal communications, Sell has produced easily the best available introduction to Mill's religious thought, the intellectual context of his religious views, and the reception of his ideas and arguments. This combative and elegant work of historical and philosophical interpretation teases out the important ambiguities and tensions in Mill's thoughts, and amply demonstrates the centrality of his concern with religion." --James E. Crimmins, International Academic Advisor and Professor of Political Science, Huron University College, Canada
Though small in area, the old county of Westmorland was home to numerous nonconformist groups. In this comprehensive account of these movements, reference is made to Quaker origins; to the older Dissent, both Independent and Presbyterian (and thence Unitarian); to the Inghamites and the Sandemanians: to the visits to the county of Fox, Nayler, Ingham, Whitefield, Wesley, and Woolman; to the coming of the Baptists; and to such later developments as Primitive and United Methodism, the Evangelical Union, the Brethren, and the Pentecostals.
Philosophy, Dissent and Nonconformity forms part of the Doctrine and Devotion trilogy. The book represents the first attempt to tell the story of those who taught and wrote philosophy outside the Anglican-Oxbridge Academy. Dr. Sell investigates the place given to philosophy in Dissenting academies and Nonconformist colleges between 1689 and 1920. During this time there were over one hundred such academies and colleges. The earliest Dissenting academy tutors and Nonconformist college teachers lived dangerously but they were seriously concerned with familiarising their students with all fields of philosophy such as logic, metaphysics, ethics and theology. The more philosophically talented eighteenth-century tutors produced books and articles in the field. In particular, the treatment of moral philosophy has been a prominent concern of a number of Dissenting philosophers. The author examines the variety and range of philosophical interests espoused by Dissenters and Nonconformists in turn. The beliefs and views held by the philosophers are also examined in detail. This is both an important and an engaging book on a fascinating subject, and will appeal to those interested in nonconformist history and the history of philosophy in academic institutions.
Alan Sell here presents a selection of his wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining reviews. Among philosophical themes discussed are Locke and the Enlightenment, Richard Price, John Stuart Mill, philosophical idealism, and analytical philosophy of education and of religion. Historical studies run from the Middle Ages onwards, and encompass English, Welsh, and Scottish Nonconformity, the Evangelical Revival, the Oxford Movement, theological education, American Reformed thinkers, the crisis of belief and the Social Gospel in Canada, and evangelical and liberal theology. Theological topics include Origen, Calvin, and Dutch Reformed thinkers, American Baptists, Mercersburg Theology, Scottish theology, liberation theology, assurance, the atonement, ecclesiology, ecumenism, art and theology, Christian ethics, worship and spirituality.
Unwilling on conscientious grounds to submit to the religious tests imposed by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the English and Welsh Dissenters of the second half of the seventeenth century established academies in which their young men, many of them destined for the ministry, might receive a higher education. From the eighteenth century onwards, theological colleges devoted exclusively to ministerial education were founded, while in Scotland historically, and in England and Wales over the past 120 years, freestanding university faculties of divinity/theology have provided theological education to ordinands and others. These diverse educational contexts are all represented in this collection of papers, but the focus is upon those who taught in them: Caleb Ashworth (Daventry Academy); John Oman (Westminster [Presbyterian] College Cambridge); N. H. G. Robinson (University of St. Andrews); Geoffrey F. Nuttall (New [Congregational] College, London); T. W. Manson (University of Manchester); Owen Evans (University of Manchester and Hartley Victoria Methodist College)--the lone Methodist scholar discussed here; and W. Gordon Robinson and J. H. Eric Hull (University of Manchester and Lancashire Independent College). Between them these scholars covered the core disciplines of theological education: biblical studies, ecclesiastical history, philosophy, doctrine, and systematic theology.
The story of twentieth century theology remains incomplete, writes author Sell, if due attention is not paid to the Christian ecumenical bodies and their theological work. He has therefore compiled this theological history of the World Alliance of Churches - the first detailed analysis of the theological contribution of any major Christian world communions.
This long-standing series provides the guild of religion scholars a venue for publishing aimed primarily at colleagues. It includes scholarly monographs, revised dissertations, Festschriften, conference papers, and translations of ancient and medieval documents. Works cover the sub-disciplines of biblical studies, history of Christianity, history of religion, theology, and ethics. Festschriften for Karl Barth, Donald W. Dayton, James Luther Mays, Margaret R. Miles, and Walter Wink are among the seventy-five volumes that have been published. Contributors include: C. K. Barrett, Francois Bovon, Paul S. Chung, Marie-Helene Davies, Frederick Herzog, Ben F. Meyer, Pamela Ann Moeller, Rudolf Pesch, D. Z. Phillips, Rudolf Schnackenburgm Eduard Schweizer, John Vissers
What are the most significant points at issue between the Reformed and Mennonite communions–Baptism, peace and church-state relations? Is there a way forward? In the hope that there may be, the contributors to this book attempt to clear the way to closer relations between Reformed and Mennonites by careful scholarly discussion of the traditionally disputed questions. The papers gathered here were presented at the second phase of the international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational) and the Mennonite World Conference. There are Reformed and Mennonite studies of the topics, together with the responses of a philosopher of religions, a sociologist, a systematic theologian and a church historian. In the Introduction the dialogue is set in its historical and contemporary ecumenical context, and the Conclusion, drafted by the dialogue participants, has been forwarded to the two world bodies for their consideration and action. This important work will be relevant to all future scholarly research into the growing debate between Reformed and Mennonite communions.
This volume provides an overview of the relation between secular philosophy and philosophical theology over a one-hundred-year period. Beginning with idealism, the study proceeds through the rise of realism, the advent of logical positivism, the development of analytical philosophy, the resurgence of scholasticism and existentialism, the contributions of encounter theology and of process thought, to specific questions of the existence of God and religious language.
What is the Gospel, and how is it to be commended? This question encapsulates the running theme of this collection of papers. In five essays Professor Sell discusses some Puritans, Cambridge Platonists, Quakers, and critics of deism and pantheism who sought to articulate the Gospel in the intellectual environment in which they had been set. Their underlying concerns are of continuing relevance in current ecumenical discussion, as are questions of doctrinal change and development, the subjects of two further papers. A paper on spirituality echoes some of the concerns of the Separatists, Platonists, and Quakers, but views them in relation to the widespread interest in the topic at the present time. Two papers concern the ways in which the Gospel is shared in ecumenical circles, with special reference to the Holy Spirit, ecclesiology, and the Reformed contribution to interconfessional discussion. A bibliographical survey of Reformed theology in twentieth-century Britain shows the range of interest within one ecclesiastical tradition, while such wider issues as contextual theology, inclusivism, and the peril of sectarianism are discussed in a further paper. The book concludes with an attempt to answer the question, what is involved in proclaiming the Gospel of reconciliation today?
In this book, Dr. Sell presents a collection of commemorative essays and addresses. In the four lectures that comprise Part 1, the anniversaries of Newman, Spurgeon, Martineau, Baxter, Fox, Wesley, Barrow, Greenwood, Penry are marked, with a view to illuminating issues which face the Christian churches toward the end of Christianity's second millennium. Pat II comprises papers on thinkers, movements, events and institutions. Some of these are intended primarily to fills gaps in scholarship; other suggest the continuing theological relevance of their subjects. Among the topics discussed are authority in the Church, the nature and unity of the Church, religious experience, evangelism, Church and State, the Mercerburg theology, post-Enlightenment philosophy, and religious freedom.
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