Philosophy and the Contemporary World
Mercersburg, Culture, and the Church
- Theology
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2024
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Publisher's Description
These essays by John Nevin, theologian of Mercersburg Theology, are united by two primary themes: Part 1 documents Nevin's noteworthy and innovative application of idealist philosophy to Reformed theology in antebellum America. American Christians largely rejected any inherited philosophical discipline or categories, claiming the right to invent moral and religious reality without attention to Christian tradition. The paradoxical result was authoritarian rationalism: religious doctrines imitated scientific reasoning ("common-sense" philosophy) but were imposed by ecclesiastical fiat. In contrast, Nevin summoned his fellow theologians to pay fresh attention to the Idea: the rational unpacking of transcendent truths in being, moral right, and revelation. Part 2 then documents his criticism of the predominant Christian alternatives in the mid-nineteenth century. Such alternatives were deeply flawed, Nevin thought, as they necessitated that supernatural reality be experienced through an external authority demanding assent and obedience--the pope, a body of bishops, an authoritative Bible. But for Nevin, "supernature" is Jesus Christ himself who generates and sustains the reality of which the church speaks. Thus the highest Idea was Jesus Christ, now incarnate in the history and sacramental and liturgical life of the church.
Endorsements (3)
“Like many contemporary Christians, John Williamson Nevin found himself in a tumultuous time, searching for an ecclesial home that could animate historical liturgical Christianity with sixteenth-century reforms. In Philosophy and the Contemporary World, volume 11 in The Mercersburg Theology Study Series, Borneman and Carey bring Nevin’s voice to life for another needy time, as his essays engage with both his contemporary culture and fellow theologians. Highly recommended for theological libraries.”
“The editors of this impressive volume of Nevin’s essays leave no doubt that he was a venturesome philosopher with his own take on German philosophical idealism. The selections display Nevin’s reflections on the church and the nation, history and nature, anthropology and ethics, and freedom and law. The imaginative arrangement of topics and the learned and lucid introductions by the editors make this a valuable work for readers curious about ideas in nineteenth-century America.”
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