Description
Volume 1: The Apostolic Fathers to Augustine
In the first volume of Sin, Grace and Free Will, Matthew Knell embarks on a journey through centuries of Christian thought, from the Apostolic Fathers to St Augustine of Hippo. While the themes of sin, grace and free will are familiar to any Christian, Knell provides a comprehensive overview of how people such as Irenaeus, Gregory of Nazianzus and Augustine explored these ideas, following the development of early church philosophy on topics such as the problem of evil and the crucial difference between conscious and unconscious sin, as well as the distinction between body and soul.
An indispensable primer for any beginning scholar, Sin, Grace and Free Will presents the writings of Christian thinkers of the early church in context and examines the progress of church doctrine from the nascent model of sin in the Shepherd of Hermas to Origen’s analysis of divine influence on human will and Augustine’s seminal work on grace and salvation.
Volume 2: From Anselm to the Reformation
In the second volume, a new journey begins with Anselm of Canterbury and leads to the Council of Trent. While the themes of sin, grace and free will are familiar to any Christian, Knell provides a comprehensive overview of the thought on such matters of crucial Christian thinkers and reformers. In doing so, the second volume explores not only the Catholic way of dealing with these central topics, but also Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Calvin’s views and different approaches.
An indispensable primer for any beginning scholar, Sin, Grace and Free Will presents the writings of Christian thinkers in their own contexts, and examines the progress of church doctrine.
Volume 3: From Molina to Barth
In the third and final volume, Matthew Knell takes his readers through the crucial thinkers of the early modern and modern period. Tracing the new traditions of authority in the interpretation of scripture, and the continuities and developments that emerge through the work of thinkers such as Luis de Molina, Arminius, Jonathan Edwards, and Karl Barth, Knell illuminates his key concepts of Sin, Grace and Free Will anew.
Considering the impact of such ideological and cultural shifts as Modernism and the Enlightenment, as well as the growing influence of agnostic or atheistic philosophy, his nuanced, source-focussed approach is an indispensable primer for any beginning scholar.
