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Richard Hooker on Natural Theology
Davenant Press

Richard Hooker on Natural Theology

Studies in Protestant Irenics Vol. 3

by David Haines

Short, scholarly studies in Rich Protestant Wisdom

Evangelical Protestants enthusiastically affirm the “sufficiency of Scripture” for the Christian faith. But how does this doctrine square with the church’s long tradition of “natural theology” which teaches that a surprising amount can be known about God from nature and reason alone?

In this short but incisive book, David Haines demonstrates how the great English Reformer, Richard Hooker (1554-1600), answered this pivotal question. Usually, Hooker is associated with the questions of natural law and ethics rather than natural theology and the doctrine of God. However, Haines shows that a firm grasp of natural theology underpins Hooker’s teaching on natural law, and that the latter cannot be had without the former. In doing so, he provides not merely a survey of Hooker’s thought, but, via Hooker, a concise and lucid introduction to the whole topic of natural theology and a compelling defense against its biblicist critics.

$17.95
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About the Author

David Haines

David Haines (PhD, Université Laval) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boyce College, and a Lecturer at Davenant Hall. He has previously authored On Being, vol.1: Plato, Natural Theology: A Biblical and Historical Introduction and Defense , co-authored Natural Law: A Brief Introduction and Biblical Defense , and edited Without Excuse: Scripture, Reason, and Presuppositional Apologetics , all with The Davenant Press.

Publication Details

  • Publisher: Davenant Press
  • ISBN: 978-1-949716-74-0
  • Publication Date: October 2, 2025
  • Pages: 100
  • Author: David Haines
  • Price: $17.95

Endorsements

  • “Natural Theology has long been a vital part of the church’s theology, from the fathers of the earliest centuries to the magisterial reformation and classical Protestant confessions. However, in recent centuries there has been confusion about, and outright antagonism towards, natural theology, coming not only from secular philosophers but also from a range of 20th century Protestant theologians. Several recent critiques of the compatibility of Protestantism with natural theology bear an uncanny resemblance to the biblicistic arguments that roiled the Church of England in the late 16th century. David Haines’s work of retrieval capably demonstrates how natural theology rightly relates to a Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura in one of the foremost theological minds in Anglophone history. Particularly for Anglicans such as myself, recovering Richard Hooker’s approach to relating Holy Scripture with natural theology can be a wellspring for ongoing renewal and revitalization of our churches today, particularly as we seek to commend the gospel in an increasingly post-Christian Western world where there is more confusion than ever about God, creation, and what it means to be a human being. This is a natural theology that is distinctively Reformed but also deeply catholic, which Haines provocatively argues is a corrective to the undermining of natural theology in late Medieval nominalism, standing in profound continuity with Aquinas and the fathers of the church.”

    — Joshua Heavin (PhD, University of Aberdeen), Curate and Deacon at an Anglican church in the Dallas area; Adjunct Professor in the School of Christian Thought at Houston Christian University

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