Core

Natural Law and Scriptural Authority

This Davenant Core Course is taught by Dr. Bradford Littlejohn and Dr. Alastair Roberts.

This course, making use of classic readings from Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Hemmingsen, and Hooker, along with meditations on key passages of Scripture, will help the student gain a right understanding of the meaning of sola Scriptura and the use of moral reason in classical Protestantism. View full syllabus here.

Description
Dr. Bradford Littlejohn (Ph.D, University of Edinburgh) is a scholar and writer in the fields of political theology, Christian ethics, and Reformation history. He is the author of several books, including The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty: Richard Hooker, the Puritans, and Protestant Political Theology (Eerdmans, 2017).
Dr. Alastair Roberts is a Teaching Fellow of the Theopolis Institute and the Davenant Institute, a leading evangelical blogger and writer, and one of the hosts of the Mere Fidelity podcast. His personal podcast is Alastair’s Adversaria, where he produces daily reflections upon Scripture. He is the author of Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture (2018).

Taught by Dr. Bradford Littlejohn and Dr. Alastair Roberts, this course will run from September 27 through December 10.

Although Protestants are well-familiar with the classical Protestant insistence on the doctrine of sola Scriptura, they are less familiar with the equally important teaching of the Reformers that God reveals himself through the “two books” of Scripture and nature. As Paul teaches in Romans 1 and 2, God has revealed enough of his nature to render us “without excuse” and given us a moral law “written on our hearts.” In an age that is in rebellion not merely against Scripture but against nature, it is urgent for us to recover both, and to understand a right how each serves to illuminate the other, and to help us walk faithfully in the midst of uncertainty.

This course, making use of classic readings from Aquinas, Calvin, Hemmingsen, and Hooker, along with meditation on key passages of Scripture, will help the student gain a right understanding of the meaning of sola Scriptura and the use of moral reason in classical Protestantism. View the full syllabus here.

Online only, runs 10 weeks, meeting 2 hrs./wk. via videoconference + online discussion board. Register to reserve your spot and schedule will be set after a poll of participating students; if the class time does not fit your schedule, you will be eligible for a full refund. Note: all classes are offered dependent on demand and require a minimum of four participating students.