Aquinas and Calvin on Romans

Abstract

Abstract Aquinas and Calvin on Romans is a comparative study of John Calvin’s and Thomas Aquinas’s commentaries on the first eight chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Focusing on the role of human participation in God’s work of salvation, the book argues that Calvin’s critiques of the “schoolmen” arising from his reading of Romans fail to find a target in Aquinas’s theology while Calvin’s principal positive affirmations are embraced by Aquinas as well. Aquinas upholds many fundamental insights that Calvin would later also obtain in his reading of Romans, such as justification sola fide non merito (by faith alone and not by merit), the centrality of Christ for salvation, the ongoing imperfection of the sanctified life, the work of the Spirit guiding the believer along the path of sanctification, and the assurance of salvation that one obtains through the indwelling of the Spirit, to name only a few. Even more, numerous identical interpretations arising in their commentaries make it necessary to consider Calvin’s reading of Romans as appropriating a tradition of interpretation that includes Aquinas. At the same time, the nonparticipatory dimensions of Calvin’s reading of Romans become clear when set beside Aquinas’s reading, and these nonparticipatory dimensions create difficulties for Calvin’s interpretation, especially on Romans 8, that are not present in Aquinas’s account. The book therefore suggests how Calvin’s reading of Romans, especially as it pertains to justification and merit, should be augmented by the participatory framework reflected in Aquinas’s interpretation. The book concludes by revisiting Calvin’s criticisms of the Council of Trent in light of these suggestions.