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Papers by Thomas A. Noble

Research paper thumbnail of Theology and the Wesleyan Tradition

Wesley and Methodist Studies

This article examines the nature of systematic or dogmatic theology in relation to the Wesleyan t... more This article examines the nature of systematic or dogmatic theology in relation to the Wesleyan tradition. A brief review of contemporary works examining the theology of John Wesley is followed by a survey of the development of systematic theology within the Wesleyan tradition in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. An examination of the Trinitarian, credal shape of Christian theology leads to thinking about the shape of the theological curriculum in the Christian college or seminary and finally to reflections on the role of theology in the church.

Research paper thumbnail of Incarnation and Atonement

Research paper thumbnail of John Wesley as a theologian

Evangelical Quarterly, 2010

The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the s... more The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the standard treatments of his theology have arranged his thought in the customary shape of Systematic Theologies, this article takes the shape of Wesley’s theology from the way he arranged and prioritized his doctrines pastorally in his Standard Sermons. This demonstrates that he began with the evangelical doctrine of the Reformation on Justification and the Atonement (focusing on Christ), understood regeneration and assurance in relation to the Holy Spirit, and saw the sovereign grace of God the Father as extending to ‘all his works’. The underlying structure is Trinitarian. His much misunderstood doctrine of ‘perfection’ was inherited from the Fathers and was his most creative contribution to Evangelical theology, but needs further development and clarification.

Research paper thumbnail of East and West in the theology of John Wesley

Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 2003

Considerable interest has been shown by Wesleyan scholars in recent decades in the influence of t... more Considerable interest has been shown by Wesleyan scholars in recent decades in the influence of the Greek fathers on John Wesley. It appears to have been Albert Outler who first prompted the current interest in the eastern connection by his suggestion in 1964 that Wesley's doctrine of sanctification might have roots in Gregory of Nyssa and the other Cappadocians through Pseudo-Macarius. 1 Although subsequent scholarship came to regard that specific connection as dubious, 2 Outler returned to the eastern connection in a more general way in 1976, arguing in 'The place of Wesley in the Christian tradition' 3 that Wesley originated a 'third alternative', a synthesis of pardon and participation, of sola fide and 'holy living', a synthesis, in short, of east and west. Outler's view of Wesley as synthesizing east and west was taken up by Randy L. Maddox in Responsible grace, in which one of the recurring themes is that Wesley marries the therapeutic view of salvation taken in eastern Christianity with the more forensic approach of the west. For Wesley the former is fundamental, according to Maddox, and the latter is adapted to it. 4 The idea of Wesley as a synthesizer goes farther back in this century to George Croft Cell with his idea of a 'synthesis of the EAST AND WEST 359

Research paper thumbnail of John Wesley as a theologian: an introduction

The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the s... more The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the standard treatments of his theology have arranged his thought in the customary shape of Systematic Theologies, this article takes the shape of Wesley’s theology from the way he arranged and prioritized his doctrines pastorally in his Standard Sermons. This demonstrates that he began with the evangelical doctrine of the Reformation on Justification and the Atonement (focusing on Christ), understood regeneration and assurance in relation to the Holy Spirit, and saw the sovereign grace of God the Father as extending to ‘all his works’. The underlying structure is Trinitarian. His much misunderstood doctrine of ‘perfection’ was inherited from the Fathers and was his most creative contribution to Evangelical theology, but needs further development and clarification. 254 • EQ Thomas A. Noble sectarianism. It needs to be developed in a fully Trinitarian way so that the living experience of ‘real...

Research paper thumbnail of A Disappearing People: The Doctrine of Election and Predestination from Irenaeus to Augustine

Abstract: The broad contours of the doctrine of election and predestination from the second to th... more Abstract: The broad contours of the doctrine of election and predestination from the second to the fifth centuries involve a decided shift from a fundamentally corporate conception to a fundamentally individual conception, from the election of the Church as a visible whole to the election of a hidden few, from election as the context of salvation to election as identified with salvation and destiny, from a fundamentally temporal and historical framework to a fundamentally eternal and ahistorical framework, from predestination being subsumed under election to election being subsumed under predestination, from an inclusive yet particular people to an exclusive aggregate, from the supposition of the historic and continuing election of Israel to the implicit denial of the election of Israel as a people, and finally from the Church as God's chosen nation to the Roman Empire as taking over or at least sharing in the political dimension of the Church's election.

Research paper thumbnail of Theology and the Wesleyan Tradition

Wesley and Methodist Studies

This article examines the nature of systematic or dogmatic theology in relation to the Wesleyan t... more This article examines the nature of systematic or dogmatic theology in relation to the Wesleyan tradition. A brief review of contemporary works examining the theology of John Wesley is followed by a survey of the development of systematic theology within the Wesleyan tradition in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. An examination of the Trinitarian, credal shape of Christian theology leads to thinking about the shape of the theological curriculum in the Christian college or seminary and finally to reflections on the role of theology in the church.

Research paper thumbnail of Incarnation and Atonement

Research paper thumbnail of John Wesley as a theologian

Evangelical Quarterly, 2010

The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the s... more The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the standard treatments of his theology have arranged his thought in the customary shape of Systematic Theologies, this article takes the shape of Wesley’s theology from the way he arranged and prioritized his doctrines pastorally in his Standard Sermons. This demonstrates that he began with the evangelical doctrine of the Reformation on Justification and the Atonement (focusing on Christ), understood regeneration and assurance in relation to the Holy Spirit, and saw the sovereign grace of God the Father as extending to ‘all his works’. The underlying structure is Trinitarian. His much misunderstood doctrine of ‘perfection’ was inherited from the Fathers and was his most creative contribution to Evangelical theology, but needs further development and clarification.

Research paper thumbnail of East and West in the theology of John Wesley

Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 2003

Considerable interest has been shown by Wesleyan scholars in recent decades in the influence of t... more Considerable interest has been shown by Wesleyan scholars in recent decades in the influence of the Greek fathers on John Wesley. It appears to have been Albert Outler who first prompted the current interest in the eastern connection by his suggestion in 1964 that Wesley's doctrine of sanctification might have roots in Gregory of Nyssa and the other Cappadocians through Pseudo-Macarius. 1 Although subsequent scholarship came to regard that specific connection as dubious, 2 Outler returned to the eastern connection in a more general way in 1976, arguing in 'The place of Wesley in the Christian tradition' 3 that Wesley originated a 'third alternative', a synthesis of pardon and participation, of sola fide and 'holy living', a synthesis, in short, of east and west. Outler's view of Wesley as synthesizing east and west was taken up by Randy L. Maddox in Responsible grace, in which one of the recurring themes is that Wesley marries the therapeutic view of salvation taken in eastern Christianity with the more forensic approach of the west. For Wesley the former is fundamental, according to Maddox, and the latter is adapted to it. 4 The idea of Wesley as a synthesizer goes farther back in this century to George Croft Cell with his idea of a 'synthesis of the EAST AND WEST 359

Research paper thumbnail of John Wesley as a theologian: an introduction

The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the s... more The twentieth century saw a revival of interest in John Wesley as a theologian, but whereas the standard treatments of his theology have arranged his thought in the customary shape of Systematic Theologies, this article takes the shape of Wesley’s theology from the way he arranged and prioritized his doctrines pastorally in his Standard Sermons. This demonstrates that he began with the evangelical doctrine of the Reformation on Justification and the Atonement (focusing on Christ), understood regeneration and assurance in relation to the Holy Spirit, and saw the sovereign grace of God the Father as extending to ‘all his works’. The underlying structure is Trinitarian. His much misunderstood doctrine of ‘perfection’ was inherited from the Fathers and was his most creative contribution to Evangelical theology, but needs further development and clarification. 254 • EQ Thomas A. Noble sectarianism. It needs to be developed in a fully Trinitarian way so that the living experience of ‘real...

Research paper thumbnail of A Disappearing People: The Doctrine of Election and Predestination from Irenaeus to Augustine

Abstract: The broad contours of the doctrine of election and predestination from the second to th... more Abstract: The broad contours of the doctrine of election and predestination from the second to the fifth centuries involve a decided shift from a fundamentally corporate conception to a fundamentally individual conception, from the election of the Church as a visible whole to the election of a hidden few, from election as the context of salvation to election as identified with salvation and destiny, from a fundamentally temporal and historical framework to a fundamentally eternal and ahistorical framework, from predestination being subsumed under election to election being subsumed under predestination, from an inclusive yet particular people to an exclusive aggregate, from the supposition of the historic and continuing election of Israel to the implicit denial of the election of Israel as a people, and finally from the Church as God's chosen nation to the Roman Empire as taking over or at least sharing in the political dimension of the Church's election.