The Federal theology of Thomas Boston
Thomas Boston (1676-1732) was a parish minister of the Church of Scotland and a theologian. He was involved in what has come to be known as the Marrow Controversy. This dispute concerned a book entitled The Marrow of Modern Divinity which the Church of Scotland condemned as heretical but which Boston believed to be a fine expression of orthodox Christian theology. In modern times, however, Boston has been the subject of contradictory and incompatible interpretations. There are those who regard Boston as a consistent federal Calvinist who was in complete agreement with the Westminster Confession of Faith. There are also those who argue that certain elements in Boston's theology ran counter to the teaching of the Confession and these, if followed through consistently, ought to have led to the rejection of federal theology. The object of the thesis was to determine which school of thought is correct in its interpretation of Boston. To establish this we have examined Boston's teaching on nine doctrines: the Covenants; the Person of Christ; The Atonement; Predestination; Regeneration; Justification; Sanctification; Repentance and Assurance. On the basis of this we conclude that he was indeed a consistent federal
McGowan, Andrew Thomson Blake
Marrow controversy
The Federal theology of Thomas Boston. Thomas Boston (1676-1732) was a parish minister of the Church of Scotland and a theologian. He was involved in what has come to be known as the Marrow Controversy. This dispute concerned a book entitled The Marrow of Modern Divinity which the Church of Scotland condemned as heretical but which Boston believed to be a fine expression of orthodox Christian theology. In modern times, however, Boston has been the subject of contradictory and incompatible interpretations. There are those who regard Boston as a consistent federal Calvinist who was in complete agreement with the Westminster Confession of Faith. There are also those who argue that certain elements in Boston's theology ran counter to the teaching of the Confession and these, if followed through consistently, ought to have led to the rejection of federal theology. The object of the thesis was to determine which school of thought is correct in its interpretation of Boston. To establish this we have examined Boston's teaching on nine doctrines: the Covenants; the Person of Christ; The Atonement; Predestination; Regeneration; Justification; Sanctification; Repentance and Assurance. On the basis of this we conclude that he was indeed a consistent federal
federal theology thomas boston thomas boston parish minister church_scotland theologian involve come_know controversy dispute concern book entitle modern divinity church scotland condemn heretical boston believe fine expression orthodox christian_theology modern_time however boston subject contradictory incompatible interpretation regard boston consistent federal calvinist complete agreement westminster confession faith also_argue certain_element boston theology run counter teach confession follow consistently ought lead rejection federal theology object determine school_think correct interpretation boston establish examine boston teach doctrine person_christ atonement predestination regeneration justification sanctification repentance assurance basis conclude indeed consistent federal