What Role Does Natural Theology Have in Reformed Thinking?
Should Reformed Christians engage in natural theology? Or ought we to follow Karl Barth’s famous “nein” to natural theology and instead claim with Barth that all theology starts with Christ? The classical Reformed answer, according to J. V. Fesko, is to answer no to Barth and yes to natural theology. He has a point. The Gallican Confession (1559), The Belgic Confession (1561), the Canons of Dort (1618–1619), and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) affirm ideas like the book of nature, innate knowledge in terms of common notions, or the light of nature. And in particular, Anthony Burgess, a framer of the WCF, penned...