Why heaven kissed earth : the christology of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680)

Jones, M. (2009)

Doctoral Thesis

My dissertation, “Why Heaven Kissed Earth”, looks at the Christology of the Reformed theologian and English Puritan, Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680). The thesis attempts to answer a question first posed by St. Anselm of Cantebury, namely, Cur Deus Homo (“Why did God become man?). Goodwin answers that particular question by arguing that in the eternal counsels of God the three persons in the Trinity undertook to provide salvation for mankind. The Father arranged how this would be accomplished; the Son was chosen to assume a human nature and act as Mediator on behalf of the people the Father had chosen; and the Holy Spirit applied the work of the Father and of the Son to those whom the Son acted as Mediator. The focus of the dissertation is on the Son, which includes both his person (i.e. the God-man) and his work. There are few works on Christology in the English Puritan tradition and so this dissertation makes a unique contribution not only to understanding one of the most famous Puritans, but to the tradition in general. In addition, students of Christology are better able to place the various trajectories of Christological thought over the ages with this study on Thomas Goodwin.

• Christology
• Puritanism
• Reformed Orthodoxy
• Thomas Goodwin

• All authors: Jones, M.
• Supervisor: Wall, E.G.E. van der; Haykin, M.A.G.
• Committee: Asselt, W.J. van; Buisman, J.W.; Meijering, E.P.; Trueman, C.R.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2009-10-07
• Court: LEI Universiteit Leiden