Journal: Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal
Volume: RPTJ 08:1 (Fall 2021)
Article: The Bible In John Owen’s Early Writings
Author: John W. Tweeddale

RPTJ 8:1 (Fall 2021) p. 46

The Bible In John Owen’s Early Writings1

John W. Tweeddale

Academic Dean and Professor of Theology Reformation Bible College

John Owen (1616–1683) devoted his life to the Bible. In this sense, he was a man of his age. As the historian Christopher Hill has argued, “The Bible was central to all intellectual as well as moral life in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.”2 More specifically, for “most men and women” who lived during the English Revolution, including Owen, “the Bible was their point of reference in all their thinking.”3 In keeping with the teaching of the Reformation, Owen believed that the sixty-six books of the Protestant canon formed the epistemological foundation for matters of theology and practice.4 The principle of sola Scriptura, in other words, provided the intellectual and moral framework for English dissenters like Owen to view the world. In particular, Owen’s literary output was a product of the biblical culture of English Puritanism.5 His commitment to Scripture served as the normative baseline for his voluminous writings and gave shape to his over-eight-million-word corpus.6 For Owen, the Bible was not merely a “polemical weapon” but also a “devotional aid” and “theological resource.”7 Whether writing doctrinal treatises, polemical diatribes, political tracts, or practical handbooks, interpreting Scripture was the most basic characteristic of Owen’s prolific writing career. In what follows, we will survey a cross-section of Owen’s early writings (from before his most prolific period of writing after the Restoration), to illustrate his development as a biblical interpreter and scholar.

RPTJ 8:1 (Fall 2021) p. 47

Pastor And Polemicist

Owen published his first book in 1643 with the title A Display of Arminianisme.8 While “no masterpiece” and lacking in “literary elegance,” in the judgment of Peter Toon, the book was designed to expose what Owen believed was the unbiblical teaching of Arminian theology.9 Owen used a straightforward method whereby he “laid open” Arminian teachings “discovered out of their owne [sic] writings and confessions, and confuted by the Word of God.”10 Relying on ...