Power and Right

In this compelling work, Baylor draws on the works of John Owen to address critiques of a Reformed theology of Godâs power and right. Modern outlooks on the world often encourage individuals to think of themselves as free and self-possessed sovereigns, rather than as subjects responsible to some higher authority. Christian responses to this have rightly sought to re-assert the creatureâs dependence upon God, often focusing criticism on modernityâs possessive moral logic, and its disenchanted view of the world. However, Protestant theology is frequently caught in the crossfire, because many argue that the disenchantment of the modern world is driven by a Protestant vision of Godâs rule as absolute and arbitrary.

This rigorous study shows that Reformed theology has the resources to answer these criticisms and offer a compelling account of Godâs rule. Baylor turns to Owenâs theology of divine âdominionâ, an attribute that sought to integrate reflection on Godâs power and justice. By tracing Owenâs richly textured vision of the creatureâs relation to God, Baylor shows that Reformed theology sought to condition our notions of God's power by the forms of the creature's dependence upon God within Godâs moral economy. In doing so, this book offers a nuanced account of Godâs relation to creatures, and a powerful rebuttal to contemporary critics that depict Reformed visions of Godâs power as arbitrary and tyrannical.