JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE
of
Williams, D. H. “Justification by Faith: a Patristic Doctrine” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History,
(October 2006): Volume 57, Issue 4, pp. 649 - 667
Contents
Introduction.……………………………………...……………………………..……………………. 1
Brief Summery……………………………………………………………………….………………. 1
Critical Interaction…………………………………………………………………………..……….. 2
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………...… 2
Selected Bibliography……………………………………..………………………………………… 3
Introduction
This purpose of this review will be discussing exactly when the concept of justification by faith appeared in church history and deal with the critizisms of the early church fathers by many with a focus on Alister McGrath. . In this journal article D. H. Williams deals with the issue of justification by faith in the writings of Paul and the criticism leveled at Augustine and the early church fathers through the lens of the sixteenth century reformers which believed they relied more on Greek philosophy than the Bible. He discusses the justification by faith concept and how it was in practice before the reformation by using the writings of Hilary of Poitiers and his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.
As Williams carefully crafts a basic defense of Hilary and some early church fathers like Augustine. He does point out that there was a battle over the doctrine of justification by faith or ‘sola fida’. He makes it clear that the battle over this doctrine was over the idea of man and his responsibility in salvation, “Yet it does attribute to the early Church an inner conflict within its intellectual negotiation between the Bible and philosophy, and between genuine Christian development and corruptions of it, especially as it affected soteriology.” (WILLIAMS 2006, 653) Williams goes on to point out that although the doctrine of justification was certainly discussed it was overshadowed during the early part of church history with the main...