Richard J. Mouw
Eerdmans, 144 pages
Published February 29, 2024
Reformed theology has historically been associated with a cold rationalism and dispassionate intellectualism — a critique with a certain grain of truth. This observation is typically associated with the Reformed doctrine of election (predestination) and the belief that only a small number of people will be saved. In Divine Generosity, scholar Richard Mouw argues for a more expansive and generous view of God’s salvation.
While Mouw’s claims will certainly challenge, and perhaps even offend, the staunch Calvinist, he does not subscribe to universalism or to postmodernism’s rejection of Christological exclusivity. Instead, Mouw heavily relies on and grounds his reflections within mainline Reformed theological tradition, particularly in the writings of the 19th-century Reformed scholars he refers to as the “Old Princeton” theologians. Relying on the writings of Reformed theologians such as Benjamin Warfield, A. A. Hodge and Herman Bavinck, Mouw makes his case for a more expansive view of God’s work of salvation.
Furthermore, Mouw finds a more expansive view of God’s salvific grace in the Reformed confessions, such as the 17th-century Westminster Confession, which refers to God’s saving work for other “elect” persons who do not have access to the Gospel. Mouw demonstrates a remarkable theological curiosity and significant pastoral sensitivity when discussing the salvation of those who have been deeply wounded by Christians and the church (and therefore resist anything the church might present), including the Gospel. He raises theological questions of whether they are saved and whether God will show them mercy and grace out of a divine generosity. The Reformed confessions, Mouw contends, leave room for God’s generosity and grace to be extended to such persons, encouraging readers to consider a more expansive reach of God’s grace than they otherwise might have contemplated.
Mouw does not succinctly close every loop or settle every question that is raised. However, this wondering is intrinsically the purpose of his book. Mouw wants us to consider that salvation (while still Christocentric) may entail a broader divine generosity than Reformed theology has historically considered. Mouw carefully threads the needle of proposing an expansive Reformed theological view of salvation, one that is neither universalist nor minimalist but proposes a divinely generous soteriology, reminding his readers that Calvinism is fundamentally a “theology of surprises.” Mouw opens with a more traditional (even gloomy) theological tradition of severely limited atonement, and he concludes with a more positive, optimistic and grace-full view of God’s power to save.
Mouw encourages us to think that – just maybe – divine mercy is more generous than our human capacity can conceive. In Paul’s words from Ephesians 3:20, God’s mercy is “able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” Reformed Christians who have learned that much of creation lies outside God’s grace and salvation may find a more hopeful openness in Mouw’s work. Divine Generosity simultaneously and fervently asserts God’s absolute sovereignty in the act of salvation, affirms Reformed orthodoxy and challenges the reader to consider that God’s work of salvation might be imbued with more mercy and grace than some think possible.
Presbyterian Outlook supports local bookstores. Join us! Click on the link below to purchase Divine Generosity: The Scope of Salvation in Reformed Theology from BookShop, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. As an affiliate, Outlook will also earn a commission from your purchase.
Want to join our monthly newsletter for book lovers? Sign up here.
