Victor Nuovo

John Locke professed Christianity, and his The Reasonableness of Christianity and A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St Paul relate mainly to human nature. Locke acknowledged two sources of human knowledge: Nature and Scripture. Locke adhered to a high anthropology: human nature was designed to be immortal and incorruptible, and mankind's destiny is to be raised to a state of immortal bliss to dwell in a transfigured spiritual body. His reflections on power are also relevant. The distinction between active and passive power is used to comprehend the whole of being: God's power is purely active and originating; material bodies seem only to exhibit passive power; and in between are created spirits. Locke's reflections on personal identity are also apropos, most especially his idea of the self as consciousness. His interpretations of Scripture display a remarkable canniness notable particularly in his high anthropology and his messianism.

The word “Hermeneutics” has an exotic aura that may seem uncharacteristic of Locke. It was not one that he employed, nor is it commonly used by his contemporary interpreters, which are reasons enough to require an explanation of its prominence in the title and in the discussion that follows. “Locke’s theory and practice of interpretation” may seem a plainer and more suitable choice of words to characterize the subject of this study, although it is a less convenient alternative, employing several words to express what could be said well enough by one. However, my choice of “hermeneutics” has been prompted by other considerations than the mere economy of words. It is to be preferred, because of its rich associations, which, I believe, direct interpreters to themes in Locke’s philosophy that otherwise might go unnoticed. And this should lead to the discovery of a more fulsome and deeper, although perhaps more problematic wisdom, than is commonly supposed to be found in his writings, and perhaps also to a sense of greater, although here also more problematic, unity among them. The meaning of the word and its cognates afford us a more informative philosophical prospect than the more limited Early Modern, by harking back to Antiquity and pointing forward to Kant and beyond, facilitating the discovery in Locke’s writings of resonances with past tradition and anticipations of philosophical problems and solutions with which it is commonly supposed he had little to do. The aim of this exercise is not to fit Locke into new surroundings, but to consider him anew, hermeneutically, which necessitates that attention be paid to internal contexts of Locke’s several writings, and the “thread and coherence” of his various discourses. A comparison of these internal contexts should make it possible to decide whether there may not be a mode of thinking common to them all that, once identified and clarified, may serve as a trace or connector that unites them into a single expression of thought.

The Reasonableness of Christianity is a major work by one of the greatest modern philosophers. Published anonymously in 1695, it entered a world upset by fierce theological conflict and immediately became a subject of controversy. At issue were the author’s intentions. John Edwards labelled it a Socinian work and charged that it was subversive not only of Christianity but of religion itself others praised it as a sure preservative of both. Few understood Locke’s intentions, and perhaps no one fully. This new collection describes the background to Locke’s book and documents the disputes that followed its publication. Providing an invaluable insight into the context of its conception and reception, it includes contributions by Samuel Bold, John Edwards, Charles Blount, and Daniel Waterland, bringing the discussion up to the eighteenth century. Also included is a review of the Reasonableness found among Locke’s unpublished papers and published here for the first time. The volume will be of interest to philosophers of religion and theologians as well as historians.

Locke asserts that the Bible is an infallible source of divine revelation, and that human reason has the capability of establishing its authenticity and determining its meaning. But he apparently fails to justify these claims anywhere in his writings, notwithstanding his awareness of serious challenges to biblical authority. This incongruity can be resolved. Locke did offer a proof of the authenticity of the Bible, but it has gone unnoticed because of its form and character. Analogous to natural theological arguments founded on evidence in nature of divine wisdom and power and goodness, his proof is cumulative and scattered among his writings. A principal source is a work by Faustus Socinus, known to Locke. The form of the argument, its strategy, and its occurrence in Locke’s writings are presented in the remaining part of the chapter.

John Locke was a founder and shaper of modern thought and society, and his books are among the most influential ever written. He lived at a time of heightened religious sensibility, and religious motives and theological beliefs were fundamental to his philosophical outlook. Victor Nuovo brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive collection of Locke's writings on religion and theology. Read together, and in context, these writings illustrate the deep and pervasive religious motivation in Locke's thought. They are key texts in intellectual history.