Reforming Good Works

: The Nature and Necessity of Good Works in the Theology of Bénédict Pictet (1655-1724)

Abstract

Bénédict Pictet (1655-1724), Genevan theologian and heir to Francis Turretin’s chair of theology, has long been regarded as a major Reformed theologian. Recent scholarship has advanced a new interpretation of him as a “theologian of transition” who began turning away from the high orthodoxy of Francis Turretin and toward the more positive and practical Enlightened Orthodoxy of Jean-Alphonse Turretini.
Our study challenges this contemporary interpretation by pursuing an investigation of Pictet’s understanding of the nature and necessity of good works against the background of a wide range of texts and contexts. Along the way, we show that the contemporary interpretation of Pictet as a “theologian of transition” between the two Turretins rests upon a significant methodological error—that of regarding one of Pictet’s earlier works, his 1696 Theologia christiana, as his major theological text, and drawing conclusions from the positive method Pictet employs in that text about his theology as a whole.
We show that Pictet’s major theological text is, rather, his 1721 La théologie chrétienne, a work more than seven times the length of the Theologia christiana and which Pictet pairs with his La morale chrétienne as containing “my entire theology.” The 1721 La théologie chrétienne features hallmarks of the very kind of high orthodoxy that advocates of the “theologian of transition” thesis claim Pictet rejected.
We also expand the research question beyond Pictet’s position “between the two Turretins,” considering his doctrine of good works in light of his broader intellectual-historical context, one that includes Pictet’s early exposure to, and remarkable programmatic affinities with, a movement known as the Dutch “Further Reformation” (Nadere Reformatie). In the end, we find that Pictet was not a “theologian of transition” between the Reformed high orthodoxy of Francis Turretin and the Enlightened Orthodoxy of Jean-Alphonse Turretini, so much as a theologian of integration who aimed to forge a compelling link between the theoretical and practical dimensions of theology, as exhibited in his doctrine of good works.

Date of Award	1 Oct 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Jon Balserak (Supervisor), Lindsey A Davidson (Supervisor) & Toby Matthiesen (Supervisor)