Measuring the Distance between Locke and Toland

Jonathan S. Marko (BS, MDiv, PhD) is Assistant Professor of Philosophical and Systematic Theology at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"This book is a fine example of 'revisionist' scholarship done properly. It is not a 'creative' or 'liberating' new interpretation, but an insightful re-reading of the primary texts and scholarly literature that is historically, philosophically, and theologically well informed."JOHN W. COOPER, PhD, Professor of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary"Jonathan Marko's Measuring the Distance between Locke and Toland provides new insight into the close relationship between Locke and Toland on the issue of reason and revelation, demonstrating greater proximity between their positions than has been previously argued. Beyond this, Marko's revisionist paradigm of the spectrum of opinion on reason and revelation illuminates our understanding of the wider debates of the era among traditionalists, Lockians, and deists - all in all a highly significant addition to the literature."RICHARD A. MULLER, Senior Fellow, Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research; P.J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology, Emeritus, Calvin Theological Seminary"The story of the rise of deism often mentions connections between John Locke and John Toland, but those connections are not well understood. Scholarship on Toland, in particular, suffers from longstanding misinterpretations of his views. In this groundbreaking study, Marko provides insights into the thought of both Locke and Toland and sets both figures into their larger intellectual context."RONALD J. FEENSTRA, Academic Dean, Professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary"Marko states a clear thesis and proceeds to defend it by careful reasoning and accurate exposition of relevant texts. In the course of so doing he demolishes the fiction that Toland is simply 'Locke minus revelation,' and patiently expounds their writings, and those of Stillingfleet, with a view to showing how misreadings of Toland's relationship with Locke have arisen."ALAN SELL

• Acknowledgments1 Introduction2 The Locke-Stillingfleet Controversy: From False Start to Footing for Exploring Locke's and Toland's Epistemologies3 Locke's Incorporation of Faith and Revelation within Reason4 Toland's Incorporation of Faith and Revelation within Reason5 Conclusions and ImplicationsBibliographyIndex