Manfred Svensson – författare

Aristotle's moral and political thought formed the backbone of education in practical philosophy for centuries during the classical and medieval periods. It has often been presumed, however, that with the advent of the Protestant Reformation, this tradition was broken. Originally a topic belonging to Roman Catholic polemics, this interpretation of Protestant relations with Aristotle gradually became a part of the Protestant self-understanding as well. Lack of engagement with the actual curriculum of early Protestant schools allowed Luther's dismissive comments on Aristotle to be taken as representative of early Protestant teaching. In The Aristotelian Tradition in Early Modern Protestantism Manfred Svensson shows how the days of this view as a dominant narrative are over. Between 1529 and 1670, Protestants published around 55 commentaries on the Ethics and around 15 on the Politics, several of these in numerous editions. In academies and universities in Lutheran and Reformed territories throughout the Reformation and post-Reformation era, the exposition of these works continued to form the backbone of moral and political education. This tradition has, however, largely flown under the radar and is now for the first time presented in a comprehensive way. Offering a discussion of the medieval context and debt to Renaissance Aristotelianism, Svensson maps the relationships between these commentaries and their authors, presenting their shared understanding of practical philosophy in its relation to the Christian faith and offering in-depth discussions of key ethical and political concepts.

It is widely acknowledged that appeals to tolerance are not as persuasive as they once were. Some argue that such calls simply reinforce the permissiveness that plagues our society. Others argue that tolerance does not go far enough and that positive recognition of differences should be our aim. To these, tolerance is judgmental and insulting. In response to these critiques, some seek to recover the lost foundations of tolerance as a virtue of coexistence without reciprocal affirmation. As An Augustinian Essay on Toleration shows, many of the problems affecting contemporary tolerance discourse were already present in the early modern world, where these lost foundations are typically sought. This explains the need for this more radical project of recovery that draws from Augustine and the Augustinian tradition. Like other classical authors, Augustine treats tolerance as a virtue needed in the face of adversity and evil. Unlike these other authors, however, Augustine offers deep philosophical reflections on evil that provide relevant reasons for toleration. This book demonstrates that Augustine's views on evil, history, personhood, conflict, and hope are consistent with a constructive Augustinian view of tolerance. The book discusses the nature of tolerance as a virtue, its place as a political practice, and questions of toleration that arise in relation to intermediate associations.

AQUINAS AMONG THE PROTESTANTS This major new book provides an introduction to Thomas Aquinas’s influence on Protestantism. The editors, both noted commentators on Aquinas, bring together a group of influential scholars to demonstrate the ways that Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed thinkers have analyzed and used Thomas through the centuries. Later chapters also explore how today’s Protestants might appropriate the work of Aquinas to address a number of contemporary theological and philosophical issues. The authors set the record straight and disavow the widespread impression that Aquinas is an irrelevant figure for the history of Protestant thought. This assumption has dominated not only Protestant historiography but also Roman Catholic accounts of the Reformation and Protestant intellectual life. The book opens the possibility for contemporary reception, engagement, and critique and even intra-Protestant relations and includes: Information on the fruitful appropriation of Aquinas in Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed theologians over the centuriesImportant essays from leading scholars on the teachings of AquinasNew perspectives on Thomas Aquinas’s position as a towering figure in the history of Christian thoughtAquinas Among the Protestants is a ground-breaking and interdenominational work for students and scholars of Thomas Aquinas and theology more generally.

This volume scrutinizes this grand narrative theoretically and empirically, and proposes alternative accounts of the varied relationships between diverse interpretations of religion and secularity and multiple secularizations, desecularizations, and forms of toleration.

This volume scrutinizes this grand narrative theoretically and empirically, and proposes alternative accounts of the varied relationships between diverse interpretations of religion and secularity and multiple secularizations, desecularizations, and forms of toleration.