Nature and Grace

Definition and Meaning

In this context, "nature" does not refer only to mountains, rivers, and plants. It denotes everything belonging to the created order, including human reason, conscience, culture, and social order. "Grace" is the grace that God bestows freely. The topic addresses questions such as the following:

• Does any capacity for good remain in human nature after the Fall?
• Does grace perfect nature, or does it renew it?
• Can God be known by reason apart from faith? The field that addresses this question is called natural theology.

Biblical and Historical Background

Three passages are commonly cited in support. Psalm 19:1 states that the heavens declare the glory of God. Romans 1:20 states that God's eternal power and Godhead are revealed in the things that are made. Romans 2:14–15 addresses the conscience of the Gentiles.

• Middle Ages: Thomas Aquinas held that "grace does not destroy nature but perfects it." This understanding became a foundation of Roman Catholic theology.
• Reformation: Martin Luther and John Calvin emphasized that sin had corrupted the whole of human nature. They held that humanity's natural capacities cannot be relied upon for salvation.
• Twentieth century: In 1934 Emil Brunner published Nature and Grace, arguing that a "point of contact" for grace remains in human beings. Karl Barth responded the same year with No!, rejecting natural theology.
• Reformed tradition: Abraham Kuyper developed the doctrine of common grace. Herman Bavinck advanced the view that grace restores nature. Francis Schaeffer criticized the dualism that divides nature and grace into a lower and an upper story, arguing that it gave rise to secularization.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the subject is more often treated through the paired terms "common grace and special grace" and "general revelation and special revelation" than under this name. The emphasis differs by denomination and theological tradition.

• Reformed Presbyterians: Presbyterian denominations and seminaries that identify with the Reformed tradition have been influenced by Kuyper and Bavinck. On the basis of common grace, they teach believers to engage in scholarship, the arts, and politics. This teaching has given rise to the Christian worldview movement and an emphasis on the cultural mandate.
• Methodists and Holiness churches: These denominations, which stand in the tradition of Wesleyan theology, emphasize prevenient grace. They hold that, because of the grace God extends beforehand, even fallen human beings have a conscience and the capacity to respond to the gospel.
• Discussion of Barth in academic theology: Barth's critique of natural theology is frequently presented in studies of neo-orthodoxy. Conservative Reformed scholars tend to treat Barth's view of revelation critically.
• Comparison with Roman Catholicism: Roman Catholicism develops a natural law ethic on the basis of the Thomistic synthesis. This point is often raised in comparisons with Protestantism.