Three weeks. That's all I have before I must submit the thesis I will defend.
My interview with my supervisor went alright but I have some work to do on chapter 4. He said that I need to synthesize the material, not just precis is. I know what Watson's Doctrine of Repentance is. I know how he talked about it, what he said about it, and how it interacted with other elements of his theological system... but now I need to ask the question: "Why Repentance? and why then?" Was he responding to something specific? Was he combating something going on during that time? What was going on in his lifetime that provoked him to write a full book on the topic and why did he keep bringing it up in his preaching?
On the surface it is plain that repentance is an important part of the Christian faith, it is a theological necessity and so why not preach about repentance? Digging a little deeper we could theorize that Watson was attempting to meet a need for his time and place. The need for repentance. Why does any people 'need' repentance more than any other people? There are a few reasons. Watson probably perceived an ignorance among his fellow Englishmen. He was educated at Emmanuel College which was set up for the purpose of supplying a thin and corrupt Church of England with learned and godly ministers. He speaks plainly about the importance of the intellect and how ignorance will always lead to sin and error. With the average English citizen relying on questionable priests and bishops for their spiritual and educational needs it is reasonable to assume that Watson was trying to combat wide-spread ignorance and (Catholic) superstition.
He spends a good amount of time explaining what repentance is and what it is not. Beyond just general ignorance it is also safe to assume that there was ignorance, confusion, and even conflicting ideas about repentance. He specifically addresses the Papist, Arminian, Antinomian, and Carnal Protestant misunderstandings about repentance. He also lists three false repentances in his first book and then expands them to six false repentances in his last book... and his last book is a summary! Clearly this was important. He wanted to make sure that people were not confused, which makes me think that they were confused. As already established the theological and spiritual education of the people was generally poor but beyond that England had flip flopped between Anglican, Catholic, Anglican, Puritan, Anglican, with two monarchs leaning back toward Catholic. This was a time of theological confusion for the nation with strong opinions on several fronts vying for attention. During the Puritan revolution religious and ideological tolerance opened the floodgates for everyone to voice their opinions and write books; something that was firmly controlled by the monarchy beforehand. A flood of new ideas about absolutely everything created both growth and chaos. Several religious groups sprang up like theological weeds and were eager to spread their ideas.
I think he also saw a spiritual need among his fellow Christians. He strongly exhorts them towards repentance and links failure to live the Christian life with a failure to repent. His theology of grace is Calvinistic, grace is from God, human beings can not earn their salvation. But he encourages them so strongly to try their absolute hardest that you might sometimes wonder if he had Arminian leanings. In any case, repentance as important for Christian life, not just theology, it was a practical and central, even foundational aspect living as a Christian.
Another aspect that he was probably reacting to was that religion was easy for so long. The hierarchy and structure of the Anglican and Catholic churches did not encourage a personal faith. Parishioners spoke the liturgy, listened to a homily (perhaps in a language they couldn't understand) and took Communion. The Puritans always and at all times sought to reform the Church from the inside out, bringing spiritual vitality to, what they perceived to be, a pale and sleepy (dying) church. Watson, like many Puritans put immense importance on the work of the Holy Spirit and in Preaching the Word of God. Repentance is the starting place for spiritual vitality. He is preaching to Churchmen who may have false exteriors, have fear or apathy or lethargy or bad motivations. Repentance is what they need to hear.
Finally, Watson saw England as a profoundly sinful place. He may have over exaggerated in his descriptions but exaggeration or not, he saw a need for repentance among sinners. I'm not sure if he calls them 'Nonchristians' or if everyone in England was assumed to be Christian. In any case, he spends a great deal of time putting forth arguments for people to turn away from their sins; theological, practical, instructive, and communal.
So what's the tally so far?
Instruction / Teaching (typical of a Puritan Preacher but also because England was full of ignorance)
Theological Correction (against false doctrine / false repentance, and a sinful culture[?])
Pastoral Care (Christians overcome by sin, lethargy, apathy, scars of the religious instability of the past; repentance is extremely practical doctrine)
Aaaand now I realize that this is the exact same structure that he uses for ALL of his writings... Proclamation, Explanation, and Exhortation. Perhaps my new list is nuanced a little differently but dang... I pulled that from the ground up and was not expecting to land back where I started.
I suppose this isn't a bad thing. Full sail ahead, we have a deadline to meet!
