Coffee House Sessions EP03 James Dolezal: James' Story, Theology's Handmaiden and John Owen's Thomism.
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Mar 30, 2023 
James Dolezal, academic theologian and author known for work on classical theism, discusses philosophy as theology's handmaiden. He traces his turn to philosophy, explains divine simplicity across traditions, and explores John Owen’s surprising debt to Aquinas. The conversation also tackles biblicism, modern skepticism from Kant and Hume, and how Scripture relates to natural knowledge.
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From Loathing Philosophy To Reading Aquinas
- James Dolezal confessed he loathed philosophy until his late 20s and read it with hostility because trusted voices called it dangerous.
- A turning point came when he read Puritans and Aquinas seriously and saw philosophy functioning as a faithful handmaiden to theology.
Confessional Language Led To Medieval Metaphysics
- Dolezal's doctoral project began by probing the Westminster/39 Articles language God is 'without body, parts or passions' and tracking why that metaphysical term 'parts' mattered for apologetics.
- That led him into medieval metaphysics (Aristotle, Aquinas, Cajetan) because 17th-century Puritans were borrowing those frameworks.
Puritans Cited Aquinas Without Apology
- Many Reformed theologians (John Owen, Turretin) positively engaged Thomas Aquinas and medieval sources without apology, contradicting modern assumptions of an anti-scholastic puritanism.
- Recovering that engagement reframes the 'classical Reformed' tradition as continuous with medieval metaphysical resources.
