Who was Francis Turretin?

Francis Turretin (1623—1687), also known as François Turretini, was a Reformed Scholastic theologian who lived and ministered in Geneva. Being Reformed, Turretin adhered to the doctrine of the Reformers, specifically the teachings of John Calvin and Theodore Beza. As a Scholastic, Turretin was committed to precisely analyzing, explaining, and defending the Reformed perspective of Scripture to systematize the doctrine. Turretin was quite influential among the later Puritans and is still today considered one of the most notable of the Scholastics.

Turretin was born in the Republic of Geneva into an Italian family. His father, Benedict Turretin, was a minister and professor in the Geneva Academy. Francis attended the academy and then furthered his education in schools across Europe. Upon finishing school, Francis returned to Geneva where he took the pastorate of the Italian church in Geneva. Later, in 1653, he became a professor of theology at the Geneva Academy. He was eventually appointed chair of the theology department, a position he held, along with his pastorate, for the rest of his life.

Francis Turretin was a staunch defender of Genevan orthodoxy, and he put much effort into refuting the errors of the Jesuits, Socinians, Arminians, and others. He also tackled the theology of Moise Amyraut, who lent his name to Amyraldism, a system of belief that denied the Reformed doctrine of limited atonement.

Following his Scholastic method, Dr. Turretin sought “to explain the importance of the principal controversies which lie between us [the Reformed] and our adversaries” (Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, trans. by Giger, G. M., P&R Publishing, 1992—1997, “Preface”, p. xl). Typically, Turretin would pose a question, explain the main sticking point according to each side, and discern the best evidence to support the truth. Turretin would also anticipate objections from his challengers and address those.

The pinnacle of Turretin’s scholarship was a three-volume work called Institutio Thelogiae Electicae (Institutes of Elenctic Theology), published from 1679 to 1685. (Elenctic means “apologetic or defensive, especially in an indirect manner.”) Originally written in Latin, Turretin’s magnum opus was translated into English in 1997. It’s a massive work in any language: the Latin edition of 1847 was almost 1,800 pages long. Turretin had planned a major revision of his work, but he died before he could accomplish that.

Besides his Institutes, Turretin published sermons and various disputations, including On the Satisfaction of Christ and On Our Necessary Secession from the Roman Church. He also co-wrote the Helvetic Consensus Formula, a treatise against Amyraldism, with J. H. Heidegger and Lucas Gernler. The writings of Turretin had a major influence on the Puritans, including John Owen, and impacted later theologians such as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Hodge.

Here are some quotes from Francis Turretin, taken from the Institutes of Elenctic Theology:

“If hatred of sin is necessary to God, then penal justice is equally necessary because the hatred of sin is the constant will of punishing it.”

“The Spirit is the teacher; Scripture is the doctrine which he teaches us.”

“The subject of free will is neither the intellect, nor the will, but both faculties conjointly.”

“The threefold misery of men introduced by sin—ignorance, guilt and the tyranny and bondage by sin—required this conjunction of a threefold office. Ignorance is healed by the prophetic; guilt by the priestly; the tyranny and corruption of sin by the kingly.”