‘Holy Love’: Rediscovering, Reclaiming, and Repurposing P.T. Forsyth’s Hermeneutic for the Modern Era

Abstract The theme of ‘holy love’ was utilized by P.T. Forsyth to respond to the Enlightenment-heavy theology of the German Liberal school from which he emerged. His phrase, ‘holy love’, sought to counteract the inadequate theology of Liberalism which, he argued, robbed God of His holiness in order to satisfy an earthly view of God’s love. Forsyth’s conversion from Liberalism allowed him to interact with Continental theologians when most British theologians felt unable or unwilling to do so. By reconnecting the holiness of God as an attribute of correlation with His love (‘God is love’ 1 John 4:16 and ‘Holy is He’ Psalm 99:3), Forsyth sought to reclaim his understanding of the Gospel from an increasingly popular Liberalism that veered towards humanistic utopianism (until the outbreak of WW1 when it would decline in popularity until the growth-driven aftermath of WW2). This article will introduce the theme for this month’s journal, contextualize Forsyth’s usage of the theme in relation to his contemporaries, before demonstrating how he engaged with Liberalism’s nebulous forms in his own day and translating those principles to theological aberrations in our own. Forsyth’s argument was prescient for his day as he rebutted a human-driven progressive utopianism that minimized humanity’s sinful predispositions; it continues to be a useful corrective today in light of the growth of the aberrant gospels and pseudo-Biblical spiritualism which promise access to, and control of, the Divine with little recognition of the holiness of the Divine that sets God apart as King of Kings.