"It is terrifying to realize what use can be made of a genuine evangelical doctrine. In both cases we have the identical formula--'justification by faith alone.' Yet the misuse of the formula leads to the complete destruction of its very essence."
Was MacDonald Anti-Catholic?
Being a life-long Catholic with some background in Catholic theology as well, along with being a very long time fan of George MacDonald, I was at first dismayed some years ago to discover what I thought to be some anti-Catholic remarks. I do not claim to be an expert in Catholic theology or an expert on George MacDonald. I do claim to ardently follow both and to have been influenced for the best, I hope, by both...
George MacDonald and His Work, by G.K. Chesterton
William Barclay's Commentary on John 3: Born Again
In the New Testament, and especially in the Fourth Gospel, there are four closely interrelated ideas. There is the idea of rebirth; there is the idea of the kingdom of heaven, into which people cannot enter unless they are reborn; there is the idea of being children of God; and there is the idea of eternal life...All these ideas have a common thought behind them...
Ex Deo: Plotinus, Origen, and MacDonald’s Doctrine of Creation, by Dean Hardy
According to William Raeper, MacDonald believed that “men and women were born out of the heart of God, not Ex Nihilo as traditionally held by the church, and thus MacDonald aligned himself with the Neo-Platonic theories of Plotinus and Origen” (Raeper 1987:243). MacDonald operated under the shadow of Plato; thus not only will MacDonald’s view be explored, but also be compared and contrasted with the neo-platonic doctrines of Plotinus and Origen.
