John Calvin's Ecclesiology


Book Description

This unique work analyzes the crisis in modern society, building on the ideas of the Frankfurt School thinkers. Emphasizing social evolution and learning processes, it argues that crisis is mediated by social class conflicts and collective learning, the results of which are embodied in constitutional and public law. First, the work outlines a new categorical framework of critical theory in which it is conceived as a theory of crisis. It shows that the Marxist focus on economy and on class struggle is too narrow to deal with the range of social conflicts within modern society, and posits that a crisis of legitimization is at the core of all crises. It then discusses the dialectic of revolutionary and evolutionary developmental processes of modern society and its legal system. This volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society by a leading scholar in the field provides a new approach to critical theory that will appeal to anyone studying political sociology, political theory, and law.




Theology of John Calvin


Book Description

This historically significant volume collects Karl Barth's lectures on John Calvin, delivered at the University of Göttingen in 1922. The book opens with an illuminating sketch of medieval theology, an appreciation of Luther's breakthrough, and a comparative study of the roles of Zwingli and Calvin. The main body of the work consists of an increasingly sympathetic, and at times amusing, account of Calvin's life up to his recall to Geneva. In the process, Barth examines and evaluates the early theological writings of Calvin, especially the first edition of the Institutes.







Christian Community Now


Book Description

This co-authored volume is the outcome of an ecumenical speaking and listening that has involved a continuing conversation between four theologians over a period of more than two years. The scholars are active members of the mainline churches in the UK, Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic. They propose that the Church will live as it grows in self-understanding, in the light of the claim that her purpose is to focus attention on God, Creator, Redeemer, and Living Presence. In so doing they address key debates in the US and European contexts, as well as dealing with matters of pressing concern in the wider global church. What does it mean to say that the Church in herself and on behalf of the world bears witness to and celebrates the presence of God in contemporary ethics, worship, governance and mission? The authors have sought to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical theology, and ecclesiology. Key features are accessibility, the highly pertinent nature of the themes it covers, its academic purpose and its awareness of the parish and ministerial contexts.




People and Place


Book Description

In this final volume of a four-volume series, Michael Horton explores the origin, mission, and destiny of the church through the lens of covenantal theology. Arguing that the history of Israel and the covenant of grace provide the proper context for New Testament ecclesiology, Horton then shows how the church is constituted through the ascension of Christ, the Pentecost, and the Parousia and how it continues to live by the Word and sacraments. Horton's goal is to demonstrate the potential of a covenantal model for integrating the themes of the church as people and as place, with an urgent concern for contemporary practice.




Jesus and the Old Testament


Book Description




Theology of the Reformers


Book Description

First released in 1988, this 25th Anniversary Edition of Timothy George’s Theology of the Reformers includes a new chapter and bibliography on William Tyndale, the reformer who courageously stood at the headwaters of the English Reformation. Also included are expanded opening and concluding chapters and updated bibliographies on each reformer. Theology of the Reformers articulates the theological self-understanding of five principal figures from the period of the Reformation: Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Menno Simons, and William Tyndale. George establishes the context for their work by describing the spiritual climate of their time. Then he profiles each reformer, providing a picture of their theology that does justice to the scope of their involvement in the reforming effort. George details the valuable contributions these men made to issues historically considered pillars of the Christian faith: Scripture, Jesus Christ, salvation, the church, and last things. The intent is not just to document the theology of these reformers, but also to help the church of today better understand and more faithfully live its calling as followers of the one true God. Through and through, George’s work provides a truly integrated and comprehensive picture of Christian theology at the time of the Reformation.




The Arminian Confession of 1621


Book Description

In 1621, two years after their hopes for free and open debate were dashed at the Synod of Dort, the colleagues and students of Jacobus Arminius published the 'Confession or Declaration of the Pastors, which in the Belgian Federation are called the Remonstrants, on the principle articles of the Christian Religion.' The first and perhaps most important of Arminian confessions, written by Simon Episcopius (Arminius' successor at the University of Leiden and leader of the Remonstrant party at Dort) and then approved at a gathering of Remonstrant pastors, provided not only a defense of the Òfive pointsÓ condemned at Dort, but also a succinct declaration of the entire range of their theology. This fresh, unabridged translation of the Confession, the first since 1676, together with the original Latin, allows the contemporary reader to interface directly with theology of the original Remonstrant leaders without the intervening interpretations of either their opponents or later admirers.




Calvin's Ecclesiastical Advice


Book Description

These forty-six letters and writings of John Calvin, translated into English, demonstrate how Calvin applied the theology of the Institutes and the biblical exegesis of his commentaries to issues of everyday life. Here, Calvin gives advice to individuals and groups about theology, ethics, worship, politics, economics, and church practices. Topics discussed include dogmatics and polemics, changes (and the need for changes) in religion, the worship of images, ecclesiastical discipline, marriage, and justice. Each writing is introduced by an identification of the receiver of the advice and an explanation of the subject matter itself. This volume is useful for understanding Calvin's theology and its application to Christian life.




Calvin, Participation, and the Gift


Book Description

Is the God of Calvin a fountain of blessing, or a forceful tyrant? Is Calvin's view of God coercive, leaving no place for the human qua human in redemption? These are perennial questions about Calvin's theology which have been given new life by Gift theologians such as John Milbank, Graham Ward, and Stephen Webb. J. Todd Billings addresses these questions by exploring Calvin's theology of `participation in Christ'. He argues that Calvin's theology of `participation' gives a positive place to the human, such that grace fulfils rather than destroys nature, affirming a differentiated union of God and humanity in creation and redemption. Calvin's trinitarian theology of participation extends to his view of prayer, sacraments, the law, and the ecclesial and civil orders. In light of Calvin's doctrine of participation, Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the Gift discussion and opens up new possibilities for contemporary theology, ecumenical theology, and Calvin scholarship as well.