Book Description

Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) was a forgotten giant of the Protestant Reformation. With a legacy that spanned from Naples to Zurich to Oxford, Vermigli left behind him voluminous biblical commentaries and treatises, and a band of faithful disciples who collected his writings into the massive theological compendium, the Loci Communes. "On Original Sin" represents the first installment of a new project to translate the Loci into English for the first time since 1583, Presented here in a clear, readable, and learned translation, Vermigli's searching discussion of original sin reveals the biblical and patristic foundations of this controversial doctrine, and its centrality to Protestant orthodoxy. Along the way, Vermigli offers a scathing critique of the semi-Pelagian Catholic theologian Albert Pighius and defends the Augustinian understanding of sin and grace, in a treatise marked by exegetical skill, historical erudition, and philosophical sophistication."Vermigli's Commonplaces became one of the most influential of all Reformed systematic theologies, especially in the English-speaking world. Kirk Summers has translated the selection of these commonplaces pertaining to the pivotal Christian teaching concerning Original Sin and rendered them into lucid, legible, modern English. For any scholar or aspiring theologian attuned to the Reformed tradition this volume should be obligatory reading." -W.J. Torrance Kirby, McGill University, author of The Zurich Connection and Tudor Political Theology "Peter Martyr Vermigli is undoubtedly one of the most significant Reformed theologians of the sixteenth century and his Common Places is the crown jewel of his collected works. The rendering of this work into contemporary English is a great service to the understanding of Reformation thought and will be enriching for scholars and pastors alike. Vermigli's theological training and acumen are on full display here and the results are rightly esteemed as a masterwork of Reformed theology."-Jordan J. Ballor, The Acton Institute, Junius Institute, author of Covenant, Causality, and Law: A Study in the Theology of Wolfgang Musculus"With this precise but grandly readable translation, Reformation scholars owe a debt of gratitude to the editors and translator for this initial volume in this new series on Peter Martyr Vermigli's Commonplaces. Kirk Summers has faithfully and eloquently rendered Vermigli who is here at his subtle and forceful best; and has thus opened to a wider audience the Reformer's thought on some of the questions most central to the disputes of the sixteenth century."-Gary Jenkins, Eastern University; author of Calvin's Tormentor's: Understanding the Conflicts that Shaped the Reformer