The Nature and Function of Faith in the Theology of John Calvin

The Nature and Function of Faith in the Theology of John Calvin
Author: Victor A. Shepherd
Publisher: Regent College Publishing
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2004
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781573833288

"This fine study exemplifies the best kind of historical theology: penetrating in its reading of the texts, attentive both to the detail and to the scope of its subject-matter, and, above all, alert to the fact that in the history of Christian thought we are in the sphere of theology, church and faith. A wide circle of new readers will find great profit in studying this rich account of a rich theme." John Webster, University of Aberdeen

John Calvin

John Calvin
Author: T. H. L. Parker
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0664231810

John Calvin was one of the most important leaders of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. In this revision of his major biography, T. H. L. Parker explores Calvin's achievement against the backdrop of the turbulent times in which he lived. With clear and concise explanations of Calvin's theology, analyses of his major works, and insights into his preaching, this definitive biography brings this crucially important reformer and his world to life for readers.

The Concept of Faith

The Concept of Faith
Author: William Lad Sessions
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1994
Genre: Faith
ISBN: 9780801428739

Faith lies at the heart of human life, and not just in religious contexts. But just what is faith? In this book William Lad Sessions ventures a new approach to this age-old problem. Viewing it in global terms, he provides an effective and insightful set of analytical tools for deepening our understanding of the ideas of belief.

The Unaccommodated Calvin

The Unaccommodated Calvin
Author: Richard A. Muller
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2001-12-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0195348567

This book attempts to understand Calvin in his 16th-century context, with attention to continuities and discontinuities between his thought and that of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors. Muller pays particular attention to the interplay between theological and philosophical themes common to Calvin and the medieval doctors, and to developments in rhetoric and method associated with humanism.

One with Christ

One with Christ
Author: Marcus Peter Johnson
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2013
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433531496

Foundational to believers' salvation is their union with Christ. In this accessible introduction, Johnson argues that this neglected doctrine is the lens through which all other facets of salvation should be understood.

The Supremacy of God in the Theology of Samuel Rutherford

The Supremacy of God in the Theology of Samuel Rutherford
Author: Guy M. Richard
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2009-02-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1606084798

This book presents the first modern in-depth study of the theology of one of the most influential figures in post-Reformation Scotland, Samuel Rutherford (c. 1600-1661). Although much has been written over the years about Rutherford's political thought or about his nearly mystical piety, very little actually has appeared in print about his theology. Among those hwo have written Rutherford's theology in the past, none have done so in a comprehensive, systematic manner, and none have devoted any attention at all to examining Rutherford's Latin treatises. The current work seeks to fill both lacunae, by presenting Rutherford's theology, beginning with the doctrine of assurance, and by drawing chiefly upon what is arguably his magnum opus theologiae, the Examen Arminianismi. The Examen, which consists of lectures Rutherford delivered to his divinity students at St. Andrews University, is the closest thing he has to a proper systematic theology text. But because it is also a polemical treatise, aimed primarily against the Arminians, the Examen provides a context for us to engage not only with the seventeenth-century dispute over Arminianism, but also with the more contemporary debate of Calvin vs. the Calvinists.

The Extent of the Atonement

The Extent of the Atonement
Author: G. M. Thomas
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2007-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1597527424

Reformed theologians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were led by their doctrine of predestination to consider whether Christ had died only for Òthe elect.Ó This work traces the way they tackled the extent of the atonement. Giving close attention to the Reformers, the debates of the Synod of Dort (1618-1619), and the Amyraldian controversy, it demonstrates that, up to and including the Swiss Consensus of 1675, the Reformed Churches were never able to achieve solid and lasting agreement on this point, and aims to explain why. As it follows these debates, this work provides insights into the process of the construction of Reformed theology. It ends by suggesting that the long-lasting difficulties experienced by the Reformed over predestination and the extent of the atonement point to a need for a new departure by those who stand in the Reformed tradition today.

Reformed Preaching

Reformed Preaching
Author: Joel Beeke
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 605
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433559307

Preaching today all too often tragically misses the point. We've all heard sermons that sound more like a lecture, filling the head but not the heart. And we've all heard sermons tailored to produce an emotional experience, filling the heart but not the head. But biblical preaching both informs minds and engages hearts—giving it the power to transform lives. By the Spirit's grace, biblical preaching brings truth home from the heart of the preacher to the heart of the hearer. Joel Beeke—a pastor and professor of preaching with over four decades of experience—explores the fundamental principles of Reformed experiential preaching, examining sermons by preachers from the past and bridging the historical gap by showing pastors what the preaching of God's life-transforming truth looks like today.

Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion Volume 8

Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion Volume 8
Author: Jonathan L. Kvanvig
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2017-09-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0192533606

Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion is an annual volume offering a regular snapshot of state-of-the-art work in this longstanding area of philosophy that has seen an explosive growth of interest over the past half century. Under the guidance of a distinguished editorial board, it publishes exemplary papers in any area of philosophy of religion.

The Act of Faith

The Act of Faith
Author: Eric O. Springsted
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2015-02-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725235374

While the question "Is faith reasonable?" has continually occupied philosophers and theologians, little attention has been paid to what faith itself is. The Act of Faith remedies this neglect by looking at what it means for a person of Christian faith to believe. Eric Springsted contrasts modern views of faith with the Christian tradition running from Augustine through Aquinas and Calvin. In reviewing such thinkers as Locke and Hume, Springsted discovers that behind modern discussions of the reasonableness of faith lie key assumptions about the human self, including the views that the good is a matter of choice and that we can exercise objective, uninvolved reason. According to Springsted, however, the church has not viewed faith in this way. His survey of the Augustinian tradition shows that the self our most esteemed Christian thinkers had in mind when talking about faith was a "moral self"--one defined by character and self-involvement. Christian faith is at root a participation in the good, and reasoning within faith is reasoning within the life of God. Drawing on contemporary philosophers and theologians like John Henry Newman and Simone Weil, Springsted builds a fresh understanding of faith for today. He shows how the "inner act" of faith is ultimately a radical willingness to be open to God, and he argues that the faithful self is one that develops within a community that shapes its members through the morally formative activities of interaction, teaching, and sacramental practice.