"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

Peter Ross examines how John Calvin might assist Pentecostals in the development of a global Pentecostal theology by examining the views of each on pneumatology and the Christian’s union with Christ. He conducts a conversation between the two within the contexts of the assurance of faith; providence and guidance; and justification—each an area in which the Spirit and the union are substantially involved for both parties. He also looks closely at Spirit release, showing that this Pentecostal distinctive can sit well as an extension from Calvin’s thought. Ross shows that affinities exist between Pentecostals and Calvin in these contexts. These affinities clearly identify Calvin’s thought as a rich resource for Pentecostals; one they should not hesitate to mine as they develop their own global theology.

Christian Faith as Religion investigates the theologies of John Calvin and Friedrich Schleiermacher with respect to the questions: What is Religion? and What is Christian Religion? The author argues that the classical and liberal exemplars of Protestant theology are best compared when these two questions are thoroughly examined, and calls into question the contention of neo-orthodox theologians Karl Barth and Emil Brunner that Schleiermacher's theological use of the category "religion" signifies a departure from the tradition of the Reformation. He offers a revised comparative framework that discloses the material and formal similarities between Calvin and Schleiermacher with respect to their employment of the categories "religion" and "revelation" and allows the historical theologian to delineate the trajectory that accounts for both continuity and discontinuity in the transition from classical to modern Protestant theology. This allows the systematic-hermeneutical question of a contemporary Protestant theology informed by the historical and philosophical study of religion to be taken up anew.

The Columbia Series in Reformed Theology represents a joint commitment on the part of Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster John Knox Press to provide theological resources from the Reformed tradition for the church today. The Reformed tradition seeks to discern what the living God revealed in Scripture is saying and doing in every new time and situation. This series intends to be a part of that ongoing tradition by examining theological and ethical issues that confront church and society in our particular time and place. Volumes in this series are intended for scholars, professional theologians, and for pastors and lay people who are committed to faith in search of understanding.

This study of John Calvin's ecclesiology argues that Calvin's idea of the twofold identity of the Church--its spiritual identity as the body of Christ and its functional identity as the mother of all believers--is closely related to his understanding of Christian identity and life, which are initiated and maintained by the grace of the triune God. The anthropological basis of Calvin's idea of the Church has not been examined fully, even though Calvin presents the important concepts of his ecclesiology in light of his anthropological ideas. This study offers an overall evaluation for Calvin's ecclesiology, arguing that it is ultimately his pastoral concern for the Christian and the Church under affliction that both governs his theological understanding of the Church and shapes his proposals for establishing and sustaining the life of the Church in the world.

How does John Calvin understand and depict the relationship of God with humanity? Until this study, the most influential readings of Calvin have tended to assume a dialectical divine-human opposition as fundamental to his thought. In this fresh consideration of Calvin's Christian vision his consistent and pervasive appeal to the Trinity in understanding the divine-human relationship is delineated and imaginatively rendered. Tracing the trinitarian theme in its many dimensions throughout the reformer's work, Philip Butin offers a revised look at the vital role of the Trinity in Calvin's thought, in the process recovering Calvin as a significant historical source for contemporary trinitarian theological reflection.

Academic writing is not a neutral medium for conveying truth; its powers and faults must be exposed before theology entrusts its mysteries to the academic text. To that end, William Wright, en route to putting Calvin’s Salvation in Writing, institutes a new theological genre, “theography”: theology that “confesses” its academic parameters--with both gratitude and repentance. He delineates those parameters by contrasting the philosophical rationales for writing found in Hegel and Derrida. Drawing on their insights into dialectic and difference, Wright sets out Calvin’s doctrine of justification and sanctification across a shifting written terrain. Observing Calvin’s doctrinal structure thus becomes a path to save academic writing from claiming for itself either too much or too little. Calvin's Salvation in Writing: A Confessional Academic Theology is the philosophically boldest employment of Calvin to date. Through innovatively mining Calvin’s theology, William Wright designs a new method of theology that will enliven the field.

John Calvin’s understanding of the extent of the atonement achieved in Christ’s death is one of the most contested questions in historical theology. In common thought, Calvin’s name is closely associated with the ‘limited atonement’ stance canonized within the ‘TULIP’ acronym, but Calvin’s personal endorsement of a strictly particularist view, whereby Christ died for the elect alone, is debateable. In Calvin on the Death of Christ, Paul Hartog re-examines Calvin’s writing on the subject, traces the various resulting historical trajectories, and engages with the full spectrum of more recent scholarship. In so doing, he makes clear that, while Calvin undoubtedly believed in unconditional election, he also repeatedly spoke of Christ dying for ‘all’ or for ‘the world’. These phrases must be held central if we are to discover Calvin’s own view of the subject. Hartog’s conclusions will surprise some, and may hold significant implications for the Calvinist tradition today. Throughout, however, they are cogently articulated and sensitively pitched.

In Theology Made Practical , Joel R. Beeke, David W. Hall, and Michael A. G. Haykin declare the significance of John Calvin’s life and ideas—particularly his contributions to systematic theology, pastoral theology, and political theology—as well as the influence he had on others through the centuries. With focused studies related to the Trinity, predestination, the Holy Spirit, justification, preaching, missions, principles of government, welfare, and marriage, this book demonstrates how Calvin’s thought has been, and still is, a dynamic wellspring of fruitfulness for numerous areas of the Christian life. More than 450 years since Calvin experienced the beatific vision, his thinking about God and His Word still possesses what our culture passionately longs for—true relevancy. Table of Contents: Part 1: Calvin’s Biography 1. The Young Calvin: Preparation for a Life of Ministry—Michael A. G. Haykin 2. Practical Lessons from the Life of Idelette Calvin—Joel R. Beeke Part 2: Calvin’s Systematic Theology 3. “Uttering the Praises of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit”: John Calvin on the Divine Triunity —Michael A. G. Haykin 4. Calvin on Similarities and Differences on Election and Reprobation—Joel R. Beeke 5. Calvin on the Holy Spirit—Joel R. Beeke 6. Explicit and Implicit Appendixes to Calvin’s View of Justification by Faith —David W. Hall Part 3: Calvin’s Pastoral and Political Theology 7. Calvin’s Experiential Preaching—Joel R. Beeke 8. John Calvin and the Missionary Endeavor of the Church—Michael A. G. Haykin 9. Calvin on Principles of Government—David W. Hall 10. Calvin on Welfare: Diaconal Ministry in Geneva—David W. Hall 11. Christian Marriage in the Twenty-First Century: Calvin on the Purpose of Marriage—Michael A. G. Haykin Part 4: Calvin’s Legacy 12. Calvin’s Circle of Friends: Propelling an Enduring Movement—David W. Hall 13. Calvin as a Calvinist—Joel R. Beeke 14. Calvinism and Revival—Michael A. G. Haykin