Always Reforming

A collection of essays mines the whole terrain of systematic theology to refresh, renew, and reform the church for its next season, featuring contributions from senior theologians like Gerald Bray, Henri Blocher, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and Stephen Williams among others. Original.

"Always Reforming highlights the fact that in the modern era the notion of heresy has fallen apart. Every church has been declared heretical at some time or other by another church, and it is not the role of the historian to decide who is right or wrong on doctrinal issues. Christians have adapted to sweeping social changes, including scientific discoveries and changing world-views." "This volume attempts to uncover some of the hidden dynamics of faith within the many ways in which other Christians have tried to live out the gospel in an uncertain world. It also demonstrates that all human institutions, including churches, change over time."--Jacket.

The community of evangelicals sometimes seems so broad as to defy definition, but theological conservatism has been one consistent marker. Now, says theologian Roger Olson, postconservatism is moving beyond conventional battles against liberalism and heresy to posit a dynamic and realistic approach. While conservatives strive to preserve tradition and protect orthodoxy, postconservatives urge openness to doctrinal reform without abandoning orthodoxy. Where differences exist between doctrine and Scripture, doctrine must be brought into conformity with the Word. Postconservatives want to free evangelical theology from its paradoxical captivity to rationalism and its obsession with "facts" so that it may recognize truth in experience and personal knowledge. Theologians, pastors, seminarians, and serious thinkers will find many depths to plumb in this exhaustive survey of critics, advocates, and fellow travelers on the evangelical journey.

Luther challenges the academy to speak beyond itself. Whatever the theological malady, Martin Luther prescribed the same remedy: the word of God. For Luther, the Word was central to the Christian life. As a lover, translator, and interpreter of Scripture, Luther believed the Bible was too important to be left to academics. God's word has always been and must always be for God's people. What, then, can biblical studies learn from Luther? In Always Reforming, leading Lutheran, Reformed, and Baptist scholars explore Martin Luther as an interpreter of Scripture. The contributors elucidate central themes of Luther's approach to Scripture, place him within contemporary dialogue, and suggest how he might reform biblical studies. By retrieving Luther's voice for the conversations of today, the contributors embody a spirit that is always reforming.

The Necessity of Reforming the Church is a seminal work of Protestant theology, written by Jean Calvin in the 16th century. The book argues for a radical reform of the Catholic Church, emphasizing the importance of Biblical authority and individual conscience. This edition also includes a paternal admonition by Pope Paul III to the Emperor Charles V, and remarks on the paternal admonition. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

People tend to place the Reformers on a pedestal and act like they completed the revolution, but they did not. Why was the Protestant Reformation only a partial restoration? It was because they used the literal method of interpreting the Bible selectively. Ever Reforming will guide the reader to understand all that needed to be reformed, how the Reformers started the process, and the way in which that led to Dispensational Theology and the full recovery of the literal method of interpreting God's Word.

From places like John Piper's den, Al Mohler's office, and Jonathan Edwards's college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today's young Calvinists tick. Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today's twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence. For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow's church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors.

Challenging the dominant Van Tillian approach in Reformed apologetics, this book by a leading expert in contemporary Reformed theology sets forth the principles that undergird a classic Reformed approach. J. V. Fesko's detailed exegetical, theological, and historical argument takes as its starting point the classical Reformed understanding of the "two books" of God's revelation: nature and Scripture. Believers should always rest on the authority of Scripture but also can and should appeal to the book of nature in the apologetic task.