The Reformed churches of the sixteenth century affirmed the need to be semper reformanda–always reforming.
But in the ensuing centuries, some have taken this conviction as a mandate to abandon the departure from received orthodoxy, while others have progressed toward a rigid confessionalism that cements the Reformation itself as a final codification of truth.
Between these extremes is the ongoing need of the church to be always reforming–subjecting its beliefs and practices to the renewed scrutiny of Holy Scripture and restating the truth of Scriptures in ways that faithfully communicate the gospel, advance the mission of the church and empower the people of God.
This collection of essays by senior theologians and edited by A. T. B. McGowan practices what it preaches, mining the whole terrain of systematic theology to refresh, renew and yes, even reform the church for its next season.
Here’s the details:
Title: Always Reforming: Explorations in Systematic Theology
Editor: A. T. B. McGowan
Publisher: IVP Academic
Publishing Date: March 2007
Pages: 386
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0-8308-2829-X
Retail Price: $26.00
Preface: Available online here
Intro: Available online here
Here’s the table of contents:
- The Trinity: Where Do We Go from Here? – Gerald Bray
- Observations on the Future of System – Stephen Williams
- Classical Christology’s Future in Systematic Theology – Robert L. Reymond
- On the Very Idea of a Theological System: An Essay in Aid of Triangulating Scripture, Church and World – Kevin J. Vanhoozer
- The Atonement as Penal Substitution – A. T. B. McGowan
- The Relationship between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology – Richard C. Gamble
- Old Covenant, New Covenant – Henri Blocher
- Union with Christ: Some Biblical and Theological Reflections – Richard B. Gaffin, Jr
- Justification: The Ecumenical, Biblical and Theological Dimensions of Current Debates – Cornelis P. Venema
- The Doctrine of the Church in the Twenty-First Century – Derek W. H. Thomas
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