A theological framework for the liturgical arts rooted in John Calvin Both detractors and supporters of John Calvin have deemed him an enemy of the physical body, a pessimist toward creation, and a negative influence on the liturgical arts. But, says W. David O. Taylor, that only tells half of the story. Taylor examines Calvin's trinitarian theology as it intersects his doctrine of the physical creation in order to argue for a positive theological account of the liturgical arts. He does so believing that Calvin's theology can serve, perhaps surprisingly, as a rich resource for understanding the theological purposes of the arts in corporate worship. Drawing on Calvin's Institutes, biblical commentaries, sermons, catechisms, treatises, and worship orders, this book represents one of the most thorough investigations available of John Calvin's theology of the physical creation—and the promising possibilities it opens up for the formative role of the arts in worship.

Stemming from the Desiring God 2009 National Conference, Julius Kim, Douglas Wilson, Marvin Olasky, Mark Talbot, Sam Storms, and John Piper invite us to sit with Calvin in the theater of God, marveling at his glory.

An extensive study of Calvin's theology of the natural order exploring five key themes: providence, angels, the image of God, societal life, and the redemption of creation.

In today's confused and confusing world, it is good to be shown once more that God is never absent. That is the heartening message of 'Ichabod toward Home'. In this volume one of today's most respected biblical scholars explores the nature of God's glory, using the engaging story of the ark of the covenant to illuminate the meaning of God's presence - not only for the ancient Israelites but for the whole world. Offering a unique entry into Old Testament theology, Walter Brueggemann examines 1 Samuel 4-6, the biblical text in which the ark of God is captured by the Philistines, seen to be a dangerous threat, and finally returned to Israel. In looking anew at what this story reveals about God's glory - or kabod, from which the name Ichabod derives - Brueggemann builds a powerful new theology of God's sovereignty. Additionally, Brueggemann demonstrates that this ancient story of the ark has profound relevance today. The three-day story of the ark's capture, detention, and return is transposed, first, into the three-day Christian story of Easter and, second, into the three days of the modern consumer weekend. In a provocative contemporary application of Old Testament theology, Brueggemann shows that the Ark narrative, in its rendering of God's glory, strongly contradicts the dominant narrative of our own culture, with its strident emphasis on self-indulgence, narcissism, and self-sufficiency.

This volume outlines a Christian theology that takes worship as its basic framework, as the occasion of not only an approach toward God in piety but also separation from God in sin. Drawing on Luther, Calvin, and especially Karl Barth, Matthew Myer Boulton builds a Reformed liturgical theology, maintaining that the God of Jesus Christ is a "God against religion," one who saves human beings from religion by entering it, transforming it, and ultimately ending it.

In this careful study of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Reformed theologian Yudha Thianto sets Calvin's writings in their historical context and outlines the significant aspects of his theology for those who would know more about Calvin's works and through it, the God who inspired them.

Theology is inherently theatrical, rooted in God's performance on the world stage and oriented toward faith seeking performative understanding in the theatre of everyday life. Following Hans Urs von Balthasar's magisterial, five-volume Theo-Drama, a growing number of theologians and pastors have been engaging more widely with theatre and drama, producing what has been recognized as a "theatrical turn" in theology. This volume includes thirteen essays from theologians and pastors who have contributed in distinct ways to this theatrical turn and who desire to deepen interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and theatre. The result is an unprecedented collection of essays that embodies and advances theatrical theology for the purpose of enriching theological reflection and edifying the church.