This long-standing series provides the guild of religion scholars a venue for publishing aimed primarily at colleagues. It includes scholarly monographs, revised dissertations, Festschriften, conference papers, and translations of ancient and medieval documents. Works cover the sub-disciplines of biblical studies, history of Christianity, history of religion, theology, and ethics. Festschriften for Karl Barth, Donald W. Dayton, James Luther Mays, Margaret R. Miles, and Walter Wink are among the seventy-five volumes that have been published. Contributors include: C. K. Barrett, Francois Bovon, Paul S. Chung, Marie-Helene Davies, Frederick Herzog, Ben F. Meyer, Pamela Ann Moeller, Rudolf Pesch, D. Z. Phillips, Rudolf Schnackenburgm Eduard Schweizer, John Vissers

The range and sweep of John Calvinís theology have rarely been more comprehensively presented than in this book. This analysis illuminates Calvinís ideas and helps to set them into the framework of their time.

A unique resource for the study of John Calvin's theology, its reception, and insights for today.

Throughout the two-thousand-year span of Christian history, believers in Jesus have sought to articulate their faith and their understanding of how God works in the world. How do we, as we examine the vast and varied output of those who came before us, understand the unity and the diversity of their thinking? How do we make sense of our own thought in light of theirs?

This book is the first major study of Calvin's doctrine of the Lord's Supper in twenty-five years and the first attempt to show the eucharistic shape of Calvin's entire theology. The core of Calvin's doctrine of the Eucharist is the analogy of ÒfeedingÓ on Christ, the Bread of Life. This analogy, argues Gerrish, links Calvin's thoughts to the ÒHoly BanquetÓ with the rest of his theology. The systematic character of Calvin's theology rests in part on his consistent understanding of God as father and fountain of good and his conception of the gospel as the message of free adoption. The father's liberality in feeding his children and their answering gratitude (or lack of it) is a thread that runs through Calvin's entire summary of piety; creation, the work of Christ, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.

In this thorough investigation of Calvinist doctrine, John Leith defines the Reformer's teaching on Christian life in the context of his theology. He begins with a discussion of what it means to say that the purpose of Christian life is the glory of God. He then discusses Christian life in relation to four aspects of Calvinist thought: justification by faith alone; providence and predestination; history and the transhistorical; church and society.Leith's concluding statement summarizes the importance of this book. "Calvin's doctrine of the Christian life represents a magnificent effort to give expression to what it means to have to do with the living God every moment of one's life. No interpretation of the sola gloria Dei ["only God's glory"] has been more vivid and dynamic than Calvin's. For this reason he speaks to the needs of this generation, which, at least until recently, has been more frequently concerned about the glory of humankind than that of God and which has fallen victim to many false gods and vicious ideologies. Yet if Calvinism is to render its full service to our day, it must be interpreted in the context of the shared faith of the total Christian community. On the basis of Calvin's own principles, no human statement of Christian faith can ever be final and must be continually reformed by the Christian community's apprehension of the word of God as revealed in Jesus Christ."

The revival of interest in the Protestant Reformation in the mid-twentieth century was marked by several studies of John Calvin. J.F. Jansen, however, noted that these had shed new light on almost every aspect of his thought except that which lies at the heart of his theology – the doctrine of Christ’s work. In Calvin’s Doctrine of the Work of Christ, Jansen corrects this omission, providing a fresh study of Calvin’s work in this area with special reference to his exegetical writings. Besides critiquing Calvin’s development of the doctrine, he also examines the traditional theological formula of the three offices of Christ as prophet, priest and king. Reacting against the return to this formula by contemporary theologians such as Emil Brunner, he shows that an alternative conception of Christ’s work is possible.