In 1923, Karl Barth delivered a series of lectures, offering his theological commentary on the Reformed confessions. These lectures are collected here, allowing readers rare insights into the mind of a great theologian. The Columbia Series in Reformed Theology represents a joint commitment by Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster John Knox Press to provide theological resources from the Reformed tradition for the church today. This series examines theological and ethical issues that confront church and society in our own particular time and place.

With the rise of Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century and growth in the charismatic movement since, a resurgence of interest in the Holy Spirit and Christian spirituality in both theology and the church’s life has become evident. Along with increased interest in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, there are criticisms of the treatment of the doctrine in church history for having neglected the Holy Spirit in both theology and the church’s life. Critical studies of the treatments of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in church history have been laboriously conducted. However, there have not been many studies on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Reformed orthodoxy, particularly in its confessional standards. Recognizing the gap in the history of scholarship, this work explores and provides a systematic account of the person and some aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit as presented in the major Reformed confessions and catechisms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Attention is particularly given to those aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit that have not been greatly explored but are pertinent to contemporary discussions.

This research guide introduces scholars to the field of Reformed theology, focusing on works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the English language. Martha Moore-Keish explores twenty-one major theological themes, with attention to classical as well as current works.

Christian theology, classically defined, is faith's intellectual work of seeking understanding, not in order to prove its truth but to persuade those who hear it proclaimed. Theology done from within the Reformed tradition has long displayed this quality, and it continues to develop in response to our changing world. "Reformed Theology: Identity and Ecumenicity" is an excellent resource for readers interested in examining current trends and motifs in Reformed thought. Written by systematic theologians from around the world, this book explores the meaning of the Reformed tradition and its relevance for the contemporary church. The contributors highlight ways that Reformed theology can enrich the church ecumenical even as they seek to realize a more catholic Reformed community of inquiry. Contributors: P. Mark Achtemeier Wallace M. Alston Jr. H. Russel Botman Eberhard Busch Dawn DeVries Margit Ernst Gabriel Fackre Douglas Farrow David Fergusson Botond Gaal Colin Gunton George Hunsinger William Stacy Johnson Yung Han Kim Ulrich H. J. Kortner Jan Milič Lochman Bruce L. McCormack Peter McEnhill Daniel L. Migliore Piet J. Naude Milan Opocě nsky Jan Rohls Dirk Smit George W. Stroup A. van de Beek Leanne Van Dyk Michael Weinrich Michael Welker Myung Yong Kim Carver T. Yu

Questions of ecclesiology abound, and Karl Barth has been regarded as an unhelpful conversation partner and guide for those who care about ecclesiology and the place of the church in the academic pursuit of theology. The Only Sacrament Left to Us recovers Barth's doctrine of the threefold Word of God and shows that it is at the heart of his ecclesiological commitments, and that he offers a distinct and robust doctrine of the church worthy to be carried forward into the twenty-first-century debates about the church's place in God's economy. Thomas Christian Currie explores the central role of the threefold Word of God in Barth's theology of the church, explains its place in Barth's later doctrine of reconciliation, and seeks to engage the field of Barth studies with contemporary ecclesiological questions.

An overview and analysis of John Webster’s seminal contributions to Christian theology At the time of his death, John Webster was widely hailed as one of the leading Christian theologians in the world. Over the course of three decades, he produced groundbreaking studies on the theologies of Eberhard Jüngel and Karl Barth and, especially since the turn of the millennium, numerous books and essays on various themes in Christian dogmatics. He then intended to write an encyclopedic systematic theology—a project he was unable to complete. No substitute is possible for that lost opus, but the contributors offer this volume as an homage to Webster and an aid to those who want to learn from him. A Companion to the Theology of John Webster begins with an introductory section on Webster’s theological development, then continues into an extensive overview of Webster’s contributions to contemporary discussions of particular doctrines. An epilogue suggests how Webster’s theology might have unfolded had he lived longer and imagines the continuing influence of his work on the enterprise of Christian dogmatics. Readers hoping to understand the legacy of this great theologian, and also those eager for fresh insights into the present state and future trajectories of contemporary Protestantism, will find much to offer here.

Christians have sometimes professed that the church ought to be "in the world but not of it," yet the meaning and significance of this conviction has continued to challenge and confound. In the context of persecution, Christians in the ancient world tended to distance themselves from the social and civic mainstream, while in the medieval and early modern periods, the church and secular authorities often worked in close relationship, sharing the role of shaping society. In a post-Christendom era, this latter arrangement has been heavily critiqued and largely dismantled, but there is no consensus in Christian thought as to what the alternative should be. The present collection of essays offers new perspectives on this subject matter, drawing on sometimes widely disparate interlocutors, ancient and modern, biblical and "secular." Readers will find these essays challenging and thought-provoking.