Synopsis:
In this exciting volume, new and emerging voices join senior Reformed scholars in presenting a coherent and impassioned articulation of Calvinism for today's world. Evangelical Calvinism represents a mood within current Reformed theology. The various contributors are in different ways articulating that mood, of which their very diversity is a significant element. In attempting to outline features of an Evangelical Calvinism, a number of the contributors compare and contrast this approach with that of Federal Calvinism currently dominant in North American Reformed theology, challenging the assumption that Federal Calvinism is the only possible expression of orthodox Reformed theology. This book does not, however, represent the arrival of a "new Calvinism" or even a "neo-Calvinism," if by those terms are meant a novel reading of the Reformed faith. An Evangelical Calvinism highlights a Calvinistic tradition that has developed particularly within Scotland, but is not unique to the Scots. The editors have picked up the baton passed on by John Calvin, Karl Barth, Thomas Torrance, and others, in order to offer the family of Reformed theologies a reinvigorated theological and spiritual ethos. This volume promises to set the agenda for Reformed-Calvinist discussion for some time to come.
Endorsements:
"This valuable collection illustrates the diversity of the Reformed tradition . . . By concentrating on its evangelical center, particularly with respect to the love of God enacted in the person and work of Christ, these essays offer internal criticism of some aspects of the tradition, while also revitalizing some of its core themes. The volume is set to stimulate a vigorous discussion of the meaning of evangelical Calvinism."
--David Fergusson, coeditor of The Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology
"[This is] a challenging treasure trove of material mined from Calvin and examining, in the light of moderns such as Torrance and Barth, his essential legacy historically, theologically, and pastorally. This is a book to be read and re-read for the vital contribution it offers to deepening and reinvigorating evangelical Calvinism today."
--Robert T. Walker, coauthor of Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ
Author Biography:
Myk Habets is Lecturer in Systematic Theology, and Director of the R. J. Thompson Centre for Theological Studies at Carey Baptist College and Graduate School, Auckland, New Zealand. His publications include Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance (2009), The Anointed Son (Pickwick, 2010), and Trinitarian Theology after Barth, edited with Phillip Tolliday (Pickwick, 2011).
Bobby Grow is a PhD candidate in Systematic Theology at South African Theological Seminary, a theologian-at-large, and runs several theological blogs. He lives with his wife and two kids in Vancouver, Washington.
