A number of you have enquired about my dissertation and its possible publication. I promise not to bring this up all the time, but I received final comfirmation that my dissertation has been accepted by Herman Selderhuis (ed.) for the series in Reformed Historical Studies with the German academic publisher Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. There are some very good books in this series, especially the volumes by J. Mark Beach (on Turretin) and Cornel Venema (on Calvin).
I hope to have the book in print by the time of my ceremony, which will be, Lord willing, in late September or early October. So, if you are interested in getting a copy, the best thing to do will be to wait till I (hopefully) graduate in Sept (09). I say this because I may have 10-15 copies (out of the 20) that the examining committee do not wish to keep. So, you may be able to get the volume at cost. Or, you can be a cheap-skate and read most of it on google books.
BTW, the title is: “Why Heaven Kissed Earth: The Christology of Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680)”.
The work will be far from perfect, and I already know what I’d do differently next time, but one’s first book is really just an entry into academia and should not be the project he lives or dies on. Thus, I wont at all be surprised when I become the victim of a few negative reviews … but, hey, I’m a Pastor and that’s just about the best preparation you can have for the onslaughts that invariably come from the academy!
Here is a version of my review of: The Law is Not of Faith: Essays on Works and Grace in the Mosaic Covenant, eds., Bryan D. Estelle, J.V. Fesko, and David van Drunen (P&R Publishing, 2009), 358 pp.
FYI, I’ve sent this review to a number of friends and acquaintances, which include Seminary professors, pastors, and even one of the authors in the book, to make sure that my tone would generate more light than heat because, after all, I think this is an important discussion and my review aims to further just that! (more…)
I would like to alert some of you to a valuable translation of Johannes Maccovius’ “Scholastic Discourse” (Instituut voor Reformatieonderzoek, Apeldoorn, 2009) on theological and philosophical distinctions and rules, which I am reviewing for Church History Journal. Two of my friends, Gert van den Brink and Willem J. van Asselt, helped with the translation and there is a very good introduction. There are few good translated works of the Protestant scholastics, so this will be an ideal place to start. The Latin and English are side-by-side, so you can compare the Latin with the English rather easily. As you know, the Protestant scholastics were excellent theologians; they were well trained in languages (i.e. they knew several), philosophy, theology, etc. Richard Muller mentioned that they were far more disciplined than we are today. And Willem van Asselt has argued that they were better theologians than Calvin, at least in terms of precision.
I sort of laughed to myself when I read Michael Bird say the following: “He [Markus Barth] (b. 1919) linked resurrection and justification long before Richard Gaffin (or Michael Bird) ever did.” (more…)
Being at GA was good for me for a number of reasons, one of which opens up my eyes to the workings of the broader church. I cannot help but feel that American Presbyterianism – the conservative type – might actually reflect more the political scene than the Scriptures. This might sound a little reactionary and over-the-top, but as a Canadian who doesn’t care much for politics – I can’t vote in Canada because I’m a landed immigrant and a British citizen – I feel like the closest thing I’ll get to a Republican/Democrat convention is going to the PCA General Assembly.
With regards to personalities and politics, the PCA is heading in a very troubling direction, so much so that we are not actually all that different from the Roman Catholic Church with our own popes and cardinals. Of course, the prerequisites for admittance to those offices generally includes a PhD and the right connections. So, if you wish to “make it” in the PCA, you will need to network – that means becoming friends with ministers in big churches and not little ones – and possess the right letters behind your name. (more…)
GA has been pretty uneventful so far. The fellowship has been good, however. Here’s some information on an intramural debate among the Reformed orthodox, namely, the necessity of the atonement. (more…)
Hello, friends. I am off to our PCA General Assembly tomorrow, for better or for worse. I think the most satisfying thing about conferences, GA, etc., is the fellowship with men you would otherwise not see. So, if you read this blog, and you are going GA, fire me an email and maybe we can get together.
John Murray has received quite a bit of criticism for his rejection of the terminology “the covenant of works”. Personally, I affirm the terminology. I want that to be clear. I also do not agree with Murray that covenant theology needed re-casting. I do, however, want to put Muray’s contentions into broader perspective, as well as show that he does affirm the substance of the covenant of works in a way that suggests he is not a monocovenantalist. So, before the knives come out, try to read on somewhat sympathetically. (more…)
Calvin scholars may wish to know of a new Calvin database titled: Calvini Opera Database 1.0. This cd has been put out by the Instituut voor Reformatieonderzoek, Apeldoorn.
The cd contains the complete works of John Calvin in the edition of the Corpus Reformatorum. The text is fully searchable; and there is a combination of original image and text.
Also, Herman Selderhuis’ recent biography of Calvin is one of the most enjoyable bios of Calvin I’ve ever read. It’s extremely funny in places and contains a lot of information that I was unaware of.
