New Publications
The J. H. Bavinck Reader
Edited by John Bolt, James D. Bratt, and Paul J. Visser
Eerdmans, 2013
Johan Herman Bavinck (1895-1964) was a prominent twentieth-century Dutch Calvinist missiologist who wrestled with the tension between religious absolutism and relativism, as many Christians do in today's pluralistic context.
The J. H. Bavinck Reader gathers together a choice selection of Bavinck's significant writings that are essential for understanding his theology of missions, his approach to world religions, and his religious psychology. His treatment of religious consciousness and Christian faith expands on the brief treatment of it in his own work The Church Between Temple and Mosque. The concluding chapters show how Bavinck's theoretical reflection on religious consciousness was rooted in his close observation during his years as a missionary in Indonesia.
Offering a constructive way forward, Bavinck affirms both the particularity of salvation in Christ and the universality of the Christian hope. A substantial introduction enhances the book with the most thorough biographical sketch of Bavinck available.
Sacred History: Uses of the Christian Past
in the Renaissance World
Edited by Katherine van Liere, Simon Ditchfield, and Howard Louthan
Oxford University Press, 2012
This volume provides the first geographically broad, comparative survey of early modern 'sacred history', or writing on the history of the Christian Church, its leaders and saints, and its institutional and doctrinal developments, in the two centuries from c. 1450-1650. With deep medieval roots, ecclesiastical history was generally a conservative enterprise, often serving to reinforce confessional, national, regional, dynastic, or local identities. But writers of sacred history innovated in research methods and in techniques of scholarly production, especially after the advent of print. The demand for sacred history was particularly acute in the various movements for religious reform, in both Catholic and Protestant traditions.
Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies
William D. Romanowski
Oxford University Press, 2012
Hollywood and Christianity often seem to be at war. Indeed, there is a long list of movies that have attracted religious condemnation, from Gone with the Wind with its notorious "damn," to The Life of Brian and The Last Temptation of Christ. But the reality, writes William Romanowski, has been far more complicated--and remarkable.
Reviewed in The Calvin Spark (Winter 2012)
Interpretation of Scripture: Theory
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Andrew, Godfrey and Richard of St Victor, and Robert of Melun
Edited by Frans van Liere and Franklin T. Harkins
Brepols Publishers, 2012
Starting from the theory of scriptural interpretation elaborated by Hugh of St Victor, the Augustinian Canons of twelfth-century St Victor in Paris were leading theorists and practitioners of scriptural exegesis. This volume contains translations of the exegetical theories elaborated in Hugh of St Victor's (d. 1141) Didascalicon, On Sacred Scripture and its Authors, The Diligent Examiner, and On the Sacraments (prologues); Andrew of St Victor's (d. 1175) prologues to select commentaries; Richard of St Victor's (d. 1173) Book of Notes and Apocalypse commentary; Godfrey of St Victor's Fountain of Philosophy; Robert of Melun's Sentences; and the anonymous Speculum on the Mysteries of the Church.
John Milton: An Annotated Bibliography,
1989-1999
Edited by David V. Urban and Calvin Huckabay
Duquesne University Press, 2011
This comprehensive bibliography covers a ten-year period (1989-1999) in Milton studies and criticism, a period notable for both the quality and quantity of Milton scholarship produced, as well as for the many critical methodologies employed to examine and interpret Milton and his writings.
The Best of the Reformed Journal
Edited by James D. Bratt and Ronald A. Wells
Eerdmans, 2011
For four decades, from 1951 to 1990, The Reformed Journal set the standard for top-notch, venturesome theological reflection on a broad range of issues. With a lively mix of editorial comment, articles, and reviews, it addressed topics as diverse as the civil rights movement, feminism, the Vietnam War, South African apartheid, the plight of Palestinian Christians, and the rise of the Christian Right, all from a Reformed perspective. In this anthology James Bratt and Ronald Wells have assembled select pieces that exemplify the Journal's position at the cutting edge of thoughtful Christian engagement with culture.
John Calvin, Myth and Reality:
Images and Impact of Geneva's Reformer
Edited by Amy Nelson Burnett
Cascade Books, 2011
The chapters in this volume were originally presented as papers at the 2009 colloquium of the Calvin Studies Society, held to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of John Calvin's birth. They offer a fresh evaluation of Calvin's ideas and achievements, and describe how others—from his contemporaries to the present—have responded to or built upon the Calvinist heritage. This book dispels popular misperceptions about Calvin and Calvinism, allowing readers to make a more accurate assessment of Calvin's importance as a theologian and historical figure. Contributions address areas in which Calvin's legacy has been most controversial or misunderstood, such as his attitude toward women, his advocacy of church discipline, and his understanding of predestination. These essays also give a nuanced picture of the impact of Calvinism by taking account of both the positive and negative reactions to it from the early modern period to the present.
Jesus and Ubuntu: Exploring the Social Impact of Christianity in Africa
Edited by Mwenda Ntarangwi
Africa World Press, Inc., 2011
As African Christianity takes a commanding position in global Christianity due to its exponential growth in the last few decades, questions abound of the relationship such growth has with continued decline in most development indicators in the continent. Jesus and Ubuntu assesses the social role played by Christianity in contemporary Africa amid the growing awareness of Africa’s social, economic, and political challenges.
Mathematics through the Eyes of Faith
Russell Howell and James Bradley
HarperOne, 2011
With respect for the history and ever-changing applications of mathematical principles, James Bradley and Russell Howell, along with a team of fellow scholars, invite readers to consider the rich intersection of mathematics and Christian belief. Citizens of the twenty-first century generally believe that mathematics is all about numbers and formulas, with no religious significance— an attitude that belies the faith-based work of thinkers from Plato to Newton. It is time to reawaken our sensitivity to the vital spiritual matters raised by the study of mathematics, a discipline that demands profound thought and helps us understand the beauty and the order of our physical world.
Reformed Mission in an Age of World Christianity: Ideas for the 21st Century
Edited by Shirley J. Roels
Foreword by Setri Nyomi
Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship, 2011
Faith in Jesus Christ is celebrated today in more languages and lands than any other living faith. In many global spaces the growth of Christianity has come to a new point of departure. People everywhere are experiencing personal conversion or renewal, sharing the gospel, growing Christian fellowships, and pondering their cultures. As Christians, what should we do until Jesus returns? Attention to theological thinking about the intersection of living, learning, and acting in the world has been a historic strength of Reformed Christianity. This book weaves the future of world Christianity with Reformed Christian frameworks, providing fresh ideas for the 21st century.
Selected Readings of Bible Stories
Xing Ling and Susan M. Felch
Yunnan University Press, 2011
This textbook is intended for use in advanced English classes. Each unit includes three versions of an English-language story, as well as a glossary of keywords, vocabulary exercises, synonym exercises, discussion questions, and contextual materials.
Selected Samples in PDF format
Like Leaven in the Dough: Protestant Social Thought in Latin America, 1920-1950
Carlos Mondragon
Translated by Daniel Miller (Calvin College) and
Ben Post (graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2011
Like Leaven in the Dough depicts Protestantism's long and difficult struggle for acceptance in a region where the Catholic Church enjoyed quasi-official status. Accused of embracing a foreign faith that was incompatible with Latin America's "soul," Protestants struggle to define a cultural identity that had room for religious diversity and intellectual dissent. Marginalized and persecuted themselves, Latin America's Protestants articulated a progressive gospel message decades before the appearance of Catholic Liberation Theology.
