"Reflection on the faith of the church means an involvement in doctrine, in church teaching which is considered to be correct," writes the author in his prolegomena. And the following 17 ch
"Reflection on the faith of the church means an involvement in doctrine, in church teaching which is considered to be correct," writes the author in his prolegomena. And the following 17 chapters of his book provide students and laypersons with precisely the information they need for this kind of reflection and involvement. The Faith of the Church is a basic, comprehensive, and systematic history of the beliefs of the church, starting with the doctrines formulated by ancient Israel and ending with a discussion of the doctrine of eschatology.
Each doctrine is treated in that period in history when it received its most significant attention. In addition, the author attempts to give each doctrine what he terms "a normative rounding-off" either in the position of the theologian being discussed, in squaring the doctrine with Scripture, or both.
Technical terms and foreign languages have been avoided to render this textbook accessible to an undergraduate and general lay readership.
Paul K. Jewett
—Fuller Theological Seminary
"Historical in its approach, systematic in its scope, The Faith of the Church provides the reader with a stimulating overview of Christian theology."
John H. Kromminga
—Calvin Theological Seminary
"Complete and accurate enough to meet the needs of the theological student, but very interesting and readable also for the general membership of the church. The book is a manual of doctrine, presenting the substance of the faith of the church. The doctrines presented are illumined by references to the Bible and cross references to other teachings of the church. Of particular value is the historical approach, which enables the reader to discern the process — including struggle, trial and error, steady growth in understanding, and ultimately the Spirit's guidance — by which the positions described were reached. Writing out of a solid grounding in the Reformed faith, Dr. Osterhaven shows both due appreciation and incisive criticism of positions with which his tradition does not agree. The entire work reflects a clarity and articulateness born of many years of teaching experience."
James I. McCord
—Princeton Theological Seminary
"The chapter 'John Calvin: Order and the Holy Spirit' is alone worth the price of the book. If one is seeking a sure-footed guide to lead a pilgrimage through the development of the Church's central beliefs, then Dr. Osterhaven can be highly recommended."
John Richard De Witt
—Reformed Theological Seminary
"The Faith of the Church is clearly a distillation of Professor Osterhaven's life-long work as a teacher of theology. The man himself is in the book: learned, profound, cautious, sympathetic toward other points of view, committed to the historic Reformed position, concerned to show the connection between the truths he discusses and the practice of the Christian life. The book will appeal, not only to specialists, but to a broad spectrum of the reading public as well. We are all in his debt for the gift of such a volume."
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M. Eugene Osterhaven is Professor of Systematic Theology at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan.
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