Bøker i Reformed Exegetical Doctrinal Studies series-serien

What hath beauty to do with systematic theology? In this new monograph, Samuel G. Parkison explores this question by examining the relationship between Christ‿s divine beauty and regeneration and faith. Building on recent scholarship in (a) theological retrieval of the Christian tradition, and (b) Protestant developments in theological aesthetics, this project is concerned with soteriology‿s aesthetic dimension. While many today may consider beauty a mere matter of preference, glibly assuming that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,â€? Parkison pushes fiercely in the opposite direction, dignifying beauty by recognizing its objective value‿a feature of aesthetics that has fallen on hard times since the so‿called Enlightenment, and the subsequent “uglification of cultureâ€? (as Sir Roger Scruton put it).  In this doxologically flavored,dogmatically charged work, Parkison pulls from a variety of disciplines to demonstrate Christ‿s beauty, and the relevance of Christ‿s beauty on Christian theology. Irresistible Beauty is the work of a synthetic generalist. It is not strictly a work of exegesis, though it will stand firmly on exegetical findings. It is not strictly a work of biblical theology, though it will be biblical‿theological. It is not strictly a work of historical theology, though it will engage in theological retrieval of the church‿s history. It is not strictly a philosophical work, though, driven by a love for wisdom, it will be irreducibly philosophical. Thus, this is a systematic‿theological work in the full sense of the term‿informed and shaped by these disciplines and informing and shaping the pursuit of them.  Irresistible Beauty is sure to stimulate readers who enjoy a wide range of topics: the philosophy of beauty, metaphysics, Classical Christian Theism, biblical theology, and a Protestant Reformed conception soteriology are all dealt with in this dense theological work. Parkison also converses with some of the greatest minds of Christian history (e.g., Athanasius, Hilary of Poitiers,Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Francis Turretin, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Herman Bavinck, Hans Urs von Balthasaar), making Irresistible Beauty a stimulating work for many a reader.

How does God‿s unchanging nature impact the salvation of his people?While divine immutability enjoyed a broad affirmation through much of Christian theological antiquity, it has fallen on harder times in modernity. Seen as a holdover from overly philosophical theology, divine immutability has often been characterized as rendering God static and incapable of having meaningful relationships with his creation.  This book aims to swim upstream from this claim and demonstrate that divine immutability does not handicap soteriology but is a necessary and vital component of God‿s economy of redemption as triune changelessness protects and promotes the redemption of God‿s creatures. By anchoring the economy of redemption in divine immutability, we see the benefit of rooting all of God‿s economic work in the immanent life of God. This book aims to be a work of dogmatic theology and therefore will arrive at this thesis by way of exegetical, historical, and philosophical theology. In harmony, these fields will interact with varying deviations and denials of divine immutability and ultimately conclude that a classical articulation of God‿s changelessness does most justice to the economy of redemption.

Part of the REDS series Revelation, inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture Engages with Enns and Barth

In the light of what powers and faculties are human beings responsible individuals in the everyday? In his theological, historical and philosophical examination of reformed orthodox views of free will and divine sovereignty Paul Helm considers determinism and compatibilism and their historical development between 1500 and 1800. He graciously tackles the views of Richard A. Muller and Antonie Vos to argue that compatibilism is deeply rooted and represents the mainstream understanding of the reformers‿ conviction on the matter.

Each year thousands die for the Jesus they read about in the Bible. At the same time scholars worldwide reject central truths of the Book. Here is an analysis of two contrasting approaches to biblical interpretation: one which has encouraged many to abandon the Christian heritage, the other which has informed the largest numeric increase of professing Christians in world history in recent generations and which is projected to continue.

Cornel Venema revisits the important doctrine of predestination to re‿familiarize the church with truths about God‿s sovereignty in salvation. But he does not merely re‿visit old ground but also engages a host of historic and contemporary challenges to the doctrine. He addresses the subject from exegetical, historical, contemporary, and pastoral vantage points.

First study in the R.E.D.S series History & exegesis of imputation Exploring the Biblical roots of sin and salvation