Placing reform

2020

In the field of theology and theological reflexion a lot of things are moving for the moment. It is characteristic of Reformed theology to be in constant search for Reformed identity and to define this identity time and again. Article III of the constitution and the By-laws of the WCRC Europe starts with this question of identity. This article speaks twice about witness. It speaks about interpreting Reformed theology, spirituality, mission empowerment. These points do not only define our identity, but also question it. But here we are confronted immediately with a typical Reformed paradox: We are all for progress, if it does not bring change! Why should we change? and what is the final goal?

2018

How does one identify a tradition, religious or political, and map its continuity from the past into the present? The authors show that issues of principle quickly arise between people who bind themselves to different ideas of sameness and difference. Learned and lively, their debate is instructive even if the outcome is inconclusive."-Paul Helm, Professor of the History and Philosophy of Religion Emeritus, King's College London, UK "On Being Reformed marshals the exceptional historical and ecclesiastical expertise of its various contributors to address the much debated identity of the Reformed tradition. Informed in their use of sources, forthright in their arguments, and irenic in tone, these essays will serve readers well by helping them discern where the fault lines between Baptist and Reformed churches truly lie and also where the bonds of unity in faith and practice may be found. Both are necessary services for those of us who inhabit a living Reformed tradition and wish to see it flourish in days ahead."

D.K.Dhanushka Dilshan, 2021

The church has never found it easy to balance gratitude with critical judgment. Gratitude can easily become nostalgia for the past, and critical judgment slips into contempt. The need for an openness to the new demands of the present and the future is always present. The Reformed tradition has been one of the authentic and powerful ways in which Christian people have lived out their faith. It has much to offer contemporary human beings as they attempt to be Christian in the grand and awful days in which we are living, but only if it is appropriated by living in a community that unites appreciation with critical acumen.

Canadian American Theological Review, 2019

Evangelical Protestantism in North America has undergone considerable evolution in the last century. One of the most notable movements is a resurgence of “reformed theology” and, along with it, the use of countless labels, such as “new Calvinism,” "Neocalvinism,” “Continental Calvinism,” “the Young, Restless, and Reformed” (YRR), “Four-Point Calvinists,” “Reformed Baptists,” “Confessionally Reformed,” "1689ers,” “Reformational,” “presuppositionalists,” etc. Internal debate rages about who is “truly reformed” and what makes this the case. This article develops an original, encyclopedic introduction to contemporary reformed thought in four streams: (1) Confessional Reformed, (2) Calvinist Baptist, (3) Neocalvinist, and (4) Progressive Reformed, identifying the basic ideas, schools, figures, and systematic theologies within each group. It also identifies substantial differences between them, using bibliology as a case study.

Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae

This article reflects on the need for revival and unity in Reformed churches. It explores issues which prevent this from happening and offers suggestions as to how some of these challenges can be addressed. In attempting to do the latter it draws from the work of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The article also especially recognises the work and contributions of Dr Allan Boesak as a Reformed theologian and scholar.

The Aquila Report, 2012

An address to the thirty-eighth meeting of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council held at Mid-America Reformed Seminary on November 13, 2012

The Evangelical quarterly, 2013

perhaps we should invite people-in our theology courses-to reflect not, in the first place about epistemology, the Trinity, or even the saving work of the cross of Christ, but on a series of questions about their own lives' (p. 100; italics original). In the final chapter, Clapper explores how the practical theology just articulated works its effects on preaching, counseling, and evangelism. It is particularly pleasing to find examples from the world of the arts being used in this chapter. What is to be made of the book as a whole? Clearly, it will work well for contemporary Methodists around the world, to get them thinking about key features of the theology of their (secondary) founder with respect to the challenges of today. But it is to be hoped that not just Methodists will listen to what Clapper has to say. The task of developing a contemporary reasonable (though not rationalistic) theology which also takes bodies and emotions with equal seriousness is a major one for Christians in any tradition. That said, there is perhapsas is often the case with historical theology (even if with practical bent, as here)-a tendency to assume or conclude too easily that Wesley had things neatly wrapped up. Yes, Bonhoeffer gets Wesley and Methodists badly wrong (p. 87), but the same Wesley who, as Clapper rightly emphasizes, gets us to think through affections (emotions, feelings, the heart) is also the Wesley who has influenced a tradition of Christians who sometimes find silence and stillness problematic. If undue inwardness is not a charge to be leveled against Wesley and Methodism, this does not mean that the (sometimes restless) action which counters the charge is the best outworking of the 'vision of the right heart'. But that is more a quibble with Wesley than with Clapper. In the meantime, Clapper can be applauded for having asked, in a helpful, practical way, telling contemporary questions of a past theological giant, whether or not he is right about Wesley, or whether Wesley was himself right.