Traditionally, Protestant theology between Luther's early reforming
career and the dawn of the Enlightenment has been seen in terms of
decline and fall into the wastelands of rationalism and scholastic
speculation. In this volume a number of scholars question such an
interpretation. The editors argue that the development of
Post-Reformation Protestantism can only be understood when a proper
historical model of doctrinal change is adopted. This historical concern
underlies the subsequent studies of theologians such as Calvin, Beza,
Olevian, Baxter and the two Turrentini. The result is a significantly
different reading of the development of Protestant Orthodoxy, one which
both challenges the older scholarly interpretations and cliches about
the relationship of Protestantism to, among other things, scholasticism
and rationalism, and which demonstrates the fruitfulness of the new,
historical approach. Contributors: D. V. N. Bagchi, David C. Steinmetz,
Richard A. Muller, Frank A. James III, John L. Farthing, Lyle D. Bierma,
R. Scott Clark, Donald Sinnema, Paul R. Schaefer, W. Robert Godfrey,
Carl R. Trueman, Philip G. Ryken, John E. Platt, Joel R. Beeke, James T.
Dennison Jr., Martin I. Klauber, Lowell C. Green, and David P. Scaer.
""This collection of essays...goes extensively toward a revaluation or
re-examination of the phenomenon of 'scholasticism'."" --Eef Dekker,
Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift ""This volume will serve as an
excellent point of reference for the discussion of the nature of
Protestant Orthodoxy and its use of scholastic method."" --Robert Kolb,
Church History ""This diverse (and sometimes polemical) collection of
essays will provoke discussion and stimulate further research. . . . It
challenges the traditional denigration of Post-Reformation theology and
makes a significant contribution to the more positive interpretation and
evaluation of a range of Reformed and Lutheran theologians."" --W. P.
Stephens, Emeritus Professor of Church History, University of Aberdeen
Carl R. Trueman is Professor of Church History and Historical Theology,
Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. R. Scott Clark is
Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Westminster
Theological Seminary, California.
