Books in the Oxford Studies in Historical Theology series

In this book, Shaun Blanchard uses a close study of the Synod of Pistoia (1786) to argue that the roots of the Vatican II reforms must be pushed back beyond the widely acknowledged twentieth-century forerunners of the Council, beyond Newman and the Tubingen School in the nineteenth century, to the eighteenth century, in which a variety of reform movements attempted ressourcement and aggiornamento.

The extra Calvinisticum, the doctrine that the eternal Son maintains his existence beyond the flesh both during his earthly ministry and perpetually, divided the Lutheran and Reformed traditions during the Reformation. This book explores the emergence and development of the extra Calvinisticum in the Reformed tradition by tracing its first exposition from Ulrich Zwingli to early Reformed orthodoxy. Rather than being an ancillary issue, the questionssurrounding the extra Calvinisticum were a determinative factor in the differentiation of Magisterial Protestantism into rival confessions. Reformed theologians maintained this doctrine in order to preserve the integrity of both Christ''s divine and human natures as the mediator between God and humanity. Thisrationale remained consistent across this period with increasing elaboration and sophistication to meet the challenges leveled against the doctrine in Lutheran polemics. The study begins with Zwingli''s early use of the extra Calvinisticum in the Eucharistic controversy with Martin Luther and especially as the alternative to Luther''s doctrine of the ubiquity of Christ''s human body. Over time, Reformed theologians, such as Peter Martyr Vermigli and Antione de Chandieu, articulated the extra Calvinisticum with increasing rigor by incorporating conciliar christology, the church fathers, and scholastic methodology to address the polemical needs ofengagement with Lutheranism. The Flesh of the Word illustrates the development of christological doctrine by Reformed theologians offering a coherent historical narrative of Reformed christology from its emergence into the period of confessionalization. The extra Calvinisticum was interconnected to broader concernsaffecting concepts of the union of Christ''s natures, the communication of attributes, and the understanding of heaven.

This book explores the extent to which artists of sixteenth-century Europe were influenced by ideas of religious reform. Analysing the content of major works by eight prominent artists, noted reformation scholar John Dillenberger argues that these artists' productions provide a fascinating map of the evolution and influence of major theological currents of their time.

In this innovative study, Carol Thysell provides an in-depth examination of Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron. While this collection of tales is traditionally considered to be secular in nature, Thysell argues that Marguerite de Navarre used it as a vehicle for a constructive theological programme.

Susan R. Holman examines the theme of poverty in the fourth-century sermons of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory Nysson. These sermons are especially important for what they tell us about the history of poverty relief and the role of fourth century Christian theology in constructing the body of the redemptive, involuntary poor.

This text traces the way in which Calvin's exegetical labours contributed to his understanding of faith. Through detailed analysis of Calvin's interpretation of selected biblical passages, the study shows how his views evolved.

Examines how and why death came to be perceived as such a firm boundary of salvation. Analyzing exceptions to this principle from ancient Christianity, this book states that the principle itself was slow to develop and not universally accepted in the Christian movement's first four hundred years.

In this study, Irene Backus examines the fate of the Apocalypse at the hands of early Protestants in three centres of the Reformation: Geneva, Zurich, and Wittenberg. To do so, Backus systematically investigates sources and methods on the most important reformed and Lutheran commentaries of the Apocalypse from 1528-1584.

This work attempts to understand Calvin in his16th-century context, with attention to continuities and discontinuities between his thought and that of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors.

God's Irishmen describes the theological debates that tore the Cromwellian movement apart and caused its eventual failure. An informed analysis of the texts that survive from the period, Gribben dissects the contentious theological issues and reflects on larger questions about the characteristics of the Protestant churches in Cromwellian Ireland.

The middle decades of the 17th century saw the expansion of the Baptist sect, as well as the rise and growth of Quakerism. Hostility quickly came to characterize relations between two groups. In examining the Baptist-Quaker controversy, Underwood is able to identify a primary link between the two and at the same time to discover explanations for some of their dramatic differences.

In the 1520s, a battle raged between Luther and Erasmus over the freedom of the will. This book demonstrates that Philip Melanchthon - hardly a silent observer in the fray - was actively involved, especially in his 1528 commentary on Colossians. He rejected Erasmus's position while developing an independent, but compatible stance to Luther's own.

This book is a wide-ranging study of Johannine exegesis in the sixteenth century, centered on the John commentary of Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563), an influential leader of the Protestant Reformation. Farmer compares Musculus's exegesis of the Johannine miracle stories not only with that of other sixteenth-century commentators but also with ancient and medieval commentaries.

Takes a look at St Francis of Assisi, and the idea of voluntary poverty as a basis for Christian perfection. The author finds that while Francis's conception of poverty as a spiritual discipline may have opened the door to salvation for wealthy Christians, it precluded the idea that the poor could use their poverty as a path to heaven.

Much has been written about the influence of humanism on the Reformation. This study reverses the question, asking how the Reformation affected humanism. The author argues that humanism was co-opted, perhaps even exploited, in the religious debate by both Reformers and Catholic reactionaries.

In this sequel to Richard Muller's 'The Unaccommodated Calvine', Muller carries his approach forward, with the goal of overcoming a series of 19th- and 20th-century theological frameworks characteristic of much of the scholarship on Reformed orthodoxy, or what might be called 'Calvinism after Calvin'.

The "Awakening" was the last major Protestant reform and revival movement to occur in Germany. This book examines the Awakening as a product of the larger social changes that were re-shaping German society during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Awakened Protestants were traditionalists who rejected the changes that Enlightenment thought had introduced into Protestant theology and preaching. But, Kloes argues, their efforts to spread their religiousbeliefs were only successful because of the new political freedoms and economic opportunities that the Enlightenment had introduced.

This is the first study in any language dedicated to the seminal theological works of the French Reformed pastor, professor, and master of genres Antoine de Chandieu 1534-1591.

In Going Dutch in the Modern Age John Wood examines how Abraham Kuyper adapted the Dutch church to its modern social context through a new account of the nature of the church and its social position.

Reforming Saints is an investigation of how and why early German humanists were attracted to composing saint's lives in the half century preceding the Reformation. David J. Collins approaches the humanists' writings on their own terms and recaptures the creative energy the humanists brought to the task of revising the legends of the saints. The cult of the saints and Renaissance humanism are two topics that attract considerable scholarly attention.Reforming Saints considers them as studies rarely do - at their intersection.

Examines the four generations of Reformed pastors who served the church of Basel in the century after the Reformation. This work focuses on the evolution of pastoral training and Reformed theology, the theory and practice of preaching, and the performance of pastoral care in both urban and rural parishes.

This book explains Martin Bucer's unique perspective on the doctrine of justification and demonstrates how this doctrine acted as a foundation for his entrance into discussions with Catholics between 1539 and 1541. The author argues that Bucer was consistent in his irenic endeavors, never sacrificing his theological convictions for ecclesial expediency.

Paul C. H. Lim offers an insightful examination of the polemical debates about the doctrine of the Trinity in seventeenth-century England, showing that this philosophical and theological re-configuration significantly impacted the politics of religion in the early modern period.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was regarded by sixteenth century Europe as one of the most contested religious and philosophical authorities. Through deep examination of the production, circulation and consumption of Augustine's works, Arnoud Visser reveals the wildly contrasting ways in which he was read and appropriated by publishers, humanist scholars, and individual readers.

This book examines the early development of the Reformation debate over the Lord's Supper. Going beyond Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, it demonstrates the importance of late medieval heresy and the key role played by Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt in challenging traditional belief in Christ's corporeal presence in the sacrament.

In this book Susan Schreiner analyzes the pervading questions about certitude and doubt in the terms and contexts of a wide variety of thinkers during Europe in the sixteenth century.

By exploring how Martin Luther, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin interpreted a set of eight messianic psalms (Psalms 2, 8, 16, 22, 45, 72, 110, 188), Sujin Pak elucidates key debates about Christological exegesis during the era of the Protestant reformation. More particularly, Pak examines the exegeses of Luther, Bucer, and Calvin in order to (a) reveal their particular theological emphases and reading strategies, (b) identify their debates over the use of Jewishexegesis and the factors leading to charges of ''judaizing'' leveled against Calvin, and (c) demonstrate how Psalms reading and the accusation of judaizing serve distinctive purposes of confessional identity formation. In this way, she portrays the beginnings of those distinctive trends that separatedLutheran and Reformed exegetical principles.

This is a study of the life, monastic writings and spiritual theology of John Cassian (c.365-430). Cassian's writings were the bridge between eastern monasticism and the developing Latin monasticism of Southern Gaul, and exerted a major influence on the Rule of Benedict and the theology of Gregory the Great.

While Augustine's understanding of will is constantly invoked in secondary literature, it rarely receives analysis in its own right. In this book, Han-luen Kantzer Komline provides such an analysis, demonstrating that Augustine's view is "theologically differentiated," comprising four distinct types of human will, which correspond to four different theological scenarios.