Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Monday, September 5, 2011

Building the Minister's Library: Historical Theology

 
 
Building the Minister’s Library: Historical Theology
John G. Bales
 
Historical theology is the branch of theology which examines the doctrines of the church within their historical context and development. Historical theologians investigate the theology of individuals and schools of thought, in order to determine the continuity and discontinuity within the broader Christian tradition. It is always best done when one investigates the original sources and attempts to hear the authors in their own thought-categories.
Berkhof, Louis. The History of Christian Doctrines. London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1969. Not as popular as his Systematic Theology, but still good.

Congar, Yves. A History of Theology. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968. Catholic in perspective, but still useful for the early and medieval periods.

Dorner, I. A., George Robson, and Sophia Taylor. History of Protestant Theology: Particularly in Germany, Viewed According to Its Fundamental Movement and in Connection with the Religious, Moral, and Intellectual Life. Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark, 1871. Obviously limited to Protestant thought. Exhibits the state of historical theology in the nineteenth century.

Hagenbach, K. R. A History of Christian Doctrines. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1880. Like other 19th century works, Hagenbach adopts an encyclopedia-structured division of theology.

Hägglund, Bengt. History of Theology. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1968. This was a required textbook in my seminary days. Still recommended.

Harnack, Adolf von. History of Dogma. New York: Dover Publications, 1961. One may not agree with Harnack’s conclusions, but one will need to read him as an influential theologian.

Neander, August, J. L. Jacobi, and J. E. Ryland. Lectures on the History of Christian Dogmas. London: H.G. Bohn, 1858. Similar to Hagenbach’s methodology.

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition; A History of the Development of Doctrine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975. Pelikan has become a standard text for many students. This is an exhaustive treatment by a prodigious scholar.

Seeberg, Reinhold. Text-Book of the History of Doctrines. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1952. Find a used copy if you can.

Welch, Claude. Protestant Thought in the Nineteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972. Welch picks up nicely where all the 19th century textbooks leave off.

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