About the Book
This collection of essays in honour of Anthony N. S. Lane has two main foci, picking up themes which resonate with some of Lane's most important work. The first broad theme is the reception of the thought of earlier generations of biblical interpreters and theologians. The essays here explore various facets of reception history-textual transmission, the identification of editions used, the deployment of these sources in doctrinal formulation, in polemic, and in relation to the contested site of 'catholicity'. The second broad theme is engagement with other confessional identities and allegiances. The essays presented here shed light on the past and stimulate contemporary theological reflection.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Jon Balserak, University of Bristol, UK and Richard Snoddy, London School of Theology, UK
1. Bernard of Clairvaux: Forerunner to St. Francis?
Dennis E. Tamburello, Siena College, USA
2. Two Annotated Books from the Library of William Farel
Max Engammare, Librairie Droz, Switzerland
3. The Freed Will: Can Augustine Teach Us to See Calvin in a New Light?
Jason Van Vliet, Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary, Canada and Jon Balserak, University of Bristol, UK
4. Facing Poland: Calvin's Polish Correspondence and the Geography of Reformation Europe
Richard A. Muller, Calvin Theological Seminary, USA
5. Re-visiting John Calvin's Hostility Towards French Nicodemism
Jon Balserak, University of Bristol, UK and Richard Snoddy, London School of Theology, UK
6. The Protestant Image of the Council of Trent
Herman J. Selderhuis, Theological University of Apeldoorn, Netherlands
7. Seventeenth-Century French Conversion Narratives: Making Sense of Shifting Confessional Allegiances
Karin Maag, Calvin College, USA
8. The Sources of James Ussher's Patristic Citations on the Intent and Sufficiency of Christ's Satisfaction
Richard Snoddy, London School of Theology, UK
9. The Westminster Assembly and the Catholicity of the Church
Bob Letham, Wales Evangelical School of Theology, UK
10. The Blessed and Boundless God: The Legacy of Zanchius and Polanus in the Theology of George Swinnock, J. Stephen Yuille, Grace Community Church, USA
11. Francis Turretin and Jonathan Edwards on Contingency
Paul Helm, King's College London, UK
12. 'Pseudo'Macariu', Fletcher-and-Wesley, and Luke on Pentecost
Max Turner, London School of Theology, UK
13. Soren Kierkegaard as a Reader of Martin Luther
Randall C. Zachman, University of Notre Dame, USA
14. Lessons for an Evangelical Spirituality from Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Merton
Matthew Knell, London School of Theology, UK
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Jon Balserak is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Religion at the University of Bristol, UK.
Richard Snoddy is Associate Research Fellow at the London School of Theology, UK.
Review :
The fourteen essays in this collection are an outstanding tribute to the esteem with which Lane is held by his fellow scholars. The writers are all experts on their topics. Their essays bring new insights through their succinct and clearly written presentations.
First-class pieces by top scholars focused generally on two of Lane's long-standing emphases: the reception of thought of earlier generations; and dialogue. ... All the essays, as models of historical and theological scholarship, repay careful study.
The shape of this book and the breadth of its scholarship is itself a tribute to Tony Lane and his influence as scholar and teacher.
The range of the subject matter in this readable and well-edited book is indeed catholic, extending from Augustine and bernard at one end to Wesley, Kierkegaard and Thomas Merton at the other. The seventeen authors consist of a healthy mix of established and emerging scholars. The edition is more than a collection of essays on Reformation studies, well represented by fresh insights or hypotheses on Calvin, Farel, Luther, Amandus Polanus, the Council Trent, and the Reformed impact in Poland-Lithuania. The seventeenth-century articles provide some new insight into the Westminster Assembly, James Ussher, Turretin and Edwards as well as Pentecostal manifestations. Overall, in substance and authorship the book echoes admirably the distinctive academic, religious and spiritual interests of Tony Lane along with his industry and craftsmanship.
Professor Lane's work has been a gift to scholars of the Reformation, and of Calvin in particular. He exemplifies the careful, critical, yet sympathetic approach to Christian thinkers of the past that characterizes the best historical scholarship. The essays in this volume are a fitting tribute to his work, including contributions from a number of distinguished colleagues and friends in history, theology and philosophy. There is much to ponder in these studies for scholars and students of historical theology.
