Revisioning Christology: Theology in the Reformed Tradition

Constructive contemporary theology requires serious engagement with the theologians of the past. This book offers a series of studies in the Christology of key representatives in the Reformed tradition engaging their thought for contemporary dogmatics. Thinkers from each of the five centuries in which Reformed theology has flourished are represented - John Calvin; John Owen; Jonathan Edwards; William Shedd; Donald Baillie; and Kathryn Tanner - each of whom in different ways challenge conventional accounts of Christology. The book is organized thematically, linking historic and contemporary discussions of Christology in theology and philosophy by engaging the thinking of these theologians in a collegial way, using their work as means of promoting constructive systematic theology today. Oliver Crisp presents an important contribution to broadening our understanding of Reformed theology by showing how important theologians have taken views often at odds with 'textbook' accounts of the tradition. Written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including upper-level undergraduates, graduate students and scholars of Christian theology, philosophy and religious studies.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Donald Baillie (1887–1954), Paradox and Christology; Chapter 2 John Calvin (1509–1564) on the Motivation for the Incarnation; Chapter 3 Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758), Idealism and Christology; Chapter 4 William Shedd (1820–1894) on the Theanthropic Person of Christ; Chapter 5 John Owen (1616–1683) on Spirit Christology; Chapter 6 Kathryn Tanner (1954–) on Incarnation as Atonement; Chapter 101 Afterword;

About the Author :
Oliver D. Crisp is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He was Reader in Theology at the University of Bristol. He is the author of Retrieving Doctrine: Explorations in Reformed Theology (Paternoster and IVP Academic, 2010); God Incarnate: Explorations in Christology (T&T Clark, 2009); Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press, 2007); An American Augustinian: Sin and Salvation in the Dogmatic Theology of William G. T. Shedd (Paternoster, 2007); and Jonathan Edwards and the Metaphysics of Sin (Ashgate, 2005). He is also the editor of A Reader in Contemporary Philosophical Theology (T&T Clark, 2009), and has co-edited Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology with Michael C. Rea (Oxford University Press, 2009) and Jonathan Edwards: Philosophical Theology, with Paul Helm (Ashgate, 2003). He is the author of over forty essays and articles in symposia and professional journals on systematic and philosophical theology.

Review :
'Oliver Crisp is quickly becoming one of the leaders in the field of Reformed systematic theology. These lively and engaging explorations of his tradition show us Crisp at his very best, keeping Reformed doctrine alive by making use of its resources with erudition, creativity, and humility.' Douglas A Sweeney, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA 'This is philosophical theology at its best. Oliver Crisp illuminates profoundly important issues regarding the person of Christ in a variety of strands of Reformed thought - casting new light in the process on each of the six thinkers he discusses in depth. The overall result: a tour de force!' Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA 'The architecture of this study is characteristically imaginative,clearly written and deft. It is a searching engagement with the Reformed tradition precisely through not being the study of a canon, but as an attempt to embrace the diverse and unexpected as they contribute to a living discussion.' Iain Torrance, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA 'With typical clarity and rigour, Oliver Crisp explores a selection of Reformed approaches to Christology. Historically informed and theologically constructive, these studies reveal something of the scope and character of the Reformed tradition.' David Fergusson, New College, University of Edinburgh, UK '... offers a genuinely interesting set of Christological explorations, and evidences a welcome determination to identify the Reformed tradition and its citizens in an expansive sense, with reference to a shared commonality of vision. It is written in Crisp’s usual elegant and concise prose and [...] demonstrates Crisp’s talent for rendering complex conceptual terrain easily navigable.' Theology 'I highly recommend [Crisp]’s work for its incisive analysis of important thinkers in the Reformed tradition and attendant theological subtleties.' Theological Studies ’Here is a welcome theological realism, which avoids too quick a