An in-depth discussion among Reformed theologians on the thesis that only by a radical option for religion without ulterior motive - even good motives -, true religion can be safeguarded from abuse and be linked to God's love for man without ulterior motive.

The Christian faith knows and worships one God, who is revealed in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Trinity in Christian thought. Although Christian orthodoxy defines the doctrine of the Trinity, the intellectual tools used to capture it significantly vary. At different times and in different places, Western Christianity has, for instance, used neo-Platonism, German Idealism, and the conceptual tools of the second-century Greeks. Taking elements from the known African intellectual framework, this book argues that for African Christians, the respective...

The authority of Scripture is the cornerstone of Reformed theology. Calvin introduced the term autopistos from Greek philosophy to express that this authority does not depend on the church or on rational arguments, but is self-convincing. After dealing with Calvin's Institutes, the development of Reformed orthodoxy, and the positions of Benjamin B. Warfield and Herman Bavinck, the author draws theological conclusions, advocating a renewed emphasis on the autopistia of Scripture as starting point for Reformed theology in a postmodern context. The subject-object scheme leads to separating the...

Building on the Reformed theology of in the 16th century and on the results of the ecumenical convergence on ministry (BEM) in the 20th century, this study presents building blocks for a renewed theology of ministry in the 21st century.

This volume challenges the traditional low-key attitude towards the unity of the church within the Reformed tradition. It investigates theological aspects that contributed to a weak sensus unitatis and explores theological approaches that remedy this disease of division.

The idea of freedom of religion was developed in Europe in the 16th and 17th century in the context of religious diversity as an alternative for religious wars. The concept requires reconsideration in the current globalized culture: religious plurality has increased as has the awareness of the religious potential for social cohesion and for sectarian division and violence. In this volume, legal experts, sociologists, theologians, and philosophers clarify the historical development of the concept, and analyze the present situation in various countries with religious tensions. They propose...

This volume explores the legacy of the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper for contemporary Christian ecotheology. A crucial problem in ecotheology is how to do justice to both creation and salvation as acts of God, given the impact of the environmental crisis and the concern for creation (as creatura). Can Kuyper help one in this regard, given his controversial legacy, especially in South Africa? The volume explores Kuyper's notions of revelation, common grace and re-creation on this basis. It is structured as an inter-continental dialogue with a set of essays by Ernst Conradie,...

A close conceptual analysis of Herman Bavinck's (1854-1921) four-volume Reformed Dogmatics, this book explores what is broadly understood as the central motif of his work, the "organic" relationship between nature and grace, and highlights an overlooked aspect to this motif. Bavinck's view of nature and grace is not only rooted in his Trinitarian theology, but, more importantly, in his covenant theology. Exploring Bavinck's link between the doctrine of the imago Dei to an eschatology uniquely provided by Reformed covenant theology, this book serves to illumine the rationale behind his...