Synopsis: In the mid nineteenth century, Reformed churchmen John
Nevin and Philip Schaff launched a fierce attack on the reigning
subjectivist and rationalist Protestantism of their day, giving
birth to what is known as the "Mercersburg Theology." Their attempt
to recover a high doctrine of the sacraments and the visible
Church, among other things, led them into bitter controversy with
Charles Hodge of Princeton Seminary, as well as several other
prominent contemporaries. This book examines the contours of the
disagreement between Mercersburg and Hodge, focusing on four loci
in particular-Christology, ecclesiology, sacramentology, and church
history. W. Bradford Littlejohn argues that, despite certain
weaknesses in their theological method, the Mercersburg men offered
a more robust and historically grounded paradigm for the Reformed
faith than did Hodge. In the second part of the book, Littlejohn
explores the value of the Mercersburg Theology as a bridgehead for
ecumenical dialogue, uncovering parallels between Nevin's thought
and prominent themes in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox theology,
as well as recent debates within Reformed theology. This thorough
study of one of the most creative movements in American theology
offers an alluring vision of the quest for Reformed catholicity
that is more relevant today than ever. Endorsements: "For an
increasing number of Protestants, the dismemberment of
Protestantism is a scandal, an oozing wound in the body of Christ,
leaving behind a twisted Christ as painful to behold as the
Isenheim altarpiece. But what is a Protestant to do? The
Reformation was itself a rent in the vesture of Christ, so how can
Protestants object to the tin-pot Luthers and Machens who
faithfully keep up the Reformation tradition of fissure and
fragmentation? . . . We need an American Reformation that recovers
the original catholic vision of Protestantism, and in pursuing
this, American Protestants do well to take a page from early
twentieth-century Catholics and embark on a program of
ressourcement, and to this program Littlejohn's book is a valuable
contribution . . . Here he explains the Mercersburg Theology fairly
and thoroughly, and shows how Mercersburg interacts not only with
nineteenth-century Reformed theology but with the developments in
Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches over the past two
centuries. Above all, Littlejohn is deeply conscious that
historical theology is never an end in itself, never an exercise in
mere antiquarianism. We remember so that we can know how to go
forward, and we seek to recover lost resources so that we can pave
a fresh future. Littlejohn] demonstrates how Mercersburg, and
especially Nevin, can assist in forming an American Protestant
churchliness." --from the foreword by Peter J. Leithart. "Deeply
sympathetic to the Mercersburg theologians, Nevin and Schaff,
Littlejohn presents a plea for Reformed theology to take Church,
sacraments, and apostolic succession seriously as divine means of
salvation. By linking Mercersburg to the Oxford Movement, Eastern
Orthodoxy, and the Catholic movement of nouvelle theologie, this
book contributes toward a renewal of Reformed theology.
Littlejohn's ressourcement of the Mercersburg Theology is
courageous and stands as a model of solid ecumenical theology."
--Hans Boersma, author of Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross and
Nouvelle Theologie & Sacramental Ontology Author Biography: W.
Bradford Littlejohn (BA, MA, New St. Andrews College) is pursuing
graduate studies in Reformation political theology at the
University of Edinburgh, where he lives with his wife Rachel and
son Soren. This is his first book.
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