The Church’s Book
Fountain of Salvation
A Study in the History of Doctrine Tadataka Maruyama
Theology of Scripture in Ecclesial Context Brad East
Trinity and Soteriology Fred Sanders
Foreword by Richard A. Muller
Foreword by Stephen E. Fowl
In this fresh and original monograph on the ecclesiology of John Calvin, Tadataka Maruyama sifts exhaustively through the corpus of Calvin’s writings—in both Latin and French—to crystalize the French reformer’s conception of the Christian church. After elucidating Calvin’s influence from other reformers such as Jacques Lefèvre, Guillaume Farel, and Martin Bucer, Maruyama shows how Calvin’s ecclesiology evolved throughout his life while remaining firmly rooted in key principles and interests. Maruyama discerns three phases in Calvin’s ecclesiology:
What role do varied understandings of the church play in the doctrine and interpretation of Scripture?
1) Catholic ecclesiology—in which Calvin saw the church as a unified and ideal institution situated both above and within history 2) Reformed ecclesiology—in which Calvin described the concrete, historical form of the Christian church in contrast with the Catholic Church 3) Reformation ecclesiology—in which Calvin came to understand the Christian church as an eschatological reality situated in a broader European context, which Calvin portrayed as the “theater of God’s providence” This trajectory mirrors the way the Protestant Reformation was focused on reforming particular churches while also reimagining the Christian world as a whole. Indeed, as Maruyama thoroughly illustrates, Calvin never lost sight of his original vision of reforming the church of his French homeland even as his work grew into a much larger movement. Tadataka Maruyama formerly served as president and professor of church history at Tokyo Christian University. He is the author of The Ecclesiology of Theodore Beza: The Reform of the True Church. 978-0-8028-8185-4 • Jacketed Hardcover • 480 pages $65.00 US • $87.99 CAN • £52.99 UK
In The Church’s Book, Brad East explores recent accounts of the Bible and its exegesis in modern theology and traces the differences made by divergent, and sometimes opposed, theological accounts of the church. Surveying first the work of Karl Barth, then that of John Webster, Robert Jenson, and John Howard Yoder (following an excursus on interpreting Yoder’s work in light of his abuse), East delineates the distinct understandings of Scripture embedded in the different traditions that these notable scholars represent. In doing so, he offers new insight into the current impasse between Christians in their understandings of Scripture—one determined far less by hermeneutical approaches than by ecclesiological disagreements. East’s study is especially significant amid the current prominence of the theological interpretation of Scripture, which broadly assumes that the Bible ought to be read in a way that foregrounds confessional convictions and interests. As East discusses in the introduction to his book, that approach to Scripture cannot be separated from questions of ecclesiology—in other words, how we interpret the Bible theologically is dependent upon the context in which we interpret it. Brad East is assistant professor of theology at Abilene Christian University. He is the author of The Doctrine of Scripture and the editor of Robert Jenson’s The Triune Story: Collected Essays on Scripture. His work has been published in Modern Theology, International Journal of Systematic Theology, Scottish Journal of Theology, and Pro Ecclesia, as well as The Christian Century, Commonweal, First Things, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and more. 978-0-8028-7815-1 • Jacketed Hardcover • 440 pages $49.99 US • $66.99 CAN • £40.99 UK AVAILABLE APRIL 2022
“Professor Sanders is one of the most sophisticated and historically sensitive contemporary theologians. In this volume he brings his considerable acumen to bear on the relation between the doctrine of the Trinity and the scope and content of salvation. The result is a tour de force that demonstrates the fecundity of trinitarian theology for the church and the Christian life.” — OLIVER D. CRISP
University of St. Andrews
“Sanders here strikes the perfect balance between the triune God of the gospel and the gospel of the triune God, offering a compelling argument for both their proper distinction and their proper relation. Thanks to this Fountain of Salvation, my cup of theology runneth over. I can’t wait to assign this refreshing cup of cold water to my students.”
— KEVIN J. VANHOOZER
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“A wonderful introduction to the Trinity as the object of Christian worship and as a belief inseparable from and indeed structuring the doctrine of salvation. . . . Across Christian traditions Sanders’s argument should resonate and inspire.” — LEWIS AYRES
Durham University
“A work of subtle judgment and profound insight, exactly what one would expect from our most gifted theologian of the Trinity.” — SCOTT R. SWAIN
Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando
“Deeply rooted in Scripture and widely informed by tradition, this volume is a welcome and salutary addition to the shelves of both theologians and pastors.” — PAUL T. NIMMO
University of Aberdeen
Fred Sanders is professor of theology in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, where he teaches across the full range of classic Christian doctrine but specializes in the doctrine of the Trinity. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Triune God and The Deep Things of God. 978-0-8028-7810-6 • Paperback • 231 pages • $24.99 US $33.99 CAN • £19.99 UK • AVAILABLE NOW
AVAILABLE MAY 2022
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T H E O LO GY
Calvin’s Ecclesiology
www.eerdmans.com
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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