A Companion to the Mercersburg Theology: Evangelical Catholicism in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: 44 (Cascade Companions)

This volume tells the story of a mid-nineteenth-century theological movement emanating from the small German Reformed Seminary in Mercersburg Pennsylvania where John Williamson Nevin and Philip Schaff taught. There they explored themes--such as the centrality of the incarnation for theology the importance of the church as the body of Christ and the sphere of salvation liturgical and sacramental worship and the organic historical development of the church and its doctrines--that continue to resonate today with many who seek a deeper and more historically informed expression of the Christian faith that is both evangelical and catholic. In their own day the theologians at Mercersburg received scant attention. Over the last fifty years with the assistance of insightful works like this Companion that situation has been reversed--which has meant both better history and deeper theology. This particular volume is an ideal introduction to Nevin Schaff and company even as it should also stimulate wider appropriation of these important voices from the past. --Mark Noll University of Notre Dame author Americas God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln The Mercersburg theologians seeking a church that would be at once catholic evangelical and reformed remain relevant today for their recovery of biblical patristic and Reformation themes unified by then-new currents in German thought. These essays on Christology ably edited by William Evans give us insight into the heart of their theology. --Eugene TeSelle Vanderbilt University This masterful introduction is a most welcome addition to the growing body of literature on Mercersburg Theology. Evans presents its key figures and themes with a perceptive eye to their relevance to both historical and contemporary theological concerns. Both beginners and specialists will find much to appreciate here. --Anne T. Thayer Lancaster Theological Seminary The Reformed Catholicism of the nineteenth century Mercersburg Theology has found in William B. Evans an outstanding exegete. He provides deft commentary and careful exposition as he commends its ongoing importance for the life of the church. If you want a single short introduction to this important and influential group of American and German theologians look no further. Evans has done the job with panache. --Oliver D. Crisp Fuller Theological Seminary and Professorial Fellow University of St Andrews Evanss Companion is a gem of exposition carefully balancing biography intellectual history and theological evaluation. I enthusiastically recommend it and regard it as now the standard introduction to the Mercersburg Theology. Students get a clear sense of Mercersburgs location in the Reformed theological world and experienced scholars can benefit from its references to the latest scholarship (particularly the texts in Wipf & Stocks Mercersburg Theology Study Series). --David Layman York College of Pennsylvania William B. Evans is the Eunice Witherspoon Bell Younts and Willie Camp Younts Professor of Bible and Religion at Erskine College in Due West South Carolina. He is the author of Imputation and Impartation (Wipf & Stock 2008) and What Is the Incarnation? (2013).