John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in Modern America: 226 (Princeton Theological Monograph)

John Gerstner (1914-96) was a significant leader in the renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed evangelicalism in America during the second half of the twentieth century. Gerstners work as a church historian sought to shape evangelicalism but also northern mainline Presbyterianism. In order to promote evangelical thought he wrote taught lectured debated and preached widely. In pursuing his aims he promoted the work of the great colonial theologian Jonathan Edwards. He also defended and endorsed biblical inerrancy and the Old Princeton theology. Gerstner was a sharp critic of theological modernism and what he considered its negative influence on the church. Part of Gerstners fame was his active participation in mainline Presbyterianism and in so many of the smaller Presbyterian denominations and in the wider evangelical movement. His renewal efforts within the United Presbyterian Church USA (later PCUSA) were largely a failure but they did contribute to the surprising resurgence of Presbyterian and Reformed evangelicalism. Evangelical marginalization in the mainline led Gerstner and other evangelicals to redirect their energy into new evangelical institutions groups and denominations. Gerstners evangelical United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) background influenced the young scholar and the legacy of the UPCNAs heritage can be detected in the popular forms of the Presbyterian and Reformed evangelical movement that exist today. Moreover he was significant for the revival of Reformed teaching beyond the bounds of Presbyterianism. This book establishes Gerstners significance in American church history and provides a thorough analysis of the evangelical movement he sought to reinvigorate. John Gerstner was a dynamo. His energy was mainly evident to those who heard him speak but Jeffrey McDonalds careful biography comes just as close to capturing the vigor that informed the Pittsburgh professors voice heart and mind. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Calvinistic evangelicalism after World War II. --D. G. Hart Distinguished Associate Professor of History Hillsdale College Michigan This well-researched book illuminates the career of a scholar churchman and memorable teacher who left a major mark on American Christian life. --Mark Noll Author of Americas God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln I commend his work to anyone who seeks a better grasp of orthodox reformed theology in mainline Presbyterian denominations in the twentieth century. --Don MacLeod Research Professor of Church History Tyndale Theological Seminary Toronto Jeff McDonald demonstrates that his subject in company with a cohort of fellow United Presbyterians in western Pennsylvania exercised an influence on American evangelicalism out of all proportion to their numbers. -- Kenneth J. Stewart Professor of Theological Studies Covenant College Georgia A well-researched and engaging biography that portrays the successes failures and enduring legacy of this key player in American Reformed evangelicalism. --Bradley J. Longfield Professor of Church History University of Dubuque Theological Seminary This well-researched book illuminates the career of a scholar churchman and memorable teacher who left a major mark on American Christian life in the second half of the twentieth century. John Gerstner was sometimes on the losing side of debates among Presbyterians and evangelicals in which he took part but Jeffrey McDonald explains clearly why those debates deserve careful attention from readers with any interest in the causes that drove Gerstners career. --Mark Noll Author of Americas God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln John Gerstner longtime professor of theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was a dynamo in the classroom and as a conference speaker writer and church leader. His energy was mainly evident to those who heard him speak and prea