The Development of the Church: "The Principle of Protestantism" and Other Historical Writings of Philip Schaff: 3 (Mercersburg Theology Study)

Philip Schaff the founder of church history in America was widely celebrated in his later career. Soon after his arrival from Germany however his Principle of Protestantism (1845) was stiffly denounced for its favorable attitude toward Roman Catholicism harsh critique of denominationalism and theory of historical progress leading to a church that would be both Evangelical and Catholic. Charles Hodges review of the book provided the most cogent analysis of its implications for American Christianity. Schaff further clarified his understanding of progress in What Is Church History? (1846) and German Theology and the Church Question (1853). Together these early writings of the Mercersburg theology set forth the parameters of what later generations would call the ecumenical movement. This edition carefully preserves these texts while providing extensive introductions annotations bibliography and a glossary of key names to orient the reader and facilitate further scholarship. The Mercersburg Theology Study Series presents attractive readable scholarly modern editions of the key writings of the nineteenth-century theological movement led by Philip Schaff and John Nevin. It aims to introduce the academic community and the broader public more fully to Mercersburgs unique blend of American and European Reformed and Catholic theology. Philip Schaff is well known for his organic view of church history that he hoped would free American Protestants from anti-Catholicism and encourage them to embrace a vision of the churchs progress toward union. The writings collected in this edition support that reputation and reveal the relevance of Schaff in both his day and ours. This volume is a must-read for those discovering the origin of the ecumenical movement. --Sam Hamstra Jr. Affiliate Professor of Church History and Worship Northern Seminary; Author of Whats Love Got to Do With It?: How the Heart of God Shapes Worship Philip Schaff (1819-93) was a professor at Mercersburg Seminary and Union Theological Seminary and nineteenth-century Americas leading church historian. David R. Bains is the Armstrong Professor of Religion at Samford University. Publications of his histories of theology and worship include The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to World Christianity. Theodore Louis Trost is Professor of Religious Studies and New College at the University of Alabama. His writings include Douglas Horton and the Ecumenical Impulse in American Religion.