The Reformation: Its Roots and Its Legacy

The papers in this volume are less a commemoration of the Reformation than a discussion of its meaning in the era after 2017. What is celebrated in 2017 is not the Reformation as such but the beginning of the Reformation. It was the dynamics of the new theology of Luther and Calvin that caused a radical change with global effects. Reformation is not just an historical event but an ongoing movement of renewal and change. The message of the Reformation constantly challenges us to think through positions actions attitudes and programs. This book presents contributions from eleven experts from all over Europe who deal with their various topics on the conviction that the essence of Luthers theology does not need to be adapted to make it relevant. The papers originated at the 2016 conference of the Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians which was held in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. What surprised me when I read that symposium was not the solid scholarship that undergirds the various essays: I had heard several of them in Wittenberg and I know most of the authors; I was struck and pleased by their freshness beyond expectation (I confess). Five hundred years but no mere exercise of memory. They open windows wide on our present. Discussions reveal relevant options. They offer rare and fascinating insights. They show the heritage alive and life-giving. --Henri Blocher former chair of FEET Pierre Berthoud is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Apologetics at the Faculte Jean Calvin Aix-en-Provence France and chair of the Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians. Pieter J. Lalleman is Tutor in Biblical Studies at Spurgeons College London.