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What is it to confess the Christian faith, and what is the status of formal confessions of faith? How far does the context inform the content of the confession? These questions are addressed in Part One, with reference to the Reformed tradition in general, and to its English and Welsh Dissenting strand in particular. In an adverse political context the Dissenters' plea for toleration under the law was eventually granted. The question of tolerance remains alive in our very different context, and in addition we face the challenge of confessing and commending the faith in an intellectual environment in which many question Christianity's relevance and rebut traditional defences of it.
In Part Two it is recognised that Christian confessing is an ecclesial, not simply an individual, calling, and that the one confessing church catholic is visibly divided over doctrine and practice. Suggestions for ameliorating this situation are offered, though the final resolution may be a matter for the eschaton. Until then Christians are called to witness faithfully and to live hopefully as citizens of heaven. In an epilogue the challenges and pitfalls of systematic theology as a discipline involving both confession and commendation are explored.
Contents
Preface
Part one: Confessing the Faith in Context
Introduction to Part One
1 Confessing the Faith and Confessions of Faith
2 Varieties of English Separatist and Dissenting Writings, 1558-1689
3 Separatists and Dissenters amidst the Arguments For and Against Toleration: Some Soundings, 1550-1689
4 Christianity, Secularism, and Toleration: Liberal Values and Illiberal Attitudes
5 The Use, Abuse, and Relevance of Religion: Some Reflections upon Abraham van de Beek's Proposal
6 Confessing the Faith in the Intellectual Context
Part two: Confessing the Faith Ecclesially and Hopefully
Introduction to Part Two
7 Calvin's Challenges to the Twenty-First-Century Church: Reflections on the 500th Anniversary of Calvin's Birth
8 Rectifying Calvin's Ecclesiology: The Doctrinal and Ecumenical Importance of Separatist Catholicity
9 Receiving from Other Christian Traditions and Overcoming the Hindrances Thereto: Some Reformed Reflections
10 Eschatology: Historical Fluctuations and Perennial, Practical Importance
11 Confessing the Faith in Systematic Theology? The locus and Authority of Revelation vis à vis Systematic Method: An Epilogue Light-hearted in Style, Serious in Intention
Index of Persons
Index of Subjects
