The Reformation in 200 pages.
586429
A very good overview of the Reformation. It is a well-written and easy read, even the theological principles.
1990472
As a newcomer to the debates regarding the Reformation Perspective on Paul, I found this book to be immensely helpful in presenting concise scholarship for a wide audience.  Wright makes his volume accessible to the layman in an engaging way.  Written with his usual candor, this small volume is tremendously helpful in getting an idea of what the New Perspective describes as a new reformation.

A few readthroughs are definitely in my plans.
2164780
The Practice of Confessional Subscription

edited by David Hall

First, this is perhaps the third book i've read edited by David Hall, he is a competent and interesting historian. A little too conservative political for my tastes but i do appreciate being challenged, i will search out his name and writings.

Second, the book is simply the must read introduction to the topic. As such it will figure prominently in my summer class on American Presbyterian history which is the reason i got and read the book.

Third, it is a collection of essays, not badly done at all, apparently there was a lot of cooperation and knowledge shared as the essays were being written and this shows in the quality of the final product. There is some noticable repetition, as well as some noticable difference in opinion on the facts and historical data, but generally there is a nice consensus and the positions are clear enough to make informed judgements. Nice result for an (ed) work.

What is the topic?

Creeds, confessionalism, subscriptionism are like a series of smaller included circles. The second chapter "The Biblical and Pastoral basis of Creeds and Confessions" by Rayburn is excellent and is where i would start reading to get an idea of the book and topic. Creeds are short summaries of Christian doctrine, often written in the face of particular opposition. Confessions are much longer, strive for completeness, and are summaries for memorization, study and most importantly form the element of discipline called subscriptionism. Which is the issue of how to fence the preaching-teaching ministry of the church so as to assure orthodoxy throughout the changing generations. To detect heresy while it is still uninfluential and combatable. To include the right men for the ministry, to exclude the wrong ones from the start (under care, or joining presbytery), and to act as discipline to move those inside to the outside upon serious change in thinking.

It is not so much to these elements of subscriptionism that the book speaks to directly, but rather a narrow one of how to draw boundaries with subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith. What motivates the discussion is the mainline PCUSA being liberal and the general consensus of conservatives especially in the PCA (from which most of the authors are recruited) that the PCUSA is heretical and is no longer a Christian Church. How this happened in the 1930-northern or 1960's-southern is the underlying unspoken fears of these writers. At this point i am reminded of something that was said about the Great Wall of China---"a wall, no matter how vast, is only as strong as those who guard it's gates".

It is to this gate-guarding function of subscriptionism that the book is addressed. In particular, how broadly is the variation to be allowed within the pastorate?

As an image it is the width of the stroke of the brush that draws the boundary. Can you disagree with the WCF on big things? How do you define big things? Who gets to set the changing brush width as the church moves through the ages, times and zeitgeist change and effect the church? It is not a discussion of how to change the constitution of the Church to fit evolving conceptions, but will eventually lead that way.

I think it is a unique book and am interested in more in the same vein, please email me with recommendations.
4189634
I bought this book an a whim and was very glad that I did.  Mathison has done contemporary Christianity a service buy publishing this work.
He gives the reader a solid background in the issues concerning the Reformation debate on the Eucharist.  In it, I believe, he vindicates the three major players - Luther, Zwingli and Calvin - explaining how Calvin wasn't as far from Luther and how Zwingli eventually came over the Calvin's position.  Thus almost unifying the magesterial reformers on such an important reformational topic.
Mathison also gives us a masterful look at post-reformation thought on the issue, citing all of the major confessions and catechisms from the Reformation to today - as well as looking at major theologians throughout church history.
The one drawback was his treatment of Jonathan Edwards - which is understandable considering the only published sermons of Edwards on the Supper make him appear Zwingliian.  However there are a series of unpublished sermons on the Lord's Supper that clearly prove that Edwards was a Calvinist when it came to this means of grace.  There is an excellent article in Pro Ecclesia - A Journal of Catholic and Evangelical Theology (Vol. vii - No. 3 - Summer 98) by William J. Danaher, Jr. that exposes Edwards for the Calvinist that he is.
Also, it would be nice in a subsequent edition if Mathison would highlight the view of the early Particular Baptists which was undoubtedly Calvinistic - as opposed to some of the later one's who developed a memorialist view.
Mathison's exegesis of Old and New Testament texts enlighten the reader to see how Biblical Calvin's view is.  We would do well to harken to Mathison's exhortation to return to this rich view of the Supper.
3006760
This was an unbiased history of the Baptist Reformation.  The writing was clear and concise, and the footnotes completed the narrative.  I highly commend this work to all who are interested in contemporary Baptist history.
3125772
Commentaries come in all types and sizes. Some are daunting: a thousand pages long, detailed Greek and Hebrew in the body of the text, voluminous footnotes and interaction with a variety of ancient literature beyond the Biblical text itself. Others are a glorified sermonettes with a few points of application.

In the latest volume for the Evangelical Press Study Commentary series, Guy Prentiss Waters provides an accessible volume designed for the typical pastor or lay teacher today. He covers the book of Acts and his writing style is warm and inviting. The book is more of a survey of the interpretive landscape with a focus on what matters for pastors teaching through the text. There is not much discussion of Greek, and the footnotes routinely direct the reader to other resources for more detailed discussions of various questions.

This summary nature of the book may make it less useful to more versed scholars, but for the average pastor it clears the plate to focus on the good stuff. Additionally, Waters has combed through a variety of works and saved us the time by quoting the best portions of these commentaries and highlighting which discussions are worth interacting with in those other works. The book is long (614 pages), but the font is large with extra generous spacing, and even the footnotes are easily readable.

Waters approaches the text as a Reformed author, so he does not promote a charismatic reading of the text. He highlights the covenantal nature of the gospel emphasizing the household conversions that feature so prominently in Reformed defenses of paedobaptism. Another key feature of the commentary are the frequent application sections throughout the book.

This book will be useful in study, and prove to be a help for many.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review.
3445947
Although this book is only 126 pages, there is quite a bit of information in it. The Pope talks about Sacred Scripture and its relationship with the Church and Sacred Tradtion. For a better understanding of how Scripture and Tradition works whithin the Church, I would recommend this book. Be prepared to take your time and digest each paragraph. These 126 pages offer hours of theological explanation. No fluff here.
329339
Peter Marshall did an excellent job of making the Reformation (actually, Reformations) understandable. Although I am still unclear on some of the theological and philosophical divides between Catholicism  and Protestantism and their ideological offshoots, I have a much better grasp of the subject matter thanks to Marshall's clear writing.

In about 130 pages, Marshall explores the philosophical, cultural, and political effects of the religious movements collectively known as the Reformation. There is a valuable chronology at the back of the book that will make this a go-to reference material even after you've read the text. As with the other Very Short Introductions in the Oxford series, this has fairly short chapters that are broken down into several headings, which makes the book easy to read and easy to go back and find passages later.

For a potentially hot topic, the text seemed well balanced and did not appear to favor either religious camp, so there was a distinct lack of "us-versus-them" mentality in the text -- as it should be for an academic work.

Marshall also mentioned Max Weber and his "Protestant work ethic," in which Weber argued that it was the Protestant work ethic which drove Protestant nations to develop faster and more thoroughly than Catholic nations with similar resources at their disposal. Marshall offered some brief, but insightful, reasons why Weber may have been way off base in his conclusions, arguing cogently that it was a combination of factors that dictated how nations developed rather than a single philosophical difference.

I would recommend this as a first read on the Reformation, although there may be some names that person new to the subject would still need to look up. But these Very Short Introductions aren't "Dummies" books; despite the word "introduction" in the subtitle, there is a tacit assumption that you have some background in history or at least have heard some of the names mentioned in the text. This is not an insurmountable obstacle to reading the book, though.
2838861
A beautifully written reexamination of the history of the reformation in England, which convincingly undermines
the history taught to generations of schoolchildren.
316266
Whoever did the conversion did a good job. They added an outline of each postil that gives a good summary of each work. Although I have three hardcopy of these books and find these a valuable resource in writing sermons or lessons on Lutheran doctrine.
32675
In preparation for the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation, this is an outstanding explanation of the key documents that Martin Luther presented and began the movement. Wengert's discussion in his introduction is enlightening to those who might think they understand the history of the posting and publication of Luther's 95 Theses. The booklet is crisply and concisely written and allows the reader to better understand the workings of the late-Medieval church. It is a great guide for study groups tackling the subject.
4518537
The book is very good. It highlights the changes that the Church need to make during these endtimes. The author gives a very good description of how to walk in the Glory of God, how to renew our thinking. How to exercize authority over time.
4231550
If the Reformation era seems daunting or tiresome to you, then this is the text for you. I highly recommend it.
844182
In True Reform, Massimo Faggioli writes primarily as a historian. This is important since the Second Vatican Council was not an isolated event fossilized in timeless reality. Rather, the bishops realized that they were engaging the Catholic Church in the unfolding process of human history. This is called historicity. Faggioli makes two important points. First, the Constitution on the Liturgy was not hatched out of the blue. It was born from more than a century of study, prayer, discussion and experimentation at all levels of church leadership, including previous popes. Secondly, the theological principles the bishops used as guides, such as full, active and conscious participation of all the faithful were not intended merely for conducting Sunday Mass. They presumed that these principles operate in all aspects of church life  using the Bible, internal structures, relationship with the modern world, ecumenism, freedom of religion, and so forth. As a student of theology in Rome during the four years of the Council, I can personally attest to the fact that the theologians who were teaching me (some of whom were advisors to those bishops) were steeped in these principles of participation and inclusion. Faggiolis analysis of the Liturgy Constitution marks the Councils fiftieth anniversary  not for celebrating an accomplishment, but as a challenge to keep moving forward. The work of church renewal is just beginning. True Reform helps us map the way.  Victor Clore
25950
Very informative book for those interested in the Protestant reformation in England. Packed with glimpses of everyday life and customs. Duffy deserves his kudos.
215328
-Introduction-

John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is the latest book written by John Piper in his line of more biographical works.  Piper is best known for being the Senior Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, the head of Desiring God, and books such as Don't Waste Your Life. The Forward to John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God has been written by Gerald L. Bray.  Furthermore, it is fitting that this book has been released in 2009; the year marking 500 years since John Calvin's birth.

-Summary-

In a book of only sixty-four pages, Chapter One does not begin with John Calvin; instead it begins with God.  Piper writes:

"John Calvin would approve that we begin with God rather than him.  Nothing mattered more to Calvin than the supremacy of God over all things." (p. 11)

Despite its brevity, the reader is left with an edifying insight into a man the Lord used mightily during the Reformation, and is stirred reading accounts ranging from his conversion (p. 20), the reason he wrote The Institutes (p. 30), his physical guarding of the Lord's Table from the libertines (p. 43), to a portion of a letter he penned after the death of his first born son (p. 36).  Flowing from Piper's easy to read style, the reader is left confident of his contention; John Calvin was a man with a passion for the majesty of God.

-Critique-

The brevity of this book is both a blessing and a curse.  It is a blessing in that it quickly gives you an overview of the man John Calvin, giving most of the attention to his passion for the majesty of God, and his faithful exposition of the Scriptures, for it is within them God has revealed the truth of His majesty.  This may serve then as an excellent introduction to reading biographies, studying church history, or as a quick encouragement to the Pastor and layman alike.  However, it may serve as a curse, leaving the reader wanting more, or even disappointed simply due to its brevity.  Personally, appreciating that this book was originally written as a chapter in The Legacy of Sovereign Joy and therefore by nature brief, I was able to receive this book as a blessing.

It is no secret that outside of the Reformed tradition, there are many who do not look highly upon John Calvin.  Much of this can be put down to ignorance of the man (which this books suitable helps correct), although notably John Calvin's involvement with Michael Servetus has tarnished his name.  Providing a brief appendix, John Piper examines the case of Servetus in light of the barbaric world in which Calvin lived.  The treatment is fair, and to Piper's credit aids to the honesty and appeal of the book.

-Conclusion-

John Piper's biographical book, John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is a book I highly recommend to all Christians.  It provides an overview of a man used mightily by the Lord during the Reformation, and whose literature is still so influencial today.  The heart of John Calvin is presented as a man with a passion for the majesty of God, and a dedication to expositing God's Word faithfully and consistently.  This alone is an ever present need of encouragement to the sacrificing Pastor, and an example which should stir the layman with a new found appreaciation for the work of Calvin and preachers who follow in his footsteps.
1787467
Amazon says this book comes up to 28 pages. I think this work would make up a decent biography written for a High School class. On Kindle this work is free. If one needs an introductory to John Hus and his martyrdom for his refusal to be obedient to the Roman Catholic Church.  Matthew Spinka like other thorough biography gives a more comprehensive presentation of John Wycliffe thoughts and John Hus. One should read this work as a sort of primer that gives a broad sketch about John Hus' ministry. One will get an elementary understanding John Wycliffe's thought on the Lord's Table, some understanding that Hus defense on Wycliffe's argument, along with the Historical time line, Hus ministry, Roman Catholic persecution, safe conduct promise, trial and martyrdom.  One will not come away with the ideas of Wycliffe were not in total agreement with Hus. Hus would not bow to the Roman authority. Wycliffe was critical of economic dominion over its less privilege members. The thoughts of these two men and the interaction of these dealt cannot be dealt with much significance in such a short work.