Reformation Thought

"Anyone looking to understand the theological and sociopolitical world of the Protestant Reformation and it's present influence would do well to look nowhere else but this latest edition of Reformation Thought." (Jacob Sweeney's Blog, 17 May 2012) "[McGrath] is one of the best scholars and teachers of the Reformation.... Teachers will rejoice in this wonderfully useful book." (Teaching History (of a previous edition))

Alister E. McGrath is the Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion & Culture at King's College London, having previously been Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University. He is one of the world's leading Protestant theologians and has long been involved in theological education. McGrath is also the author of some of the world's most widely used theological textbooks, including the bestselling Christian Theology: An Introduction (2010, Wiley-Blackwell), now in its fifth edition. He is in constant demand as a speaker at conferences throughout the world.

1 The Reformation: An Introduction 1 The Cry for Reform 2 The Concept of Reformation 5 The Lutheran Reformation 6 The Reformed Church 7 The Radical Reformation (Anabaptism) 9 The Catholic Reformation 11 The Importance of Printing 12 The Use of the Vernacular in Theological Debates 15 The Social Context of the Reformation 16 The Religious Concerns of the Reformers: A Brief Overview 20 2 Christianity in the Late Middle Ages 23 The Growth of Popular Religion 23 The Rise in Anti-Clericalism 24 The Rise of Doctrinal Pluralism 27 A Crisis of Authority within the Church 30 An English Case Study: Lollardy 32 3 Humanism and the Reformation 35 The Concept of Renaissance 36 The Concept of Humanism 37 Classical Scholarship and Philology 38 The New Philosophy of the Renaissance 38 Kristellers View of Humanism 39 Ad Fontes Back to the Fountainhead 40 Northern European Humanism 41 The Northern European Reception of the Italian Renaissance 41 The Ideals of Northern European Humanism 43 Eastern Swiss Humanism 43 French Legal Humanism 44 Erasmus of Rotterdam 46 The Critique of the Vulgate Text 48 Editions of Patristic Writers 50 Humanism and the Reformation An Evaluation 51 Humanism and the Swiss Reformation 52 Humanism and the Wittenberg Reformation 53 Tensions between the Reformation and Humanism 55 4 Scholasticism and the Reformation 59 Scholasticism Defined 60 Scholasticism and the Universities 62 Types of Scholasticism 63 Realism versus Nominalism 63 Pelagianism and Augustinianism 65 The Via Moderna 67 The Schola Augustiniana Moderna 69 The Impact of Medieval Scholasticism upon the Reformation 70 Luthers Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 71 Calvins Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 72 5 The Reformers: A Biographical Introduction 75 Martin Luther (14831546) 76 Huldrych Zwingli (14841531) 81 Philipp Melanchthon (14971560) 83 Martin Bucer (14911551) 84 John Calvin (150964) 85 6 The Return to the Bible 91 Scripture in the Middle Ages 92 The Concept of Tradition 92 The Vulgate Translation of the Bible 94 The Medieval Vernacular Versions of Scripture 94 The Humanists and the Bible 95 The Bible and the Protestant Reformation 97 The Canon of Scripture 97 The Authority of Scripture 98 The Role of Tradition 100 Methods of Interpreting Scripture 102 The Right to Interpret Scripture 106 The Translation of Scripture 110 The Catholic Response: Trent on Scripture and Tradition 112 7 The Doctrine of Justification by Faith 115 A Foundational Theme: Redemption through Christ 115 Justification and Martin Luthers Theological Breakthrough 117 Luthers Early Views on Justification 118 Luthers Discovery of the Righteousness of God 119 The Nature of Justifying Faith 121 Consequences of Luthers Doctrine of Justification 122 The Concept of Forensic Justification 125 Divergences among the Reformers on Justification 128 Justification and the Swiss Reformation 128 Later Developments: Bucer and Calvin on Justification 130 Theological Diplomacy: Double Justification 132 The Catholic Response: Trent on Justification 133 The Nature of Justification 134 The Nature of Justifying Righteousness 135 The Nature of Justifying Faith 136 The Assurance of Salvation 137 8 The Doctrine of the Church 141 The Background to the Reformation Debates: The Donatist Controversy 143 The Context of the Reformation Views on the Church 146 Luther on the Nature of the Church 147 The Radical View of the Church 149 Tensions within Luthers Doctrine of the Church 151 Calvin on the Nature of the Church 152 The Two Marks of the Church 153 The Structures of the Church 154 Calvin on the Church and Consistory 155 Calvin on the Role of the Church 157 The Debate over the Catholicity of the Church 158 Th