Reformation Thought

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.

"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))

• 1 The Reformation: An Introduction 1The Cry for Reform 2The Concept of “Reformation” 5The Lutheran Reformation 6The Reformed Church 7The Radical Reformation (Anabaptism) 9The Catholic Reformation 11The Importance of Printing 12The Use of the Vernacular in Theological Debates 15The Social Context of the Reformation 16The Religious Concerns of the Reformers: A Brief Overview 202 Christianity in the Late Middle Ages 23The Growth of Popular Religion 23The Rise in Anti-Clericalism 24The Rise of Doctrinal Pluralism 27A Crisis of Authority within the Church 30An English Case Study: Lollardy 323 Humanism and the Reformation 35The Concept of “Renaissance” 36The Concept of “Humanism” 37Classical Scholarship and Philology 38The New Philosophy of the Renaissance 38Kristeller’s View of Humanism 39Ad Fontes – Back to the Fountainhead 40Northern European Humanism 41The Northern European Reception of the Italian Renaissance 41The Ideals of Northern European Humanism 43Eastern Swiss Humanism 43French Legal Humanism 44Erasmus of Rotterdam 46The Critique of the Vulgate Text 48Editions of Patristic Writers 50Humanism and the Reformation – An Evaluation 51Humanism and the Swiss Reformation 52Humanism and the Wittenberg Reformation 53Tensions between the Reformation and Humanism 554 Scholasticism and the Reformation 59“Scholasticism” Defined 60Scholasticism and the Universities 62Types of Scholasticism 63Realism versus Nominalism 63“Pelagianism” and “Augustinianism” 65The Via Moderna 67The Schola Augustiniana Moderna 69The Impact of Medieval Scholasticism upon the Reformation 70Luther’s Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 71Calvin’s Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 725 The Reformers: A Biographical Introduction 75Martin Luther (1483–1546) 76Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) 81Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) 83Martin Bucer (1491–1551) 84John Calvin (1509–64) 856 The Return to the Bible 91Scripture in the Middle Ages 92The Concept of “Tradition” 92The Vulgate Translation of the Bible 94The Medieval Vernacular Versions of Scripture 94The Humanists and the Bible 95The Bible and the Protestant Reformation 97The Canon of Scripture 97The Authority of Scripture 98The Role of Tradition 100Methods of Interpreting Scripture 102The Right to Interpret Scripture 106The Translation of Scripture 110The Catholic Response: Trent on Scripture and Tradition 1127 The Doctrine of Justification by Faith 115A Foundational Theme: Redemption through Christ 115Justification and Martin Luther’s Theological Breakthrough 117Luther’s Early Views on Justification 118Luther’s Discovery of the “Righteousness of God” 119The Nature of Justifying Faith 121Consequences of Luther’s Doctrine of Justification 122The Concept of “Forensic Justification” 125Divergences among the Reformers on Justification 128Justification and the Swiss Reformation 128Later Developments: Bucer and Calvin on Justification 130Theological Diplomacy: “Double Justification” 132The Catholic Response: Trent on Justification 133The Nature of Justification 134The Nature of Justifying Righteousness 135The Nature of Justifying Faith 136The Assurance of Salvation 1378 The Doctrine of the Church 141The Background to the Reformation Debates: The Donatist Controversy 143The Context of the Reformation Views on the Church 146Luther on the Nature of the Church 147The Radical View of the Church 149Tensions within Luther’s Doctrine of the Church 151Calvin on the Nature of the Church 152The Two Marks of the Church 153The Structures of the Church 154Calvin on the Church and Consistory 155Calvin on the Role of the Church 157The Debate over the Catholicity of the Church 158The Council of Trent on the Church 1619 The Doctrine of the Sacraments 163The Background to the Sacramental Debates 163The Sacraments and the Promises of Grace 165Luther on the Sacraments 168Luther on the Real Presence 171Luther on Infant Baptism 172Zwingli on the Sacraments 174Zwingli on the Real Presence 176Zwingli on Infant Baptism 179Luther versus Zwingli: A Summary and Evaluation 181Anabaptist Views on the Sacraments 183Calvin on the Sacraments 185The Catholic Response: Trent on the Sacraments 18710 The Doctrine of Predestination 191The Background to the Reformation Debates over Predestination 191Zwingli on the Divine Sovereignty 193Melanchthon’s Changing Views on Predestination 195Calvin on Predestination 197Predestination in Later Reformed Theology 20211 The Political Thought of the Reformation 207The Radical Reformation and Secular Authority 207Luther’s Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms 210Zwingli on the State and Magistrate 216Bucer on Magistrate and Ministry 218Calvin on Magistrate and Ministry 21912 The Religious Ideas of the English Reformation 223The Social Role of Religious Ideas: Germany and England 223English Humanism 226The Origins of the English Reformation: Henry Viii 227The Consolidation of the English Reformation: Edward vi to Elizabeth I 230Justification by Faith in the English Reformation 233The Real Presence in the English Reformation 23613 The Diffusion of the Thought of the Reformation 241The Physical Agencies of Diffusion 241The Vernacular 241Books 242The Interchange of People 243The Diffusion of Ideas: The Key Texts 244The Catechisms 244Confessions of Faith 246Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion 24714 The Impact of Reformation Thought upon History 253An Affirmative Attitude Toward the World 254The Protestant Work Ethic 256Reformation Thought and the Origins of Capitalism 258Reformation Thought and Political Change 261Reformation Thought and the Emergence of the Natural Sciences 263Reformation Ecclesiologies and the Modern World 266Conclusion 267