The Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference (EDC) takes place every second year. The Rutherford Centre for Reformed Theology, which runs the conference, has a present interest in studying the doctrine of the church (ecclesiology). After two years of pandemic, when most churches began to take new forms or develop new ways of meeting, many questions are being asked: What is the church, and what is it for? Is it a core element of Christianity, or is it an optional extra? Does the doctrine of the church flow out of our understanding of God and the gospel, or is it to be viewed socially and pragmatically? Are the historic marks of the church still relevant to today''s discussions? This volume contains the papers given at the 2021 EDC. Here we have eight significant theologians exploring the nature and function of the church in ways that are challenging and thought-provoking. Continuing the study of ecclesiology, the 2023 EDC will address the subject of the Holy Spirit and the church, and in 2025 the subject will be creeds, confessions, and the church.
