Coena Mystica contains the never-before-reprinted text of John Williamson Nevin''s response to Charles Hodge''s devastating critiques of his 1846 magnum opus, The Mystical Presence. Initially appearing in twelve issues of the little-known Weekly Messenger of the German Reformed Church and almost entirely neglected by historians since, Nevin''s response included the full text of Hodge''s article, with his rejoinders interspersed every few pages. These articles, in addition to providing a lively and illuminating debate on the roots of Reformed eucharistic theology, take the disputants into such fields as the nature of the church, the development of doctrine, the person and work of Christ, and the merits of German idealism. The quality of the historical argument and theological acumen here displayed makes this exchange one of the landmark theological controversies of the nineteenth century, a gift to historians of the period, students of Reformed theology, and anyone seeking to better understand the contentious legacy of the Protestant Reformation.The present critical edition carefully preserves the original text, while providing extensive introductions, annotations, and bibliography to orient the modern reader and facilitate further scholarship. The Mercersburg Theology Study Series is an attempt to make available for the first time, in attractive, readable, and scholarly modern editions, the key writings of the nineteenth-century movement known as the Mercersburg Theology. An ambitious multi-year project, this aims to make an important contribution to the scholarly community and to the broader reading public, who can at last be properly introduced to this unique blend of American and European, Reformed and Catholic theology.

The Mystical Presence (1846), John Williamson Nevin''s magnum opus, was an attempt to combat the sectarianism and subjectivism of nineteenth-century American religion by recovering the robust sacramental and incarnational theology of the Protestant Reformation, enriched with the categories of German idealism. In it, he makes the historical case for the spiritual real presence as the authentic Reformed doctrine of the Eucharist, and explains the theological and philosophical context that render the doctrine intelligible. The 1850 article "The Doctrine of the Reformed Church on the Lord''s Supper" represents his response to his arch critic, Charles Hodge of Princeton Seminary, providing what is still considered a definitive historical treatment of Reformed eucharistic theology. Both texts demonstrate Nevin''s immense erudition and theological creativity, contributing to our understanding not only of Reformed theology, but also of the unique milieu of nineteenth-century American religion. The present critical edition carefully preserves the original text, while providing extensive introductions, annotations, and bibliography to orient the modern reader and facilitate further scholarship. The Mercersburg Theology Study Series is an attempt to make available for the first time--in attractive, readable, and scholarly modern editions--the key writings of the nineteenth-century movement known as the Mercersburg Theology. An ambitious multi-year project, this aims to make an important contribution to the academic community and to the broader reading public, who may at last be properly introduced to this unique blend of American and European, Reformed and Catholic theology.

John Williamson Nevin''s life has never been given the full attention that it deserves. That may be due in part to the controversial nature of his thinking. Yet in many respects, his enormous contribution to American religious history is acknowledged by those who have read him. He stood out as the great advocate of evangelical catholicism, and his call for a thorough examination of the place of the church in nineteenth-century theology was revolutionary. It was Nevin who first saw the threat to the church in the erosion of faith in the church as a divine institution sacramentally entrusted by God with the reclamation of the whole world--an erosion that occurred well before the Civil War in the hypersubjectivity of Protestant America.

A computer-savvy genius obsessed with growing old strives for eternal youth and subsequently destroys the lives of those nearest to him. Seemingly incapable of love, Dorian Fist is unwittingly lured into a contemporary Faustian world filled with intrigue leading to temptation, betrayal, and death. Here the most challenging questions of current philosophy are set within a fast-moving plot with an unexpected conclusion.

Coena Mystica contains the never-before-reprinted text of John Williamson Nevin''s response to Charles Hodge''s devastating critiques of his 1846 magnum opus, The Mystical Presence. Initially appearing in twelve issues of the little-known Weekly Messenger of the German Reformed Church and almost entirely neglected by historians since, Nevin''s response included the full text of Hodge''s article, with his rejoinders interspersed every few pages. These articles, in addition to providing a lively and illuminating debate on the roots of Reformed eucharistic theology, take the disputants into such fields as the nature of the church, the development of doctrine, the person and work of Christ, and the merits of German idealism. The quality of the historical argument and theological acumen here displayed makes this exchange one of the landmark theological controversies of the nineteenth century, a gift to historians of the period, students of Reformed theology, and anyone seeking to better understand the contentious legacy of the Protestant Reformation.The present critical edition carefully preserves the original text, while providing extensive introductions, annotations, and bibliography to orient the modern reader and facilitate further scholarship. The Mercersburg Theology Study Series is an attempt to make available for the first time, in attractive, readable, and scholarly modern editions, the key writings of the nineteenth-century movement known as the Mercersburg Theology. An ambitious multi-year project, this aims to make an important contribution to the scholarly community and to the broader reading public, who can at last be properly introduced to this unique blend of American and European, Reformed and Catholic theology.

The Mystical Presence (1846), John Williamson Nevin''s magnum opus, was an attempt to combat the sectarianism and subjectivism of nineteenth-century American religion by recovering the robust sacramental and incarnational theology of the Protestant Reformation, enriched with the categories of German idealism. In it, he makes the historical case for the spiritual real presence as the authentic Reformed doctrine of the Eucharist, and explains the theological and philosophical context that render the doctrine intelligible. The 1850 article "The Doctrine of the Reformed Church on the Lord''s Supper" represents his response to his arch critic, Charles Hodge of Princeton Seminary, providing what is still considered a definitive historical treatment of Reformed eucharistic theology. Both texts demonstrate Nevin''s immense erudition and theological creativity, contributing to our understanding not only of Reformed theology, but also of the unique milieu of nineteenth-century American religion. The present critical edition carefully preserves the original text, while providing extensive introductions, annotations, and bibliography to orient the modern reader and facilitate further scholarship. The Mercersburg Theology Study Series is an attempt to make available for the first time--in attractive, readable, and scholarly modern editions--the key writings of the nineteenth-century movement known as the Mercersburg Theology. An ambitious multi-year project, this aims to make an important contribution to the academic community and to the broader reading public, who may at last be properly introduced to this unique blend of American and European, Reformed and Catholic theology.

John Williamson Nevin''s life has never been given the full attention that it deserves. That may be due in part to the controversial nature of his thinking. Yet in many respects, his enormous contribution to American religious history is acknowledged by those who have read him. He stood out as the great advocate of evangelical catholicism, and his call for a thorough examination of the place of the church in nineteenth-century theology was revolutionary. It was Nevin who first saw the threat to the church in the erosion of faith in the church as a divine institution sacramentally entrusted by God with the reclamation of the whole world--an erosion that occurred well before the Civil War in the hypersubjectivity of Protestant America.

A computer-savvy genius obsessed with growing old strives for eternal youth and subsequently destroys the lives of those nearest to him. Seemingly incapable of love, Dorian Fist is unwittingly lured into a contemporary Faustian world filled with intrigue leading to temptation, betrayal, and death. Here the most challenging questions of current philosophy are set within a fast-moving plot with an unexpected conclusion.