Description: This book explores the history of the theme of 'union with Christ' in the Reformed tradition. After chapters on the legacy of Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy, the author uncovers three trajectories in American Reformed theology in which salvation as union with Christ is understood in remarkably different ways. The subsequent twentieth-century history of the theme is also explored. This detailed examination of New England Calvinism, Princeton Calvinism, and the Mercersburg Theology highlights the historic diversity present in Reformed thought, and the implications of that diversity for contemporary Evangelical and Reformed thought.
Brief description: William B. Evans is the Eunice Witherspoon Bell Younts and Willie Camp Younts Professor of Bible and Religion at Erkskine College in Due West, South Carolina, where he as taught since 1993. He holds degrees from Taylor University, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt University.
Review Quotes: 'This book makes a welcome and useful contribution in addressing a central and much debated issue in Reformed soteriology. With its concentration on developments within the American scene since the eighteenth century, it will be of particular interest and value to teachers, pastors and others with roots in that theological tradition. One need not agree with the author at every point to benefit from his uniformly careful research and thoughtful analysis. -- Richard B. Gaffin, Jr, Emeritus Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary 'This is a well-researched, clearly outlined, and convincingly argued account of several major themes in Reformed theology stretching from Calvin to twentieth-century European and American evangelical theologians.' --Mark A. Noll, McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame. 'Evans deals with a major theme in Reformed theology, one that was stated well by Calvin but became increasingly confused. With impressive range and persistence he traces this theme in Reformed scholasticism, the nineteenth century (when the issues were re-framed), and up to the present, offering his own convincing resolution.' -- Eugene TeSelle, Professor Emeritus of Church History and Theology, Vanderbilt University