An ancient question from the early church father Tertullian, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?,” has stimulated fruitful conversation down through the centuries. Sorting out the relationship between faith and reason is a task facing every age. And in 2017, it was tended to by a gathering of scholars at Central College in Pella, Iowa. Those presentations have now been collected in the volume, Faith and Reason in the Reformations. It contains contributions from academics across the spectrum of Western Christianity, including Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Reformed, and Evangelical voices. A guiding theme of the conference was how reflection on the relationship between faith and reason might aid the unity of the church.

This book is divided into two parts. The first five chapters are the essays of the keynote presenters, and by speaking from their own traditions, they effectively describe how the various branches of Western Christianity have attempted to articulate the faith/reason connection. The second section drills down to more detail and explains the way individual figures (Maimonides, Thomas More, Bonhoeffer, etc.) have, in effect, attempted to answer Tertullian’s famous query. The overall result is pleasing. This blend of academic voices creates harmony. I was left with a much richer understanding of the topic. In addition, this volume shows that paying attention to differences in our various confessions need not divide but can actually build stronger communities of faith.