For a variety of reasons, the Reformed tradition is difficult to describe with precision. Unlike other Christian traditions, it lacks a centralised authority or a founding figure. Further complicating matters, the Reformed tradition has often been associated with a few controversial doctrines, and focus on these doctrines has led to a distorted understanding of Reformed thought as a whole. Generously Reformed: Theology Rooted Deep and Reaching Wide, by Western Theological Seminary professors Todd Billings, Suzanne McDonald and Alberto La Rosa Rojas, admirably navigates these difficulties to provide an excellent introduction to the Reformed tradition. The authors portray the Reformed tradition as first and foremost a way of thinking within the broader stream of catholic Christianity. While forthright about Reformed failures and attentive to Reformed diversity, the authors make a case for being rooted within a tradition rather than trying to stand outside traditions as an ahistorical interpreter of the Bible.
The authors begin with the difficulty in characterising the Reformed tradition and discuss the historical context that led the early Reformed leaders to commit to similarity rather than uniformity in doctrinal statements and flexibility in matters of worship and church governance. In the midst of what might strike some as theological ‘messiness’, they make a case for deemphasising reductive theological shorthands. Instead, they adopt a ‘slow thinking’ approach for worshipfully pursuing knowledge of God in accordance with scripture. They advocate a posture of generosity and curiosity in respectful dialogue with others, both within and outside of the Reformed tradition, as most appropriate to the mystery of God and to the limitations of human knowledge. As they proceed, the authors do not attempt to comprehensively describe Reformed theology but instead model the slow thinking approach with a set of questions they commonly encounter.
In chapter 2, the authors address the global scope of Reformed Christianity and argue that the tradition is best understood as multinational and multi-ethnic. This diversity is supported by an ecclesiology that identifies the church not with an institutional hierarchy or a dominant group, but with the ‘marks’ of receiving God’s Word in preaching and the sacraments. At the same time, the authors note the presence of racism in Reformed history and the many failures of Reformed leaders and churches to live out this inclusive vision of God’s family. Chapter 3 also investigates what it means to be included in God’s family and highlights the Reformed commitment to God’s grace, as the authors defend the longstanding practice of infant baptism. This lucid chapter, which covers both biblical and theological arguments with sensitivity to Christians who practise believers’ baptism, would be useful as a stand-alone introduction to the topic for church groups and college classrooms.
In chapters 4 and 5, the authors consider two well-known and controversial Reformed doctrines: election and providence. Chapter 4 places election within the broader context of the biblical narrative and observes that the Reformed teaching articulated in the Canons of Dort is a logical outworking of a deep commitment to the primacy of God’s grace in salvation. For those interested in the infamous Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints (TULIP) theology, this chapter includes a point-by-point analysis in which the authors argue that the popular acronym is often a misrepresentation or oversimplification of the canons. The authors do not, however, use complexity to disguise the difficult nature of the doctrine and are attentive to modern theologians like Schleiermacher and Barth, who sought to address concerns regarding God’s rejection of some of God’s creatures by moving in the direction of universalism.
Chapter 5 on divine providence is likewise attentive to the complexity of the doctrine and the discrepancy between the nuance found in Reformed confessions and the more reductive depictions in popular discourse. While acknowledging the way the doctrine of providence can be misused to encourage insensitivity to suffering, the authors underscore that scripture and the Reformed confessions encourage prayerful lament, humility and a recognition of the limits of human wisdom. They are especially careful to note how Reformed theologians and confessions, far from departing from the philosophical sophistication of mediaeval theology, employ many of the same philosophical distinctions, like primary and secondary causality and the permissive will of God, that mediaeval theologians used in their discussions of providence.
The final two chapters engage topics that Reformed Christians are sometimes thought to neglect. In chapter 6, the authors argue that Reformed theology brings together both evangelism and social justice, as each is rooted in the ‘double grace’ of justification and sanctification. God’s transformation of the believer into the image of Christ cannot take place without the believer’s action for justice on behalf of the vulnerable neighbour. Here again the authors are quick to observe that Reformed Christians have often failed in this task, and they include a discussion of South African apartheid and the Belhar Confession. This concern for justice continues in the final chapter, which examines Reformed eschatology. While this topic is not generally associated with Reformed thought, the authors argue that a robust commitment in Reformed confessions to a final judgement and to bodily resurrection entail a belief in God’s final action to set creation right.
For such a concise and readable volume, Generously Reformed is written with exceptional nuance and with generosity and respect for its many conversation partners. It should be a welcome addition in both academic and congregational contexts.
