DESCRIPTION
Translated by Martin KesslerHaving completed three collections of work during his lifetime, Dutch theologian Frans H. Breukelman left much of his work to be published by a later generation of students. Rinse H. Reeling Brouwer has taken up the task, resulting in
The Structure of Sacred Doctrine in Calvin's Theology.
Brouwer brings to life Breukelman's extensive study of Calvin's doctrine from the first form of his
Institutes -- the 1536 basic catechism -- through all of its incarnations to the 1559 final, definitive form. Breukelman illuminates the deep theological significance of Calvin's many changes to the
Institutes, showing that the form and structure of doctrine reveal the hidden direction of the content. Finally, Brouwer focuses on Breukelman's intriguing belief that the entire Reformed doctrinal tradition has proceeded along the line of only
one of the possibilities in the structure of Calvin's theology.
REVIEWS
Katherine Sonderegger
— Virginia Theological Seminary
"Rinse Reeling Brouwer has brought to the English-speaking world the erudite scholarship of Dutch theologian Frans Breukelman. . . Breukelman weighs in on controversies between Edward Dowey and T. H. L. Parker on proper interpretation of Calvin, and he assesses Karl Barth's legacy as a Calvinist theologian. Surprising and instructive insights are gleaned along the way on biblical narrative and the 'historicizing' of doctrine; the roots of Protestant modernism in older orthodoxy; and the relation of Calvin to Luther and Melanchthon. A rich resource for Calvin scholars!"