The Age of the Reformation (Reading & Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship

Reading & Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church #4

by Hughes Oliphant Old

The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church is a multivolume study by Hughes Oliphant Old that explores the history of preaching from the words of Moses at Mount Sinai through modern times. In Volume 4, The Age of the Reformation , Old focuses on changes in preaching due to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. This is the pivotal volume in Old's project, covering as it does not only what the Reformers and Counter-Reformers preached but also their reform of preaching itself. Old traces the main events and people involved in the development of preaching at this time -- Luther, Calvin, Thomas of Villanova, Francis Xavier, William Perkins, John Donne, Johann Gerhard, Jacques Bossuet, and many more -- while also giving due attention to how preaching was itself an act of worship.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Dr. Hughes Oliphant Old was the John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary and Dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship. He was a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and studied at the University of Tübingen, the Protestant Theological Faculty of Paris, the Institute Catholique of Paris, and the University of Basel. He completed a D. théol. at the University of Neuchâtel and was appointed a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. His 18 years of pastoral ministry in two churches, combined with meticulous research, has informed his prolific publishing.

Reviews

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to thank the Lord that I took the plunge into this multi-volume work. Old does a marvellous job of covering the preaching and the use of Scripture in Worship. Part of me will be sad when this journey is over, but let me share a bit about Vol 4 which I just finished.

I had assumed that now that we were out of the Medieval period, I would be on much more familiar grounds when it comes to the Reformation Period - but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learnt from this volume. Covering the 16th and 17th Centuries, and focusing mainly on Europe (including UK), one is not surprised that he starts with Luther - whom I thought the Author did a good coverage on - and moves through Zwingli and other early Reformation Preachers, and then on to Calvin. Whilst it is not surprising that the Author (being Presbyterian) does a good coverage of Calvin, I found it to be quiet a balanced one.

But at this point, the book is barely started. From covering the English Reformation, then on to the Counter-Reformation, the Purtians, development of Anglicanism, Protestantism in several different countries and finishing with the Catholic Preaching in the court of Louis XIV - is a phenomenal ride!

I haven't seen such a good and positive coverage of the Counter-Reformation, from a preaching point of view, by a Protestant author. Given that I am a Lutheran Pastor, there is of course bias on my side as well. However, I thought the Author was very gracious, and looked for the strengths - and thus I learnt a great deal.

I also thought he did a good (though naturally brief given the scope) coverage of Puritan Preaching - and covered a couple of guys I was unfamiliar with. Similarly with the growth of 17th Century Protestantism covered by several chapters - a lot of ground I was quite familiar with, but still Old had a significant number of surprises for me.

But overall, I was very surprised that the Author could make me interested in the Catholic preaching of the "over the top" court of King Louis XIV. Surely this is was a place where any aspect of genuine Christianity had been smothered. Whilst the Author in no way tries to justify the court, or "tone down" the sins, rather he uses them to set the challenges that the Preachers faced, and the challenges they chose to take on. I am very appreciative of this chapter, as I very much enjoyed Old's coverage of this.

So I continue to enjoy my travels through Church History, seen through Preaching and the Reading of Scripture, and eagerly look forward to the surprises install in Volume 5!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting section on Valerius Herberger's typological preaching.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasurable read.