The Beauty and Glory of the Reformation

by Joel R. Beeke (Editor)

The essays in The Beauty and Glory of the Reformation call you to be grateful to God and to grow in appreciation for the rich biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical heritage passed on by the great sixteenth-century Reformation. Through these studies, you will be challenged to treasure basic Reformation principles such as Scripture alone, Christ alone, and the glory of God alone, as well as to grow in awareness of what amazing spiritual mentors and models of godliness a variety of Reformation stalwarts were and what they can still teach us today. These include Martin Luther, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, and William Perkins; lesser-known pastors in Geneva; and women such as Katherine Luther, Katharina Zell, Anna Bullinger, Katherine Willoughby, and Catherine de Bourbon. You will also discover the reformers commitment to propagate the gospel to all nations and the riches of the Reformation view of missions. Finally, you will be treated to insightful essays on Augustine as an important backdrop to the Reformation and on the beauty and glory of the Christology of the Reformation. The authors pray that these essays will help you increasingly become genuine sons and daughters of the Reformation by following the Reformers' lives and teachings insofar as they followed the Lord Jesus Christ.

Authors include:

Andrew Ballitch
Joel Beeke
Ian Hamilton
Michael Haykin
Elias Medeiros
Stephen Myers
Carl Trueman
Rebecca VanDoodeward
William VanDoodeward

Genres: Theology, History

206 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Dr. Joel R. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978 and has served as a pastor of his current church, Heritage Reformed Congregation, since 1986. He is also editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited fifty books and contributed over fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary is in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology. He is frequently called upon to lecture at Reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Calvin, Esther, and Lydia.

Reviews

[NinaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, this book is a series of essays that discussed different people and events of the Reformation. I especially like the chapters on Augustine by Carl Truman and the Reformation Women by Rebecca VanDooDeward. I picked this up to prepare for Reformation celebrations.

[Carol Blakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though some chapters were more interesting than others, each chapter had really good information that your average church member hasn’t heard before. For example, I had read about Calvin’s Geneva, but I hadn’t heard about the level of pastoral care that was developed there, as well as the much higher standard of Christian living to which the pastors there were to maintain. That standard is a given in our day, but in that time clerics did what they wanted and had little idea of what God’s standards really were.


I highly recommend it for anyone to read, but especially those in reformed traditions.

[Laramie Gildon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good church history refresher based on a conference a couple of years ago. It may seem a little strange but one of the bigger takeaways for me was some insight into 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that speaks to the “man of God” and how it ties back to the prophets of the OT. I do believe the language used in the NT that speaks about prophecy is more geared towards forth-telling of the apostolic teachings but this further confirmed it for me and the duty/role of the pastor. Good stuff.

[Michael Caputo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonder short book on the Reformation

[Andrew Mulnix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 10 Learning from the Women of the Reformation by Rebecca VanDoodewaard was very good. The section on Katharina Zell was particularly moving.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially enjoyed chaper 10 with its focus on women like Martin Luther's wife, Katie, a former Roman Catholic nun and how she adjusted to life outside the convent. Hint: very well, indeed!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that includes a section on the life and works of Katharina von Bora (later Katharina Luther) is sure to get at least 4 stars from me.

[Peter Kiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction into various reformation figures, as well as some interesting lectures on the theology of missions. Good overall book :)

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, eclectic look at the Reformation through the lens of appreciation.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of essays the helps broaden and deepen your understanding of the Reformation. As you can guess from the title it is pro-Reformation.