Presbyterian Faith That Lives Today

by Donald K. McKim

Overview

In this insightful book, Donald K. McKim explores the basic tenets of Presbyterian theology and doctrine, from their beginnings to their meaning for the church today. Throughout McKim emphasizes the how Presbyterian history can inform current and future challenges. Without prescribing solutions to contemporary challenges, McKim's six brief chapters provide the foundation for broadening and strengthening a Presbyterian faith the lives today. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611644883
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	05/27/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	178 KB

About the Author

Donald K. McKim is former Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Moments with Martin Luther; Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters; The Westminster Handbook to Reformed Theology; and the Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith.

Read an Excerpt

This book is for Presbyterians. I hope others besides

Presbyterians will read it, but the book is for Presbyterians

who want to know more about our Christian

faith. I have spent my life in the Presbyterian Church

(U.S.A.), so the book is specially written to those people

in this communion. I offer a look at important theological

beliefs we share as Presbyterians and what they

can mean for our lives. We share these beliefs with others

in our Reformed family and with most Christians

throughout the world.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is part of the

Reformed theological tradition. This tradition is rooted

in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation and is

associated with reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli,

Heinrich Bullinger, Martin Bucer, and most especially,

John Calvin. I have most often quoted Calvin in these

pages. He was a leading voice, and his legacy to us

endures. Other voices join the chorus. Presbyterians

have inherited a rich theological heritage. We have

many important theologians and confessional documents

within our family circle. They speak with different

accents and emphases, but they witness to a

Reformed faith with significant theological emphases

that, historically, have distinguished it from other Reformation

theologies and ecclesiastical traditions as

well as from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox

church traditions.

We are, first of all, Christians—disciples of Jesus Christ. This is our

primary identity. We express this identity through our

ecclesiastical and denominational traditions. Here in

the United States, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is

one Presbyterian denomination. There are others. All

Presbyterians are part of the larger Reformed family,

which includes churches that do not have "Presbyterian"

as part of their names but that hold Reformed

theological convictions in common with Presbyterians.

Some examples are the United Church of Christ,

the Reformed Church in America, and the Christian

Reformed Church. The Reformed family has many

branches in the United States and throughout the

world. As we reflect theologically in relation to one

denomination, we realize that there is a greater body—

and a greater unity—that is represented by the terms

"Presbyterian" and "Reformed."

This book is meant for those without formal theological

education, as well as seminary students and

pastors. Much more documentation could have been

provided, but I hope this has been written accessibly

and can be read easily. The intention is to take a look at

some important theological themes and how they have

been understood and emphasized in Reformed and

Presbyterian theology. These theological insights guide

our churches and affect the whole of the church's life.

The book does not try to prescribe answers to issues

that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) faces in these

days. It does try to provide some foundational understandings

that can broaden and deepen the faith of

church members and provide theological nourishment

for a Presbyterian faith that lives today.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Bible: The Source of It All

Chapter 2. The God Who Creates and Provides

Chapter 3. Confessing Jesus Christ Today

Chapter 4. The Holy Spirit in Church and World

Chapter 5. Ministry in Today's Cultures

Chapter 6. What It Means to Be Reformed