Faith of the Church

Paul K. Jewett --Fuller Theological Seminary "Historical in its approach, systematic in its scope, The Faith of the Church provides the reader with a stimulating overview of Christian theology." John H. Kromminga --Calvin Theological Seminary "Complete and accurate enough to meet the needs of the theological student, but very interesting and readable also for the general membership of the church. The book is a manual of doctrine, presenting the substance of the faith of the church. The doctrines presented are illumined by references to the Bible and cross references to other teachings of the church. Of particular value is the historical approach, which enables the reader to discern the process -- including struggle, trial and error, steady growth in understanding, and ultimately the Spirit's guidance -- by which the positions described were reached. Writing out of a solid grounding in the Reformed faith, Dr. Osterhaven shows both due appreciation and incisive criticism of positions with which his tradition does not agree. The entire work reflects a clarity and articulateness born of many years of teaching experience." James I. McCord --Princeton Theological Seminary "The chapter 'John Calvin: Order and the Holy Spirit' is alone worth the price of the book. If one is seeking a sure-footed guide to lead a pilgrimage through the development of the Church's central beliefs, then Dr. Osterhaven can be highly recommended." John Richard De Witt --Reformed Theological Seminary "The Faith of the Church is clearly a distillation of Professor Osterhaven's life-long work as a teacher of theology. The man himself is in the book: learned, profound, cautious, sympathetic toward other points of view, committed to the historic Reformed position, concerned to show the connection between the truths he discusses and the practice of the Christian life. The book will appeal, not only to specialists, but to a broad spectrum of the reading public as well. We are all in his debt for the gift of such a volume."