By William B. Evans Here are ten books (actually more than ten are mentioned) that I regard as theologically formative.  By “theologically formative” I don’t mean the most important or the most influential. Rather, I’m speaking of books that have been particularly significant, for a variety of reasons, for me personally. In some cases, they are widely regarded as theological classics; others are more niche, but all have stood the test of time. St. Irenaeus, Against All Heresies—This early patristic work is much more than a catalog of Christian Gnostic heresies; it articulates a redempti ..read more

By William B. Evans [Editor’s Note: This is the first EcclesialCalvinist post in quite some time. I’m hopeful that this will mark a return to more regular posting.] My friend Peter Schmiechen, prominent United Church of Christ theologian and former President of Lancaster Theological Seminary, has written a stimulating book on the decline of the Protestant Mainline (or what Martin Marty of the University of Chicago called the “Sideline” and Edward Farley of Vanderbilt termed the “Oldline,” both terms, of course, signaling an eclipse). As the subtitle indicates, Schmiechen’s Tradition in Crisis ..read more

It’s with considerable interest that I’ve been watching some people I know in the conservative Reformed community getting in line to endorse Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign for the Presidency. Evangelical Old Testament scholar Tremper “you need to read my book” Longman told us on Facebook that he was voting for Biden some weeks back, and more recently Sam Logan, the Associate International Director at the World Reformed Fellowship, posted this on Facebook: “Three of the MANY reasons why I, as an evangelical Christian who opposes abortion, will vote for Mr. Biden are: 1) the implicit warnings ab ..read more

Scientists tell us that the sun’s magnetic poles flip their orientation about every eleven years or so.  North becomes south and south becomes north, and then it flips back, completing the 22-year Solar Cycle.  Analogous flips occur in American politics, though not nearly as often and they take a lot longer to play out.  We seem to be in the midst of such a shift today—in important ways, the Democrats have become the Republicans and the Republicans have become the Democrats. Take the Democrats.  From Franklin Delano Roosevelt (really from the “Prairie Populist” William Jennings Bryan at the t ..read more

[Editor’s Note: For some reason I neglected to blog about the publication of this volume when it came out in May of this year.  Better late than never (and just in time for Christmas)!] A Companion to the Mercersburg Theology: Evangelical Catholicism in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.  By William B. Evans This volume tells the story of a mid-nineteenth-century theological movement emanating from the small German Reformed Seminary in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where John Williamson Nevin and Philip Schaff taught. There they explored themes—such as the centrality of the incarnation for theology, th ..read more

By Robert Winslow Editor’s Note: This short story by my friend Robert Winslow is both beautifully written and deeply theological in its reflections on theodicy and the Reformed tradition.  Enjoy! He came into the church and sat down in a pew, pausing a moment before he recited the prayer by heart: “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.” When he had finished, he look ..read more

I’m delighted to announce the publication of A Companion to the Mercersburg Theology: Evangelical Catholicism in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2019), 155 pp. Click on the link below for more details. Evans_Presskit ..read more

Earlier this week, a person connected with a national news-media organization contacted me and asked what I thought of Vice President Mike Pence’s commencement address at Liberty University.  I responded with the substance you find below.  Of course, it wasn’t used (I’m quite sure it didn’t fit the narrative they wanted to tell), but I thought I would share an expanded version here. I didn’t watch the Pence speech (we were preoccupied with my daughter’s graduation from medical school), but I did read the transcript of the commencement address that was released by the White House.  I was surpr ..read more