Valiant for Truth

One of the regular questions I receive is, What book would you recommend to study the history of covenant theology? Up until now there have been very few books that took a comprehensive survey of covenantal thought in Reformed theology in the 16th and 17th centuries. There have been some books on individual figures, which are certainly helpful, but nothing comprehensive.

We have seen the nature, benefits, and even the dangers when misused, of Reformed Scholasticism. Moreover, we have seen Reformed Scholasticism receiving the praise from two theologians who carry no brief for orthodox theology, Karl Barth and Paul Tillich. 

We do not simply want to admire Reformed Scholasticism and then return it to the dusty library shelf. On the contrary, Reformed Scholastic works can be quite helpful to the church for several reasons. First, the church can benefit from the precision of Reformed scholasticism and use the scholastic method in new theological works. 

Francis Turretin, born 17 October 1623, studied at Geneva, Leiden, Utrecht, Paris, Samur, Montauban, and Nimes. After his studies he was called to be the pastor of the Italian congregation in Geneva in 1648 and later followed in the footsteps of John Calvin (1509-64), Theodore Beza (1519-1605), and his father, Benedict Turretin (1588-1631) and was appointed a professor of theology at the Academy of Geneva in 1653. 

Scholasticism is typically associated with philosophical and speculative theology. Note, for example, how one theologian describes it: “By scholastic I mean that kind of theology that emphasizes the accessibility of the infinite to the finite and the possibility and indeed the desirability of systematizing the body of revealed knowledge given in Scripture.”