Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ

Is the God of Calvin a fountain of blessing, or a forceful tyrant? Is Calvin's view of God coercive, leaving no place for the human qua human in redemption? These are perennial questions about Calvin's theology which have been given new life by Gift theologians such as John Milbank, Graham
Ward, and Stephen Webb.

J. Todd Billings addresses these questions by exploring Calvin's theology of participation in Christ. He argues that Calvin's theology of participation gives a positive place to the human, such that grace fulfills rather than destroys nature, affirming a differentiated union of God and
humanity in creation and redemption. Calvin's trinitarian theology extends to his view of prayer, sacraments, the law, and the ecclesial and civil orders. In light of Calvin's doctrine of participation, Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the Gift discussion and opens up new possibilities
for contemporary theology, ecumenical theology, and Calvin scholarship as well.


Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 02/09/2008
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.70w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780199211876

Review Citation(s):
Christianity Today 07/01/2009 pg. 57
Books & Culture 09/01/2011 pg. 17

About the Author

J. Todd Billings is Assistant Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary.

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