OT Reformation as Renewal

Christian Alexander

Hopefully this does not over step the boundaries of the forum. Has anyone read this book. I will remove if needed. The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church by Matthew Barrett? I am looking to see how well he analyzed and tested his argument as in what sources he used and how he devised his plan of action for deriving his thesis. The blurb said "The Reformation as Renewal demonstrates that the Reformation was at its core a renewal of evangelical catholicity." What does the author mean by "a renewal of evangelical catholicity"? I tried reading book reviews but did not find anything.https://www.logos.com/product/241294/the-reformation-as-renewal-retrieving-the-one-holy-catholic-and-apostolic-church 

MJ. Smith

Christian Alexander said:

I am looking to see how well he analyzed and tested his argument as in what sources he used and how he devised his plan of action for deriving his thesis.

I'll take on Rosie's role of telling you that you have to do this for yourself. If you take Martin Luther as an example, it is a no brainer. If you take John Calvin as an example, it is a much more difficult task. If you take Hus, his interpretative methods fit his era but with some surprisng conclusions. Read enough Church history to be able to guess what his thesis is - its not novel, read Barrett, read Horton, read up on the counter-reformation (Sider, McKay) and develop a spirit of I can do it myself rather than asking others to do your reading for you.

Warning: I never trust anyone who quotes Schaff or ignores Eastern Christianity.

Rosie Perera

Did you watch the 4-1/2 minute video that is embedded in the product description page? It is the author himself speaking, so you might be able to glean some info from that.

As for what sources he used, have you looked the book up on Amazon yet? The free preview pages include the entire Table of Contents and the entire Bibliography, organized by chapter.

You should always look to find how much of a book is visible free on Amazon and/or Google Books before despairing and asking people here for help like you've asked for.

Also, while this book is very expensive in Logos, it's "only" 26.61 in Kindle. I know that's still perhaps out of your price range, but it's always worth checking the Kindle price.

Also, always look up the books you're researching on worldcat.org to see if they might be in a library near you, or any library for that matter. Your local library might be able to get it for you via ILL. This book is there: https://search.worldcat.org/title/1376789202 

Finally, when you search on worldcat, check to see if there is an ebook edition. If it's an older book, it might be available to freely download (if it's out of copyright) or for borrowing for an hour at a time from the Internet Archive.

This particular book is available to read online from Perlego, a new online library I just found out about tonight by doing the process outlined above:

https://www.perlego.com/book/3549568/the-reformation-as-renewal-retrieving-the-one-holy-catholic-and-apostolic-church-pdf 

Looks like any private researcher can join Perlego for a little over $100/yr and be able to access over 1,000,000 books in the library. Or try it for a month for I think $13 in the US and cancel if you don't think it's going to be worth the money in the long run.

You need to start thinking less like a helpless schoolboy and more like an indefatigable researcher. Just go after every possible way of getting access to a book you want to read. Don't ask other people to read it for you, or if they've read it to report back to you what they've learned about it. Real researchers don't do that.

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301626#Comment_1301626

Thanks everyone I will check out the aforementioned sources. 

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301673#Comment_1301673

Another hint - just because I wish I had started early in the book to ask this question. In some sections it seemed to me that the reformer had read the early church material and come to his understanding through those texts; other times, it seemed to me as if the reformer had made up his mind, then search early church material for something he could make support his position. Mind you, it seems to me most theologians do this -- it is not unique to reformers.

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301693#Comment_1301693

Thank you for this hit.

David Thomas

Christian Alexander said:

I am looking to see how well he analyzed and tested his argument

Check out the website for the Journal/Magazine that Barrett Founded and serves as Editor-in-Chief - Editor-in-Chief - Credo Magazine