Dr. Dennis Ngien’s New Book

Christ School of Theology Welcomes Dennis Ngien’s New Book

Calvin’s Theology of Piety in the Institutes

with a Foreword by Alister E. McGrath

In this timely monograph, Dr. Dennis Ngien, Distinguished Professor and Research Fellow at ILT as well as Founding Director of its Center for Reformational Theology and Spirituality, and formerly the Alister E. McGrath Chair of Christian Thought and Spirituality at Tyndale University in Toronto, provides a new and fresh look at the essence of how Calvin unveils his view of piety in the Institutes, as his theologically provocative chapter titles alone attest:

Chapter 1. Epistemic Condition and Revelation: Creation, Providence, and Holy Scripture
Chapter 2. Union with Christ and the Holy Spirit: Efficacy and Participation
Chapter 3. Reaping Fruits from the Law: Preparative, Preservative, and Restorative
Chapter 4. The Spirit, Faith, and Prayer: Christ, an Overflowing Spring
Chapter 5. The Church as the Vehicle of Grace: Its Ministerial, Not Magisterial, Role

Here we see how Dr. Ngien’s subtitles unpack the essence of each main chapter title, offering a glimpse at the breadth in his critical re-assessment of Calvin’s formative theological positions.

Alister E. McGrath’s Foreword also crystallizes how Dr. Ngien truly engages Calvin’s vision:

“Professor Ngien here offers a critical reexamination of Calvin’s account of affectivity and commitment in the Christian faith, emphasizing the connections between Calvin’s vision of Christian doctrine and its practical outworking in the Christian life. Christ does not merely change the way we think; he transforms our entire existence and experience. Knowing Christ, Calvin declares, “possesses the whole soul, and finds a seat and resting place in the inmost affection of the heart….” Ngien’s insightful analysis of Calvin’s doctrine of salvation through Christ benefits readers in two key ways: first, by helping them grasp its conceptual depth, rooted in and enriched by the rich biblical testimony to God’s work of salvation in Christ; and second, by enabling them to recognize Calvin’s distinctive effort to integrate the multiple elements of the biblical account of core doctrine—such as salvation in Christ—without resorting to reductive simplification or distortion…. Ngien’s important analysis will be valuable for reflections on spirituality, especially for those who recognize the significance of this concept and wish to remain firmly grounded in Reformational approaches to the subject.”

Calvin’s Theology of Piety in the Institutes (6 x 9; 238 pages) is now available in paperback and eBook from Cascade Books by Wipf and Stock Publishers for $31.00 (US) at wipfandstock.com

Don’t miss this critical volume by one of current Lutheranism’s foremost scholars making an extended study of the [other] formative theological giant from Luther’s time!