Title: Prayer and the priesthood of Christ : in the reformed tradition /
Authors: Redding, Graham.
Publisher: T & T Clark,
Year: 2003
Subjects: Jesus Christ History of doctrines.; Reformed Church Doctrines; Prayer; Liturgics.
Abstract: "In this book Graham Redding provides a detailed account of prayer in the Reformed tradition, and a critical examination of its present place in the Reformed Churches. From its inception the Christian church thought of worship and prayer in trinitarian terms. At the heart of this trinitarian concept ;ay the doctrine of the priesthood of Christ which, in its liturgical expression, presented Christ not merely as the object of prayer, but also as its mediator: prayers were directed to the Father through Christ. The author traces the idea of the priesthood of Christ, and its effects on Christian worship and prayer, from its origins with the earliest Christians, and through the Arian and Apollinarian debates. He then focuses on the Reformed tradition and the influences of John Calvin, John Knox, John Craig, John McLeod Campbell, William Milligan, Theodore Beza, William Perkins, federal theology and the Westminster tradition, and through to the present day. This is an important history of an important doctrine, showing in a remarkable way how the doctrinal struggles within the church have been reflected in the worshipping life of the church, and how they continue to be reflected today. Redding concludes with a number of key affirmations for a Reformed understanding of prayer, and a critique of certain modern tendencies and practices in the church"--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Contents: Introduction -- The impact of Arianism and Apollinarianism on liturgical development, and its legacy in the Christian west: the Jungmann-Torrance thesis -- The significance of the doctrine of the priesthood of Christ for John Calvin and the early Scottish Reformed tradition -- Federal Calvinism and the Westminster tradition, and their legacy in Reformed liturgical developments -- John McLeod Campbell and the reconception of prayer through a revised doctrine of the atonement -- The priesthood of Christ and Eucharistic prayer in the Reformed tradition: a liturgical comparison, with special reference to the Church of Scotland -- Conclusion.