Geoffrey W. Bromiley

Introduces the reader to the views of the most outstanding theologians in the history of Christianity. The book's three sections deal with Patristic Theology, Medieval and Reformation Theology, and Modern Theology.

"Far too many people, Christians not excluded, are self-centeredly preoccupied with their own marital problems and their attempt to engineer solutions to them. A theology of marriage can help them to achieve a God-centered look at the larger situation of which their marriages constitute a small, if by no means unimportant, part. In the long run a few look means a new understanding, and a new understanding means a new practice." - Geoffrey Bromiley Offering a new look at the increasingly unfashionable institution of marriage, Geoffrey Bromiley presents here a timely theological study which, unlike others books on marriage, aims exclusively to relate marriage to God as Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit. Bromiley observes that God's work on reconciliation makes it possible for his people also to achieve reconciliation with one another, particularly in the marriage relationship. In addition to thoroughly discussing the relationship of the Trinity to marriage, Bromiley examines such topics as incest, adultery and fornication, celibacy, the permanency of marriage, and remarriage after the death of a partner. "Dr. Bromiley pays close, cautious, and sensitive attention to virtually every Scriptural passage about marriage, even the passages that are particularly difficult for our own era to cope with. He makes no attempt to rewrite the Bible in the interest of some specially modern idea. It is a book rooted deeply in the immeasurable principles of Creation and Redemption, and is full of sane, courageous, sound teaching." - Thomas Howard Gordon College "I am very pleased with the book and feel it will fill a very special place in the available literature on Christian marriage... It stands apart from the superficial writing that all but characterizes our time. How-to books are of little value apart from the basic theological understanding which must precede them. This is a book I would like to have written, and a book which will be required reading for my students." - Dwight Small Westmont College Geoffrey W. Bromiley is professor emeritus of Church History and Historical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is best known as the translator of numerous theological books, including the 9-volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.

Geoffrey Bromiley, translator of Barth's Church Dogmatics, has written this helpful and comprehensive introduction.

Infant baptism is an issue that divides the largest Protestant denomination from its sister denominations; and it remains, in many churches, the subject of frequent and sometimes heated debate. This is particularly the case in Reformation churches where the influence of Baptist doctrine has caused members to question their practice of baptizing infants. Children of Promise is Geoffrey Bromiley's attempt to "get at the biblical understanding which underlies the continuation of infant baptism in many of the evangelical churches." In addition to examining the scriptural basis for baptizing infants, Bromiley also considers the meaning of baptism, the relation of baptism to the three persons of the Trinity, and the question of the salvation of infants. A concluding chapter presents a list of guidelines for churches to follow as they examine the practice of baptizing infants. "This is a superb little book, convincingly argued on biblical grounds and very well presented in a clear, commendable, irenic style." - Thomas F. Torrance Geoffrey W. Bromiley is professor emeritus of Church History and Historical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is best known as the translator of numerous theological books, including the 9-volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.

"An ideal historical theology, or even an introduction to it," says Geoffrey Bromiley, "lies beyond the limits of human possibility." And, indeed, he does not intend this volume to be an all-inclusive theological study about everybody and everything. Rather, "this work is composed for beginners, for inquirers, for those who know nothing or very little of the history of theology, but who want to know something, or something more." The approach here is theological rather than strictly historical. Among the implications of this approach are an acknowledgement that God has really spoken to the church, a genuine and specific Christian commitment on the part of the historical theologian, the belief that historical theology is a discipline of the church, and the view that historical theology serves the mission and ministry of the church. Bromiley maintains that the student learns theology best by reading the words and thoughts of theologians, not by reading their biographies. Thus, in selecting those theologians included in this volume, he has considered not only their representativeness in the total flow of historical theology, but also the availability of their work in English. Likewise, his bibliographies concentrate on primary sources." From Ignatius to Antioch to Thieliecke of Hamburg, Bromiley has selected the dominant contributors to Christian thought and evaluated their work. The selection is discriminating; the summaries are thorough; the analyses are perceptive. Nowhere else between two covers will we find a better chart of continual struggle to express the apostolic faith in terms credible to each generation. Pastors, laypersons, Bible teachers, college students - all will profit from a trek through the nineteen centuries of church theology with Geoffrey Bromiley as a guide. - David Allan Hubbard Fuller Theological Seminary "A useful study tool; it not only directs the reader to primary source materials but also raises pointed questions along the way." - Carl F. H. Henry Geoffrey W. Bromiley is professor emeritus of Church History and Historical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is best known as the translator of numerous theological books, including the 9-volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.

"In the present study we shall be primarily concerned with sacramental practice and interpretation as they are to be found in the Reformation churches and especially those which took the Reformed rather than the Lutheran path. But this does not mean that we shall be committed merely to an historical survey. "The main interest of the Reformers themselves was to be true to the teachings of Holy Scripture itself, and we shall be most loyal to them if, along with the general lines of their tradition, we attempt a biblical rather than an historical statement. This will have a threefold advantage. It will submit the Reformed interpretation itself to its own biblical standard. It will bring us into fruitful contact with other views in which over-emphases or distortions conceal positive elements of truth. And it will give to our discussion a living relevance for Christians of the present day, for whom the sacraments may never be regarded merely as objects of scientific enquiry, but must always be gratefully used as divinely ordained means of blessing." - Geoffrey W. Bromiley (from the introduction) Geoffrey W. Bromiley is professor emeritus of Church History and Historical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is best known as the translator of numerous theological books, including the 9-volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.