Confessional Theology in the Reformed Tradition

After looking at the roots of confessionalism in the creedal statements of late antiquity, this course focuses on the historical, cultural, and theological context of the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The confessional documents that are the focus of primary attention are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Irish Articles, the Three Forms of Unity, the Westminster Standards, and the First and Second London Baptist Confessions. The reception history of these confessions is also considered as well as their significance for confessional communities today. Students will have the opportunity to study more recent confessional texts, such as the Barmen Declaration, in a major course requirement.