$20.59 with 36 percent savings
Digital List Price: $31.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Oliver Crisp
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology Kindle Edition

by Oliver D. Crisp (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
See all formats and editions

Deviant Calvinism seeks to show that the Reformed tradition is much broader and more variegated than is often thought. Crisps work focuses on a cluster of theological issues concerning the scope of salvation and shows that there are important ways in which current theological discussion of these topics can be usefully resourced by attention to theologians of the past.

The scope of atonement, in particular, is once again a hot topic in current evangelical theology. This volume addresses that issue via discussion of eternal justification, whether Calvinists can be free-will libertarians (like Arminian theologians); whether the Reformed should be universalists, and if they are not, why not; whether Reformed theology is consistent with a universal atonement; and whether the hypothetical universalism of some Calvinists is actually as eccentric and strange a doctrine as is sometimes thought. This book contributes to theological retrieval within the Reformed tradition and establishes a wider path to thinking about Calvinism differently.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    274 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fortress Press
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2014
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. File size
    807 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Oliver D. Crisp is professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He has taught at the Universities of St Andrews and Bristol, and Regent College, Vancouver, BC, and has held postdoctoral research fellowships at the University of Notre Dame and at the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton.He is currently co-editor of the Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology, is a founding editor of the Journalof Analytic Theology, and co-organizes the annual Los Angeles Theology Conference with Fred Sanders.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MG34KJG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fortress Press (September 1, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 807 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Oliver Crisp

Oliver Crisp

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Oliver Crisp is a British academic who currently serves as the Principal of St Mary's College and Head of the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He is interested in theology, philosophy, and legal theory.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Connor Brooks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Crisp strikes again!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Oliver Crisp is an absolute delight to read. His insights and humble spirit shine through the pages in this book. His attempt to open the eyes of folks like myself who don't come from the Reformed tradition has succeeded in a major way. So thankful for Oliver's ecumenical heart and his ability to spell out complex ideas in such a clear way. Highly recommend this one to anyone who is looking for some information into the rich Reformed tradition.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Jared
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent broadening of the Reformed tradition
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Crisp makes clear that this book is intended as an exercise in 'theological retrieval', wherein he attempts to broaden the Reformed tradition by looking within the Reformed tradition. It is intended as a corrective to modern, narrow understandings of Reformed theology (captured so well by the use of 'Calvinism' to describe all of Reformed theology).

    Taken as an exercise in theological retrieval, the book is clearly excellent. It is limited in scope, focussing on the doctrines of election and atonement almost exclusively, but what it discusses it discusses well. Crisp is a good analytic theologian with an eye toward history.

    Some might be put off by the style of argument. For instance, Crisp will sometimes allude to arguments from Scripture but never makes those arguments himself; I'm fine with this, but I can see where others will want him to have made those arguments. But Crisp is making conceptual or philosophical arguments, and one can see this as a valuable exercise that lays the groundwork for further Biblical theological arguments.

    My only frustration, and the reason I gave it four stars out of five, is that the arguments are a bit brief. On the one hand, this lets Crisp tackle a number of interesting topics. On the other hand, Crisp can't get into many of the details these topics deserve.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • KC. D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Crisp has written a great book on the diversity of the reformed heritage and ...
    Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Crisp has written a great book on the diversity of the reformed heritage and faith. If you are stuck believing that "reformed theology," is narrow and thin, this book is for you. Read it. Great insights and well worth the price.

    For more reviews check out Amateurtheologians.com
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Yoon D. Kim
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I am not Calvinist. Yet, this book helped me understand more about election prior to creation of the humankind.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • A&J Torrey
    4.0 out of 5 stars Philosophically Satisfying though Lax on Scripture.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2014
    Author: Oliver Crisp
    Publisher: Fortress Press
    Reading Level: Moderate

    “If this volume goes some way toward readdressing that balance and challenging Reformed thinkers…it will have succeeded in the task for which its author sent it out into the world…a recognition that the themes it contains are not deviant forms of Calvinism after all.” (240)

    Calvinism. Define it and Oliver Crisp will critique your definition. This is the rather presumptive thesis of Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology (henceforth Deviant Calvinism) and Oliver Crisp does a fantastic job. Though perhaps not in the way expected, Deviant Calvinism addresses the Reformed tradition from a framework bent toward “removing objections and arguments that are wide of their mark, [so that] those working on the doctrine of atonement today should have a clearer picture of where the real dogmatic lie” (215, spoken in the context of the “double-payment objection”). This results in a primarily philosophical and apophatic approach (proof through negative) against specific stigmas and “myths” of Reformed theology (1-11, 236-240).

    This unique approach advantageously shows the Reformed tradition is not limited by the modern understanding of the tradition. However, Deviant Calvinism limits itself by consistently setting aside the Scriptural validity of discussed views (e.g. footnote 23 on pg 115, etc.) despite affirming the Scripture’s final authority (39). With this mindset, Deviant Calvinism addresses the themes of the atonement’s efficacy (chapters 5, 7 & 8) and universalism (chapters 4-6). However, before reaching these theological cornerstones, Crips address the relation of scripture and tradition to faith (chapter 1) as well as the theological theory of eternal justification (chapter 2). Despite no direct application to later chapters, Crisp’s discussion of eternal justification is one of the best examples of opening new avenues to old thought (this view was held by Barth, Kuyper, and Gill; pg 42). Individuals with limited knowledge of historical Reformed theology may find this to be new but that is entirely the point of Crisp’s focus on marginalized doctrines in the Reformed tradition.

    In speaking to universalism Crisp introduces to modern Calvinism interesting philosophical challenges via Augustinian Universalism (chapter 4) and historical questions in Barthian Universalism (chapter 6). Despite avoiding the Scriptural issues of the topic, Crisp provides valuable insights to why Augustinianism does not inherently exclude universalism. The primary argument that God must demonstrate holiness through judging the wicked (the “essential attributes” argument) is effectively handled (104-106). However, Crisp does not utilize the Eternal Sufficiency of God (He cannot “need” any portion of creation), which seems to be a more sufficient and simply defense. From a different starting point the controversial Barthian doctrine of election allows Crisp to demonstrate a universalism based upon election in Christ. This excellent chapter reveals more clearly that the substance of Deviant Calvinism is mostly “rehearsed” theology of the past (170). Crisp’s goal is not to present new theology but the historical precedent for views often looked down upon by modern theologies. In both of these cases strong doctrines of election are demonstrated to support (if not imply) a universalist theology. Since universal redemption requires a universal atonement, Crisp addresses this concept in the final chapters of Deviant Calvinism.

    Chapter 7 addresses the theological tradition of “Hypothetical Universalism.” Often confused with the modern Amyraldism, Crisp demonstrates the long tradition of this perspective within Reformed thought and how some who held the view were signers of important confessions (176-183). Though Crisp does not sufficiently express the Westminster Confession of Faith’s refutation of this doctrine (183) he helpfully shows how hypothetical universalism is possible by a simple “[re]ordering of the divine decrees” (189). Crisp addresses weighty philosophical arguments defending the English version of hypothetical universalism that even standard “Calvinists” will find useful in their doctrinal apologetics (201-209).

    The concluding chapter in Deviant Calvinism addresses the “double-payment” objection used by definitive/limited atonement adherents (chapter 8). Along with excellent terminology distinctions (224-227), Crisp effectively demolishes the common “double-payment” objection.

    In conclusion, Deviant Calvinism is not a great theological book. It does not address the Scriptures in a way that many conservative readers will appreciate. However, it is an outstanding reflection on the marginal paradigms of the Reformed tradition and it is thorough in its philosophical discussion. Deviant Calvinism will not present new ideas to individuals familiar with the checkered past of the Reformed faith. However, it will address many common misconceptions and myths of what the Reformed faith must be. In the end, Deviant Calvinism isn’t that deviant at all. Whether or not it is Scripturally deviant remains an entirely other matter.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
    12 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Chris Kelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Great
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report