Calvin, Participation, and the
Gift:
The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ
Winner of 2009 John
Templeton Award for Theological Promise
From Published Book Reviews:
"...with this work Billings has made a major
contribution to Calvin studies...This is a work of clarity and sanity,
and displays Billings' thorough familiarity with Calvin's insights on
the development of Calvin's theology, the sources of his thought, and
offers an utterly convincing way to read his theology."
- Myk Habets in Pacific Journal of Baptist
Research
"J. Todd Billings has written a fine treatment of that
aspect of Calvin's theology which centres on the responsiveness of the
believer to God's grace. ...the author pays due attention to primary
sources, and has an interesting and I think ground-breaking section on
the development of the theme of participation in Christ through the
various editions of the Institutes. ...the author's stated
purpose in all this is to rebut the charge made by current exponents of
'Radical Orthodoxy' such as Catherine Pickstock and John Milbank that
Calvin is deficient as a theologian of 'the Gift' in that he fails to
comprehend their idea that the proper human reception to divine grace is
not passive but responsive. In a nice touch, the author gently suggests
that such critics of Calvin are at this point in danger of promoting
'the Gift' into the position of a 'central dogma' (p. 187). Not only
does Billings offer a convincing rebuttal of this ill-conceived and
vaguely conceptualised charge against Calvin, he does so in a manner
that under-lines the permanent worth of Calvin's thought, deeply rooted
as it is in biblical and patristic sources, as over against what will
surely prove to be the ephemeral claims of a new 'Orthodoxy'."
- Paul Helm in The Journal of Ecclesiastical
History
"The book succeeds admirably as a response to the
critiques of Calvin made by 'Radical Orthodoxy' and by others such as
Stephen H. Webb. It does so not because Billings always aims to show
Calvin as equal to their criticisms on their terms, but because he
rightly points out that there is often a 'hidden ledger' for evaluating
Calvin: a Thomist account of 'participation'; or a Byzantine concept of
'deification'; or a Maussian/Derridean concept of 'reciprocity'....
Billings lets Calvin speak on his own terms so as to contribute
something distinctive to the discussion; by exploring his thought so
carefully in different polemical as well as historical contexts,
Calvin's doctrine of participation is seen to be theologically rich,
nuanced, and not quite what many of his critics think it is."
- David Gibson in Themelios
"I would highly recommend this book for those
interested in Calvin’s theology... Calvin, Participation, and the
Gift provides a clear account of Calvin’s theology of participation
and the way in which it can hold in tension divine agency in salvation
with the active response of the believer in receiving salvation by faith
and living obediently in God’s grace."
- Ann Conklin in Reformed Review
Endorsements:
"This fine
study by Todd Billings gives us fresh ways of
looking at a familiar figure. Lucidly written,
meticulous, precise, and extremely well
informed, Billings's discussion of
participation, that ancient Pauline category,
opens the door both to new historical and
constructive insights. An indispensable study
for students of Calvin, historians of Christian
thought, and theologians of the Gift."
--Kevin
Madigan, Harvard Divinity School
"This is a valuable study of what is an important
thought much neglected theme of Calvin's. It should be read by all with
an interest in Calvin's theology."
--Anthony N.S. Lane, London School of Theology
"In the best sense, this is a work of deep theological
recollection: with a view to rescuing Reformed theology from its
Zwinglian captivity, it restores an appreciation for the catholicity of
the Reformed tradition. In the course of defending Calvin against his
radically orthodox despisers, Todd Billings carefully and persuasively
articulates a vision of Calvin's theology as a source for contemporary
constructive theology. And one could hope that the rich vision of
sacramental participation he so deftly describes might trickle down into
Reformed practice. Billings invites us to imagine how different our
Reformed churches might be if they were actually 'Calvinist.'"
--James K.A. Smith, Calvin College
"I know of no other monograph that offers such a
comprehensive view of the theme of participation in Calvin's work.
Billings makes a persuasive case for the central importance of this
motif in the Reformer's thought. This is an erudite yet very readable
book."
--Don Compier, Graceland University
"I warmly recommend Billings's book as a serious piece
of scholarly research that is not afraid to tackle some of the more
popular theological schools of thought in a manner that is respectful,
thoughtful, and analytically powerful. Billings is the first to
systematically analyze Calvin's theology of participation. He manages to
pull together a Calvinian doctrine of participation which can stand on
its own strength and which presents a genuine, and in decisive ways
original, contribution to Calvin research. Any further critique of
Calvin's theology as based on coercion or violence will have to give an
account of Billings's masterful scholarship."
--Hans Boersma, Regent College
Is the God of
Calvin a fountain of blessing, or a forceful
tyrant? Is Calvin's view of God coercive,
leaving no place for the human
qua human
in redemption? These are perennial questions
about Calvin's theology which have been given
new life by Gift theologians such as John
Milbank, Graham Ward, and Stephen Webb.
J. Todd Billings addresses these questions by
exploring Calvin's theology of "participation in
Christ." He argues that Calvin's theology of
"participation" gives a positive place to the
human, such that grace fulfills rather than
destroys nature, affirming a differentiated
union of God and humanity in creation and
redemption. Calvin's trinitarian theology
extends to his view of prayer, sacraments, the
law, and the ecclesial and civil orders. In
light of Calvin's doctrine of participation,
Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the
Gift discussion and opens up new possibilities
for contemporary theology, ecumenical theology,
and Calvin scholarship as well.
©2009 J. Todd Billings