What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church

What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming ChurchThere's a movement among evangelicals of exploring the more sacramental, liturgical, and historically conscious church traditions, including Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. This hunger for historical rootedness is welcomebut unfortunately, many assume that this need can only be met outside of Protestant contexts. In What it Means to Be Protestant, Gavin Ortlund draws from both his scholarly work in church history and his personal experience

There's a movement among evangelicals of exploring the more sacramental, liturgical, and historically-conscious church traditions, including Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. This hunger for historical rootedness is welcome—but unfortunately, many assume that this need can only be met outside of Protestant contexts. In What it Means to Be Protestant, Gavin Ortlund draws from both his scholarly work in church history and his personal experience in ecumenical engagement to offer a much-needed defense of the Protestant tradition. Retrieving classical Protestant texts and arguments, he exposes how many of the contemporary objections leveled against Protestants are rooted in caricature. He shows how historic Protestantism offers the best pathway forward and to historical rootedness for Christians today. In his charitable style, Ortlund demonstrates that the 16th century Reformation represented a genuine renewal of the gospel. This does not entail that Protestantism is without faults. But because it is built upon the principle of semper reformanda (always reforming), Protestantism is capable of reforming itself according to Scripture as the ultimate authority.

Publisher: Zondervan
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780310156321

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Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) serves as President of Truth Unites and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Church. He is the author of numerous books, including Anselm's Pursuit of Joy, Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation, Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't, and Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals. He and his wife, Esther, have five children.

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Much of contemporary Protestantism, conservative to liberal, has little connection to the Reformation. But Ortlund reminds us why the 'Protestant' label is worth saving. He has a real gift for distilling complex issues into something that a struggling Christian can understand. This is a well-informed but also passionate defense. Before running to Rome or the East, please read this terrific book first!' -- Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California