John R. Bower has written a gem for the church! His book, part of the “Principal Documents of the Westminster Assembly” series is titled The Confession of Faith: A Critical Text and Introduction. This book, along with the others in the series, is published by Reformation Heritage Books.
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The Confession of Faith: A Critical Text and Introduction
First of all, this book provides a critical text of the Westminster Confession of Faith. In the Foreword to the book, Sinclair Ferguson says that the text found within the pages of this book is “the best and most accurate text of the Confession of Faith”.
Bower’s work contains an abundance of charts that are comparing the original drafts of the confession with the final revised versions. This allows the reader to get a glimpse of what was happening in the Jerusalem Chamber while the Westminster divines discussed the confession. I personally know of no other work like this!
In addition to the critical text of the Confession, the book also contains 9 chapters of history alongside historical and theological scholarship. This makes up nearly 200 pages of this book which is just over 400 pages in total. These 9 chapters are simply phenomenal! Much of the time, I felt like I was a fly on the wall within Westminster Abbey listening in on what was happening.
Bower works through the 33 chapters of the Confession, and he carefully explains (when able to do so) what happened during the meetings as they discussed specific chapters of the beloved Confession. Bower uses a ton of primary and secondary sources to bring to light the process that the Confession went through, but he largely relies on John Lightfoot’s journals to explain how things unfolded.
The book is beautifully designed. It’s a cloth-bound hardcover with a sturdy, simple yet elegant dust cover.
Conclusion
I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I think churches would do well to teach their people the wonderful history of how this amazing confession came into being. I would certainly recommend this book for pastors, seminary students, and Presbyterian and Reformed Christians. However, I wouldn’t limit the readership to that audience. Any Christian who is interested in history or theology will benefit from this book and find it hard to put down.
Tolle lege, take up and read!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Reformation Heritage Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
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Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
[…] recently read and reviewed Bower’s other work titled The Confession of Faith: A Critical Text and Introduction. I had nothing but good things to say about that book, and the same goes for this work. This volume […]