{Book Review} The History and Theology of Calvinism

EP (Evangelical Press) Books has published a book that deserves to be on the bookshelf of every serious Bible student, pastor, church historian and theologian! It is called The History and Theology of Calvinism, and it is written by Curt Daniel. 

This post may contain affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we may receive a small commission if you purchase through our links. Thank you for supporting this ministry!

The History and Theology of Calvinism

Before getting to the excellent content of this book, I’ll begin by mentioning that this hardcover book is beautifully produced! From the size of the book to the colorful cover with a great picture of Calvin to the font and type of paper, this book is truly aesthetically pleasing. This may not be a big deal to some readers, but some of us book lovers really enjoy the beauty of a book (a little bit of Jonathan Edwards’ influence, perhaps?). This is truly one of the nicer books that you’ll find on my bookshelves. 

On to the most important part: the contents of this book. Curt Daniel provides the church with a wonderful gift! The History and Theology of Calvinism, though not intended to be exhaustive on the topic of Calvinism, covers so much terrain! There are 74 chapters in this book with just over 900 pages. Daniel places those 74 chapters into two main sections:

1. History
2. Theology (with subsections below):
   1. The Sovereignty of God
   2. Five Points of Calvinism
   3. Miscellaneous Doctrines

Daniel is masterful in his dealing with both the history and theology of Calvinism, and it shows in his ability to be both concise and informative. Nearly one-third of the book is dedicated to the Five Points of Calvinism, also known as the doctrines of grace. This section is excellently handled. Daniel not only gives historical information about each petal on the TULIP, but he also provides a great biblical and theological defense of the Calvinistic teaching.

I also greatly appreciate the charity and humility that is shown in his treatment of the controversial passages attached to the doctrines of grace. In his section on limited atonement, he even devotes an entire chapter to objections to limited atonement. Certainly a huge strength of this book is Daniel’s ability to concisely and yet thoroughly address very difficult and often debated subjects (which nearly all topics under the umbrella are considered such by those who disagree with Calvin). Entire tomes have been written on each of the doctrines of grace, and yet Daniel covers all of them and much more in a 900-page book. This is truly a great and successful feat! 

Calvinism vs. Reformed Theology

I really appreciate Daniel pointing out that Calvinism and Reformed Theology, though having great overlap, are not identical. While Reformed Theology includes Calvinism, Calvinism does not necessarily include all of Reformed Theology.

This book includes more than just Calvinism (usually consists of the Five Points), going on to discuss other aspects of Reformed Theology (i.e. covenants, the church, sacraments, apologetics, evangelism, the law, etc.). To reiterate, this book covers so much material!

I really appreciate Daniel taking 19 chapters to discuss the history of Calvinism, as I believe that many modern Calvinists know very little of their own rich heritage. Likewise, the miscellaneous doctrines that Daniel covers are quite excellent! I was glad to see him discuss many doctrines that all Calvinists agree on (i.e. the two natures of Christ, the active and passive obedience of Christ, and Holy Scripture), while also diving headlong into the doctrines that Calvinists do not all agree on (i.e. covenant theology, the church and her sacraments [infant baptism, anybody?], apologetics, etc.).

I found Daniel to be refreshingly charitable when dealing with topics that he disagrees with. For instance, when writing on baptism, he explained the Reformed position of baptism (paedobaptism) very accurately and without being divisive (though Daniel is a credobaptist who definitely disagrees with infant baptism). His attitude is to be emulated by all. 

Conclusion

I could go on and on with compliments to this work. Daniel has produced a spectacular book for the church to benefit from. This book could easily be read from cover to cover (you won’t be able to put it down!), but it will also serve well as a resource that you grab from time to time to reference. I cannot recommend this book by Daniel highly enough! Tolle lege, take up and read! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Evangelical Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.