Reformed and Evangelical Across Four Centuries: The Presbyterian Story in America

“Reformed and Evangelical across Four Centuries has a number of distinctive strengths. First, it offers a detailed and reliable new history of American Presbyterianism. Second, it is unusual among such histories in the thoroughness with which it recounts the British background. Third, it explicitly emphasizes ‘the symbiotic relationship that has frequently existed between American Presbyterianism and American evangelicalism.’ Finally, the emphasis on such relationships orients the recent history toward the realignments among the more Presbyterians.”

“I’ve been eagerly anticipating this volume for some time! As a young man I entered the Presbyterian ministry quite starry-eyed about it. And yet forty-six years later, if anything, I am more sold on the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition than I have ever been, so I am delighted to see this new, definitive work. It is far more comprehensive than anything we have had before. It not only pays close attention to the controversies in the twentieth century over orthodoxy and modernism, but it also shows the current and coming racial and national diversity of Presbyterianism. Highly recommended.”

“In Reformed and Evangelical across Four Centuries, Nathan Feldmeth, Donald Fortson, Garth Rosell, and Kenneth Stewart have given us the most wide-ranging single-volume overview of the Presbyterian tradition now available. For those that teach church history and the history of Reformed Christianity, this will become a go-to textbook for introducing the Presbyterian stream to this generation of students. The book manages to give the reader a good feel for the arc of Presbyterianism: where it has come from, where it is growing, and where things stand now. This is an extensive and even-handed historical sourcebook for pastors, elders, professors, students, and interested laypeople alike.”

“The history of Presbyterianism has often (and only half-jokingly) been characterized as a ‘split P’ narrative, with the story often being told from the perspective of one of the ‘splits.’ This wonderful book in no way ignores the diversity, but it succeeds—through a creative pan-Presbyterian team effort—to find important common threads in all of the diversity. And the authors skillfully trace those threads into our present era, with important attention to immigration, sexuality, and gender debates, and Presbyterianism’s continuing ‘symbiotic relationship’ to the larger evangelical movement.”

“This is a much-needed, comprehensive historical record of the evangelical strands of Presbyterianism from the time of John Knox through its emergence in colonial America to the present time. What I found most helpful was its insights into the personalities and events that were so instrumental in keeping this movement alive within Presbyterianism throughout the past five centuries in spite of the multiple challenges facing it. The general sweep of this timely volume is greatly enhanced by a careful footnoting that not only gives historical accountability to the veracity of the content but also opens a wealth of opportunity for the reader to dig more deeply into a study of the characters, institutions, movements, and controversies one might want to study in greater depth. In all, I found it a most informative and profitable read!”

“With a masterly command of details crafted into unfolding narratives, Reformed and Evangelical across Four Centuries provides a sweeping overview of the precedents and pressures that have shaped evangelical Presbyterianism. It is comprehensive and meticulous in research. This is not mere denominational history. The authors introduce us to an astonishing array of people, some familiar and others fetched out of obscurity. They depict events and ideas with marvelous texture set upon the broad canvas of their political, social, and intellectual context. Theological controversies are explained with subtlety; social forces, such as immigration and civil rights, are freshly considered; the impact of intellectual movements in fomenting change is clarified. This rigorous work will serve as an indispensable guide to all who wish to understand evangelical Presbyterianism.”

“Reformed and Evangelical across Four Centuries is a useful introductory survey of Presbyterian history with an eye to the mainline Presbyterian Church’s legacy. The team of scholars represent various Presbyterian traditions who document the unity and diversity of many of the denominational, doctrinal, ethical, and ethnic challenges and developments that Presbyterians have encountered through the centuries. This book will serve as a helpful aid for a first study of the Presbyterian tradition and a ready reference for review and to gain perspective.”

“A much-needed updated history of the Presbyterian and evangelical movement since the Reformation that reflects twenty-first-century scholarship. However, the unique contribution of the book is that it addresses the key divisions that have occurred since 1971—the formation of the PCA, EPC, and ECO. Writing from their denominational perspectives, Rosell (PCUSA), Stewart (PCA), Fortson (EPC), and Feldmeth (ECO) offer a careful and scholarly assessment of the impact of these three ruptures. By incorporating these separate streams into the ‘broader Presbyterian story,’ they challenge the reader to consider commonalities in addition to the readily acknowledged differences between each of these streams.”