Passion of Protestants by Holtrop, P. N - 2004

UK: Kok, 2004. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket. p/b 270 pages, condition is very good. Protestant. The word was used for the first time in 1529 at the Diet of Spiers, as a name for the rulers and cities in Germany that protested against the reduction of rights of those who had joined the Reformation. Whoever reads the Protestation of 1529 will surely be impressed by the sincerity of those who spoke out on this occasion, the strength of their conviction, the courage and independence of spirit with which they pleaded their cause. But this legacy dates from long ago, and Protestantism has come to include a countless number of church denominations worldwide since. Is there something that still binds them together through time and across such distances? Is there some common characteristic, a 'family resemblance'? What is it that moves Protestants? What is their passion, or must we conclude: a Protestant has no passion? As a contribution to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Kampen Theological University eleven theologians comment to this question of the Passion of Protestants. Usually academics are cool and distant. But beneath the surface resides the fire of passion: for the Scriptures. There are the battle cries: the old adagia. And there is engagement: with Judaism. They take pride in Protestantism in the Resistance, in the emphasis on the individual and his responsibility and on the incentives of democracy, freedom, rationality, and inclusion. therefore, they still say with some pride, 'That is why, Sir, I call myself Protestant'.