November 2007 - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

Book Reviews
draws out elements of the painting
and the symbolism attached derstand Augustine, and the Au-
reformers did not correctly un-
to various elements in the painting
in order to describe the vari-
was not the real Augustine.
gustine to which they returned
ous aspects of the doctrine of The main purpose of God
the Trinity. The chapter confirms
Eastern Orthodoxy’s com-
ecumenism by rallying around
the Holy Trinity is to promote
mitment to iconography—dumb the most fundamental doctrine
images rather than the lively of all, the doctrine of the Trinity.
In fact, God the Holy Trin-
preaching of God’s Word.
Ellen T. Charry’s chapter is ity is ecumenism with a vengeance.
At the outset, in his “In-
marred by misinterpretation and
misrepresentation of Augustine. troduction,” editor Timothy
She contends that according to George, while recognizing the
Augustine the “… cross is decisive
because it lures us into that exist between the various
serious theological differences
the beauty, wisdom, and goodness
of God, in which we par-
recognize one another as broth-
contributors, avers that “we do
take because we reflect the Trinity
itself” (p. 137). “For Augus-
and we stand together in our
ers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
tine, salvation is a therapeutic commitment to the historic
process of psychological and Trinitarian faith of the church”
moral transformation that requires
taking knowledge about least. That Protestants are will-
(p. 13). Troubling, to say the
God learned from Scripture and ing to regard adherents of Eastern
Orthodoxy and Roman Ca-
applying it to oneself” (p. 138).
She faults Protestantism for diverging
from Augustine. Espe-
in Christ defies explanation. No
tholicism as brothers and sisters
cially is this so because “Protestantism
separated justifica-
Reformation creeds can possi-
Protestant who subscribes to the
tion from sanctification, identifying
salvation with the former whom the creeds identify as
bly have that regard for those
and considering the latter the members of the false church.
appropriate grateful response to No one who takes Rome seriously,
Rome who today is not a
justification…” (p. 140). So
much for the Reformation’s recovery
of Augustinianism. In the Reformation, can possibly
whit different from the Rome of
Charry’s opinion, the Protestant regard Rome’s members, to say
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