koinonia

Historical Theology & Church History
Theologian Trading Cards
norman jeune iii
Patterned after the all-American baseball card, Theologian Trading Cards
provide essential information about the major teachers, leaders, and
troublemakers throughout the history of the church. At a glance you will
have access to information regarding nearly 300 important figures in
church history, including when and where they lived, their contributions
to the church, and their enduring significance. Each figure has been placed
on the roster of one of 15 “theological” or “historical” teams—including the
Orthodoxy Dodgers (Heretics); St. James Padres (Church Fathers of the
Patristic Era); and the Wittenberg Whistle-Blowers (Early Reformers and
Later Lutheran Church)—which aid readers in discovering the practical,
chronological, and theological connections between figures. Theologian
Trading Cards are perfect for students taking a church history or historical
theology course who want a memorable study aid, as well as for nonstudents
who just want to learn history or collect these unique cards.
usd $26.99
Trading Cards • 310 cards
ISBN 9780310328582
christian thought
norman jeune iii (MA, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University)
is the cofounder of the popular theological blog Christians in Context
(Christiansincontext.com), which was recently ranked as one of the top
one-hundred theological blogs and featured in Biola University’s alumni
magazine.
Augustine
of hippo
(354 – 430)
bernArd
of clAirvAux
(1090 – 1153)
John cAlvin
(1509 – 64)
KArl bArth
(1886 – 1968)
dietrich
bonhoeffer †
(1906 – 45)
Biographical: Born to a pagan father and a devout
Chris tian mother in Tagaste, North Africa, Augustine
of Hippo pursued fame as a teacher of rhetoric. His
journey led him through various philosophical systems,
including Manicheanism. Not until he heard the
preaching of Ambrose while teaching in Milan did he
convert to Chris tian ity.
Significance: Augustine of Hippo is perhaps the most
influential post-apostolic figure in the history of the
church. He quickly rose to the position of bishop and
found himself at the center of theological controversies,
during which he made contributions to Chris tian
theology. Responding to the Donatist controversy, he
articulated the doctrine of the visible and invisible
church; in response to Pelagius, his related doctrines
of the will, sin, and grace are significant. Augustine also
contributed to developing Trinitarian doctrine, offering a
powerful construal of the church’s relation to the wider
culture. His most recognized written works include
Confessions, On Chris tian Doctrine, The City of God,
On the Trinity, and On Free Choice of the Will.
Biographical: Born to a wealthy French noble family,
Bernard of Clairvaux decided at the age of 21 to
embrace asceticism as a monk, taking up residence
at the Abbey of Citeaux, the first established by the
Cistercian order.
Significance: In 1115, Bernard was named abbot of
the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux that he helped
to establish. He was theologically traditional and politically
influential; he advocated reliance on the church
fathers and Scripture during a time when scholastic
theology and the synthesis of faith and reason began
to prevail. At the Council of Sens in 1140, Bernard
secured the condemnation of the scholastic theologian
and philosopher Peter Abelard. When a dispute arose
between two rival popes, Anacletus II and Innocent II,
Bernard’s endorsement of Innocent secured Innocent’s
election to the papacy. Bernard was even called to
travel throughout Europe preaching to cultivate support
for the Second Crusade. He was a prolific writer;
examples include his theological works Grace and
Free-will and On Loving God, along with his famous
86 Sermons on the Song of Solomon.
Biographical: John Calvin originally was expected to
enter the priesthood, and later was trained as a lawyer.
He studied Latin and Greek, philosophy, and law at the
universities of Paris, Orleans, and Bourges. In Paris,
he was influenced by humanism and Martin Luther’s
teachings. Following a sudden conversion to Protestant
Chris tian ity, Calvin separated from the Roman Catholic
Church, leaving France to live in exile in Basel.
Significance: Perhaps second in historical significance
only to Martin Luther, John Calvin’s influence as a Protestant
Reformer is tremendous. In 1536, he published
the first edition of the Institutes of the Chris tian
Religion. This same year, he accepted Guillaume
Farel’s invitation to Geneva to advance the Reformation.
Genevans first resisted Calvin’s efforts toward
strict moral reform, forcing him to leave Geneva until
1541. During his expulsion, Martin Bucer invited
Calvin to lead the congregation in Strasbourg. Calvin
authored a prolific array of theological, exegetical, and
pastoral works and is recognized as the primary figure
galvanizing the Reformed Protestant movement.
Biographical: After his generally liberal education, Karl
Barth served as a Reformed pastor in his native Switzerland
(1909 – 21). Finding liberalism to be bankrupt, he began to
rethink the modern theological task with the aid of Scripture and
the older Reformed tradition. Particularly as a consequence of
his first Romans commentary (Der Römerbrief, 1919), he soon
transitioned to the university context; he spent his career in Göttingen,
Münster, Bonn, and Basel. He was the primary author of
the Barmen Declaration (1934), through which the Confessing
Church stood against Nazism, and wrote one of the greatest
theological works ever composed, the Church Dogmatics.
Significance: Karl Barth is widely considered the most
significant theologian of the 20th century and, among
Protestants, even since the Reformation. His early theology is
marked by its realization that “God is God ”— entirely different
from creatures — and by its use of dialectic. Accordingly, he
rejected every human basis for the knowledge of God, whether
rational or experiential, and instead argued that God is known
only through Jesus Christ. While never rejecting these earlier
emphases, Barth’s later theology is marked by a deepened
appreciation for the definitive nature of God’s determination to
be ours in Jesus Christ.
Biographical: A German Lutheran pastor, theologian,
and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most
well-known figures of the 20th century church. He
was trained in theology at the universities of Tübingen
and Berlin, followed by postgraduate studies at Union
Theological Seminary in New York. His mark on the
20th century is his resistance to the Nazi regime.
Significance: Lecturing in Berlin when Adolf Hitler
came to power in 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer actively
supported the Confessing Church and the Barmen
Declaration, and played a central role in a failed plot
to assassinate Hitler. Consequently, he was arrested
in 1943, and executed on April 8, 1945. Bonhoeffer
composed many writings, including The Cost of Discipleship,
Life Together, and Letters and Papers from
Prison. The latter has been a source of much discussion.
Interestingly, and perhaps prophetically, recognizing
the increasingly marginalized role of Chris tian ity with the
rise of secular culture, Bonhoeffer speaks of the need
for a “religionless Chris tian ity” in “a world come of age,”
moving beyond eschatological hope to Christ’s example
of love and just action in a suffering world.
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