In 1903, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America revised the Westminster Confession of Faith because they thought it was deficient regarding the Holy Spirit. In this book, J.V. Fesko explores the differences between the pre-Enlightenment theology that formed the original Westminster Confession and the post-Enlightenment theology that called for its revision.
This study reveals that the pneumatology of the original Westminster Confession is marked by catholicity, whereas the revisions of 1903 represent a doctrine of the Holy Spirit that departed from the common Christianity of the ages. It also reveals that some of the underlying issues linked to the 1903 revisions are still alive today.
“Critics of Calvinism often refer to Reformed Protestants as God’s ‘frozen chosen,’ an expression that evokes belief in election and the absence of Spirit-filled piety. John Fesko’s book proves how wrong that characterization is. The work of the Holy Spirit, as Fesko shows, has long been a subject of reflection and meditation for theologians and pastors.”
- D.G. Hart, Distinguished Associate Professor of History, Hillsdale College
Spirit of the Age, The: The 19th Century Debate Over the Holy Spirit and the Westminster Confession is in the following collections:
