A little review.

This semester I am taking "the History and Theology of the Reformed Tradition" I'm doing my reading for day two of class and thought I would post a couple of interesting definitions of what the reformed tradition is and its impact on history.

This is for all of you who are sick of or confused with the 5 solas of dort and TULIP.

"The Reformation was above all a positive proclamation of the Christian gospel. It never depended negatively upon its opposition, for it was first of all a protest in the sense of making a solemn declaration."

"The protestant reformers thought of themselves as engaged in the reformation of the people of God according to God's Word... According to the popular rhetoric of the market place, when a Lutheran was asked where his church was before Luther, he replied with the question, where was your face before you washed it?"

"At least nine identifiable motifs have significantly shaped the Reformed style of being a Christian:
The Majesty and Praise of God
The Polemic Against Idolatry
The Working Out of the Divine Purposes in History
Ethics and a Life of Holiness
The Life of the Mind as the Service of God
Preaching
The Organized Church and Pastoral Care
The Disciplined Life
Simplicity (or as Calvin puts it, lucid brevity)."

This is, in conjunction with TULIP and the solas (and most importantly the Word of God), really what reformed theology is all about. The ultimate mission of joining God in Him getting His Glory. The reformation is about these nine things as well as representing a million other of God's truths, not just some militant view of the predestination of God. So if you haven't given it a lot of thought, or have been turned off to it in the past; read a book, talk to someone who's passionate about it, or just pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Above all, thirst for a true and deeper knowledge of God. Beat importunately upon the Word, as Luther did, until God reveals Himself to you in a way that changes your life and your heart.