Theology
Contesting the Body of Christ Ecclesiology’s Revolutionary Century Myles Werntz Foreword by Ephraim Radner The church changed tremendously in the twentieth century, with new churches emerging and old churches being renewed. This pe- riod encompassed the birth of the World Council of Churches, the rise of American evangelicalism, the Second Vatican Council, the coming of age of charismatic Christianity, and more. In Contesting the Body of Christ , Myles Werntz explores the land- scape of twentieth-century ecclesiology and shows how the four marks of the church were remade, contested, and reaffirmed in surprising and innovative ways in the course of this turbulent century. Werntz asks what it means to say that the church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic amid so many diverse alternatives. He ex- plains how the many dynamics of the twentieth century posed both theological and ethical challenges for confessing the marks of the church but also what promise comes from expanding our vision of how God might be at work across traditions. Werntz demonstrates that the four marks of the church can help us see what the last cen- tury brought and what we might learn from it now. He also provides guidance for the future of the twenty-first century church. Contesting the Body of Christ will be of interest to professors and students in ecclesiology, Christian ethics, church history, history of doctrine, and Christianity and culture courses.
AUGUST 2025 • 208 pp. • paper • $24.99 • 9781540960085
Myles Werntz (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of theology and director of the Baptist Studies Center at Abilene Christian University. He is the author or editor of eight other books in Christian theology and ethics, most recently From Isolation to Community and A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence (coauthored with David C. Cramer).
CONTENTS
Foreword by Ephraim Radner Introduction
1. The Rending of the Cloth: The Church as One 2. To Be like God: The Church as Holy
3. In All Times and All Places: The Church as Catholic 4. In the Past, the Present, and the Future: The Church as Apostolic Conclusion: On Earth as It Is in Heaven; A Modest Proposal for the Twenty-First-Century Church Index
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR FROM ISOLATION TO COMMUNITY 9781540965059 • $22.99p
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