Olevianus’ Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed
These are amazing times in which to live and love Reformed theology. I’m getting close to submitting and defending my dissertation on the Belgic Confession — a journey that I started in 2004. One thing that has struck me between the first chapters I researched and wrote and the last chapters is that the landscape has changed so dramatically. Google Books and other such Internet repositories have opened up so many possibilities especially with regards to primary sources from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The only downside is that most of those sources are still in Latin, French, Dutch or German. I’ve had the privilege of studying those languages and while I’m not an expert in any of them, I can usually find my way with some help. I saw a news item a few weeks back about how Latin classes in Canadian universities are fuller than they have been in decades. Is this going to bear fruit for the ongoing study of our heritage? One can only hope! If you’re an undergrad, let me encourage you to study as many European languages as you can, especially the ones I mentioned above. You’ll never regret it.
Meanwhile, there is also a lot of good translation work going on. The Classic Reformed Theology series holds out a lot of promise. Volume 1 was Todd Rester’s translation of William Ames’ A Sketch of the Christian’s Catechism. My review was posted here. Volume 2 is scheduled to be released early in the new year, a translation of Olevianus’ Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed. It sounds exciting! By the way, this volume is something different from Olevianus’ A Firm Foundation, a volume published a few years ago in the Baker series, Texts & Studies in Reformation & Post-Reformation Protestant Thought.
