John Williamson Nevin Collection (13 vols.)

by John Williamson Nevin; Theodore Appel; A. R. Kremer; Samuel Miller

Publishers:

P. A. Rice; Publication Office of the German Reformed Church

and

10 more

, 1827–1890

Overview

Mercersburg Theology was a unique theological movement in American religious history. German-American in its roots, it found a birthplace in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the 1800s. Spurred on by John Williamson Nevin’s teaching and insight, this Reformed sect, deeply controversial during its time, was at the center of much debate.

This 13-volume collection amasses two biographies and 11 of Nevin’s key texts, bringing to light this famed Mercersburg theologian’s thought and influence. It includes Nevin’s response to an impending outbreak of Asiatic cholera, a reference guide to biblical antiquities, and his eulogy for Frederick Augustus Rauch, the first president of Marshall College.

With Logos Bible Software, Scripture passages appear on mouse-over, and all cross-references link to the other resources in your digital library, making this collection powerful and easy to access—a cornerstone reference for scholarly work or personal Bible study on Mercersburg Theology or the German Reformed Church. Perform comprehensive searches by topic or Scripture reference—finding, for instance, every mention of “liturgy” or “the Lord’s Supper.”

 

Key Features

• 2,000-plus pages of insight on Nevin’s life and work
• Nevin’s key works
• Comprehensive biography that details Nevin's life and work

Product Details

• Title: John Williamson Nevin Collection (13 vols.)
• Volumes: 13
• Pages: 2,325

History and Genius of the Heidelberg Catechism

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: German Reformed Church
• Publication Date: 1847
• Pages: 168

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The Heidelberg Catechism is one of Reformed Church’s most influential catechisms. In The History and Genius of the Heidelberg Catechism, Nevin devotes his energy to the examination of this timeless and essential confessional document. He takes on the history, influence, and importance of the Heidelberg Catechism in this short yet effective dissertation, helping readers understand the depth and reach of this quintessential Christian work.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

The Mystical Presence: A Vindication of the Reformed or Calvinistic Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
• Publication Date: 1846
• Pages: 266

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

According to John Williamson Nevin, the Lord’s Supper is at the very heart of our worship as Christians and the church itself centers on this divine sacrament. In The Mystical Presence, often considered Nevin’s magnum opus, he defends and advocates the Reformed Church’s practice and its interpretation in an attempt to combat the sectarianism and controversy brewing in the German church. He aimed to restore the sacramental and incarnational principles and theology of the Protestant Reformation; here, he clearly and methodically outlines the doctrine and theory of the Eucharist.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

Vindication of the Revised Liturgy

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: Jas. B. Rodgers
• Publication Date: 1867
• Pages: 93

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

John Williamson Nevin’s response to J. H. A. Bomberger’s “A History and Criticism of the Ritualistic Movement in the German Reformed Church,” which Nevin considered a politically-fueled attack on the revised liturgy. Finding Bomberger’s review to be “one-sided and unfair and therefore calculated to do much harm in the Church,” Nevin defends, at the request of the church elders, the history and theology behind the new liturgy.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

A Summary of Biblical Antiquities

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: American Sunday School Union
• Publication Date: 1849
• Pages: 446

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Written as a help for Sunday school educators, A Summary of Biblical Antiquities gives detailed overviews of such topics as biblical geography and climate, natural history, dwellings and household accommodations, occupations, and social and cultural manners and concerns. Nevin includes a history of religion and the practice of Jewish faith in his work, providing a handy one-stop source on Jewish culture and faith that’s sure to shed light on the nuanced biblical text.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

Life and Character of Frederick Augustus Rauch

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: M. Kieffer & Co.
• Publication Date: 1859
• Pages: 29

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

John Williamson Nevin honors Frederick Augustus Rauch, the first president of Marshall College, with a eulogy at Rauch’s re-interment in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

Man’s True Destiny

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: M. Kieffer & Co.
• Publication Date: 1853
• Pages: 32

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

John Williamson Nevin presents the baccalaureate address to the first graduating class of Franklin and Marshall College, August, 1853.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and educationalist. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

The Scourge of God: A Sermon

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: Johnston & Stockton
• Publication Date: 1832
• Pages: 24

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In July of 1832, a city-wide fast was observed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The danger of an Asiatic cholera outbreak loomed over the city and John Williamson Nevin took center stage at the First Presbyterian church to address the “angel of death” standing on the “borders with a commission to destroy”. His sermon implored people not only to pray and humble themselves before God, but also to seek practical, preventative safeguards against the potential plague.

This volume includes his full sermon along with the resolution correspondence concerning the city-wide fast.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

The Anxious Bench

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: Weekly Messenger
• Publication Date: 1843
• Pages: 56

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In response to a schism in the German reformed church and to John Williamson Nevin’s dislike of Charles Finney’s religious practices, Nevin provides an in-depth criticism of the practice of the “Anxious Bench,” in which parishioners whose souls are in “jeopardy” sit before the congregation and receive public censure. He attacks the anxious bench as “quackery,” calling out its manipulative nature and illegitimacy in creating disciples and converts. His dissertation outlines the dangers of the practice, and refers readers instead to “the system of the catechism,” where salvation occurs through ordinary yet divine means of grace.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

Human Freedom and A Plea for Philosophy: Two Essays

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: P. A. Rice
• Publication Date: 1850
• Pages: 45

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In Human Freedom and A Plea for Philosophy: Two Essays, John Williamson Nevin explores the dichotomy of existence: the singleness and universality of human life and the interweaving of the two. He discusses the ideas of personality, consciousness, freedom, and the law in relation to sin, examining the true nature of freedom.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

Address on Sacred Music

• Author: John Williamson Nevin
• Publisher: D. A. Borrenstein
• Publication Date: 1827
• Pages: 24

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

John Williamson Nevin offers a short discourse on music, its purposes, and its place in the church. He exhorts readers to use the gift of song if they should have it, and to look to music as a moral code.

John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886) was an American theologian and professor. He studied at Princeton University and was a professor of Biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Well-versed in German, he studied contemporary German theologians, and eventually converted to the German Reformed Church, accepting a position at the Church’s seminary in Mercersburg, PA. He and his colleagues developed a conservative doctrinal position that was eventually labeled the “Mercersburg Theology.”

A Treatise on Mercersburg Theology, or, Mercersburg and Modern Theology Compared

• Author: Samuel Miller
• Publisher: S. R. Fisher & Co.
• Publication Date: 1866
• Pages: 131

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

This dissertation gives you an in-depth, critical view of Mercersburg Theology, the school of thinking that John Williamson Nevin influenced and practiced. The author, Samuel Miller, examines the central ideas behind this German Reformed branch of theology, taking on the theological thought precept by precept and offering insight into this oft-sidelined sect.

Samuel Miller (1769–1850) was a Presbyterian theologian who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The Life and Work of John Williamson Nevin

• Author: Theodore Appel
• Publisher: Reformed Church Publications
• Publication Date: 1889
• Pages: 776

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In this comprehensive biography, Theodore Appel details the life and work of John Williamson Nevin. He examines the renowned preacher’s life and relationships, and expounds on the sermons and writings of this famed Mercersburg theologian. His in-depth, coherent, and easily readable biography offers an illuminating look at the person of John Williamson Nevin and the people and things that influenced him.

One of the most important works that has ever been published is the biography of John Williamson Nevin . . . It is the work of a ripe scholar and master of the great subject undertaken by him, and well has he performed his task.

—A. R. Kremer

Theodore Appel (1823–1907) was a member of the first faculty of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the editor of the Mercersburg Review from 1851 to 1857.

A Biographical Sketch of John William Nevin

• Author: A. R. Kremer
• Publisher: Daniel Miller
• Publication Date: 1890
• Pages: 235

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

A condensed overview of John Williamson Nevin’s life, this volume touches on the key points and notable life events of the Mercersburg theologian. A biography in brief, Kremer’ offers an insight into Nevin’s life, allowing the lay reader to become acquainted, if not intimate with Nevin, his thoughts, and his history.

Abner Ralph Kremer (1832–1917) received an honorary master’s degree from Dickinson College.