Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Part I. Confessing the faith in context -- ch. 1. Confessing the faith and confessions of faith -- ch. 2. Varieties of English Separatist and dissenting writings, 1558-1689 -- ch. 3. Separatists and Dissenters amidst the arguments for and against toleration : some soundings, 1550-1689 -- ch. 4. Christianity, secularism, and toleration: liberal values and illiberal attitudes -- ch. 5. The use, abuse, and relevance of religion : some reflections on Professor Abraham van de Beek's proposal -- ch. 6. Confessing the faith in the intellectual context -- Part II. Confessing the faith ecclesially and hopefully -- ch. 7. Calvin's challenges to the twenty-first-century church : reflections on the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth -- ch. 8. Rectifying Calvin's ecclesiology : the doctrinal and ecumenical importance of Separatist-congregational catholicity -- ch. 9. Receiving from other Christian communions and overcoming the hindrances thereto : some reformed reflections -- ch. 10. Eschatology : historical fluctuations and perennial practical importance -- ch. 11. Confessing the faith in systematic theology? The locus and authority of revelation vis v̉is systematic method : an epilogue cheerful in style, serious in intent.