northern Holland, the same region of Bavinck’s birth and early ministry, though he
does not reveal any awareness of Ambrose in his writings.^ Apparently Ambrose’s
works were only translated into Dutch.^206 In the United States Ambrose’s Looking
Unto Jesus as well as War with Devils, renamed as The Christian Warrior, have been
republished in the past few decades.^207 In summary, while Bavinck does not indicate
any awareness of Isaac Ambrose the tradition from which he came was well
acquainted with him.
Retrieval of Isaac Ambrose for the Contemporary Church
The examination of Barth and Bavinck revealed that there is more than one
approach to Reformed theology and piety. In reviewing the contemporary landscape
of the Reformed tradition it becomes clear that Barth has unfortunately carried the
day. Howard Rice accurately observes that,“[t]here is a particularly deeply embedded
resistance to spirituality among those churches within the denominational tradition
called Reformed.” Rice advances a number of reasons for this resistance including
“the rigorous exercise of the intellect as a sign of obedience to God” and a highly
active faith that concentrates its energy on addressing the needs of society.^208 It is
illuminating that Rice does not include Barth in his survey of key Reformed leaders
for recovering a
renewed piety.^209 However, there are promising signs that more Reformed
theologians are embracing a contemplative piety today.^210
(^206) Op’t Hof, “Dutch Reception of Ambrose,” 9. (^)
(^207) Looking Unto Jesus was published by Sprinkle Publications in 1986 and The
Christian Warrior 208 was published by Soli Deo Gloria in 1997.
209 Rice, Reformed Spirituality, 9.^
210 Rice, Reformed Spirituality, 17.^
“Reformed View,” 193; Postema, See for example Moltmann, “Theology of Mystical Experience”; Ferguson, Space for God, 65-66, 130, 173, 196; Eugene