Church History
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What Is Christianity
$45.00Add to cartWith over twenty years in the classroom, Gail Ramshaw frames this new introduction to Christianity survey text around the basic questions students ask. Taking a broad social-scientific approach and integrating historical context, she anchors each chapter in phenomenological theory and teases out the answers to each chapters question by surveying the history, doctrine, practices, and convictions of Christianity.
Written for students with little to no background in Christianity, the book contains student-friendly learning helps including chapter summaries, photos and charts, “I am a Christian” statements that illustrate the diversity of practice and belief, study questions, suggestions for further exploration in both books and film, a glossary, and an index.
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Karl Barths Emergency Homiletic 1932-1933
$45.99Add to cartWhat does a theologian say to young preachers in the early 1930s, at the dawn of the Third Reich?
What Karl Barth did say, how he said it, and why he said it at that time and place are the subject of Angela Dienhart Hancock’s book. This is the story of how a preaching classroom became a place of resistance in Germany in 1932-33 — a story that has not been told in its fullness. In that emergency situation, Barth took his students back to the fundamental questions about what preaching is and what it is for, returning again and again to the affirmation of the Godness of God, the only ground of resistance to ideological captivity.
No other text has so interpreted Barth’s “Exercises in Sermon Preparation” in relation to their theological, political, ecclesiastical, academic, and rhetorical context.
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Joseph Smale : God’s ‘Moses’ For Pentecostalism
$49.99Add to cartJoseph Smale was a catalytic figure in the church life of los Angeles, leading many towards the ‘Promised land’ of Pentecostal blessing in 1905-1906; although his subsequent experiences led him to retreat from the burgeoning Pentecostal movement. Joseph Smale (1867-1926) was one of the central figures involved in the chain of events leading to the 1906 Azusa Street revival in los Angeles. This study presents the diverse influences which impacted Smale – formative years in Britain, growing up in Cornwall and Somerset amid a rhythm of Wesleyan revival; reformed theological training under the tutelage of C.H. Spurgeon in London; migration to the united States; plus hard experiences in the ‘school of anxiety’ – which were all precursors for Smale’s influential role as champion of Pentecostal revival. Smale’s leadership will resonate with every church leader who prays for revival and longs for more Holy Spirit power experimentally. Furthermore, his story is also educative for those contending with some of the more problematic and ‘untidy’ aspects of Pentecostal-Charismatic experience, involving painful power struggles, hurts, abuse of freedom, spiritual excesses and so on. Smale’s ‘Moses’ designation and biography still have relevance for the church in the present day.
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Trinity Of Saints
$25.00Add to cartIntroduction
Timeline
1. And There Was Darkness
2. The Lamp Is Lit
3. An Irish Exile
4. From Exile To Eternal Fame
5. Saint Kentigern (Mungo)
6. One Church?
Envoi
Notes On Sources
IndexAdditional Info
How did Christianity come to Scotland? A sixteen-hundred-year-old fog of mystery separates us from the dawn of Christianity in Scotland – but there are some intriguing signposts. -
Aspects Of Reforming
$49.99Add to cartExperts in Reformation studies identify and elucidate areas of sixteenth century reforming activity in Martin Luther, John Calvin and other leading reformers to demonstrate the thoroughgoing nature of the Reformation agenda. By careful reading of both the historical situation and the primary texts this volume adds significantly to our understanding of the period.
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To All Nations From All Nations
$58.99Add to cartSharing the Good News might be understood as the prime directive of the Church from its earliest times, but the Church soon discovered unforeseen obstacles and its own set of temptations, including its lust for power and domination. Although the gospel might be joyfully offered, it was not always received in the same spirit. And the Church was not always gracious with dissent and criticism. Even so, the Church continues to reach out to the least, the last, and the lost-attempting to bring them into the family of God. But for mission to be effective today, it must take advantage of indigenous resources and recognize its limitations as well as its gifts.
This book broadly introduces prominent missionary practices and major historical figures using three perspectives. First, it takes into account the missionary activity proceeding from the margins rather than only discussing the center of theological and ecclesial activity. Second, it narrates the cross-cultural, cross-confessional, and cross-religious dynamics that characterize Christian missionary activity. And third, it emphasizes that much missionary activity is generated by national rather than international missionaries. The text concludes with a chapter on the postmodern and postcolonial world.
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Christianity After Religion
$16.99Add to cartDiana Butler Bass, one of contemporary Christianity’s leading trend-spotters, exposes how the failings of the church today are giving rise to a new “spiritual but not religious” movement. Using evidence from the latest national polls and from her own cutting-edge research, Bass, the visionary author of A People’s History of Christianity, continues the conversation began in books like Brian D. McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity and Harvey Cox’s The Future of Faith, examining the connections-and the divisions-between theology, practice, and community that Christians experience today. Bass’s clearly worded, powerful, and probing Christianity After Religion is required reading for anyone invested in the future of Christianity.
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Presbyterians And American Culture
$37.00Add to cartThis book provides a history of Presbyterians in American culture from the early eighteenth to the late twentieth century. Johnson assesses both the theological and cultural development of American Presbyterianism, with particular focus on the mainline tradition that is expressed most prominently in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He explores how Presbyterian churches-and individuals rooted in those churches-influenced and were influenced by the values, attitudes, perspectives, beliefs, and ideals assumed by Americans in the course of American history. The book will serve as an important introduction to Presbyterian history that will interest historians, students, and church leaders alike.
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Interfaces : Baptists And Others
$49.99Add to cartWhat, the authors ask, has been the Baptist experience of engaging with different groups and developments? The theme has been explored by means of case studies, some of which are very specific in time and place while others cover long periods and more than one country. In the first half the contents are arranged by period. The first section examines early Baptists, the second nineteenth-century Baptists in Britain and America and the third Baptists in the twentieth century. The second half turns to various parts of the world: Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa. The overall picture is one of a complicated series of relationships as Baptists defined themselves as different from other bodies and yet, especially in the twentieth century, tried to co-operate in mission and ecumenical endeavour.
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World Changers : Fascinating Figures From Church History
$14.99Add to cartThey Served the Lord They Loved
Bible teacher Herbert Lockyer presents brief biographical sketches of the stirring deeds and extraordinary accomplishments of some of the greatest men of God in church history. Though human, with their own faults, flaws, and missteps, these men had a passion to serve God in a needy world, and their stories still thrill our hearts and create within us a desire to follow Christ, wherever He may lead us.
The biographies include…
*Martin Luther
*George Wishart
*John Knox
*Robert Murray McCheyne
*David Livingstone
*John Bunyan
*John Wesley
*Charles Haddon SpurgeonThese men were outstanding and strategic witnesses for Christ. Their influence and encouragement of God’s church continues to build up the faith of believers, even today.
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Early Church And Today 2
$25.99Add to cartThe Early Church and Today is a collection of scholarly articles by an acclaimed specialist in early Christianity written for a broad audience. The topics taken from the New Testament and other early Christian literature are relevant for the church today. The articles are grouped in the following categories: Volume 1, church and ministry; Volume 2, Christian living, biblical interpretation, the restoration motif, religious liberty, and the book of Acts of the Apostles.
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Encyclopedia Of The Stone Campbell Movement
$103.99Add to cartWith roots in British and American endeavors to restore apostolic Christianity, the Stone-Campbell Movement drew its inspiration from the independent efforts of nineteenth-century religious reformers Barton W. Stone and the father-son team of Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The union of these two movements in the 1830s and the growth of the new body thrust it into a place of significance in early nineteenth-century America, and it quickly spread to other parts of the English-speaking world.
From its beginnings the Movement has developed into one of the most vital and diverse Christian traditions in the world. Today it encompasses three major American communions — Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ — as well as united churches in several other countries.
Over ten years in the making, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement offers for the first time a sweeping historical and theological treatment of this complex, vibrant global communion. Written by more than 300 contributors, this major reference work contains over 700 original articles covering all of the significant individuals, events, places, and theological tenets that have shaped the Movement. Much more than simply a historical dictionary, this volume also constitutes an interpretive work reflecting historical consensus among Stone-Campbell scholars, even as it attempts to present a fair, representative picture of the rich heritage that is the Stone-Campbell Movement.
Scores of photographs and illustrations (many quite rare) enrich and enliven the text, and an extensive, carefully prepared index facilitates ready access to important information throughout the volume. The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement — a standard reference work for religious, academic, public, and personal libraries everywhere. Features of this encyclopedia:
Presents over 700 articles on the people, events, churches, and beliefs that comprise the Stone-Campbell tradition
Provides cutting-edge commentary on current topics of discussion as well as basic historical knowledge
Written by more than 300 scholars from across the Stone-Campbell Movement
Enlivened with photographs and illustrations (some quite rare) from around the world Includes an extensive index for rapid reference -
Calvin And The Reformed Tradition
$44.00Add to cartRichard Muller, a world-class scholar of the Reformation era, examines the relationship of Calvin’s theology to the Reformed tradition, indicating Calvin’s place in the tradition as one of several significant second-generational formulators. Muller argues that the Reformed tradition is a diverse and variegated movement not suitably described either as founded solely on the thought of John Calvin or as a reaction to or deviation from Calvin, thereby setting aside the old “Calvin and the Calvinists” approach in favor of a more integral and representative perspective. Muller offers historical corrective and nuance on topics of current interest in Reformed theology, such as limited atonement/universalism, union with Christ, and the order of salvation.
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Loving The Poor Saving The Rich
$35.00Add to cartThe issue of wealth and poverty and its relationship to Christian faith is as ancient as the New Testament and reaches even further back to the Hebrew Scriptures. From the beginnings of the Christian movement, the issue of how to deal with riches and care for the poor formed an important aspect of Christian discipleship. This careful study shows how early Christians adopted, appropriated, and transformed the Jewish and Greco-Roman moral teachings and practices of giving and patronage. As Helen Rhee illuminates the early Christian understanding of wealth and poverty, she shows how it impacted the formation of Christian identity. She also demonstrates the ongoing relevance of early Christian thought and practice for the contemporary church.
Contents
Introduction
1. The Social, Economic, and Theological World of Early Christianity
2. Wealth, Poverty, and Eschatology
3. Wealth, Poverty, and Salvation
4. Wealth, Poverty, and Koinonia
5. Wealth, Poverty, and Ecclesiastical Control
6. Wealth, Poverty, and Christian Identity
7. Wealth, Poverty, and Christian Response in Contemporary Society
Index -
Early Church And Today 1
$25.99Add to cartThe Early Church and Today is a collection of scholarly articles by an acclaimed specialist in early Christianity written for a broad audience. The topics taken from the New Testament and other early Christian literature are relevant for the church today. The articles are grouped in the following categories: Volume 1, church and ministry; Volume 2, Christian living, biblical interpretation, the restoration motif, religious liberty, and the book of Acts of the Apostles.
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Desert Fathers And Mothers
$21.99Add to cartWisdom from the very beginnings of
Christian monasticism can become a companion on your own spiritual journey.The desert fathers and mothers were ordinary Christians living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and Syria who chose to renounce the world in order to deliberately and individually follow God s call. They embraced lives of celibacy, labor, fasting, prayer, and poverty, believing that denouncing material goods and practicing stoic self-discipline would lead to unity with the Divine. Their spiritual practice formed the basis of Western monasticism and greatly influenced both Western and Eastern Christianity.
Their writings, first recorded in the fourth century, consist of spiritual advice, parables and anecdotes emphasizing the primacy of love and the purity of heart as essential to spiritual life and authentic communion with God. Focusing on key themes of charity, fortitude, lust, patience, prayer, self-control and visions, the Sayings influenced the rule of St. Benedict and have inspired centuries of opera, poetry and art.
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, opens up wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers for readers with no previous knowledge of Western monasticism and early Christianity. She provides insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that describes historical background, explains the practice of asceticism and clarifies the ancient desert wisdom that will speak to your life today and energize your spiritual quest.
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To Meet And Satisfy A Very Hungry People
$39.99Add to cartThis study aims to elucidate the origins of how the Pentecostal message came to England, highlighting reasons for its appeal to an initially small constituency, while tracing its emergence in specific religious localities which ranged from Anglican vestry, to mission hall platform, to domestic drawing room. Its chief purpose is to examine the origins and emergence of a distinctively English version of the Pentecostal phenomenon.
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Creeds Councils And Controversies (Reprinted)
$50.00Add to cartAn unsurpassed collection of primary texts from early Christianity. Focusing on the “golden age” of Greek and Latin patristics, this classic resource features difficult-to-find materials from Hilary of Poitiers, Ammianus Marcellinus, Cassian, Jerome, Augustine, Egeria, Cyril, and others. Topics include Arianism, baptism, heretics, martyrs, monasticism, the Council of Ephesus, and Christianity in Britain and Ireland.
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Early Christian Worship
$25.00Add to cartOscar Cullmann was born in Strasbourg and studied theology and classical philology there and in Paris. Since 1938 he has been Professor of New Testament and Early Church History in the Theological Faculty of the University of Basel and also, since 1949, Professor of Early Christianity at the Sorbonne, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, and the Faculte de Theologie Protestante in Paris. He has received honorary degrees from Lausanne, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Lund.
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2 Powers In Heaven
$44.99Add to cartIn his now classic Two Powers in Heaven, Alan Segal examines rabbinic evidence about early manifestations of the two powers heresy within Judaism. Segal sheds light upon the development of and relationships among early Christianity, Gnosticism, and Merkabah mysticism and demonstrates that belief in the two powers in heaven was widespread by the first century, and may have been a catalyst for the Jewish rejection of early Christianity. An important addition to New Testament and Gnostic scholarship by this much revered scholar, Segal’s Two Powers in Heaven is made available once again for a new generation.
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Baptismal Imagery In Early Christianity
$30.00Add to cartWhat can we learn from early Christian imagery about the theological meaning of baptism? in Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity: Ritual, Visual, and Theological Dimensions Robin Jensen–a leading scholar of ancient Christian art and worship–examines the baptismal right through several lenses.
She explores five models for understanding baptism: 1) as cleansing from sin; 2) sickness, and Satan; 3) incorporation into the community; 4) as sanctifying and illuminative; 5) as death and regeneration and as the beginning of the new creation. Throughout she details how visual images, poetic language, architectural space, and symbolic actions signify and convey the theological meaning of this ritual practice in its ancient context. Moreover she interprets this evidence considering both the image and the action together and then offers a holistic and integrated understanding of the power of baptism.
Illustrated with nearly 60 photos.
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Collect In The Churches Of The Reformation
$96.99Add to cartThe Collect is a form of prayer which is a core part of the liturgical worship of most Christian traditions, certainly in the Christian West, yet, relatively little work has been done to reflect on the use of this common form of prayer in different traditions, and the Protestant tradition in particular. In this representative collection of essays Bridget Nichols draws together a range of leading scholars who reflect on the history and the development of this form of prayer common to all churches of the western tradition. As well as offering a historical introduction the book offers reflections on the collect in the Methodist tradition, in Baptist worship, in Scandinavian Lutheran traditions, in American Lutheranism and on collect writing today. aContributors include: Jeremy Haselock, Karen Westerfield-Tucker, Michael Perham, John Lampard and David Kennedy.
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Christianity In England From Roman Times To The Reformation 2
$45.00Add to cartThis is the second of three volumes on the history of Christianity in England from Roman times to the Reformation. It covers the period from the Norman Conquest to the death of John Wyclif. Although there has been much scholarly work in the last fifty years on Christianity in England during these crucial and most interesting centuries, this has mostly concentrated on specific and fairly circumscribed topics or quite narrow spans of time. There has been a paucity of works which attempt to describe and comment on the changing fortunes of Christianity in England in this mediaeval period as a whole; and none which takes account of recent scholarly work up to the end of the twentieth century. This is an opportune moment to fill a gap, and to provide a comprehensive and analytical overview of a pivotal age for the development of Christianity in England, which will be attractive and useful to students of history and theology, and also to clergy, ministers, and a much wider readership. KENNETH HYLSON-SMITH was until his recent ret
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7 Truths That Changed The World
$19.00Add to cartIdeas have consequences, sometimes far-reaching and world-changing. The Christian faith contains many volatile truths that challenged–and continue to challenge–the cultural and religious status quo of the world. This biblical, historical, and philosophical exploration of some of Christianity’s most transformational ideas offers a unique look at how the world changed when Christ and his followers came on the scene.
These ideas include:
the resurrection
Jesus as God incarnate
creation out of nothing
the compatibility of faith and reason
justification by grace through faith
humankind in God
the greater good of sufferingPastors, students, and thoughtful Christians will be strengthened to face contemporary challenges to these truths and will find the confidence to impact their world for Christ.
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Light On Darkness
$39.99Add to cartIn its earliest days, photography was seen as inherently free of ideological bias. Today, in the world of Photoshop, we are rightly more skeptical – at least most of the time. When it comes to photography from the past, we tend to set some of our skepticism aside. But should we? In Light on Darkness? leading historian of African Christianity T. Jack Thompson revisits a body of photography long taken at face value – that generated by British missionaries to sub-Saharan Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – and demonstrates that much more is going on in these images than meets the eye. This book offers a careful reassessment of missionary photographers, their photographs, and their African and European audiences, including over 70 fascinating photographs from the period.
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James Robinson Graves
$19.99Add to cartJames Robinson Graves (1820-1893) is known for firmly believing that Baptists of his day needed clearly distinct markers in order to preserve a meaningful denominational identity. The founder of Landmarkism, his theology emphasized church succession (an unbroken trail of authentic congregations dating back to the New Testament), the local church (rather than the idea of a universal Body of Christ), and strict baptism guidelines.
In this first biography of Graves in more than eighty years, author James A. Patterson portrays the man as bold and brash. A native of Vermont who moved south to Nashville in 1845, the self-educated preacher and budding journalist would become a combative defender of the Baptist cause, engaging in public controversy with Methodists, Restorationists, and even fellow Baptists.
Ultimately, Graves sought to influence the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention in its formative period and was the primary shaper of the “Tennessee Tradition,” now considered a key strand of Southern Baptist life and identity. By focusing on Graves’s understanding of essential Baptist boundary markers, this book assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the Landmark legacy. It concludes with an epilogue that discusses the enduring influence of his ideas in the decades after his death.
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Worship As Repentance
$25.99Add to cartAgainst contemporary trends that conceive of Christian worship primarily as entertainment or sheer celebration, Walter Sundberg argues that repentance is the heart of authentic worship. In Worship as Repentance Sundberg outlines the history of repentance and confession within liturgical practice from the early church to mid-twentieth-century Protestantism, advocating movement away from the “eucharistic piety” common in mainline worship today and toward the “penitential piety” of older traditions of Protestant worship.
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Beauty Of Holiness
$40.00Add to cartThe Beauty of Holiness: The Caroline Divines and Their Writings offers an expansive and detailed portrait of the continued maturation of Anglican theology and devotion in the central half of the seventeenth century. The Caroline Divines have long been hailed as the patrons of an Anglican golden age. Their emphasis upon liturgical renewal and development, like their emphases upon learning and piety, have had a pervasive influence on the Anglican ethos that extends down to our own day. aaThe Beauty of Holiness includes selections from key figures such as Lancelot Andrewes, John Cosin, and Jeremy Taylor, but also expands the canon of Caroline divinity to include lay writings, some of which were published posthumously. Traditional topics such as sacramental theology and private devotion are complimented by readings on poetry as a spiritual discipline, natural theology, and the importance of family prayers. Chapters survey diverse facets of Anglican orthodoxy such as liturgical practice, the cult of King Charles the Martyr,
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Tyndale : The Man Who Gave God An English Voice
$19.99Add to cartA beautiful literary tribute to William Tyndale, the poet-martyr-expatriate-outlaw-translator who gave us our English Bible. The English Bible was born in defiance. It was also born in exile, in flight, in a kind of exodus. And these are the very elements that empowered William Tyndale in his bid to bring the English Scripture to the common citizen. Being “a stranger in a strange land,” the very homesickness he struggled with, gave life to the words of Jesus, Paul, and to the wandering Moses. Tyndale’s efforts ultimately cost him his life, a price he was certain he would have to pay. But his contribution to English spirituality is measureless. Even five centuries after his death at the stake, Tyndale’s presence looms wherever English is spoken. His single word innovations, such as “Passover,” “beautiful,” and “atonement” allowed the common man to more fully understand God’s blessings and promises. His natural lyricism shines in phrases like “Let not your hearts be troubled,” and “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.” Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer as it is written in the King James Bible or use the word “love” as it is written in 1 Corinthians 13 or bless others with “The Lord bless thee and keep thee, the Lord make his face to shine upon thee,” we are reminded of the rich bounty Tyndale has given us.
Although Tyndale has been somewhat elusive to his biographers, Teems brings wit and wisdom to the story of the man known as the “architect of the English language,” the English Paul who defied a kingdom and a tyrannical church to introduce God to the plowboy.
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Century Of The Holy Spirit
$26.99Add to cartA definitive history of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement and an intriguing reference for persons outside the movement, The Century of the Holy Spirit details the miraculous story of Pentecostal/Charismatic growth–in the U.S. and around the world. This book features five chapters by the premier Pentecostal historian, Vinson Synan, with additional contributions by leading Pentecostal/Charismatic authorities–David Barrett, David Daniels, David Edwin Harrell Jr., Peter Hocken, Sue Hyatt, Gary McGee, and Ted Olsen. Features include:
Explains and analyzes the role of all major streams, including women, African-Americans, and Hispanics
Thoroughly illustrated with photographs, charts, figures, maps, and vignettes 4-color fold-out timeline/genealogy tree
16 full-color pages, plus black-and-white photos throughout Includes bibliographies and indexes -
From Sacrament To Contract (Expanded)
$50.00Add to cartThis newly revised and enlarged edition of John Witte’s authoritative historical study explores the interplay of law, theology, and marriage in the Western tradition. Witte uncovers the core beliefs that formed the theological genetic code of Western marriage and family law. He explores the systematic models of marriage developed by Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and Enlightenment thinkers, and the transformative influence of each model on Western marriage law. In addition, he traces the millennium-long reduction of marriage from a complex spiritual, social, contractual, and natural institution into a simple private contract with freedom of entrance, exercise, and exit for husband and wife alike.
This second edition updates and expands each chapter and the bibliography. It also includes three new chapters on classical, biblical, and patristic sources.
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Calvin : Institutes Of The Christian Religion
$90.00Add to cartPrint on Demand Title
Now available in paperback, this is the definitive English-language edition of one of the monumental works of the Christian church. All previous editions-in Latin, French, German, and English-have been collated; references and notes have been verified, corrected, and expanded; and new bibliographies have been added.The translation preserves the rugged strength and vividness of Calvin’s writing, but also conforms to modern English and renders heavy theological terms in simple language. The result is a translation that achieves a high degree of accuracy and at the same time is eminently readable.
Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works-each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century-contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.
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Luther And Calvin
$16.95Add to cartMartin Luther and John Calvin have both left dramatic and lasting influences on Christianity and on European society. Their calls for reform led to the church breaking off in different directions, and people and nations believed so passionately for or against their causes that wars ravaged Europe for decades. But what exactly did they teach? This book presents Luther and Calvin in context, looking at the work and ideas of each in turn and then at the making of Lutheranism and the Reformed tradition, showing how the sixteenth-century Reformation began a process of political and intellectual change that went beyond Europe to the “New World”. The result is that today its influence is tangible all over the Western world. Perfect for those who want to understand and engage with what Luther and Calvin thought, and with the debates surrounding interpretation, this book is an excellent introduction to two of Christianity’s most famous thinkers. Charlotte Methuen teaches Church history at the University of Glasgow, and has also worked a the Universities of Hamburg, Bochum, Oxford and Mainz. She specializes in the Reformation period and is the author of numerous books and articles.
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Reading Scripture With The Reformers
$18.99Add to cartPreface
1. Why Read The Reformers?
2. Ad Fontes!
3. The Erasmian Moment
4. Whose Bible? Which Translation?
5. Doctor Martinus
6. Lutheran Ways
7. Along The Rhine
8. Preach The Word
ConclusionAdditional Info
In Reading Scripture with the Reformers, Timothy George takes readers through the exciting events of the sixteenth century, showing how this dynamic period was instigated by a fresh return to the Scriptures. George immerses us in the world of the Reformation, its continuities with the ancient and medieval church, and its dramatic upheavals and controversies. Most of all, he uncovers the significant way that the Bible shaped the minds and hearts of the reformers. This book shows how the key figures of the Reformation read and interpreted Scripture, and how their thought was shaped by what they read. We are invited to see what the church today can learn from the fathers of the Reformation, and how these figures offer a model of reading, praying and living out the Scriptures. -
African Memory Of Mark
$35.99Add to cartPreface: Not For Africans Alone
Part 1: The African Memory Of St. Mark
Part 2: The Identity Of The Biblical Mark Viewed From African Tradition
Part 3: Mark In Africa
Part 4: Mark In The Historical Record
Part 5: The Ubiquity Of Mark
ConclusionAdditional Info
We often regard the author of the Gospel of Mark as an obscure figure about whom we know little. Many would be surprised to learn how much fuller a picture of Mark exists within widespread African tradition, tradition that holds that Mark himself was from North Africa, that he founded the church in Alexandria, that he was an eyewitness to the Last Supper and Pentecost, that he was related not only to Barnabas but to Peter as well and accompanied him on many of his travels.In this provocative reassessment of early church tradition, Thomas C. Oden begins with the palette of New Testament evidence and adds to it the range of colors from traditional African sources, including synaxaries (compilations of short biographies of saints to be read on feast days), archaeological sites, non-Western historical documents and ancient churches.
The result is a fresh and illuminating portrait of Mark, one that is deeply rooted in African memory and seldom viewed appreciatively in the West.
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Athanasius
$30.00Add to cartThis volume by a respected theologian offers fresh consideration of the work of famous fourth-century church father Athanasius, giving specific attention to his use of Scripture, his deployment of metaphysical categories, and the intersection between the two. Peter Leithart not only introduces Athanasius and his biblical theology but also puts Athanasius into dialogue with contemporary theologians. This volume launches the series Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality. Edited by Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering, the series critically recovers patristic exegesis and interpretation for contemporary theology and spirituality. Each volume covers a specific church father and illuminates the exegesis that undergirds the Nicene Creed. The series contributes to the growing area of theological interpretation and will appeal to both evangelical and Catholic readers.
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Black Fire : One Hundred Years Of African American Pentecostalism
$40.99Add to cartWhether you come from an African American Pentecostal background or you just want to learn more, this book will unfold all the demensions of this important denomination’s history and contribution to the life of the church.
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Christianity
$35.95Add to cartThe Christian faith has the allegiance of one third of the human race. It has succeeded in influencing civilization to such a degree that we now take its existence almost for granted. Yet it might all have been so different. Christianity began with the words and deeds of an obscure village carpenter’s son who died a shameful criminal’s death at the hands of the Roman occupiers of his country: itself an insignificant outpost of the powerful ruling Empire. The feverish land of biblical Palestine, awash with apocalyptic expectations of deliverance from its foreign overlords, was hardly short of seers and prophets who claimed to be sent visions from God. Yet the followers of this man thought he was different: so different, in fact, that some years after his death and asserted resurrection they scandalously insisted not only that he was sent by God, but that he “”was”” God. How a provincial sect, with its seemingly outrageous ideas, became first the sanctioned religion of the Roman Empire and then, over the course of 2000 years, the creed of billions of people, is the improbable story that this book tells. It is a story of freethinkers, friars, fanatics, and firebrands; and of the lay people (not just the clerical or the powerful) who have made up the great mass of Christians over the centuries. Many introductions to Christianity are written by Christians, for Christians. This elegant textbook, by contrast, shows that the history of the religion, while often glorious, is not one of unimpeded progress, but something still more remarkable, flawed and human.
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Making Of The New Testament (Reprinted)
$35.99Add to cartThe story of the making of the New Testament is one in which scrolls bumped across cobbled Roman roads and pitched through rolling Mediterranean seas, finally finding their destinations in stuffy, dimly lit Christian house churches in Corinth or Colossae. There they were read aloud and reread, handled and copied, forwarded and collected, studied and treasured. And eventually they were brought together to make up our New Testament. This revised and expanded edition of The Making of the New Testament is a textbook introduction to the origin, collection, copying and canonizing of the New Testament documents. Like shrewd detectives reading subtle whispers of evidence, biblical scholars have studied the trail of clues and pieced together the story of these books. Arthur Patzia tells the story, answering our many questions:
How were books and documents produced in the first century?
What motivated the early Christians to commit teaching and narrative and vision to papyrus?
How were the stories and sayings of Jesus circulated, handed down and shaped into Gospels?
What do we know about ancient letter writing, secretaries and “copy shops”?
Why were four Gospels included instead of just one?
How were Paul’s letters, sent here and there, gathered into a single collection?
Who decided–and by what criteria–which documents would be included in the New Testament?Explore these questions and more about these Scriptures whose everyday, gritty story rings true to their extraordinary message: the palpable mystery of the Word made flesh.
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Wesley As A Pastoral Theologian
$49.99Add to cartDuring the last 40 years a considerable amount of scholarly attention has been given to John Wesley’s way of doing theology. There is extensive debate within Wesleyan circles (particularly in North America) regarding the conception and utility of his theological method, usually identified as the Wesleyan quadrilateral (Scripture, reason, traditi…
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Mission History Of Asian Churches
$19.99Add to cartSome decades ago the prospect of reaching the entire world with the gospel appeared very dim indeed. In a world population that was virtually exploding with growth, how could Christians begin to reach the billions of fellow humans? Then missionaries began mastering the multiplied languages on earth, placing the Bible on paper, making recordings of the gospel, and beaming the Word of God out on radio and television waves. A portion of the Bible was translated painstakingly into over a thousand languages. The entire Bible was translated into several hundred. There was reason to be hopeful. Missionaries taught nationals how to plant churches. Then nationals started planting churches, and churches begat churches . . . Bible translators had and continue to play a crucial role in the mission of reaching every people with the gospel, and this book describes how. Follow them into the fascinating, exciting world of Bible translation.
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Christian And The Sword
$12.00Add to cartPart of a major doctrinal tract of the Hutterites of the sixteenth century, this early Anabaptist document gives Biblical references for Christian nonviolence.
Concerning the Sword is the fourth article of the Article Book, a major doctrinal document of the Hutterites of the sixteenth century. Its author is not named but was probably the Hutterian bishop Peter Walpot (1521-1578). The book deals with the following five articles: (1) Concerning true baptism (and how infant baptism contradicts it); (2) Concerning the Lord’s Supper (and how the sacrament of the priests is against it); (3) Concerning the true surrender (Gelassenheit) and Christian community of goods; (4) That Christians should not go to war nor should they use sword or violence nor secular litigation; (5) Concerning divorce between believers and unbelievers.
The book is not a theological treatise, but rather, like all Anabaptist doctrinal writings, a collection of biblical texts topically arranged to prove the position of the church with regard to the question at issue. The title of the larger edition, A Beautiful and Pleasant Little Book Concerning the Main Articles of our Faith, is quite colorless; more to the point is the title used in the Chronicle of the Hutterian Brethren: The Five Articles of the Greatest Conflict Between Us and the World. It does not pretend to contain a complete system of Anabaptist thought but only a collection of those points and their arguments that distinguish the Brethren from the “world” and justify their particular stand. The Article Book must have been widely known in its time. Catholics as well as Lutheran polemics against it are known.
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Story Of Christianity 2
$27.99Add to cartTHE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY, VOLUME 2, is an informative, interesting, and consistently readable narrative history. Beginning with the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, this second volume continues narrative history to the present. Historian Justo Gonzalez brings to life the people, dramatic events, and shaping ideas of Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy during this period, keynoting crucial theological developments while providing fresh understanding of the social, political and economic forces that influenced the formation of the church. In particular, the author notes recurring themes of unrest, rebellion, and reformation. Gonzalez presents an illumination record of the lives, impelling ideas and achievements of such prominent figures as Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin-movers and shapers in the emerging Protestant church. His biographical insights, in conjunction with vivid historical accounts, reveal how individual lives mirror and clarify core theological concerns and developments. The interpretive overview of The Story of Christianity includes a thorough and timely analysis of the growth and maturation of Christianity, including events in Europe, the United States, and Latin America-the latter an area too often neglected in church histories, yet increasingly vital to an understanding of Christianity’s historical development, present situation, and future options. Gonzalez’s richly textured study discusses the changes and directions of the church in the traditions of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Christianity. The Story of Christianity covers such recent occurrences as the World Council of Churches, the Second Vatican Council, the movement toward Christian unity, and much more. It concludes with a thoughtful look at the major issues and debates involving Christians today. The Story of Christianity will serve as a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity for students and teachers of church history, for pastors, and for general readers.
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Didache : A Window On The Earliest Christians (Reprinted)
$28.00Add to cartThe Didache (or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) is one of the earliest Christian writings, compiled and used from 50-70 CE before the four gospels became prevalent. Rather than preaching the good news about Jesus, it provides practical instructions on how a Christian community should function and offers a unique glimpse into how the earliest believers lived and worshipped.
Document expert O’Loughlin shares the story of this first-century manual for training converts from its discovery in an obscure library in Istanbul in the late nineteenth century to the present and then offers an analysis of the text’s importance. His new translation, along with a commentary, highlights areas of key interest to Christians today: the faith and hope, discipline and rituals, and anxieties and challenges facing Gentiles being trained for full participation in the earliest Jewish-Christian communities. The book concludes with a discussion of how the Didache relates to other early church texts, particularly the gospels, and gives answers to the most frequently asked questions about this fascinating and important treatise.
The Didache features a detailed description of the day-to-day faith and step-by-step routines that shaped the Jesus movement some twenty years after the death of Christ. The focus of the faction at that time was not on proclaiming the titles and deeds of Jesus. Those aspects come to the fore later in the letters of Paul and in the gospel narratives. Instead, the focus of the Didache was on the life and knowledge of Jesus himself.
O’Loughlin links the findings of historians, Scripture scholars, and liturgists to provide a clearly written, accessible work that will be helpful to students and pastors, as well as those searching for authenticity in Christian community.
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On This Day In Christian History
$19.99Add to cartAmazing stories of faith from twenty centuries of church history. From the Roman Empire to the Reformation, St. Valentine to St. Francis, Martin Luther to Billy Graham, On this Day introduces readers to a parade of preachers, popes, martyrs, heroes, and saints from 2,000 years of Christianity. This introduction to 365 of the most interesting men and women of faith brings a year’s worth of inspiration and spiritual challenge and offers an enjoyable glimpse into church history. Each day includes a related Scripture reading and a simple, colorful story about history-making events in the lives of people who loved God wholeheartedly.
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Defending Constantine : The Twilight Of An Empire And The Dawn Of Christend
$38.99Add to cartWe know that Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313
outlawed paganism and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire manipulated the Council of Nicea in 325
exercised absolute authority over the church, co-opting it for the aims of empireAnd if Constantine the emperor were not problem enough, we all know that Constantinianism has been very bad for the church. Or do we know these things? Peter Leithart weighs these claims and finds them wanting. And what’s more, in focusing on these historical mirages we have failed to notice the true significance of Constantine and Rome baptized. For beneath the surface of this contested story there emerges a deeper narrative of the end of Roman sacrifice–a tectonic shift in the political theology of an empire–and with far-reaching implications.
In this probing and informative book Peter Leithart examines the real Constantine, weighs the charges against Constantinianism, and sets the terms for a new conversation about this pivotal emperor and the Christendom that emerged.
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Celtic Way Of Evangelism (Anniversary)
$20.99Add to cart10th Anniversary Edition Revised and Updated
Celtic Christianity-the form of Christian faith that flourished among the people of Ireland during the Middle Ages- has gained a great deal of attention lately. George G. Hunter III points out that while the attention paid to the Celtic Christians is well deserved, much of it fails to recognize the true genius of this ancient form of Christianity. What many contemporary Christians do not realize is that Celtic Christianity was one of the most successfully evangelistic branches of the church in history. The Celtic church converted Ireland from paganism to Christianity in a remarkably short period, and then proceeded to send missionaries throughout Europe.
North America is today in the same situation as the environment in which the early Celtic preachers found their mission fields: unfamiliar with the Christian message, yet spiritually seeking and open to a vibrant new faith. If we are to spread the gospel in this culture of secular seekers, we would do well to learn from the Celts. Their ability to work with the beliefs of those they evangelized, to adapt worship and church life to the indigenous patterns they encountered, remains unparalleled in Christian history. If we are to succeed in reaching the West . . . again, then we must begin by learning from these powerful witnesses to the saving love of Jesus Christ.
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Foxes Book Of Martyrs
$14.95Add to cartPublisher Marketing: Foxe’s Book of Martyrs has been an invaluable addition to the libraries of faithful Christians for almost five centuries. Chronicling the suffering and brutal deaths of those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, John Foxe captured the God-given, Spirit-inspired courage of these noble souls. Though sometimes difficult to read because of the inhumane cruelty depicted in its pages, the images which truly endure are the ones which portray the victorious faith, through the grace of God, of these Christian martyrs.
Why should you read this book? The stories within these pages are supremely inspiring accounts of those who gave their lives defending the truth of the Gospel. Much can be learned not only of their fortitude but also of an apostate false church that persecuted them. The powerful witness of these martyred saints will stir your hearts, as it has the true church through the centuries, to be that loyal bride of Christ, strong and pure.
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How Africa Shaped The Christian Mind
$25.99Add to cartIntroduction
Toward A Half Billion African Christians
An Epic Story
Out Of Africa
The Pivotal Place Of Africa On The Ancient Map
Two Rivers: The Nile And The Medjerda–Seedbed Of Early Christian Thought
Affirming Oral And Written Traditions
Self-Effacement And The Recovery Of Dignity
The Missing Link: The Early African Written Intellectual Tradition Forgotten
Why Africa Has Seemed To The West To Lack Intellectual History
InterludePart One: The African Seedbed Of Western Christianity
1 A Forgotten Story
Who Can Tell It?
Pilgrimage Sites Neglected
Under Sands: The Burial Of Ancient Christian Texts And Basilicas
2 Seven Ways Africa Shaped The Christian Mind
How The Western Idea Of A University Was Born In The Crucible Of Africa
How Christian Exegesis Of Scripture First Matured In Africa
How African Sources Shaped Early Christian Dogma
How Early Ecumenical Decision Making Followed African Conciliar Patterns
How The African Desert Gave Birth To Worldwide Monasticism
How Christian Neoplatonism Emerged In Africa
How Rhetorical And Dialectical Skills Were Refined In Africa And Introduced To Europe
Interlude: Harnack?s Folly
Overview
3 Defining Africa
Establishing The Indigenous Depth Of Early African Christianity
The Stereotyping Of Hellenism As Non-African
Scientific Inquiry Into The Ethnicity Of Early African Christian Writers
The Purveyors Of Myopia
The African-Priority Hypothesis Requires Textual Demonstration
The South-to-North Hypothesis
A Case In Point: The Circuitous Path From Africa To Ireland To Europe And Then Back To Africa
A Caveat Against Afrocentric Exaggeration
4 One Faith, Two Africas
The Hazards Of Bridge Building
The Challenge Of Reconciliation Of Black Africa And North Africa
Overcoming The Ingrained Lack Of Awareness
The Roots Of The Term Africa
Excommunicating The North
Arguing For African Unity
Defining “Early African Christianity” As A Descriptive Category Of A Period Of History
How African Is The Nile Valley?
5 Temptations
The Emerging Task Of Historical Inquiry
The Catholic Limits Of Afrocentrism
The Inflexible Habit Of Ignoring African Sources
The Cost Of The Forgetfulness
Overlooking African Voices Already Present In Scripture
How Protestants Can Celebrate The Apostolic Charisma Of The Copts
The Christian Ancestry Of AfricaPart Two: African Orthodox Recovery
6 The Opportunity For Retrieval
Surviving Modernity
The Steadiness Of African Orthodoxy
The New AfricanAdditional Info
Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. Some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood in Africa before they were in Europe. If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Northern and sub-Saharan Africa, indeed how can Christians throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage? Theologian Thomas C. Oden offers a portrait that challenges prevailing notions of the intellectual development of Christianity from its early roots to its modern expressions. The pattern, he suggests, is not from north to south from Europe to Africa, but the other way around. He then makes an impassioned plea to uncover the hard data and study in depth the vital role that early African Christians played in developing the modern university, maturing Christian exegesis of Scripture, shaping early Christian dogma, modeling conciliar patterns of ecumenical decision-making, stimulating early monasticism, developing Neoplatonism, and refining rhetorical and dialectical skills. He calls for a wide-ranging research project to fill out the picture he sketches. It will require, he says, a generation of disciplined investigation, combining intensive language study with a risk-taking commitment to uncover the truth in potentially unreceptive environments. Oden envisions a dedicated consortium of scholars linked by computer technology and a common commitment that will seek to shape not only the scholar’s understanding but the ordinary African Christian’s self-perception. -
Getting The Reformation Wrong
$23.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction1 The Medieval Call For Reform
2 The Renaissance: Friend Or Foe?
3 Carried Along By Misunderstandings
4 Conflict Among The Reformers
5 What The Reformers Meant By Sola Fide
6 What The Reformers Meant By Sola Scriptura
7 How The Anabaptists Fit In
8 Reformation In Rome
9 Changing Direction: From The Reformation To Protestant Scholasticism
10 Was The Reformation A Success?
11 Is The Reformation A Norm?
12 The Reformation As Triumph And TragedyAdditional Info
Getting the Reformation wrong is a common problem. Most students of history know that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the Wittenberg Church door and that John Calvin penned the Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, the Reformation did not unfold in the straightforward, monolithic fashion some may think. It was, in fact, quite a messy affair. Using the most current Reformation scholarship, James R. Payton exposes, challenges and corrects some common misrepresentations of the Reformation. Getting the Reformation Wrong:places the Reformation in the context of medieval and Renaissance reform effortsanalyzes conflicts among the Reformerscorrects common misunderstandings of what the Reformers meant by sola fide and sola Scripturaexamines how the Anabaptist movement fits in with the magisterial Reformationcritiques the post-Reformational move to Protestant Scholasticismexplores how the fresh perspective on the Reformation could make a difference in today’s churches -
Evangelicals : What They Believe Where They Are And Their Politics
$20.00Add to cartAn overview of the global evangelical movement, including its historical roots, doctrinal distinctives, current strength, influence on politics and society, and teaching about the future. In the changing political, social, and religious landscape of the West, the term evangelical is increasingly losing meaning and credibility. Although some people say there is no unity to what evangelicals believe, church historian Christopher Catherwood sets out to prove otherwise, stating, “We are a people defined by our beliefs, and that is what distinguishes us in our twenty-first century postmodern times.” Catherwood delivers a succinct and organized review of the global evangelical movement, looking at its earliest days, current place in world Christianity, political and social influence, unifying theological doctrinal beliefs, and its view on eschatology. Using the doctrinal basis of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and the 1974 Lausanne Covenant, Catherwood summarizes evangelical beliefs before describing the scope of the global church and the shift of evangelicalism’s center from the global North and West to the South and East. Catherwood demonstrates that the term evangelical is not only meaningful, but necessary. Anyone wanting to know about the past, present, and future of evangelicalism will find this book helpful.
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Complete Writings Of Menno Simons
$59.99Add to cartAvailable as a print on demand title shipping within two to three days.
This English edition of Menno Simons’ writings contains all the known writings of Menno, including several tracts, letters, and hymns never previously translated. The entire contents of this edition were translated from the Dutch by Leonard Verduin of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and edited by J. C. Wenger, who wrote clarifying introductions to each of Menno’s writings. This edition represents a faithful English rendering of what Menno taught and wrote in the 16th century.
The Complete Writings of Menno Simons is issued with the hope that it may serve to strength the Mennonite Church in a dynamic Christian life, to introduce to the Christian church at large a new vision of discipleship, to create in the reader a new loyalty to the Word of God, and to recapture the true Christian spirit in this era of secularism.
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Story Of Christianity 1
$27.99Add to cartTHE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY, VOLUME 1, is an informative, interesting, and consistently readable narrative history. It brings alive the people, dramatic events, and ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of the church’s life and thought–including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. Historian Justo Gonzalez shows how various social, political, and economic movements affected Christianity’s internal growth.
Gonzalez skillfully weaves in relevant details from the lives of prominent figures from the apostles to John Wycliffe, tracing out core theological issues and developments as reflected in the lives and stuggles of leading thinkers within the various traditions of the church. “The history of the church, while showing all the characteristics of human history, is much more than the history of an institution or movement,” Gonzalez stresses. “It is a history of the deeds of the spirit in and through the men and women who have gone before in the faith.” THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church, and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church.
THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY will serve as a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity for students and teachers of church history, for pastors, and for general readers.
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Christianity And Western Thought 2
$40.99Add to cartMarx, Mill, Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Emerson, Darwin, Freud and Weber brought to the nineteenth century new realms of thought, which still continue to wield substantial influence today. As a result, the study of history, science, psychology, philosophy, sociology and religion have never been the same. These heirs to rationalism began to explore the full range of human experience–which became a matter of philosophical and theological interest, and even authority. Romanticism flourished in the arts and literature as Idealism, Transcendentalism, Pragmatism and other movements developed. All had a profound effect on religion and how it was viewed. In this second of three volumes which survey the dynamic interplay of Christianity and Western thought from the earliest centuries through the twentieth century, Steve Wilkens and Alan Padgett tell the story of the monumental changes of the nineteenth century.
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Jewish World Around The New Testament
$70.00Add to cartRenowned biblical scholar Richard Bauckham believes that the New Testament texts cannot be adequately understood without careful attention to their Judaic and Second Temple roots. This book contains twenty-four studies that shed essential light on the religious and biblical-interpretive matrix in which early Christianity emerged. Bauckham discusses the “parting of the ways” between early Judaism and early Christianity and the relevance of early Jewish literature for the study of the New Testament. He also explores specific aspects or texts of early Christianity by relating them to their early Jewish context. Originally published by Mohr Siebeck, this book is now available as an affordable North American paperback edition.
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Global Awakening : How 20th Century Revivals Triggered A Christian Revoluti
$32.99Add to cartThe last century has seen the revolutionary remaking of Christianity into a truly world religion. How did it happen?The last century has seen the revolutionary remaking of Christianity into a truly world religion. How did it happen? Mark Shaw’s provocative thesis is that far-flung revivals in places like Africa, Korea, Brazil and India are at the heart of the global resurgence of Christianity.
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Not Angels But Anglicans (Expanded)
$40.00Add to cartThis title traces the history and development of Christianity in Britain from Roman times through twenty often turbulent centuries. Learned, yet accessible, witty in style and attractively illustrated throughout, this is popular history at its best. When the earlier editions were in print, 9/11 had not happened, Iraq had not been invaded, Rowan Williams was not yet Archbishop of Canterbury. No-one could have foreseen the escalation of religious conflict, how the issue of homosexuality was to dominate the churches’ public agenda, that the number of female ordinands would so rapidly outnumber male candidates, or imagined British parish churches rejecting their bishops and looking to Africa for a moral lead. This new edition conveys the character and contribution of Christianity in the ever changing landscape of contemporary Britain.
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Christianity And Western Thought 1
$50.99Add to cartIntroduction
PART I: PHILOSOPHY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
1. Socrates And Pre-Socratic Philosophy
2. Plato’s Vision Of Reality
3. Aristotle And The Physical World
4. Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics And Cynics
5. From Greeks To GospelPART II: FROM CHURCH FATHERS TO MEDIEVAL SCHOLASTICS
6. Philosophy And The Church Fathers
7. Early Medieval Philosophy
8. Aquinas And Later Medieval PhilosophyPART III: FROM THE REFORMATION TO THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
9. Philosophy And The Reformers
10. Old Questions And New Crises
11. The Age Of Rationalism
12. Rational Religion And The Era Of Deism
13. The Rise Of British Empiricism
14. The Skeptical Empiricism Of Hume
15. Scottish Common Sense And Early American Philosophy
16. Enlightenment And Skepticism In France
17. Enlightenment And Skepticism In Germany
18. Retrospect And ProspectNotes
A Note On Books
A Note On The Role Of Women In The History Of Western Thought
Select Index
Additional Info
From Socrates and the Sophists to Kant, from Augustine to Aquinas and the Reformers, Colin Brown traces the turbulent, often tension-filled, always fascinating story of the thinkers, ideas and movements that have shaped our intellectual landscape. Is philosophy the “handmaiden of faith” or “the doctrine of demons”? Does it clarify the faith or undermine the very heart of Christian belief? Brown writes, “This book is about the changes in preconceptions, world views and paradigms that have affected the ways in which people have thought about religion in general and Christianity in particular in the Western world. . . . It is a historical sketch, written to help students–and anyone else who might be interested–to get a better grasp of the love-hate relationship between philosophy and faith that has gone on for close to two thousand years.” Students, pastors and thoughtful Christians will benefit from this rich resource. The first in a three-volume work, Brown’s easy-to-read, hard-to-put-down introduction to Christianity and Western thought focuses on developments from the ancient world to the Age of Enlightenment. -
Organization Of The United Methodist Church
$18.99Add to cartAn indispensable guide for all United Methodists-especially pastors, lay leaders, church council members, confirmation and new member candidates and their instructors, and seminarians-this book is presented in a practical, down-to-earth manner for easy use by both individuals and classes, clergy and lay. It highlights the functions and connectional relationships within the organization, beginning with the local church and continuing through connectional organs in districts, annual conferences and their agencies, jurisdictional conferences and their agencies, the General Conference, the general agencies of the Church, and the Judicial Council.
Bishop Tuell discusses the Church’s unique polity and gives a frank assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. At the same time he paints the image of a worldwide connectional communion that is organized to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to bear witness to its Wesleyan heritage. -
Liberating Black Theology
$19.99Add to cartWhen the beliefs of Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, assumed the spotlight during the 2008 presidential campaign, the influence of black liberation theology became hotly debated not just within theological circles but across cultural lines. How many of today’s African-American congregations-and how many Americans in general-have been shaped by its view of blacks as perpetual victims of white oppression?
In this interdisciplinary, biblical critique of the black experience in America, Anthony Bradley introduces audiences to black liberation theology and its spiritual and social impact. He starts with James Cone’s proposition that the “victim” mind-set is inherent within black consciousness. Bradley then explores how such biblical misinterpretation has historically hindered black churches in addressing the diverse issues of their communities and prevented adherents from experiencing the freedoms of the gospel. Yet Liberating Black Theology does more than consider the ramifications of this belief system; it suggests an alternate approach to the black experience that can truly liberate all Christ-followers.
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Christianity In The Greco Roman World (Reprinted)
$35.00Add to cartA creative introduction to the world of our New Testament belief
Background becomes foreground in Moyer Hubbard’s creative introduction to the social and historical setting for the letters of the Apostle Paul to churches in Asia Minor and Europe.Hubbard begins each major section with a brief narrative featuring a fictional character in one of the great cities of that era. Then he elaborates on various aspects of the cultural setting related to each particular vignette, discussing the implications of those venues for understanding Paul’s letters and applying their message to our lives today. Addressing a wide array of cultural and traditional issues, Hubbard discusses:
* Religion and superstition
* Education, philosophy, and oratory
* Urban society
* Households and family life in the Greco-Roman worldThis work is based on the premise that the better one understands the historical and social context in which the New Testament (and Paul’s letters) was written, the better one will understand the writings of the New Testament themselves. Passages become clearer, metaphors deciphered, and images sharpened. Teachers, students, and laypeople alike will appreciate Hubbard’s unique, illuminating, and well-researched approach to the world of the early church.
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God On Campus
$27.99Add to cartTrent Sheppard explores historical turning points as they’ve intersected college students in prayer. From the establishment of early American campuses during the Great Awakening, to the parachurch movement in the mid-twentieth century, to the Campus America initiative to establish vital praying communities on every campus in the United States, Sheppard shows that students can participate in remarkable movements of God simply by being open to being moved.
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Paradise Of The Holy Fathers V1 Revised
$24.99Add to cartThe Paradise of the Fathers is the classic compilation of the lives and teachings of the early monastic saints. It has been said that for a monastic to achieve perfection there are only two books needed: the Bible and the Paradise of the Fathers. This volume is translated from a Syriac manuscript discovered in 1888 by Dr. Ernest A. Wallis Budge. This is a revised and edited edition. Volume 1 of The paradise or gardens of the holy Fathers includes the histories of the anchorites, recluses, monks, coenobites and ascetic fathers of the deserts of Egypt between A.D. 250 and A.D. 400 compiled by Athanasius Archbishop of Alexandria, Palladius Bishop of Helenopolis, Jerome and others.
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Teaching Of The 12
$16.99Add to cartWhat did the original apostles have to say about the ways that Christians should worship, live, and care for each other? Explore the answers to these questions and more in Tony Jones’ new book written for all Christians who desire to understand what it means to be Christian and worship and live in community with others.
Tony introduces readers to the Didache, a first century Christian treatise written to give instructions to the fledging churches. This enigmatic text was considered canonical by some of the early Church Fathers (i.e. John of Damascus), but was believed to be unworthy of the canon although recommended reading by others (i.e. Athanasius). Tony takes it apart, section by section, and explains its meaning while making application to the ways and problems and solutions most relevant for Christian churches today.
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Exorcism And Deliverance
$39.99Add to cartSince Jesus of Nazareth made exorcism a cornerstone of his own ministry, the Church has seen itself as engaged in a battle against the demonic. Exorcism has continued to play a role throughout Christian history in this conflict, although it has received different emphases in different times and places, and has been practiced in a range of different ways. Exorcism and Deliverance aims to shed new light on the phenomena of possession and exorcism by looking at them from a range of disciplinary perspectives. After an introduction to issues raised for theology by non-theological studies of possession, the book moves on to consider demons and deliverance in the Old and New Testaments, the Patristic period, the twentieth century West, Pentecostalism, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, theology, and practical theology. The diversity of essays makes sure that every facet is presented to encourage the reader thoroughly to consider this aspect of the church’s approach to evil in our society.
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Worshiping With The Church Fathers
$27.99Add to cartChristopher Hall invites us to accompany the church fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life in this unique survey of the life of worship from the perspective of the early Church.
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Ignatius Of Antioch And The Parting Of The Ways
$30.00Add to cartHow did the early Christian movement, which began among Jewish people and in close association with the Jewish temple and synagogues of the first century, develop into a predominantly Gentile movement by the end of the first century? Was this “parting of the ways” spurred by internal tensions within the Christian church, socio-political factors in the Roman city of Antioch, or growing hostility from the larger Jewish community? In Ignatius of Antioch and the Parting of the Ways, Thomas A. Robinson addresses this intriguing historical question by taking a careful look at the writings of one of the few Christian writers who wrote about this parting firsthand-Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, who was martyred in the early years of the second century. Through a careful examination of the historical and sociological setting of first-century Antioch, Robinson sifts the testimony of this church father on issues such as the nature of Christian conversion at Antioch, the sources of Jewish-Christian tensions in that city and in the broader Roman world, and the development of the terms “Christian” and “Christianity.” Assessing a number of current theories about the nature of the Jewish-Christian parting, Robinson stresses the importance of hearing the voice of Ignatius himself on these questions. This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the early days of Christianity and in Jewish-Christian relations.
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Christianity In Action
$30.99Add to cartThis meticulously researched yet engaging book traces The Salvation Army’s history of service from its beginnings in Victorian England to its present-day mission in all parts of the world. / A phenomenal religious movement, acclaimed for its compassionate service, The Salvation Army now works in no fewer than 118 countries, yet no contemporary book has chronicled this high-profile organization – until now. Henry Gariepy’s well-written, comprehensive account effectively fills that gap.
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We Believe In The Crucified And Risen Lord
$60.99Add to cartThis volume offers patristic comment on the second half of the second article of the Nicene Creed, concerning the work of Christ. Readers will gain insight into the history and substance of what the early church believed about Jesus as the God-Man.
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Bible Among Other Myths
$19.99Add to cartMany modern scholars say Israelite religion simply mirrors that of other West Semitic societies. Dr. John N. Oswalt believes the root of this attitude lies in hostility to the idea of revelation. This accessible book reasserts the biblical concept of a transcendent God who breaks into time and space and reveals himself in and through human activity.
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Sanctorum Communio : A Theological Study Of The Sociology Of The Church
$32.00Add to cartNow in an affordable paper edition, Sanctorum Communio is more readily usable for teaching and scholarship. The work, available in this series for the first time in its entirety in English, includes all material omitted from the original 1930 German publication. Bonhoeffer’s doctoral dissertation sets out the theology of sociality that informed all his work, engaging social philosophy and sociology to interpret the church as “Christ existing as church-community.” Here are the roots of his commitment to the Confessing church and the ecumenical movement, and of his actions in the resistance movement for the sake of peace and Germany’s future.
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Introducing Christianity : Exploring The Bible Faith And Life
$22.00Add to cartThis introductory-level book on Christianity looks clearly at what the church believed and taught throughout its history. Hard questions about the Bible, theology, and the Christian life are dealt with from the perspective of faith. As author, veteran scholar, and pastor James Howell puts it, “Great hope rests in thinking through these questions, and this book wrestles with them.” Howell knows the questions people ask and is adept at answering them. In doing so, he explores what it means to live as a Christian, as part of the church community, and also what it means to live with the hope Christian faith provides, even for those who “previously believed there was no hope.” Includes study questions for discussion.
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Forgotten Scriptures : The Selection And Rejection Of Early Religious Writi
$50.00Add to cartWe know that the early Christian church had a variety of Scriptures and other source material that informed their faith and shaped their thinking. We also know that after a few centuries the church decided to keep the twenty-seven books of our present New Testament and to treat them as canonical in faith and practice. But the other books did not simply disappear. In fact, many of them remain valuable for understanding the diversity of the early Christian church and the astounding claims of faith on which the church was founded. Learning about these ancient documents need not threaten the church’s current orthodoxy and authority; in fact, learning about these texts can help today’s Christians form a deeper understanding of the early church.
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Martin Luther : A Life
$19.00Add to cartMartin Luther: A Life tells the dramatic story of the renegade monk whose heroic personal struggle ignited a revolution and shook Christendom to its foundations.
Through vivid anecdotes and lively historical descriptions, Martin Luther: A Life captures the turbulent times and historic events through which Luther lived as well as his profound vision of God. A fast-moving narrative, it shows how his stinging criticisms of the Christian church struck a deep and liberating chord in the German people and led to the momentous change we know as the Reformation.
For all who wish to understand Luther the man, the rebel, and the visionary, James Nestingen’s account also offers insight into Luther’s momentous contributions to the Western world and his personal encounter with God, the Christian scriptures, and the relentless demands of his own conscience.
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Gregorian Chant : A Guide To The History And Liturgy
$19.99Add to cartGregorian Chant offers a detailed tutorial in the history and liturgy of Gregorian chant for musicians and musicologists, clergy and liturgists, passionate participants, and others who are interested in the revival of chant in the church, today.
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Our Watchword And Song
$74.99Add to cartThis study of the growth of the Church of the Nazarene traces the denomination s doctrinal roots to the English Reformation and then explores the church’s historical, intellectual, and doctrinal development.
Giving special attention to the church s distinctive belief in entire sanctification and emphasis on education, the authors colorfully retell the story of the church from its humble origins in Pilot Point, Texas, to its expansion into an international community reaching the world through a warm-hearted faith.
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We Believe In One Lord Jesus Christ
$60.99Add to cartThis volume offers patristic comment on the first half of the second article of the Nicene Creed, concerning the person of Christ. Readers will gain insight into the history and substance of what the early church believed about Jesus as the God-Man.
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Labour Of Obedience
$35.00Add to cartThis important study of key Anglican Benedictine Communities in the first half of the 20th century provides a vital record of how the Anglican Communion dealt with an issue that was as divisive in its day as today’s disputes over sexuality and women bishops, and explores the origins of the influential Anglican Papalism movement. It was the heyday of Anglo-Catholicism in the Church of England. Religious life was flourishing for the first time since the Reformation. The first shock came when the Abbot of Caldey, a flamboyant character noted for luxurious tastes, and his monks went over to Rome. Nashdom – the great Benedictine community to which Gregory Dix belonged and, in many ways, the ultimate expression of Anglo-Catholicism – threatened to do likewise over the crisis of the Church of South India where the very idea of priestly ordination and identity was being challenged. Thanks to Archbishop William Temple the crisis was averted, the monks of Nashdom stayed and the scene was set for Anglican Papalism to enter the stag
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Readers Guide To Calvins Institutes
$25.00Add to cart2009 marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, and throughout the year scholars from around the world are gathering to discuss Calvin and his influence. Calvin’s Institutes is one of the great classics of Christian theology. Here a leading Calvin expert offers an affordable guide to reading the Institutes (keyed to the McNeill/Battles translation).
The book includes annotations to selected readings that offer readers a streamlined introduction to the heart of Calvin’s theology. Dividing the Institutes into thirty-two portions, the author has chosen an average of eighteen pages to be read from each portion to cover the whole range of the Institutes and provide readers with passages critical to understanding Calvin’s theology. The notes guide readers through the text, concentrating on the sections chosen for reading, summarizing the material, and drawing attention to the most significant footnotes in the McNeill/Battles edition. An introduction and questions at the beginning of each portion direct the reader’s attention to important points, and a brief guide at the end of each portion suggests further reading. The book will serve professors and students of the Institutes; courses in Calvin, Reformed theology, and historical theology; and readers seeking a guide to the Institutes.
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John Calvin : A Pilgrims Life
$35.99Add to cartTable Of Contents
Introduction
1. Orphan (1509-1533)
2. Pilgrim (1533-1536)
3. Stranger (1536-1538)
4. Refugee (1538-1541)
5. Preacher (1541-1546)
6. Victim (1546-1549)
7. Widow (1549-1551)
8. Patient (1551-1554)
9. Sailor (1555-1559)
10. Soldier (1559-1564)Additional Info
Professor and renowned Reformation historian Herman Selderhuis has written this book to bring Calvin near to the reader, showing him as a man who had an impressive impact on the development of the Western world, but who was first of all a believer who struggled with God and with the way God governed both the world and his own life. -
In The Footsteps Of Phoebe
$33.99Add to cartThis book presents a rich and insightful look at the deaconess vocation and its blessing to the LCMS. Utilizing primary sources to document the inspiring story of the deaconess movement within the LCMS, it fills a significant gap in the annals of synodical history. Collected in this one volume is a record of events as well as the thoughts and actions of deaconesses during every era of the Synod’s history.
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In The Shadow Of The Temple
$45.99Add to cartOskar Skarsaune gives us a new look into the development of the early church and its practice by showing us the evidence of interaction between the early Christians and rabbinic Judaism. He offers numerous fascinating episodes and glimpses into this untold story.
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Community Called Taize
$18.99Add to cartJason Brian Santos takes us on a tour of the Taize community, one of the world’s first Protestant, ecumenical monastic orders, from its monastic origins in the war-torn south of 1940s France to its emerging mission as a pilgrimage site and spiritual focal point for millions of young people throughout the world.
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What The Preacher Forgot To Tell Me
$18.00Add to cartIn “What The Preacher Forgot To Tell Me: Identity and Gospel in Jamaica, author Faith Linton identifies what she believes is a deficiency in the historical preaching of the Gospel in Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries, that has impacted the success of the Gospel there. It is her conviction that many of those to whom the gospel is preached lack just what the ancient Athenians lacked-a heightened awareness of the one, true God and of them as He originally designed them. They lack a sense of kinship, of belonging to their Creator, and therefore of what they are to Him and what they owe to Him. She examines the principal of preaching the Gospel message by beginning at the beginning-in Genesis, with our creation. When people do not appreciate the significance of their being created in His image, the consequences are that they have no clear, healthy sense of their spiritual identity or of the lofty purpose for which they were created. If the message preached does not fill this gap, the understanding of the gospel will be distorted. Hearers may be driven to repentance strictly out of the fear of hell. Or, they may seek self-centred satisfaction and happiness by allying themselves with Christ, but they will not be motivated to please God. When a person is not allowed to see how closely connected they are to God, who made them like Himself, they continue to feel alienated from Him even after salvation. They feel unable to relate closely to Him in an intimate way. Her personal experience bears this out. Faith’s book identifies this problem with clarity and conviction as she describes how this principle has impacted Jamaica and the Caribbean communities and offers what she hopes is a transformational solution.
