Church History
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Churches Of The New Testament
$9.99Add to cartHave you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Christian in the first century? What would it be like to meet with the church in Philippi or Ephesus? What would go on in their assemblies? Churches of the New Testament explores the world of first century Christianity by examining what Scripture reveals about the local churches of God’s people. It examines background information about the geography and history of each city, as well as whatever is known about the founding of the church there. This book also considers what happened to the church after the first century. Centuries may separate us from the churches of the New Testament, but their examples, instruction, commendation, and rebukes can teach us today
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Christian Identity And Dalit Religion In Hindu India 1868-1947
$48.99Add to cartWhen Christianity encounters the religion and culture of a new corner of the world, it produces fresh and distinctive forms of the faith. Chad Baumann here considers one such corner: colonial Chhattisgarh in north central India. In his exploration, Baumann focuses on the interaction of three groups: Hindus from the low-caste Satnami community, Satnami converts to Christianity, and the American missionaries who worked with them. Informed by both scholarship and fieldwork, the book describes the emergence of a unique Satnami-Christian identity. Pre-existing structures of thought, belief, behavior, and more altered this emerging identity in significant ways, thereby creating a distinct regional Christianity. This fascinating book examines a little studied region of India. By doing so Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947 will help readers to better understand Christian contextualization in all lands.
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Heretics For Armchair Theologians
$24.00Add to cartIn this unique Armchair volume, noted church historians Justo and Catherine Gonzalez introduce readers to important early church figures whose teachings were denounced by the church as heresies. Instructional for what they taught and for revealing what the church wished to safeguard and uphold, these “heretics,” including Marcion, Arius, Nestorius, and Pelagius, are engagingly presented in their contexts through a clear and accessible text that is highlighted by the humorous illustrations of Ron Hill. Heretics for Armchair Theologians is an enjoyable way to learn about the church’s early life and beliefs.
Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound moments and theologians in Christian history. These books are essential supplements for first-time encounters with primary texts, lucid refreshers for scholars and clergy, and enjoyable reads for the theologically curious.
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Churchs Guide For Reading Paul
$31.99Add to cartHere Brevard Childs turns his sharp scholarly gaze from the Old Testament scholarship he is known for to the works of the apostle Paul. He offers an unusual argument: the New Testament was canonically shaped, its formation a hermeneutical exercise in which its anonymous apostles and postapostolic editors collected, preserved, and theologically shaped the material in order for the evangelical traditions to serve successive generations of Christians. Childs contends that within the New Testament the Pauline corpus stands as a unit bookended by Romans and the Pastoral Epistles. He assigns an introductory role to Romans, examining how it puts the contingencies of Paul’s earlier letters into context without sacrificing their particularity. At the other end, the Pastoral Epistles serve as a concluding valorization of Paul as the church’s doctrinal model. By considering Paul’s works as a whole, Childs offers a way to gain a fuller understanding of the individual letters.
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This Is My Body
$26.00Add to cartIntroduction
1. His Completely Trustworthy Testament: The Development Of Luther’s Early Eucharistic Teaching, 1517-1521
2. The Truth Of The Divine Words: Luther’s Sermons On The Eucharist, 1521-1528, And The Structure Of Eucharistic Meaning
3. An Intermediate Brilliance: The Words Of Institution And The Gift Of Knowledge In Calvin’s Eucharistic Theology
4. Not Hidden And Far Off: The Bodily Aspect Of Salvation And Its Implications For Understanding The Body In Calvin’s Theology
5. Preaching And Presence: Constructing Calvin’s Homiletic Legacy
6. Reflections On A Mirror: Calvin’s Preaching On Preaching (Deuteronomy 5)
7. He Is Outwith The World…that He May Fill All Things: Calvin’s Exegesis Of The Ascension And It Relation To The Eucharist
8. The Communication Of Efficacy: Calvin’s 1 Corinthians Commentary And The Development Of The Institutes
9. Discerning The Body: The Eucharist And The Christian Social Body In 16th Century Protestant Exegesis
10. Hardened Hearts, Hardened Words: Calvin, Beza, And The Trajectory Of Signification`Additional Info
A leading scholar explores and analyzes the ways Calvin, Luther, and other Reformers understood the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.There are many general surveys of the Reformation available, and they all typically devote some space to how theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin understood the Lord’s Supper and Christ’s presence in the bread and wine. However, they usually do not provide a great deal of detail about the development of the Reformers’ thoughts or the finer elements of their respective opinions.
This volume by Thomas Davis fills these gaps with a more narrowly focused study. He devotes several chapters to Luther and to Calvin, examining their use of language and their understanding of the presence of Christ, both in the Lord’s Supper and in the broader sense of his presence in the church.
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Reconciliation Blues : A Black Evangelicals Inside View Of White Christiani
$18.99Add to cartJournalist Edward Gilbreath gives an insightful, honest picture of both the history and the present state of racial reconciliation in evangelical churches. He looks at a wide range of figures, such as Howard O. Jones, Tom Skinner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson and John Perkins.
Charting progress as well as setbacks, his words offer encouragement for black evangelicals feeling alone, clarity for white evangelicals who want to understand more deeply, and fresh vision for all who want to move forward toward Christ’s prayer “that all of them may be one.”
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Who Healeth All Thy Diseases
$102.00Add to cartWho Healeth All Thy Diseases is a history of divine healing and 19th-century health reform in the Church of God, one of the earliest and most influential pre-Pentecostal radical holiness movements. The Church of God taught that Wesleyan entire sanctification was creating a visible unity of saints that restored the New Testament church of the apostles.
As the movement grew and experimented with the implications of visible sainthood, physical healing-miraculous divine healing and the physical perfectionism of health reform-became integral to the life and theology of the Church of God, shaping everything from proof of membership and evidence of ministerial authority to childrearing practices and acceptable clothing styles. Physical healing manifested and embodied the movement’s claim that God was healing the universal church (the Body of Christ) by cleansing individuals from the corruption of inbred sin. By 1902, the prevailing opinion in the Church said that divine healing was an essential aspect of the gospel, use of medicine was sinful, and every minister had to exhibit the gifts of healing.
In the early 20th century, the Church’s theology and practices of healing became increasingly problematic. Tragic failures of divine healing, epidemics, medical advances, court trials, mandatory inoculations of schoolchildren, and general opprobrium combined to prevent a simplistic equation of the Church of God and the church of the apostles. By 1925, the Church had reversed its radical, anti-medicine doctrines. Church members continued to affirm that Jesus answered prayers for healing, but they no longer claimed to know exactly how he would answer prayers. With that loss of certainty, healing lost its power to serve as evidence of holiness and its central place in the history of the Church of God.
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History Of Presbyterian Missions
$48.00Add to cartThis comprehensive volume features a collection of interpretive essays on the work of missions in the Presbyterian Church for over sixty years. It discusses events and challenges to the churchs mission activities and to its missionaries and examines the ways in which changes in denominational structures impacted mission work. Reflections from Presbyterian mission leaders, firsthand accounts from missionaries, and an overview of the work in specific mission areas from Latin America to East Asia make this an ideal resource for those involved in Presbyterian missions, scholars, and all those who seek to understand the breadth and depth of Presbyterian missions during this period.
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Divine Authenticity Of Scripture
$32.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Andrew McGowan examines the evangelical understanding of the nature and use of Scripture. McGowan emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Scripture, and argues that we should speak of “spiration” rather than inspiration of Scripture.
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Church Membership In The Bible
$6.99Add to cartChrist has designed a ‘home’ or family for his people, described in these pages as an accomplishment of divine genius. This is a magnificent subject, vital to spiritual growth and blessing and also to our service for the Saviour.
This book answers many questions about churches and church membership in New Testament times. Next to having a real walk with Christ and knowing the doctrines of the faith, membership of a good church has a powerful formative influence on the believer’s life.
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For Zions Sake
$39.99Add to cartThis groundbreaking book challenges decades of misrepresentation of Christian Zionism and questionable theology, exploding the myth that J. N. Darby stole the doctrine of the pretribulation rapture from his contemporaries. By revealing the truth behind the man and his message, Paul Wilkinson vindicates Darby and spotlights the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ as the center piece of his theology.
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Is The Reformation Over
$30.00Add to cartFor the last few decades, Catholics and Protestants have been working to heal the wounds caused by centuries of mistrust. In this work, a Christianity Today 2006 Book Award winner, premier Christian historian Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom provide a critical evaluation of post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism and its relationship to the evangelical church. While not ignoring significant differences that remain, the authors provide a clarion call for a new appreciation among evangelicals of the current character of the Catholic Church.
This landmark book will appeal to those interested in the ongoing dialogue between Catholicism and evangelicalism, students of church history and/or contemporary theology, and pastors and church leaders. -
Young Restless Reformed
$17.99Add to cartFrom places like John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, and Jonathan Edwards’s college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today’s young Calvinists tick. Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today’s twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence. For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow’s church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors. “Collin Hansen invites us on a voyage of discovery, learning how our restless youth are discovering anew the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Weary of churches that seek to entertain rather than teach, longing after the true meat of the Word, these young people are pursuing doctrine. Discover how God is moving among the young, the restless, and the Reformed.” Tim Challies, author, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment; blogger at Challies.com “Young, Restless, Reformed is the product of some outstanding research. This book will help the reader gain valuable insight into the growing Reformed movement in America.” Jerry Bridges, author of The Pursuit of Holiness “Collin Hansen has uncovered a fresh movement of young Christians for whom doctrine fuels evangelism, kindles passion, and transforms lives. Read it and rejoice.” David Neff, editor-in-chief, Christianity Today media group “A number of strategic ministries have been quietly upholding the doctrines of grace, planting churches, seeing people converted, teaching the whole counsel of God. It is time for quiet gratitude to God and earnest intercessory prayer that what has begun well will flourish beyond all human expectation.” D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School “This lively account is must reading for ministry leaders working with young adults. A wake-up call to ba
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South Africas Forgotten Revival
$16.49Add to cartAlthough the Great Awakening at the Cape in 1860 was as powerful as its precursors in America, Ireland and Wales, its story has never been fully told until now. Dr. Olea Nel has succeeded in filling a much needed gap in the literature by describing these events through the lives of three key players: Andrew Murray, Nicolaas Hofmeyr and Gottlieb van der Lingen. As the story unfolds, you will learn:
About the crisis in the Dutch Reformed Church prior to revival when
semi-literate stock farmers believed that God had called them to subdue the African tribes, not evangelize them.How virtually overnight the revival demolished this outlook so that awakened Christians became people of prayer and mission enthusiasts.
How Andrew Murray defended the Church against the onslaught of
liberalism through legal battles in the Cape High Court as well as the Privy Council, London. -
Faith And Fatherland
$29.00Add to cartAn informative glimpse into the world of German Protestants in the difficult Hitler era, Faith and Fatherland approaches the history of the Church Struggle from the “bottom up,” using sources like pastors’ correspondence, parish newsletters, local newspaper accounts, district superintendents’ reports, and local church statistics.
While Jantzen confirms the general understanding that German Protestants failed to resist or even critique the Nazi regime, he reveals a surprising diversity of opinion and variety of action, including the successful efforts of some Lutheran pastors and parishioners to resist the nazification of their churches.
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Canonical Theism : A Proposal For Theology And The Church
$39.99Add to cartCanonical Theism is a post-Protestant vision for the renewal of both theology and church. The editors call for the retrieval and redeployment of the full range of materials, persons, and practices that make up the canonical heritage of the church, including scripture, doctrine, sacred image, saints, sacraments, and more. The central thesis of the work is that the good and life-giving Holy Spirit has equipped the church with not only a canon of scripture but also with a rich canonical heritage of materials, persons, and practices. However, much of the latter has been ignored or cast aside. This unplumbed resource of canonical heritage waits for the church to rediscover its wealth. With a bold set of thirty theses, the authors chart and defend that mine of opportunity. They then invite the entire church to explore the benefits of their discoveries. This ambitious book offers insights to be integrated into the church body, renewing the faith that nourished converts, created saints, and upheld martyrs across the years.
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Modern Church History
$52.99Add to cart“This is the SCM Core Text: “”Modern Church History”” provides an introduction to global Christianity from 1700 to the mid 20th C. The book aims to help students understand the processes, movements and individuals who have contributed to making the contemporary Christian landscape the shape it is in the 21st century. Theologically it takes a wide and inclusive approach to provide a balanced survey of Christianity in all its forms – Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. Geographically it focuses on the Christian church in the UK, continental Europe and North America, and examines in each location the social movements, campaigns and campaigners, scientific and political challenges that have shaped the Christian Church throughout the period.Beginning with the reaction to Lutherism, it charts the rise of Pietism in Europe throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the influence of John Wesley and the Methodists, in the UK and the ‘Great Awakening’ in North America. The early chapters summarize the developments within th
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Doctrinal Standards In The Wesleyan Tradition (Revised)
$35.99Add to cartThe history of Wesleyan family of churches doctrines
What are our core beliefs? Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan Tradition, Revised Edition, narrates the history of the formation of Wesleyan doctrines, describing how they were transplanted from the British Isles to North American, how they became constitutionally protected in Wesleyan-rooted churches.
The first edition of this book affected the outcome of the 1988 General Conference of The United Methodist Church as the delegates decided many then-disputed doctrinal issues. This revised edition addresses the continuing hunger for more precise and useful information on the doctrinal traditions of mainline Protestantism. Hence the arguments have been updated with more than 400 changes.
Included are doctrinal statements for the Evangelical United Bethren, Free Methodist, Methodist Protestant, Wesleyan, Nazarene, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, and African Methodist Episcopal Churches; as well as an outline syllabus of a Course on the Articles of Religion.
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Faith And Human Rights
$14.00Add to cartThe UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as a highpoint of twentieth-century moral deliberation, yet sixty years later human rights are widely denied, evaded, or ignored around the world. Where are religious persons in this situation? Here a philosopher and a theologian address the issues with authority, clarity, and genuine passion in a way that does not spare religion or even religious people, who have been among the most egregious violators of human rights in the world.
Faith and Human Rights argues that the idea of human rights is not exclusively religious, but that its realization in practice requires urgent action on the part of people of all faiths – and of no faith. The authors contend that while faith has much of value to contribute here, the world’s religions will require vigilant reappraisal if they are to function as genuine partners in the global struggle for human dignity. Acknowledging the ambiguous moral legacy of their own tradition, Christianity, the authors draw on Christological themes to draft blueprints for a culturally sensitive “theology of human rights.”
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Anglican Papalism
$35.00Add to cartIn 1898 the Church of England was shaken to its roots by the then Pope’s declaration that Anglican orders of ministry were ‘null and void’. This threatened to create an unbridgeable gulf between the two Churches, yet some Anglicans responded creatively by demonstrating their loyalty and fidelity to Rome – the movement was known as Anglican Papalism and it laid the foundation for new respect and fresh dialogue that culminated in the friendlier message Vatican II. Anglo-Catholic readers will value this illustrated history of a small but powerful and characterful movement within Anglo-Catholicism.
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Misunderstood Jew : The Church And The Scandal Of The Jewish Jesus
$15.99Add to cartIn the The Misunderstood Jew, scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the “Jewishness” of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine’s humor and informed truth-telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.
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Early Christians In Ephesus From Paul To Ignatius
$88.99Add to cartIn this book, Paul Treblico seeks to discuss all the evidence for the life of the early Christians in Ephesus from Paul to Ignatius, seen in the context of our knowledge of the city as a whole. Drawing on Paul’s letters and the Acts of the Apostles, Treblico discusses the beginnings of the life of the early Christians in Ephesus, both before the Pauline mission and during that mission. He then shows that in the period from around 80 to 100 CE there were a number of different groups in Ephesus who regarded themselves as Christians – the Pauline, Johannine, Nicolaitans, and others – testifying to the diversity of this time and place. Treblico also argues that the Pauline and Johannine groups were distinct and separate communities. He proves his theory with an examination of several themes relating to these sets, including their attitude to the wider world, their material possessions, their leadership structure, and so on. Including further discussions on the Ephesus addresses of John the Seer in Revelation and Ignatius, this book is a thorough and scholarly exploration of the early Ephesian Christians and their community.
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Division Of Christendom
$60.00Add to cartIn The Division of Christendom, revered historian Hans J. Hillerbrand details the events and ideas of the sixteenth century and contends that the Protestant Reformation must be seen as an interplay of religious, political, and economic forces in which religion played a major role. Hillerbrand tells the fascinating story of the ways in which theological disagreements divided the centuries-old Christian church and the roles that leading characters such as Luther, Zwingli, Anabaptists, and Calvin played in establishing new churches, even as Roman Catholicism continued to develop in its own ways. The book covers all significant aspects of this period and interprets these important events in their own context while reflecting on the consequences of the Reformation for later periods and for today.
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Rome And Canterbury
$29.00Add to cartForeward
Author’s Note
Preface
The History
Chapter I: The Breach In The West
Chapter II: A New Christian Landscape
Chapter III: Rome And Canterbury Face Modernity
Chapter IV: The Ecumenical Movement Gets Up And Running
Chapter V: Anglicans/Episcopalians And Roman Catholics Initiate Talks And The Anglican Centre In Rome Opens
Chaper VI: The Anglican Roman Catholic International Comission Begins Its Work
Authority
Chapter VII: Introduction To Authority: Early Leadership, Primacy Infallibility And The Situation Today
Chapter VIII: Church Governance Today And ARCIC’s Agreed Statements On Authority
The Future
Chapter IX: What’s Next?
Chapter X: My World And Christian Unity
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Appendix I: A Common History: Christianity’s Earliest Days
Appendix II: Agreed ARCIC Documents: Eucharist (1971), Ordination (1973), Salvations And The Church (1986)
Appendix III: Morals: Agreed Statement On Teaching And Practice (1994)
Appendix IV: Mary: Grace And Hope In Christ (2005)
Appendix V: Timeline
Appendix VI: A History Of The Gregorian Calendar
Appendix VII: Population By Continent (400 BC To 1600 AD)
Appendix VIII: Resources
Additional Info
Rome and Canterbury tells the story of the determined but little known work being done to end the nearly five hundred year old divisions between the Roman Catholic and the Anglican/Episcopal Churches. The break was never intended, has never been fully accepted and is experienced, by many, as a painful and open wound. It is a personal account that begins the story by reviewing the relevant history and theology, looks at where we are today, and concludes with some reflections on faith and belief in the US. -
Uncreated Light : An Iconographical Study Of The Transfiguration In The Eas
$29.99Add to cartDistinguished religious artist Solrunn Nes in this volume explores the beauty and truth found in icons of Christ’s transfiguration. As Nes observes in her introduction, the transfiguration of Jesus Christ is an especially rich subject in the abundant iconographical tradition of the Eastern Church. In weaving together iconographical representations and theological interpretation, The Uncreated Light is itself a beautiful exploration of this subject.
Structured according to the biblical account of Christ’s transfiguration, the book is divided into three main parts. The first, corresponding with the ascent up the mountain, presents the iconographical theme in four representative works of previous centuries. The second section focuses on the “vision of light” and considers the Orthodox interpretation of the event based on a selection of art and texts. The third and final section parallels the descent back down the mountain; here Nes goes back to the icons themselves, interpreting them anew in light of the insights gained under the “vision of light.”
Including full-color plates of the icons discussed and a lengthy appendix, The Uncreated Light is a testament to the author’s own artistic grace and to her deep understanding of iconographical art as an expression of faith.
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Light From The Christian East
$26.99Add to cartJames R. Payton, Jr. introduces us to Eastern Orthodox history, theology and practice. For all readers interested in ancient ecumenical Christian theology and spirituality, and is especially open and sympathetic to what evangelicals can learn from orthodoxy.
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Communion In The Spirit
$39.99Add to cartThis study explores the central connection Edwards drew between his doctrines of religious experience and the Trinity: the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Edwards envisioned the Spirit’s inter-Trinitarian work as the affectionate bond of union between the Father and the Son, a work which, he argued, is reduplicated in a finite way in the work of redemption. Salvation is ultimately all about being drawn in love into the Trinitarian life of the Godhead.
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Apostolic Networks In Britain
$49.99Add to cartSince the 1970s the so called “New Church” networks with their apostolic leadership teams have become an established part of the charismatic evangelical scene in the UK. In Part One, the stories of the diverse apostolic groupings are traced from the 1960s to the present day. Part Two is a study, based on empirical research, of leaders in apostolic networks. Part Three explores the theologies found in these churches and Part Four concludes with some sociological and theological analysis.
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Heresies And How To Avoid Them (Reprinted)
$24.00Add to cartBad ideas have a maddening tendency to get recycled. In Heresies and How to Avoid Them an esteemed group of practicing theologians help contemporary Christians grasp why historically orthodox theology leads them to believe certain things, while rejecting others. Readers will learn about the decisions that radically affected the course of church history – and that still shape Christianity today.
They tackle twelve ancient heresies, and clarify what these early aberrations were, how they developed, and why they have been discarded by believers through the centuries.
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Alexander Boddy : Pentecostal Anglican Pioneer
$39.99Add to cartEuropean Pentecostalism was fortunate in having the wise and balanced leadership of
the evangelical Anglican Alexander Boddy at its disposal during the formative years of the
early 1900s. Wakefield brings to life the vigorous discussion of charismata that occupied
the minds of early Spirit-filled believers. He charts Boddy’s training, explains his beliefs
and his spirituality, records his personal and pastoral work in the northeast of England,
and explains the style and direction of his leadership. Boddy was an important figure,
even a great man, and now for the first time a full-length biography of his life and work is
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Blessing Of Africa
$35.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Keith A. Burton traces the story of biblical Africa and the place of the Bible in the land of Ham. He ends with an examination of the modern era and the achievements of African Christianity. This invigorating work places the story of the Bible and African Christianity in a wider global context and challenges readers to think differently about history and the biblical world.
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Messiah : In Early Judaism And Christianity
$23.00Add to cartThe Messiah neatly surveys currents of messianic thought in the formative centuries of Judaism and Christianity, providing precision in thinking about “messianic” images and tradition. Leading scholars offer succinct and illuminating essays on the traditions that decisively shaped Jewish and Christian belief in a messiah. Includes two maps, a timeline of persons, events, and literature, and a glossary of terms.
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High View Of Scripture
$27.00Add to cartContents
Introduction
1. Evangelicals, Traditionalism, And The Bible
2. Introducing New Testament Canon Formation
3. Canon And Ecclesiology
4. A Closed Second-Century Canon?
5. Two Important Fourth-Century Lists
6. Inspiration And Inerrancy
Postscript
Appendix: The Fathers, Scripture, And InspirationAdditional Info
This book shows the diverse histories of the canon’s historical development and its subsequent twenty-first century implications for an evangelical “high view of Scripture”. -
Ways That Never Parted
$39.00Add to cartIn this first paperback edition of a volume originally published by Mohr Siebeck in 2003, stellar international scholars question whether there in fact was a “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity. Includes a new preface by the editors discussing scholarship since 2003.
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Fortress Introduction To Salvation And The Cross
$21.00Add to cartIn this masterful survey and analysis of 2000 years of Christian reflection on salvation, theologian David Brondos lays bare the diverse and even competing understandings, their social context and development, and their strengths and weaknesses. Concentrating on eleven of the most important figures, Brondos unfolds each as pursuing a distinctive story of salvation or atonement.
The eleven figures include Isaiah, Luke, Paul, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Anselm, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Albrecht Ritschl, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Jon Sobrino, and Rosemary Radford Ruether.
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Hidden Histories In The United Church Of Christ 2
$20.00Add to cartHidden Histories 2 invites readers to enhance their knowledge of history as an important source of spiritual strength for these times. It also examines more deeply what it means for the United Church of Christ to celebrate its unity in diversity. It explores such areas as Lutheran and Reformed Cooperation; German Evangelical Protestants; Origins of the Christian Denomination in New England; Evangelical Pietism and Biblical Criticism; Women’s Mission Structures and the American Board; Religious Journalism; Philip William Otterbein and the United Brethren; From German Reformed Roots to the Churches of God; The Congregational Training School for Women; and Chinese Congregationalism.
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Hidden Histories In The United Church Of Christ 1
$18.00Add to cartPublisher Marketing: This collection of essays expands knowledge about the diversity of the UCC, and connects the UCC with many significant developments in American religious and ethnic history. It explores such areas as Native American Protestantism, black Christian churches, a schism in the German Reformed Church, Armenian congregationalism’s missionary beginnings, German congregationalism, blacks and the American Missionary Association, Deaconess ministries, the Schwenkfelders, the Calvin Synod (Hungarian), women’s work and women’s boards, and Japanese-American congregationalists.
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History Of The Reformed Presbyterian Church In America
$50.00Add to cartPrint on demand
Students of Presbyterian church history will discover a whole family of churches whose history sparkles with remarkable personalities and noteworthy achievements, however much they may have been forgotten in the years that followed. Reformed Presbyterians, Associate Reformed Presbyterians, and the dwindling numbers of those who once belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of North America, will all give thanks for the history that is brought to light in these pages. We ‘Scottish Dissenting Presbyterians’ have a goodly heritage. We have much to discover about our forbears in the faith, and what they accomplished in their day; and much as well to consider with regard to how their distinctive principles and practices may have something vital to contribute to our churches and to our nation today. -Ray B. Lanning and Nathan P. Eshelman, From the Introduction. -
Sacred Spring : God And The Birth Of Modernism In Fin De Siecle Vienna
$33.99Add to cartThe culture of fin de siecle Vienna continues to fascinate and has been examined at length. There are indeed massive studies of Freud, Mahler, Loos, Klimt, and many other notables from that era. But these studies often ignore the religious dimension of Viennese modernist culture, implying — if not arguing outright — that “modernism” and “religion” are contrary, even hostile, categories.
Taking a different tack, Robert Weldon Whalen in Sacred Spring documents the important thesis that Viennese modernism, far from being secular, was in fact a deeply religious movement. In vivid language Whalen examines this era of “being torn apart and rising again,” describing those Viennese who were on the cutting edge of modern art and thought. Though the book focuses on avant-garde art, it also connects materials from journalism, popular culture, and contemporary politics in fascinating ways.
Students of modernism, the arts, and European cultural history will find that Sacred Spring offers an intriguing, compelling perspective on their subjects. Featuring a beautifully written narrative, the book will also appeal to readers interested in the intersection of culture and faith, in the connection between the arts and the sacred.
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Church History : A Crash Course For The Curious
$19.99Add to cartIn this concise, accessible guide, author Christopher Catherwood takes his readers through the history of the faith, educating them about the uniqueness of Christianity from its birth to the diverse, global Evangelical Church we know today. Church History is the perfect place to start for anyone who wants to know where to begin this quest for knowledge.
Enjoy discovering more about the lives of men and women from various times and places, not only to better understand the church, but also to know how to live wisely in this age. These are some of the many reasons why history is so important.
From those who desire to learn more about their fellow followers of Jesus Christ throughout history to those who want to learn more about church for themselves, this book will test you to dig deeper in your faith.
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Secrets Of Judas (Revised)
$13.95Add to cartThe discovery of a previously lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot has electrified the Christian community. What Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is inconsistent and biased. Therefore, the revelation of an ancient gospel that portrays this despised man as someone who saw his role in the Passion of Christ as integral to a larger plan-a divine plan-brings new clarity to the old story. If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, Jesus would not have been handed over to the authorities, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Could it be that without Judas, the Easter miracle would never have happened?
In The Secrets of Judas, James M. Robinson, an expert historian of early Christianity, examines the Bible and other ancient texts and reveals what we can and cannot know about the life of the historical Judas, his role in Jesus’s crucifixion, and whether the Christian church should reevaluate his intentions and possible innocence. Robinson tells the sensational story of the discovery of a gospel attributed to Judas, and shows how this affects Judas’s newfound meaning for history and for the Christian faith.
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Oxfords Protestant Spy
$49.99Add to cartCharles Golightly (1807-85) was a notorious Protestant polemicist. His life was dedicated to resisting the spread of ritualism and liberalism within the Church of England and the University of Oxford. For half a century he led many memorable campaigns, such as building a martyr’s memorial and attempting to close a theological college. John Henry Newman, Samuel Wilberforce, and Benjamin Jowett were among his adversaries. This is the first study of Golightly’s controversial career.
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Pentecostal Origins
$49.99Add to cartHarvey Cox describes Pentecostalism as “the fascinating spiritual child of our time” that has the potential, at the global scale, to contribute to the “reshaping of religion in the twenty-first century.” This study grounds such sentiments by examining at the local scale the origin, development and nature of Pentecostalism in Ireland in its first twenty years. Illustrative, in a paradigmatic way, of how Pentecostalism became established within one region of the British Isles, it sets the story within the wider context of formative influences emanating from America, Europe and in particular, other parts of the British Isles. As a synoptic regional study in Pentecostal history it is the first survey of its kind.
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Social Context Of Pauls Ministry
$15.00Add to cartIn this “slim, readable, and provocative volume” (Journal of Biblical Literature), Ronald Hock focuses on the apostle Paul and his work within the social and intellectual context of the Greek East of the early Roman Empire.
Hock discusses the New Testament evidence concerning tentmaking in relation to Paul’s life as an apostle of Christ. Relevant literary and nonliterary texts from outside the New Testament add detail to a picture of ancient society and open new areas for study. The author describes the typical experiences that arose from such a way of life – traveling, the tentmaking trade, the missionary use of the workshop, attitudes toward work, and Paul’s own reflections on the significance of his tentmaking for the apostolic self-understanding.
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New Song For An Old World
$27.99Add to cartWhile the worship wars continue to rage in the church, many do not realize that conflict over church music goes back to the earliest Christians as they sought to live out the “new song” of their faith. In A New Song for an Old World Calvin Stapert challenges Christians to learn from the wisdom of the early church as they seek to explore appropriate music today.
Stapert draws parallels between the pagan cultures of the second and third centuries and our own multicultural realities, enabling readers to comprehend the musical ideas of early Christian thinkers, from Clement and Tertullian to John Chrysostom and Augustine. Stapert’s expert treatment of the attitudes of the early church toward psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is ideal for scholars of early Christianity, church musicians, and all Christians looking to add an ancient yet relevant perspective to their worship today. -
Stories : How Mennonites Came To Be
$18.99Add to cartJohn D. Roth’s straightforward, accessible narrative invigorates this contemporary introduction to the Mennonite story. Whether readers are new to the Mennonite community or just yearning for a fresh telling of Anabaptist origins, ‘Stories: How Mennonites Came To Be’ will serve as a compact digest of the church’s history for generations to come.
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Beyond Religious Discourse
$39.99Add to cartDrawing extensively on primary sources, this pioneer work in modern religious history
explores the training of preachers, the construction of sermons and how Irish
evangelicalism and the wider movement in Great Britain and the United States shaped the
preaching event. Evangelical preaching and politics, sectarianism, denominations, education, class, social reform, gender and revival are examined to advance the argument that evangelical sermons and preaching went significantly beyond religious discourse. The result is a book for those with interests in Irish history, culture and belief, popular religion and society, evangelicalism, preaching and communication. -
Searching For Sacred Ground
$19.95Add to cartExplores the universal search for balance in life, using historical events and people to illustrate the constant tensions between conflict and resolution. On a parrallel story line, the author weaves into this rich tapestry the life of an exceptional man.
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Thomas Muntzer : A Tragedy Of Errors
$26.00Add to cartRejected in the sixteenth century by both Protestants and Catholics, yet hailed by Marxist historians as a forerunner of the Marxist revolution, this volume tells Muntzer’s story and offers a critical assessment of him in light of his extant works, with particular attention to the religious foundations of his revolutionary program.
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Gnostic Discoveries : The Impact Of The Nag Hammadi Library
$14.99Add to cartThe Meaning of the Nag Hammadi, now in paperback opens the with the thrilling adventure story of the discovery of the ancient Papyrii at Nag Hammadi. Muhammad Ali, the fellahin, discovered the sealed jar, he feared that it might contain a jinni, or spirit, but also had heard of hidden treasures in such jars. Greed overcame his fears and when he smashed open the jar, gold seemed to float into the air. To his disappointment, it was papyrus fragmenst, not gold, but for scholars around the world, it was invaluable.
Meyer then discusses the pre-Christian forms of wisdom that went onto influence what Christians believe today. In addition, some Nag Hammadi texts are attributed to Valentinus, a man who almost became Pope, and whose rejection changed the church in significant ways. Text by text, Meyer traces the history and impact of this great find on the Church, right up to our current beliefs and popular cultural fascination with this officially suppressed secret knowledge about Jesus and his followers.
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Canons
$35.99Add to cartIn this lively and entertaining volume, Trevor Beeson describes many of the greatest and most engaging Canons in the history of the Church of England. With a wealth of amusing detail and anecdote, as well as a skilful marshalling of the essential facts, he brings the Canons alive, and considers their significance in the social and ecclesiastical history of their times.
Tracing the course of the dramatic change in the fortunes of the English cathedrals and in turn the lives of the most interesting and significant Canons who were in office, Trevor Beeson provides readers with an interesting and undemanding introduction to two centuries of Church history with these portraits of quite remarkable men.
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Oxford Guide To The Book Of Common Prayer
$51.00Add to cartThe Book of Common Prayer runs like a golden thread through the history of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer is the first comprehensive guide to the history and usage of the original Book of Common Prayer and its numerous descendants throughout the world. It shows how a seminal text for Christian worship and devotion has inspired a varied family of religious resources that have had an influence far beyond their use in the churches of a single tradition.
The Guide is unique. In it experts from every part of the globe and every branch of Anglicanism, as well as from the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Unitarian traditions, provide an unparalleled examination of The Book of Common Prayer and its lineage. From 1549 to the Twenty-first Century, The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer offers a fascinating journey through the history and development of a classic of world literature.
Much more than simply a history, this volume describes how Anglican churches at all points of the compass have developed their own Prayer Books and adapted the time-honored Anglican liturgies to their diverse local cultures. In the dozens of editions now in use throughout the world, the same texts–Daily Prayers, the Eucharist, Marriage and Funerals, and many others–resemble each other, and yet differ from each other in interesting ways. A brief look at “electronic Prayer Books” offers a glimpse at how this story of development and adaptation may continue in the Information Age.
Oxford is pleased to publish a varied selection of The Book of Common Prayer in formats, features, and prices to suit every need and budget. We invite you to explore our Web site for further information regarding these fine resources.
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Experimental Knowledge Of Christ
$16.00Add to cartBiographical Introduction
Sermon 1: The Danger Of Losing One’s Soul While Seeking To Gain The World
Sermon 2: The Experimental Knowledge Of Christ
Sermon 3: The Duty Of Listening To The Gospel As The Voice Of Christ
Sermon 4: Praying For The Spirit
Sermon 5: The Greatness Of The Peace Of God, Which Above Understanding
Sermon 6: The Funeral Sermon Of King George III
Sermon 7: The Coming Of The Son Of Man
Sermon 8: Christ The Physician
Sermon 9: God Attending To The Contrite In Spirit
Sermon 10: God Choosing And Calling Men
Sermon 11: The Saints Loving Christ And Delighting In HimAdditional Info
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Thriving Churches In The 21st Century
$20.99Add to cartIf the body of Christ is truly a living structure, then we must know what to do to keep it functioning, hearty, and mature! Exploring the 10 interacting systems that make up a healthy church, McIntosh and Reeves demonstrate the importance of spiritual energy, corporate intercession, spiritual disciplines, mentoring, team ministry, and more.
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John Calvin Steward Of Gods Covenant
$23.00Add to cartThis selection of the writings of John Calvin (1509-1564) is the first for general readers to appear in many years. It showcases his powerful legacy, which has had far-reaching consequences for the development of religion and culture in Western Europe and in the shaping of American identity.
Calvin was a prodigious preacher and writer, and his sermons, Bible commentaries, tracts, and letters fill dozens of volumes. The works chosen for John Calvin: Steward of God’s Covenant highlight ideas central to the Reformation but also to his influence on modern life, e.g., the importance of a work ethic and the notion of being “called” to action in the world; his belief in universal education for boys and girls; and his belief in the sanctity and freedom of individual conscience. Calvin’s theology of the “elect” of God motivated the English and Dutch Calvinists who settled the Atlantic seaboard, their Promised Land. The traditions of their communities and churches and laws produced the widespread present-day American belief in a divinely favored national destiny.
In her brilliant preface to this edition, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson makes the clearest connection between John Calvin’s own biblical and patristic heritage and the heritage he in turn left the modern world.
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Concise History Of Christian Doctrine
$31.99Add to cartJusto L. Gonzalez, one of today’s best interpreters of church belief and history, lays out the answers to questions crucial to understanding Christian belief. First, what are the core Christian doctrines, and what convictions from the heart of Christian identity? Second, what are the historical contexts in which these doctrines first rose to prominence, and how have they developed across the history of the church? Finally, what claims do these doctrines continue to place on Christian belief and practice in the 21st Century? This book will serve the needs of students in church history, historical theology, and systematic theology classes in college settings, as well as seminaries and theological schools.
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Generous Orthodoxy : Why I Am A Missional Evangelical Post Protestant Liber
$14.99Add to cartWhy I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, catholic, green, incarnational, depressed- yet hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian. A confession and manifesto from a senior leader in the emerging church movement. A Generous Orthodoxycalls for a radical, Christ-centered orthodoxy of faith and practice in a missional, generous spirit. Brian McLaren argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, postprotestant convergence, which will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions. In a sweeping exploration of belief, author Brian McLaren takes us across the landscape of faith, envisioning an orthodoxy that aims for Jesus, is driven by love, and is defined by missional intent. A Generous Orthodoxy rediscovers the mysterious and compelling ways that Jesus can be embraced across the entire Christian horizon. Rather than establishing what is and is not “orthodox,” McLaren walks through the many traditions of faith, bringing to the center a way of life that draws us closer to Christ and to each other. Whether you find yourself inside, outside, or somewhere on the fringe of Christianity, A Generous Orthodoxy draws you toward a way of living that looks beyond the “us/them” paradigm to the blessed and ancient paradox of “we.” Also available on abridged audio CD, read by the author.
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Concept Of Woman Volume 2 Part 2
$55.99Add to cartThis seminal work is the second volume of a widely praised study of the concept of woman in the history of Western philosophy. Sister Prudence Allen explores claims about sex and gender identity in the works of over fifty philosophers (both men and women) in the late medieval and early Renaissance periods.
Touching on the thought of every philosopher who considered sex or gender identity between A.D. 1250 and 1500, The Concept of Woman provides the analytical categories necessary for situating contemporary discussion of women in relation to men. Adding to the accessibility of this fine discussion are informative illustrations, helpful summary charts, and extracts of original source material (some not previously available in English).
Encyclopedic in coverage yet clearly organized and well written, The Concept of Woman will be an invaluable resource for readers interested in a wide range of disciplines.
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Concept Of Woman Volume 2 Part 1
$49.99Add to cartThis seminal work is the second volume of a widely praised study of the concept of woman in the history of Western philosophy. Sister Prudence Allen explores claims about sex and gender identity in the works of over fifty philosophers (both men and women) in the late medieval and early Renaissance periods.
Touching on the thought of every philosopher who considered sex or gender identity between A.D. 1250 and 1500, The Concept of Woman provides the analytical categories necessary for situating contemporary discussion of women in relation to men. Adding to the accessibility of this fine discussion are informative illustrations, helpful summary charts, and extracts of original source material (some not previously available in English).
Encyclopedic in coverage yet clearly organized and well written, The Concept of Woman will be an invaluable resource for readers interested in a wide range of disciplines.
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How On Earth Did Jesus Become A God
$29.99Add to cartIn How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Larry Hurtado investigates the intense devotion to Jesus that emerged with surprising speed after his death. Reverence for Jesus among early Christians, notes Hurtado, included both grand claims about Jesus’ significance and a pattern of devotional practices that effectively treated him as divine. This book argues that whatever one makes of such devotion to Jesus, the subject deserves serious historical consideration.
Mapping out the lively current debate about Jesus, Hurtado explains the evidence, issues, and positions at stake. He goes on to treat the opposition to – and severe costs of – worshiping Jesus, the history of incorporating such devotion into Jewish monotheism, and the role of religious experience in Christianity’s development out of Judaism. The follow-up to Hurtado’s award-winning Lord Jesus Christ (2003), this book provides compelling answers to queries about the development of the church’s belief in the divinity of Jesus.
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Modern Revivalism : Charles Grandison Finney To Billy Graham
$50.00Add to cartWipf And Stock Publishers
This book is concerned with religious revivalism in the United States since 1825. It attempts to explain the part which revivalism has played, and is playing today, in the social, intellectual, and religious life of America. The aim has been, in describing the development of modern revivalism and the men who devoted their lives to it, to look below the surface phenomenon in an effort to discover why revivals have constantly recurred, what their effects have been, and what they meant not only to those directly concerned but to all Americans. If the revivals of the past century and a quarter have not always been the crucial factors in the course of American history that their devout exponents claimed, they have nevertheless been more significant than the social historians have yet acknowledged. from the Preface
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Covenant Theology Of Caspar Olevianus
$22.00Add to cartPrint on demand title
“The purpose of this study,” writes the author, “is to take a new and hard look at Olevianus’s doctrine of covenant and to determine its place in the larger picture of sixteenth-century thought.” Bierma analyzes all of Olevianus’s work on covenant and challenges the notion that Olevianus was the first to use the covenant idea as the organizing principle of his theology. He maintains that Olevianus’s most significant contribution was in using the covenant to provide assurance of salvation. -
Church And The Churches
$15.99Add to cartwith a Postcript coauthored by Michael W. Goheen
In print for two decades and translated into eight languages, Albert Wolters’s classic formulation of an integrated Christian worldview has been revised and expanded to reach new readers beyond the generation that has already benefited from this clear, concise proposal for transcending the false dichotomy between sacred and secular. Wolters begins by defining the nature and scope of a worldview, distinguishing it from philosophy and theology. He then outlines a Reformed analysis of the three basic categories in human history – creation, fall, and redemption – arguing that while the fall reaches into every corner of the world, Christians are called to participate in Christ’s redemption of all creation. This Twentieth Anniversary edition features a new concluding chapter, coauthored with Michael Goheen, that helpfully places the discussion of worldview in a broader narrative and missional context.
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Introduction To The Heidelberg Catechism
$39.00Add to cartA full-scale investigation of this pivotal work in terms of authorship, historical background, socio-political origins, and theology. Includes for the first time translations of two important sources—Zacharias Ursinus’s Smaller and Larger Catechism—plus a bibliography of research since 1900. 240 pages, softcover. Baker.
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Becoming Anabaptist : The Origin And Significance Of 16th Century Anabaptis (Rep
$26.99Add to cart1. Introduction
2. Anabaptism In Switzerland
3. South German And Moravian Anabaptism
4. Anabaptism In The Low Countries
5. The Meaning Of AnabaptismAdditional Info
When Becoming Anabaptist appeared in 1987, it was the first major study to incorporate the new history of multiple beginnings and diverse history of Anabaptism into a synthesis of meanings for the contemporary church. J. Denny Weaver’s second edition will continue to be welcomed by scholars and by church leaders alike. -
American Evangelical Story (Reprinted)
$27.00Add to cartThe American Evangelical Story surveys the role American evangelicalism has had in the shaping of global evangelical history.
Author Douglas Sweeney begins with a brief outline of the key features that define evangelicals and then explores the roots of the movement in English Pietism and the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. He goes on to consider the importance of missions in the development of evangelicalism and the continuing emphasis placed on evangelism. Sweeney next examines the different subgroups of American evangelicals and the current challenges faced by the movement, concluding with reflections on the future of evangelicalism.
Combining a narrative style with historical detail and insight, this accessible, illustrated book will appeal to readers interested in the history of the movement, as well as students of church history.
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Early New England
$43.99Add to cartThe idea of covenant was at the heart of early New England society. In this singular book David Weir explores the origins and development of covenant thought in America by analyzing the civil and church documents generated and signed by seventeenth-century New Englanders. Unmatched in its breadth of study, this volume takes into account all of the surviving covenants in all of the New England colonies. Weir’s comprehensive survey of seventeenth-century covenants leads to a more complex picture of early New England commitments than what is portrayed in famous civil covenants like the Mayflower Compact. His work shows covenant theology being transformed into a covenantal vision for society, but also reveals the stress and strains on church and state relationships that eventually led to more secularized colonial governments in eighteenth-century New England. He concludes that New England colonial society was much more “English” and much less “American” than has often been thought, and that the New England colonies substantially mirrored religious and social change in Old England.
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Users Guide To Bible Translations
$30.99Add to cartInterVarsity Press Publication
A User’s Guide to Bible Translations escorts you through the history of Bible versions in English from Wycliffe and Tyndale to the English Standard Version and Today’s New International Version, with explanatory glances at the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, and translation theories along the way. In straightforward language, David Dewey explains how we ended up with so many versions of the Bible, shedding light on the difference between word-for-word and meaning-for-meaning translations, the controversy over gender accuracy, and issues of theological bias.
Dewey also reminds us that it’s not enough to ask, “Which Bible is best?” We also must question what purpose the translation will serve, whether for personal study or for reading aloud, as well as what audience the translation will best communicate to, whether for inquirers/seekers or for those who may struggle with the English language. Filled with charts comparing versions and diagrams showing translation difficulties, A User’s Guide provides an easy-to-use handbook for digging through the mountain of translation options until you find the right Bible for the right purpose.
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When Children Became People
$34.00Add to cart1.Introduction
2.Children In The Greco-Roman World
3.Patristic Teaching About The Nature Of Children And Their Characteristics
4.Abortion, Infanticide And Expositio, And Sexual Relations Between Children And Adults
5.Making “athletes Of Christ”: Upbringing And Education Of Children
6.Children’s Participation In Worship
7.Children And A Life Of Religious Perfection
8.Early Christians And The Humanity Of ChildrenAdditional Info
Bakke paints a fascinating picture of children’s first real emergence as people against a backdrop of the ancient world.Using theological and social history research, Bakke compares Greco-Roman and Christian attitudes toward abortion and child prostitution, pedagogy and moral upbringing, and the involvement of children in liturgy and church life. He also assesses Christian attitudes toward children in the church’s developing doctrinal commitments.
Today, growing numbers of children are impoverished, exploited, abandoned, orphaned, or killed. Bakke’s insightful work begins to untangle the roots of their complex plight.
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Birth Of Christianity
$25.99Add to cartContrary to several popular works of Christian scholarship, historian Paul Barnett maintains that the first two decades of Christian history are hardly “lost years.” As he shows in this penetrating book, the period between Jesus and the earliest Christian texts is open to historical investigation, and he richly details the time and setting in which the church was born.
Writing in a very accessible style, Barnett provides an informative, reliable chronology of the years immediately following Jesus’ crucifixion. Just as important, he presents the historical sources, biblical clues, and other telling evidence that we have for accurately documenting this crucial period of time. Looking more widely, Barnett also surveys world events during Christianity’s first twenty years and notes their impact on life in the early church.
The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years is Volume 1 of a trilogy titled After Jesus. Volume 2 will be Paul, Missionary of Jesus, and Volume 3 will be Finding the Historical Christ.
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Reformation For Armchair Theologians
$24.00Add to cartThis readable, accessible narrative story of the Protestant Reformation is written for lay audiences. It is part of the popular Westminster John Knox Press Armchair Series and is illustrated with memorable cartoons by Ron Hill. The chapters of the book are suitable for use in church adult education settings to provide a solid grounding in the history of the Reformation and its leading ideas. No other treatment of the topic is written with this audience in mind and with this comprehensiveness of scope. “Questions for Discussion” and “Suggestions for Further Reading” are provided for each chapter and make this book “group friendly.” Its thirteen chapters fit exactly into a quarter of the church year to enhance its use for church adult education settings.
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Rabbinic Literature
$20.99Add to cartRabbinic literature is a complex and interwoven body of texts whose importance is extensive: it is, of course, central to studying Judaism; its texts are valuable for broad religious study and are crucial for understanding the background of early Christianity; and the history of biblical interpretation inevitably involves this quite immense and varied set of writings.
There is no scholar more highly regarded as an authority on Rabbinic literature and Judaism than Jacob Neusner. And there is no educator better suited to explaining it in clear and concise terms, laying out the list of texts, their background and development, their content, the resources with which to delve more deeply into their meaning, and their importance for Judaism, biblical studies, and Christianity.
This Essential Guide discusses all the texts in Rabbinic literature, including the Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmuds, and Midrash. With this Guide, students will better understand the complex and unique world of Judaism and its significance for studying the Bible, Judaism, and Christian origins.
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Black Church Beginnings
$25.99Add to cartAfrican American slaves (and freedmen) turned wholeheartedly to Christianity for their lifeblood’s sustenance, but how this occurred has always been something of a mystery. In exhaustively reviewing all that’s known about the period, Mitchell dispels a number of misconceptions.
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Face To Face
$34.00Add to cartEarly depictions of Christ tended to be symbolic (e.g., the good shepherd, the fish) and avoided portraiture. Jensen explores how early iconography evolved, its Greco-Roman context, and the theological conflicts it generated. One hundred photographs enhance the discussion.
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Power Over The Body Equality In The Family
$41.99Add to cartThe term “conjugal rights” has long characterized ways of speaking about marriage both in the canonistic tradition and in the secular legal systems of the West. This book explores the origins and dimensions of this concept and the range of meanings that have attached to it from the twelfth century to the present.
Employing far-ranging sources, Charles Reid Jr. examines the language of marriage in classical Roman law, the Germanic legal codes of early medieval Europe, and the writings of canon lawyers and theologians from the medieval and early modern periods. The heart of the book, however, consists of the writings of the canonists of the High Middle Ages, especially the works of Hostiensis, Bernard of Parma, Innocent IV, and Raymond de Peafort. Reid’s incisive survey provides a new understanding of subjects such as the right of parties to marry free of parental coercion, the nature of “paternal power,” the place of bodies in the marriage contract, the meaning and implications of gender equality, and the right of inheritance.
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Devoted Life : An Invitation To The Puritans Classics
$37.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
This book is designed to introduce you to a wide range of influential Puritan writers and a representative work for each that pushes through stereotypes to the heart and soul of these Christian pastors and theologians. In these pages notable scholars, such as J.I. Packer, John Coffey, Mark A. Noll, Leland Ryken, Richard F. Lovelace and Sinclair Ferguson, invite you to sit at the feet of Puritan writers, ranging from William Ames, William Perkins and Richard Sibbes to Thomas Goodwin, John Milton, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. What comes through is a living, three-dimensional portrait of the devoted life that emphasized the Christian experience of communion with God, corporate revival, biblical preaching, and the sanctifying working of God’s Holy Spirit.
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Orestes A Brownson A Print On Demand Title
$39.99Add to cartOrestes Augustus Brownson (1803-1876) was a philosopher, essayist, and minister whose broad-ranging ideas both reflected and influenced the social and religious mores of his day. This superb biography by Patrick Carey provides a thorough, incisive account of Brownson’s shifting intellectual and religious life within the context of American cultural history.
Based on a close reading of Brownson’s diary notebooks, letters, essays, and books, this biography chronicles the course of Brownson’s eventful life, particularly his restless search for a balance between freedom and communion in his relations with God, nature, and the human community. Yet Carey’s work is more than an excellent account of one man’s development; it also portrays the face of an important period in American religious history. What is more, 200 years after Brownson’s birth, America is marked by the same pressing social and religious issues that he himself addressed: religious pluralism, changing religious identifications, culture wars, military conflicts, and challenges to national peace and security. Carey’s book shows how Brownson’s values and ideas transcend his own time period and resonate helpfully with our own.
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Practicing Congregation : Imagining A New Old Church
$29.00Add to cartDiana Butler Bass’ groundbreaking project to explore encouraging signs of vitality among mainline Protestant churches is now gaining the momentum of a movement. The author’s cover story in Sojourners magazine offers a compelling overview of what characterizes these healthy, vital, and inspiring congregations. The Practicing Congregation is a central text on the road to envisioning a new way of being a church. From Nomads to Pilgrims, its follow-up companion book, contains reflections on practices by the pastors of some of the vibrant congregations that were studied in the writing of The Practicing Congregation.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The conventional wisdom about mainline Protestantism maintains that it is a dying tradition, irrelevant to a postmodern society, unresponsive to change, and increasingly disconnected from its core faith tenets. In her provocative new book, historian and researcher Diana Butler Bass argues that there are signs that mainline Protestant churches are indeed changing, finding a new vitality intentionally grounded in Christian practices and laying the groundwork for a new type of congregation.
The Practicing Congregation tracks these changes by looking at the overall history of American congregations, noting the cultural trends that have sparked change, and providing evidence of how mainline churches are reappropriating traditional Christian practices. The signs of life that Butler Bass identifies lead the reader beyond the crumbling “liberal vs. conservative” dualities to a more nuanced and fluid understanding of the shape of contemporary ecclesiology and faithfulness. In so doing, she helps readers understand tradition in new ways and creates an alternative path through the culture wars that today arrest the energies of most denominations.
Invigorated by stories from Bass’s own experience, The Practicing Congregation provides a hopeful and exciting vision of “the once and future church” that Alban founder Loren Mead first named over 10 years ago. The imaginative “retraditioning” the author identifies and celebrates will guide pastors and other leaders on this “pilgrimage of creating church,” and convincingly counter the naysayers that long ago gave up on the viability of the mainline church.
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Spirit And Resistance
$22.00Add to cartWriting from a Native American perspective, theologian George Tinker probes American Indian culture, its vast religious and cultural legacy, and its ambiguous relationship to the tradition–historic Christianity–that colonized and converted it. After five hundred years of conquest and social destruction, he says, any useful reflection must come to terms with the political state of Indian affairs and the political hopes and visions for recovering the health and well-being of Indian communities. Does Christian theology have a positive role to play? Tinker’s work offers an overview of contemporary native American culture and its perilous state. Critical of recent liberal and New Age co-opting of Native spiritual practices, Tinker also offers a critical corrective to liberation theology. He shows how Native insights into the Sacred Other and sacred space helpfully reconfigure traditional ideas of God, Jesus’ notion of the reign of God, and our relation to the earth. From this basis he offers novel proposals about cultural survival and identity, sustainability, and the endangered health of Native Americans.
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God Entranced Vision Of All Things
$25.00Add to cartCommemorating the 300th birthday of Jonathan Edwards, this volume celebrates the philosopher-theologian’s life and legacy. General editors John Piper and Justin Taylor chose ten essays that enlighten different aspects of Edwards. Opening with biographical and historical background, contributors then examine lessons from Edwards still useful today, concluding with an analysis of three of his most influential and demanding works.
Contributors Stephen Nichols, J. I. Packer, Donald Whitney, Mark Dever, Sam Storms, and Mark Talbot – among others – are helpful in guiding today’s readers to understand the man who strived to glorify God in his personal life and public ministry.
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Christian Identity In The Jewish And Graeco Roman World
$295.00Add to cartTable Of Contents
1. Introduction: The Emergence Of Christian Identity
2. Text And Identity
3. History, Memory, And The Invention Of Tradition
4. Boundaries
5. The Grammar Of Practice
6. Embodiment And Gender
7. Space And Place
8. The Christian Race
9. `The Other’
10. Made Not Born: ConclusionsAdditional Info
Description
‘I am a Christian’ is the confession of the martyrs of early Christian texts and, no doubt, of many others; but what did this confession mean, and how was early Christian identity constructed? This innovative study sets the emergence of Christian identity in the first two centuries, as it is constructed by the broad range of surviving literature, within the wider context of Jewish and Graeco-Roman identity. It uses a number of models from contemporary constructionist views of identity formation to explore how what comes to be seen as ‘Christian’ literature creates a sense of what to be ‘a Christian’ means, and traces both continuities and discontinuities with the ways in which Jewish and Graeco-Roman identity were also being constructed through their texts. It seeks to acknowledge the centrality of texts in shaping early Christianity, historically as well as in our perception of it, while also exploring how we might move from those texts to the individuals and communities who preserved them. Such an approach challenges more traditional emphases on the development of institutions, whether structures or credal and ethical formulations, which often fail to recognize the rhetorical function of the texts on which they draw, and the uncertainties of how well these reflect the actual practice and experience of individuals and communities. While building on recent recognition of the diversity of early Christianity, the book goes on to explore the question whether it is possible to speak of a distinctive Christian identity across both the range of early texts and as a pressing historical and theological question in the contemporary world. -
Worship Wars In Early Lutheranism
$145.00Add to cartHow important was music to Martin Luther? Drawing on hundreds of liturgical documents, contemporary accounts of services, books on church music, and other sources, Joseph Herl rewrites the history of music and congregational song in German Lutheran churches. Herl traces the path of music and congregational song in the Lutheran church from the Reformation to 1800, to show how it acquired its reputation as the “singing church.”
In the centuries after its founding, in a debate that was to have a strong impact on Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries, the Lutheran church was torn over a new style of church music that many found more entertaining than devotional. By the end of the eighteenth century, Lutherans were trying to hold their own against a new secularism, and many members of the clergy favored wholesale revision or even abandonment of the historic liturgy in order to make worship more relevant in contemporary society. Herl paints a vivid picture of these developments, using as a backdrop the gradual transition from a choral to a congregational liturgy.
The author eschews the usual analyses of musical repertoire and deals instead with events, people and ideas, drawing readers inside the story and helping them sense what it must have been like to attend a Lutheran church in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Parallel developments in Catholic churches are discussed, as are the rise of organ accompaniment of hymns and questions of musical performance practice. Although written with academic precision, the writing is clear and comprehensible to the nonspecialist, and entertaining anecdotes abound.
Appendixes include translations of several important historical documents and a set of tables outlining the Lutheran mass as presented in 172 different liturgical orders. The bibliography includes 400 Lutheran church orders and reports of ecclesiastical visitations read by the author. -
Moderatism Pietism And Awakening
$58.99Add to cartThe Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church is a multivolume study by Hughes Oliphant Old that explores the history of preaching from the words of Moses at Mount Sinai through modern times. In Volume 5, Moderatism, Pietism, and Awakening, Old brings the story of preaching up through the eighteenth century, showing how, after the tumultuous age of the Reformation, preaching in the eighteenth century was driven in several very different directions. The book’s first chapter considers moderatism, an inevitable reaction against the high tensions of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. In the second chapter Old discusses pietism, examining the contributions of Philipp Jakob Spener, Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Samuel Davies, and other preachers. The remaining seven chapters delve into a variety of national or denominational schools of preaching.
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Building On The Gospel Foundation
$79.99Add to cartEdsel Burdge Jr. and Samuel L. Horst tell the stories of three centuries of faith and life among the Washington County (Md.), and Franklin County (Pa.) Mennonites. From small beginnings in colonial American settlements, issues such as personal spiritual commitment, corporate accountability, nonconformity, and peace have been constants. This history describes in detail the particulars of that struggle as well as recounting stories illustrative of community life in general.
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God You Have
$9.99Add to cartThe political hijacking of theological language and God’s prerogatives is always a danger. In this perceptive study, an Old Testament theologian sets these issues in the context of the Ten Commandments, and especially the First Commandment. From that statement of God’s person, work, and expectations of loyalty, Miller articulates the modern challenge of faithful living in a complex world with complex choices. As he states it, the abiding problem has been “the coalescence of God and country, the takeover of the language of faith in the speech of politics, and the confusion of loyalty with obedience.”
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Bonhoeffer Phenomenon : Portraits Of A Protestant Saint
$23.00Add to cartStephen Haynes offers a provocative assessment of the Bonhoeffer mystique, which interprets Bonhoeffer’s legacy through the medium of sainthood. Before casting an eye on the great pastor-theologian through a hagiographic lens, Haynes examines various receptions and appropriations of Bonhoeffer from different theological, ecclesial, and political contexts. Bonhoeffer is viewed from such divergent perspectives as radical theology and politics (exemplified in “death of God” theology), liberal theology and social ethics, conservative popular Christianity and evangelicalism, and lastly, the universal portrait of Bonhoeffer, which highlights his ecumenical significance. The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon provides an invaluable introduction to Bonhoeffer studies, while also offering its own unique analysis of Bonhoeffer’s life and thought.
