Church History
Showing 226–300 of 568 results
-
Great Welsh Revival
$16.99Add to cartThe Holy Spirit Visits Wales…
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Joel 2:28. One of those sons was Evan Roberts, and God used him to bring salvation to untold thousands in his homeland during 1904 and 1905. Evan is a central figure in this book.The original version of this book was written by S.B.Shaw in 1905. Revised and updated by Darrel D. King, this work contains reports of people who witnessed the revival and saw people totally transformed by God in amazing ways. Here are three of those reports:
I have just returned from a two days’ visit to the storm center of the great Welsh revival which is sweeping over Wales like a cyclone…Already over 34,000 converts have been made. Note: Later accounts reported over 100,000 converts as the revival continued, and the great awakening shows no signs of waning George T.B. Davis in the The New York Weekly Witness.
In Cardiff…police reports show that drunkenness has diminished 60 per cent…The same thing happened at the Swansea County Court…and the magistrate said, All the years I’ve been sitting here I’ve never seen anything like it, and I attribute this happy state of things entirely to revival! As reported in the London Methodist Times.
Reliable information from experienced Christian businessman…show that the influence of the Welsh revival has been by no means overstated… Reported in the Belfast Witness.
This book also contains information about the Welsh Revival of 1857-1858 and the Great Revival in Ireland of 1859.
-
Christian Scholarship In The 21st Century
$25.99Add to cartThe Christian intellectual tradition, spanning thousands of years, provides considerable insight into perennial questions about human flourishing, virtue, justice, wealth and poverty, art and culture, spiritual growth, and more. This book springs out of the conviction that Christian scholars can do an enormous amount of good by bringing the resources of this tradition into conversation with the academy, the church, and the broader culture.Ten essays by such eminent scholars as Nicholas Wolterstorff and Alvin Plantinga offer deep and thought-provoking discussions of the habits and commitments of the Christian scholar, the methodology and pedagogy of Christian scholarship, the role of the Holy Spirit in education, the nature of Christ-shaped philosophy, Christian approaches to art and literature, and more.
-
Sensing The Scriptures
$28.99Add to cartThis book explores the ways that Christians, from the period of late antiquity through the Protestant Reformation, interpreted the Bible according to its several levels of meaning. Using the five bodily senses as an organizing principle, Karlfried Froehlich probes key theological developments, traditions, and approaches across this broad period, culminating in a consideration of the implications of this historical development for the contemporary church.Distinguishing between “principles” and “rules” of interpretation, Froehlich offers a clear and useful way of discerning the fundamental difference between interpretive methods (rules) and the overarching spiritual goals (principles) that must guide biblical interpretation. As a study of roots and reasons as well as the role of imagination in the development of biblical interpretation, Sensing the Scriptures reminds us how intellectually and spiritually relevant the pursuit of a historical perspective is for Christian faith and life today.
-
Jesus Movement And Its Expansion
$38.99Add to cartAuthoritative account of the Jesus movement’s Greco-Roman and Jewish matrix and its development into the second century
In this book Sean Freyne explores the rise and expansion of early Christianity within the context of the Greco-Roman world – the living, dynamic matrix of Jesus and his followers. In addition to offering fresh insights into Jesus’ Jewish upbringing and the possible impact of Greco-Roman lifestyles on him and his followers, Freyne delves into the mission and expansion of the Jesus movement in Palestine and beyond during the first hundred years of its development.
To give readers a full picture of the context in which the Jesus movement developed, Freyne includes pictures, maps, and timelines throughout the book. Freyne’s interdisciplinary approach, combining historical, archaeological, and literary methods, makes The Jesus Movement and Its Expansion both comprehensive and accessible.
-
Nuestra Fe : A Latin American Church History Sourcebook
$62.99Add to cartSpanning more than 500 years, this illustrated book covers the rich history of Christianity in Latin America. The authors use an analytical framework as they describe the institutional religious history for the period covered in that chapter, providing the context to look at other concurrent though non-institutional developments within Christianity. Each section includes sources that look at the way Christianity manifested and continues to manifest itself in the life of Latin American society, including its women, its enslaved and indigenous populations, and the modern-day marginalized sectors.
-
Why Church History Matters
$30.00Add to cartForeword
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part One: How We Understand The Tradition
1. What Is The Tradition?
2. How Have We Understood Tradition Historically?
3. How Do We Understand The Tradition Today?Part Two: Expanding Circles Of Inquiry
4. Who Am I? History And Christian Identity
5. A Great Cloud Of Witnesses: Christian Community Across The Centuries
6. Accountability Partners: Sharing Accountability With Historic Christians
7. Mentors And Friends: Historic Christians Broaden Our Horizons And Fill Gaps In Our UnderstandingPart Three: Tradition Serving The Church
8. Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth: Christian Exegesis Across The Centuries
9. Tradition And Ministry Celebrate The Body Of ChristRecommended Resources For Ministry
Additional Info
Does it matter how Christians in other times and places thought? If the Bible alone is God’s revelation, why spend time studying the history? Aren’t history and tradition more a problem than a solution? For many Christians who believe the Bible is the only ultimate authority for faith and life, questions about the role and value of the church’s traditions can be difficult to tackle. But let’s be honest: even those of us who admit that church history is important are often too intimidated or busy to delve into it deeply. And for students, it’s sometimes difficult to see how church history matters in practical ways for future vocations inside and outside the the contemporary church. In this wide-ranging book, veteran teacher Bob Rea tackles these barriers to understanding and embracing the signifiance of the faith and practice of our spiritual forebears. Rea not only skillfully explains why church history matters — he shows why it should matter to you. -
Saint Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church
$60.00Add to cartSaint Alphonsus: Capuchins, Closures, and Continuity 1956-2011+ is the third volume of this comprehensive history of the parish. It focuses on the people, physical plant, and spiritual life of the parish. Volume 1, in German, celebrated the 50th Anniversary (1856-1906). Volume 2, in English, marked the 100th Anniversary (1856-1956) and included material from Volume 1.
-
Living Our United Methodist Beliefs
$7.99Add to cartWhat beliefs set United Methodists apart from other denominations? How has Methodism changed since its beginning in the 18th century?
Living Our United Methodist Beliefs is the Leader’s Guide for a course that will help participants better understand United Methodist beliefs and history. It is ideal for a new members class or an adult confirmation class.
Use the Leader’s Guide with these companion components:
Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way by Kenneth L. Carder
A Brief History of The United Methodist ChurchIn this course participants will:
discover the relationship of doctrine to the missional movement of Methodism and its theological influence on the practical structure and disciplines of early Methodists
learn about the formation of Methodist denominations as an important part of the history of The United Methodist Church
explore the Wesleyan understanding of grace, the means of grace, and how practicing spiritual disciplines leads to holiness of heart and life. -
60 People Who Shaped The Church
$17.99Add to cartThe Church exists today in its current form because of the people who have come before us. Who were those people? Staid and dour scholars? Cultural movers and shakers? How does their contribution to history affect us today?
From a consummate storyteller comes this collection of inspiring biographical sketches of people who played pivotal roles in advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. In rich prose and spanning twenty centuries of church history, these engaging narratives range from the well-known to the obscure, highlighting personalities such as Josephus, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Galileo, John Calvin, Blaise Pascal, Jonathan Edwards, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William Wilberforce, G. K. Chesterton, and many others. Readers will feel the past come alive and mingle in their minds with the present state of the Church, encouraging and galvanizing them to live their own faith courageously in our time–and shape the Church of the future.
-
Liberating Black Church History
$20.99Add to cart“No serious scholar in biblical studies today can introduce students to his or her field without taking into account the contributions of African American scholarship. The long traditions of biblical interpretation in the black church, and the innovative research and writing performed by African-American scholars in recent years are now essential components of a critical study of the Bible.
Yet up to now, knowing how best to introduce the fruits of African American biblical scholarship to students, particularly those in the survey class, has been difficult. Good resources exist, yet too often they were not written with the needs of introductory students in mind. This book meets that need by providing an overview of the most important developments in African American approaches to biblical scholarship. Written with the needs of beginning students in mind, it will offer insight into the particular ways that African American scholarship has shaped the world of biblical study.”
-
Book Of Saints The Middle Era
$16.99Add to cartFamilies are living stories. They tell us where we came from, guide us as we live our lives, and help us see who we could become. Especially priceless are the lives and words of those who came before us. Christ-followers from earliest times to the present enrich us with their insight and inspiring examples. In the face of political, social and theological challenges, these saints lived lives faithful to the gospel story. The Book of Saints II: The Middle Era is a devotional gateway to the thoughts and insights of church leaders, teachers, and spiritual mentors who lived between the early fourth and early fifteenth century. Living in a world of change, conflict, and controversy, these saintly persons have much to say to us today. Their words and life stories, along with prayers and Scripture selections, are brought together in this book to inspire and challenge us to a life of love and holiness, the great themes of our family story.
-
Peoples History Of Christianity One Volume Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$49.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian history. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This one volume edition contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content and covers the entire scope of church history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, marriage and family life, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
-
From The Reformation To The 21st Century Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$39.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian History. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This volume contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content organized to fit ideally into a course in Christian history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
-
From The Early Church To The Reformation Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$49.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian History. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This volume contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content organized to fit ideally into a course in Christian history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
-
Shepherds Of The Empire
$49.00Add to cartThe late nineteenth century was a time of rapid industrialization, mass politicization, and modern philosophy. The resulting political and cultural upheaval confronted the German Protestant church with deep questions of identity.
On the one side sat an educated academic guild whose explorations of history, philology, and emerging social scientific disciplines gave rise to serious questions about the Christian faith and its meaning for today.
On the other sat parish clergy faced with the complexities of daily life and leadership in common communities. For these parish clergy the pressure was great to support and bolster people not only in their life as Christians, but in their life as Germans.
Shepherds of the Empire engages timeless questions of identity and faith through the time-bound work of four key thinkers who attempted, and ultimately failed, to carve a middle way for the German parish clergy in that environment.
The volume focuses on the life and work of Adolf Stoecker (1835-1909), Martin Kahler (1835-1912), Adolf Schlatter (1852-1938), and Christoph Blumhardt (1842-1919).
-
Underground Church
$19.99Add to cartThe Chinese house church is one of the most misunderstood and controversial subjects in Christian world missions today. Many questions about it abound, such as…
*How did it start?
*How does it work?
*How is it led?
*Why does it continue to experience revival?
*Is it necessary, now that China has extended religious freedoms?Much of the confusion is caused by the Chinese government, which deceives journalists and foreign missionaries with promises of religious freedom that are never kept.
The truth is, the house churches of China are growing at a phenomenal rate. Never in the history of the world have so many people in such a short time left one belief system for another without a hostile revolution. Lives in China are being transformed daily by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the display of His miraculous power.
The Underground Church demystifies the Chinese house church movement, with real-life examples and personal testimonies from Chinese Christians. The movement’s unique characteristics-both good and bad-are addressed, as well as how they have led to the church’s astonishing growth.
Be amazed at what God is doing in China!
-
Children Aflame With The Spirit
$6.95Add to cartIn the 1700’s John Wesley, the renowned Methodist preacher, experienced amazing outpourings of the Holy Spirit, not only upon adults, but on children and youth as well. Read testimonies from children as young as two and a half years of age to fifteen years old. Others were taken into heaven in trances; many as young as six years or age, spoke with the wisdom of the aged. Is this possible in our generation? Author and revivalist David Walters says, EMPHATICALLY “YES!” David Walters known as an Apostolic Grandfather, is President of Good News Ministries. Not only are there amazing accounts from Wesley’s journals, but also similar accounts from David’s own experience with children and youth to show that God is still the same today as He was in Wesley’s day. In teaching the current generation obviously Christian education is important, but this booklet will take you beyond mere religious instruction of knowledge in the head to drop into the heart in order for this generation to have a real dynamic encounter of God’s power and love.
-
Gods Ploughman : Hugh Latimer A Preaching Life 1485-1555
$39.99Add to cartGod’s Ploughman, provides a unique study of the life and ministry of one of early modern England’s most significant preachers. Rather than offering a biography or analysis of sermons, the author creates a new genre, the ‘preaching life.’ The result is an integrative study that situates Latimer’s life and ministry within the rapidly changing religious, cultural, and political environment of Tudor England.
-
Paul And Jesus
$18.99Add to cartThis fascinating examination of the earliest years of Christianity reveals how the man we call St. Paul shaped Christianity as we know it today.
Historians know almost nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have-the letters of Paul-as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity. Tabor shows how Paul separated himself from Peter and James to introduce his own version of Christianity, which would continue to develop independently of the message that Jesus, James, and Peter preached.
Paul and Jesus illuminates the fascinating period of history when Christianity was born out of Judaism.
-
Our First 10 Days
$14.95Add to cartFirst: Time with Jesus — Then: He was gone — Now: “Tarry, wait!”
“Why are we here?” asked my mother’s brother, moving from the philosophical to the practical.
“We are here,” replied one of the followers, “because he said that we should wait.”
There was then an outbreak of questions…
For 40 days, the risen Christ had remained among his disciples, and then, leaving them, he gave instruction that they wait together in Jerusalem. “Wait,” he said, but why? The word was an enigma; what had Jesus intended? Whatever the meaning, the disciples would obey; they would wait.
Choosing, we believe, to gather at the Upper Room, for ten days and nights, they waited but surely not in idleness. Together, they would wrestle with momentous questions.
For 75 years, Leonard Mann has contemplated those people in that situation, their struggle to understand Jesus and his meaning in the world.
A plausible journey in doubting and believing, Our First Ten Days is a marvelously crafted story that invites the reader to visualize events and conversations at the Upper Room during that time. It was here that the church was born, that the foundations of Christian Faith were chiseled and laid.
If we allow ourselves to imagine the thoughts and words of those long uncertain hours, we will find ourselves submerged in a powerful narrative that boldly and creatively walks us through the opening chapter of this Faith.
-
Do This In Remembrance Of Me
$104.00Add to cartBryan Spinks is one of the worlds leading scholars in the field of liturgy and to have a comprehensive work by him on the Eucharist is a major catch for SCM. Like the authors previous work on Baptism, this will become a standard work about the Eucharist and Eucharistic theology worldwide. The book, a study of the history and theology of the Eucharist, is the third volume in the SCM Studies in Worship and Liturgy series and will help to establish the series as a place for landmark books of liturgical scholarship. This book will be aimed at undergraduate and graduate theology students, clergy and theologically literate laity. It will assume some technical knowledge (i. e. it is not an introduction to liturgy or introduction to sacraments), but will attempt to outline what the evidence is, and what current scholars think. On occasions it will advance or argue for why one interpretation is preferable to another.
-
Book Of Saints The Early Era
$16.99Add to cart1. The Apostolic Fathers
2. The Greek Apologists
3. The “School” Of Alexandria
4. The Church In The West
5. The Eastern Church After Origen And Before NicaeaAdditional Info
“Families are living stories. They tell us where we came from, guide us as we live our lives, and help us see who we could become. Especially priceless are the lives and words of those who came before us.From Christ-followers living near the time of the apostles to the early defenders of the faith, we are enriched by the wise advice and inspiring examples of our Christian ancestors. In the face of heresy and persecution, these saints lived lives faithful to the gospel story.
The Book of Saints: The Early Era is a devotional gateway to the thoughts and insights of church leaders and teachers who lived before the middle of the fourth century AD. Living in a pagan world, much like our own, these saintly persons have much to say to us today. Their words and life stories, along with prayers and Scripture selections, are brought together in this book to inspire and challenge us to a life of love and holiness, the great themes of our family story.”
-
1 Nation Under God
$17.95Add to cartOne Nation Under God follows the spiritual direction of our country from the time the Puritans landed in the new world up to today. Our loss of faith in God and how that loss has impacted our society is profiled. It includes quotes from some of the people that had the most influence on the growth of our once great nation and some of the people and events that have caused our nation to decline economically, socially, and morally.
One Nation Under God includes many landmark court cases that have affected our way of life in the way the American people can worship the Lord in public and in private. One Nation Under God is a map of our rise to greatness and our decline to the potential oblivion of this once “”light on the hill”” for all the world to follow. It also is a guide on how to reclaim our greatness by turning back to God for His forgiveness and guidance.
The farther away we move from God the worse our society becomes. One Nation Under God sets out to prove to the country—possibly the world—that we are a Christian nation. -
Life Of Saint Martin Of Tours Large Print (Large Type)
$12.00Add to cartSt Martin the Bishop of Tours is a saint from France from the 5th century A.D. He was a solider in the Roman army till he was attracted to the monastic life. He was later ordained a priest then a bishop of the city of Tours. The Coptic Church celebrates his feast on the 14th of Hatour. All Time Heroes from all Times, is a series that we plan to publish for a long time. This series presents the lives of some of the church saints and heroes of faith from the time of Jesus till today. Some of these books will be printed others will only be available in Kindle format.
-
History Of Christian Theology
$45.00Add to cartA modern classic, A History of Christian Theology offers a concise yet complete chronicle of the whole of Christian theology, from its background in the history of Israel to the liberation and postliberal theologies of recent years. This updated thirtieth anniversary includes expanded treatments of theological developments at the end of the twentieth century, and preliminary trajectories for theology in the twenty-first century. It also includes updated bibliographies and revised chapters on important innovations in biblical studies, and their impact on theology. This updated and revised edition will continue to aid the work of both students and faculty for years to come.
William C. Placher.is to be congratulated for having done what many would have considered impossible. In slightly more than 300 pages he has chronicled the whole history of Christian theology, from its background in the history of Israel to the various modes of liberation theology in the late 20th century. Moreover, he has touched almost all of the important bases and has dealt with significant figures, issues, movements in an incisive and illuminating manner. This intellectual history, a story of people and their ideas, is a delight to read. I predict it will be widely used not only in college and seminaries, but also in lay institutes and study groups. — John D. Godsey in The Christian Century
-
Rise Of Reformed System
$39.99Add to cartThis work establishes the significance of the thought of Puritan William Ames (1576-1633) in deepening and systematizing established Reformation teaching on Christian doctrine and life in a way that ensured its subsequent development through the early modern period and beyond.
-
Encounters With Orthodoxy
$30.00Add to cartWhen author and theologian John P. Burgess first travelled to Russia, he was hoping to expand his theological horizons and explore the rebirth of the Orthodox Church since the fall of Communism. But what he found changed some fundamental assumptions about his own tradition of North American Protestantism. In this book, Burgess asks how an encounter with Orthodoxy can help Protestants better see both strengths and weaknesses of their own tradition. In a time in which North American Protestantism is in decline-membership has now fallen to below 50% of the population-Russian Orthodoxy can help Protestants rethink the ways in which they worship, teach, and spread the gospel. Burgess considers Orthodox rituals, icons, saints and miracles, monastic life, and Eucharistic theology and practice. He then explores whether and how Protestants can use elements of Orthodoxy to reform church life.
-
Longing For Jesus
$28.99Add to cartThe Church at Worship is a series of documentary case studies of specific worshiping communities from around the world and throughout Christian history. In this third volume, Longing for Jesus, Lester Ruth vividly portrays a very prominent, dynamic African-American holiness church in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early twentieth century.
Ruth’s rich selection of primary documents presents readers with a vibrant snapshot of Christ Temple and its prolific Gospel-music-composing pastor, Charles Price Jones, caught between factors that threatened the existence of the congregation itself: Jim Crow racism, conflicting visions for the church, appropriate Christian piety, and social aspirations. In the midst of conflicts inside and outside, the church fought to create a space where it could worship as it saw fit.
-
Awakening In Wales
$9.99Add to cartWatchman Nee called it the “greatest known revival in church history.” On October 31, 1904, Evan Roberts, a twenty-six-year-old former miner, returned home from a ministry training program, having quit at the urging of the Holy Spirit. That night, he joined sixteen other young people at a village chapel, and from that humble origin sprang a spiritual revival that roared across the hills and valleys of Wales. Thousands of souls were welcomed into God’s kingdom. Even the press could not ignore the changes occurring and eagerly reported on Roberts’ every move.
As suddenly as he had appeared, Roberts vanished from the world stage, only to reemerge twenty years later. What happened? How did God work so miraculously?
Jessie Penn-Lewis was well-acquainted with the revival, and with its leader, Evan Roberts. Her clear and concise history of the events of that time remains a treasure for all those who pray for revival to return in our day.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Decline And Fall Of The Catholic Church In America
$24.95Add to cartThe Roots of the Crisis That’s Rocked the Pulpits and Emptied the Pews Many Catholics blame Vatican II for the decline of the Church in America these past 30 years: traditionalists say it caused too many changes, liberals say too few.
In this groundbreaking book, sociologist David Carlin shows that although Vatican II was the flashpoint for change in the Church, the roots of today’s crisis go deeper than anything that happened at the Council.
Basing his conclusions on sociological analysis rather than on theology or Church teachings, Carlin shows that in the 1960’s the Church in America was weakened by the triumph of tolerance as an American virtue (which led Catholics to downplay their uniquely Catholic beliefs for the sake of unity) and then was battered by a culture that, seemingly overnight, had become boldly secularist and even libertine.
Called by Vatican II to engage the culture in order to evangelize it, while pressed by the culture to downplay its Catholicity in the name of tolerance, the Church in America lost its way.
The result? A widespread loss of Catholic identity; weakening of fidelity to Church teachings; Catholics abandoning their faith; and a diminishment of the Church’s role as a moral voice in American society.
Carlin’s analysis has uncovered a problem that’s older and even more dangerous for the future of Catholicism than the deeds that have lately thrust the Church onto the front pages. Indeed, says Carlin, the scandals are merely symptoms of this deeper problem that will continue to drain the Church’s vitality long after the scandals are forgotten.
The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America: essential reading for all who seek to understand the decline of their beloved Church and who hope to devise effective ways to restore her.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Smoke Of Satan In The Temple Of God
$31.49Add to cartTaking as his point of departure Pope Paul VI’s observation that seven years following the close of the Second Vatican Council conditions in the Church were such that it was as if “the Smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God,” the author recounts how it was that the misimplementation of the council’s documents resulted in the emergence of what Henri De Lubac termed “a different Church from that of Jesus Christ,” all under the guide of updating (aggiornamento) and renewal. Pope Paul was of the mind that by 1972 the greatest need in the Church was to be defended against the adversary power of darkness, the Devil. For the Pope the unmistakable signs of the Evil One’s penetration of the Church were a vast undermining of Catholic moral teaching (particularly sexual morality), the ideological seduction of fashionable theological errors (particularly neomodernism) which spawned doctrinal uncertainty, a radical denial of God, and the watering down of and even rejection of the spirit of the Gospel.
-
Roots Of Christian Mysticism
$29.95Add to cartBy linking together a series of brilliantly chosen texts from the early centuries of the Church, the author lays bare the roots of the deeply mystical spirituality that has flourished among Christians throughout the ages. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in the field of spirituality. It is a masterly contribution to Christian scholarship, and this second edition includes an extraordinarily useful Index.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Book That Made Your World
$23.99Add to cartUnderstand where we came from.
Whether you’re an avid student of the Bible or a skeptic of its relevance, The Book That Made Your World will transform your perception of its influence on virtually every facet of Western civilization.
Indian philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi reveals the personal motivation that fueled his own study of the Bible and systematically illustrates how its precepts became the framework for societal structure throughout the last millennium. From politics and science, to academia and technology, the Bible’s sacred copy became the key that unlocked the Western mind.
Through Mangalwadi’s wide-ranging and fascinating investigation, you’ll discover:
*What triggered the West’s passion for scientific, medical, and technological advancement *How the biblical notion of human dignity informs the West’s social structure and how it intersects with other worldviews
*How the Bible created a fertile ground for women to find social and economic empowerment
*How the Bible has uniquely equipped the West to cultivate compassion, human rights, prosperity, and strong families
*The role of the Bible in the transformation of education
*How the modern literary notion of a hero has been shaped by the Bible’s archetypal protagonistJourney with Mangalwadi as he examines the origins of a civilization’s greatness and the misguided beliefs that threaten to unravel its progress. Learn how the Bible transformed the social, political, and religious institutions that have sustained Western culture for the past millennium, and discover how secular corruption endangers the stability and longevity of Western civilization.
-
Essential History Of Christianity
$24.99Add to cartThe Essential History of Christianity covers both the key historical events and the big picture. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes helps us to understand what has gone on in the past, and sheds light on our present experiences of churches, religion, spirituality and religious conflict. She also gives important clues about what might happen in the future. This entertaining and accessible guide makes sense of a fascinating subject, providing a clear overview of the broad sweep of Christian history, and is indispensible for those beginning to study Christianity or the Church.
-
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.
-
Spiritual In The Secular
$48.99Add to cartDavid Livingstone’s visit to Cambridge in 1857 was seen as much as a scientific event as a religious one. But he was by no means alone among missionaries in integrating mission with science and other fields of research. Rather, many missionaries were remarkable, pioneering polymaths.
This collection of essays explores the ways in which late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century missionaries to Africa contributed to various academic disciplines, such as linguistics, ethnography, social anthropology, zoology, medicine, and many more. This volume includes an introductory chapter by the editors and eleven chapters that analyze missionary research and its impact on knowledge about African contexts. Several themes emerge, including many missionaries’ positive views of indigenous discourses and the complicated relationship between missionaries and professional anthropologists.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Baptismal Imagery In Early Christianity
$28.00Add 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.
-
7 Truths That Changed The World
$16.99Add 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
William J Seymour
$18.99Add to cartWilliam J. Seymour was a deeply spiritual man who impressed everyone who met him.
“I do not believe that any man in modern times had a more wonderful deluge of God in his life than God gave that dear fellow, and the glory and power of a real Pentecost swept the world.” – John G. Lake
“. . . the meekest man I ever met.” – William Durham
Seymour was an effective leader, writer, teacher, and revivalist. His spiritual impact continues to be felt around the world today. His early work has opened the door to millions of people finding the fullness of the Holy Spirit since the Auzasa Street Revival, which both “Life” magazine and “USA Today” have listed as being one of the top 100 nation-impacting events of the 20th century.
This book is more than the life story of William J. Seymour. It examines the historical context and sources that shaped Seymour’s theology by following his life from Louisiana to Azusa Street, provides us with his original sermons, analyses of his teachings, and the complete and original version of Seymour’s only book, Doctrine and Disciplines of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Los Angeles, originally published in 1915.
William J. Seymour, the pioneer and messenger of Azusa Street, continues to speak to our hearts today with messages that are as timely now as when he first uttered them. His confident and steady voice calls us to holiness, repentance, faith, and racial reconciliation.
-
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,
-
Introduccion A La Historia De – (Spanish)
$22.99Add to cartIntroduccion a la historia de la iglesia es una obra formidable en la que de manera amena, entretenida y sin dejar de ser academica, el Dr. Justo Gonzalez repasa los acontecimientos fundamentales que sucedieron en la historia de la iglesia y que le han dado cuerpo. Este libro es fundamental como introduccion para entender el porque la iglesia tiene la forma que tiene en la actualidad, y servira de base para cualquiera que desee adentrarse en los detalles de tan extensa y a veces complicada historia.
Written in Spanish by the renown Hispanic author Justo L. Gonzalez, this easy-to-understand and entertaining, yet academic introduction to the history of the church reviews the major events that happened in the history of the church and how they shape today’s church. This book is ideal for helping readers understand today’s church structure, and serves as guide for those interested in the extensive, and at times, complicated history of the church.
-
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.
-
Paganismo En Tu Cristianismo – (Spanish)
$16.99Add to cartHave you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we ‘dress up’ for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.
-
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.
-
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.
-
How The Church Lost The Truth
$14.99Add to cartIt should have been so simple. There was the Bible, God’s authoritative and complete word for mankind. His gift to us. One volume of sixty six books in all, from “In the beginning” to “amen”. One basic message. Choose Life, He said. So what did we do? We chose … denominations, 38,000 of them. One book, thousands of interpretations.
Snake handlers in Kansas, Prosperity teachers in Washington, Liberationists in El Salvador, Gay Bishops in New Hampshire, New Age rectors in London. They all claim the Bible as their inspiration and rulebook. Once this book is opened, why is it that folk seem to see different things? One book, one message, one Babel. How come? Where can the Truth be found or has the Church lost The Truth?
This explosive book tells the whole sad story of what actually happened to the Church over the last two thousand years and how it managed to lose its focus and take on so many ideas from Greek philosophy that Christianity has just become a melting point of truth mixed up with very strange ideas.
If Jesus were to return today, which Church – if any – could He call his own?
In this challenging, provocative but entertaining book the author examines what has happened to some key battlegrounds for Truth and asks, where did those ideas come from?
*How did God kick things off?
*How does He deal with His covenant people?
*Who does He let into heaven?
*What is Hell really like?
*How is He really going to wrap things up?Some of the answers will astound you and you may also be prompted to ask the question, how has the Church managed to lose so much Truth?
Prepare to be challenged to the very core of your faith.
-
British Missionaries And The End Of Empire
$45.99Add to cartThere are many histories of overseas mission and many histories of the last days of Great Britain’s empire in Africa, but there has been no book-length study on the relationship between them – until now. In British Missionaries and the End of Empire, historian John Stuart thoroughly and critically examines British Protestant missionary experiences during the tumultuous years between 1939 and 1964 in east, central, and southern Africa. Focusing on Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya (with an eye for South African influence on mission affairs), Stuart portrays the uneven and evolving relationship between Protestant missionaries, the British empire, and African nationalists. He shows how missionaries sometimes supported empire, sometimes drew comfort from it, sometimes criticized it, yet finally learned to live with its formal demise, continuing their work in the newly formed African independent states even after the end of empire.
-
Black Fire : One Hundred Years Of African American Pentecostalism
$40.00Add 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.
-
Forged By Conviction
$22.95Add to cartForged by Conviction is a never before written, chronologically accurate account of the birth and prominent rise of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. Meet the colorful personalities who helped to define and mobilize this great movement for God’s glory. Discover how both church planting and decentralization helped to carve what would become the foundation of one of America’s most modern day struggles for biblical inerrancy. Learn of the controversial and often courageous struggle of many Southern Baptist men and women who were seemingly cast as renegades by the liberal establishment. See how their obedience to God and bold faith in Jesus Christ enabled them to witness their dreams-initially written on a napkin at a local restaurant-blossom into a great organization known as the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.
-
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.
-
Unforgettable Memoirs : My Life Shanghai Local Church And Watchman Nee – (Other
$21.99Add to cartThe unforgettable Memoirs: My life, Shanghai Local Church, and Watchman Nee, is a story of serious introspection and exploration of a precious spiritual heritage. The events surrounding the Local Church Movement and its leader Watchman Nee are an important chapter in the Chinese church’s 20th century history. This is a book of invaluable personal and spiritual recollections.
-
Maronites : The Origins Of An Antiochene Church A Historical And Geographic
$29.95Add to cartThe Maronite Church is one of twenty-two Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the Pope of Rome. Her patriarch is in Lebanon. Forty-three bishops and approximately five million faithful make up her presence throughout the world.
The story of Maron, a fifth-century hermit-priest, and the community gathered around him, later called the Maronites, tells another fascinating story of the monastic and missionary movements of the Church. Maron’s story takes place in the context of Syrian monasticism, which was a combination of both solitary and communal life, and is a narrative of Christians of the Middle East as they navigated the rough seas of political divisions and ecclesiastical controversies from the fourth to the ninth centuries.
Abbot Paul Naaman, a Maronite scholar and former Superior General of the Order of Lebanese Maronite Monks, wisely places the study of the origins of the Maronite Church squarely in the midst of the history of the Church. His book, The Maronites: The Origins of an Antiochene Church, published during the sixteenth centenary of Maron’s death, offers plausible insights into her formation and early development, grounding the Maronite Church in her Catholic, Antiochian, Syriac, and monastic roots.
-
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…
-
Fathers Know Best
$29.95Add to cartThe Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church is a unique resource. It introduces you to the teachings of the first Christians in a way no other work can. It is specially designed to make it easy for you to find the information you want and need. Amazing features in this fact-packed book include:
– More than 900 quotations from the writings of the early Church Fathers, as well as from rare and important documents dating back to the dawn of Christian history.
– Mini-biographies of nearly 100 Fathers, as well as descriptions of dozens of key early councils and writings.
– A concise history of the dramatic spread of Christianity after Jesus told his disciples to evangelize all nations.
– Special maps showing you where the Fathers lived, including many little-known and long-vanished locations.
– A guide to nearly 30 ancient heresies, many of which have returned to haunt the modern world.
– The Fathers’ teaching on nearly 50 topics, including modern hot-button issues like abortion, homosexuality, and divorce.This groundbreaking work presents the teachings of the early Christians in a way unlike any other book. It flings open the doors of the crucial but little-known age covering the birth of Christianity and the triumphant march of the gospel throughout the ancient world.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Defending Constantine : The Twilight Of An Empire And The Dawn Of Christend
$38.00Add 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.
-
How Africa Shaped The Christian Mind
$25.00Add 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. -
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.
