Protestantism and Protestant Churches Books

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Book SynopsisJohn Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is a defining book of the Reformation and a pillar of Protestant theology. First published in Latin in 1536 and in Calvin's native French in 1541, the Institutes argues for the majesty of God and for justification by faith alone. The book decisively shaped Calvinism as a major religious and intelleTrade Review"Bruce Gordon provides an essential biography of Calvin's influential and enduring theological masterpiece, tracing the diverse ways it has been read and interpreted from Calvin's time to today."--Worcester Telegram "A compelling argument."--Brian Bethune, Maclean's "This is an excellent volume. I warmly commend it to anyone with an interest in Calvin's Institutes, and the way it has been understood through the centuries."--Tony Lane, Gospel Coalition "While Gordon's book will contribute to scholarship on the Reformation in general, and Calvin and the Reformed tradition in particular, it will be particularly beneficial to students and non-specialists who are interested in Calvin but have never read his opus magnum in its entirety. Gordon's biography of the Institutes is a welcome addition to the scholarship and I highly recommend it."--Inseo Song, Reading Religion "Bruce Gordon's short book is worth reading... As an introduction to the complex legacy of one of the magisterial Reformers, Gordon's book is an excellent place to begin."--Judith Maltby, Church Times "Eminent Reformation historian Gordon presents an exceptionally interesting and readable account of the 'life' of Calvin's great theological classic Institutes of the Christian Religion."--Choice "While there have been scores of studies tracking the legacy of John Calvin and his theological vision in the history of Christianity and the western world, this new study of the Rezeptionsgeschichte of Calvin's magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, is unique. Gordon ... ably shows that this work well deserves a place in a series devoted to the 'Lives of Great Religious Books.'"--Michael A.G. Haykin, Church History and Religious CultureTable of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments xvii Note on the Translation Used xix Introduction Remembering a Man and His Book 1 Chapter 1 A Book Emerges 13 Chapter 2 1559: The Year of the Book 35 Chapter 3 The Inheritors 48 Chapter 4 Enlightenment Ambivalence 68 Chapter 5 Fashioning a Reformer 89 Chapter 6 America's Calvins 110 Chapter 7 "A Very Calvinist Professor" and His Dutch Friends 122 Chapter 8 Titans: Barth and Brunner 133 Chapter 9 Prophet of Modernity-Prince of Tyrants 148 Chapter 10 Oppression and Liberation: South Africa 166 Chapter 11 Change and Dissent: China 183 Chapter 12 Contemporary Voices 198 Afterword 219 Appendix 1 Burning a Man and His Books: Michael Servetus and John Calvin 223 Appendix 2 Calvin's Editions of Institutes of the Christian Religion 227 Notes 229 Index 255

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] richly detailed portrait."—D.G. Hart, Wall Street Journal"Hendrix has written a scholarly but vivid portrait of a man who, in a spiritual crisis, peered deep into St. Paul’s words about the righteous living by faith, and thought he had found there a new purpose for himself, his friends, his country and all true Christians."—Michael Duggan, Catholic Herald"There is a plenty of detail in this well-researched study with its extensive cast of characters, and attention to matters as diverse as Luther’s ability to play the lute and his vulnerability to bouts of depression. . . . Luther’s very real humanity emerges in these accounts."—Martin Wellings, Methodist Recorder"Hendrix covers Luther’s life, outlines his thought and assesses his theology. Crucially though, theology is not allowed to dominate and we see Luther’s ideas against the background of his life and his personal relationships."—Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper"[Hendrix] has given us a Luther who is not only an extraordinary theologian, but also a firm friend, a demanding colleague, an energetic administrator, a mediocre politician, and a loving, if sometimes heavy-handed, husband and father . . . What keeps it together is Hendrix’s sharp insights, his easy style and his unfailing eye for telling facts or quotations."—Dr. Alec Ryrie, Church Times"Scott Hendrix is a veteran insider historian from the American Protestant tradition, with the worthy aim of tackling some of the complacent myths all families build up about their founding fathers… an efficient performance."—Diarmaid Mac Culloch, London Review of Books"Hendrix here offers not only a biography of Luther, but a history of the early Lutheran Reformation. This is indeed a good Luther biography. As 2017 approaches, it will be by no means the last, but the breadth and depth of insight of Hendrix’s biography will make it very difficult to match."—Charlotte Methuen, Theology“[Hendrix’s] intention in writing this volume, he says, was to provide a readable, up-to-date, comprehensive but not too long account of Luther’s life. . . he has certainly achieved this. . . A comprehensive account, and one which is likely to become a standard reference.” —Kenneth Austin, Huguenot Society Journal "One of the best things about this humane and sensitive biography is that it sets Luther in context. Rather than the tormented hero of romantic myth, we have a busy scholar, teacher, preacher and writer surrounded by colleagues, friends and family, responding to the myriad unforeseen challenges that his epoch-changing insights had brought down on him. Enlivening circumstantial details ensure that Scott Hendrix’s Luther truly inhabits his cultural, political and spiritual world."—Euan Cameron, author of The European Reformation"I did not expect to learn much from reading yet another Luther biography. But I was wrong. Scott Hendrix’s Luther is in many respects a primus inter pares—establishing a point of view that is not, in my opinion, the least of Hendrix’s achievements in this important biography."—David Steinmetz, author of Luther in Context

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Book SynopsisThe teachings of the German–born Meister Eckhart (1260–1328), Dominican philosopher and spiritual master, are among the most daring and profound in the history of Western mysticism. From counsels on discernment to a treatise on detachment as the most essential virtue, Eckhart''s fascinating thoughts on the spiritual life will inspire and challenge those looking to deepen their experience of God.

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Book SynopsisAuthoritative, informative, and illustrated, this guide provides a vivid introduction to a way of life many find fascinating but few truly understand.Trade ReviewThere is much to learn (and unlearn) about Amish life; this book is the best place to start. Pennsylvania HeritageTable of Contents1. Meet the Amish2. Amish Roots3. Living the Old Order4. Community and Church5. Rumspringa6. Family and Schooling7. Work and Technology8. The Amish and Their Neighbors9. Amish Images in Modern AmericaAppendix AAppendix BNotesFor Further ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Roper’s book proves that a rigorously scholarly work can also be a pleasure to read."---Dan Hitchens, The Times"Roper questions Luther’s character and legacy with the same anti-authoritarianismthat animated her subject, combining acuity with wit and levity, just as Luther did— though with fewer obscenities."---Suzannah Lipscomb, A Financial Times Best Book Of The Week"Provocative and thought-provoking, Living I Was Your Plague is an important contribution to our understanding of the life and afterlife of one of history’s most complex figures, and a lively testament to the striking originality of Roper’s scholarship."---Alexandra Walsham, Times Literary Supplement"Through its thematic approach this collection says much that could not be said in the inevitably heroic format of the biography. It provides insights that will shape the reader’s experience of every future encounter with Luther. It integrates visual and material culture brilliantly throughout, arguing that from Cranach’s early portraits to Playmobil’s bestselling Luther figurine, images must be central to our interpretation of the Reformation. And it offers a critical reflection – wonderfully personal in places – on the experience of writing biography and living as a historian through a period of intense public interest. At a moment at which tensions over race and heritage have coalesced around public representations of historical men this collection provides a moral compass for those seeking to write the histories of heroes with dark sides."---Bridget Heal, History Today"After an outpouring of books about Luther at the time of the quicentenary, one could have been forgiven for thinking. . . that there wasn't much of interest left to be said. In her ambition to tackle together the life and the legend, and her avowed determination to appraise Luther in a thorougly Lutheran spirit of anti-authoritarianism, Lyndal Roper has triumphantly demonstrated the contrary."---Peter Marshall, The Tablet"[Living I Was Your Plague] may unsettle in ways that open diligent readers to new vision. The book accomplishes something that few of the books about Luther occasioned by the 2017 anniversary accomplished: it sees Luther with fresh eyes and shows us why we need to wrestle with his legacy."---Vincent Evener, Christian Century"Roper questions Luther’s character and legacy with the same anti-authoritarianism that animated her subject, combining acuity with wit and levity, just as Luther did — though with fewer obscenities. But it is those obscenities that Roper, Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford, has in mind, as she grapples with how to understand an intellectual in the context of their whole self, conscious and unconscious, warts and all."---Suzannah Lipscomb, Financial Times"Intelligent and absorbing"---Sean Sheehan, The Prisma

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Book Synopsis'Alpha has become a global phenomenon and, in this well-researched and compelling account, it has now found its historian.' —Professor Timothy Larsen (Wheaton College) for the Times Literary Supplement Alpha is a global phenomenon,  one of the most famous and controversial brands in Christian evangelization. Launched internationally in 1993, it has attracted wide public commentary over the decades, not only among churches but also in mainstream television, radio and newspapers such as TheEconomist and TheNew York Times. Even Elle and Fabulous have covered Alpha. Over a million participants attend the course every year and it has been a powerful driver of Christian innovation and resurgence in a secular culture.   Alpha’s presiding genius, Nicky Gumbel, has won plaudits as a new Billy Graham for the modern age. As Alpha prepares to mark its thirtieth anniversary in 2023, RepackaTrade ReviewA tale of vision, determination and extraordinary marketing . . . It's a fascinating story * The Sunday Times *It is a sympathetic picture, but not sycophantic. Space is given to the critics ... a well-written account of the early years of this significant and encouraging Christian enterprise. * Church Times *A good read . . . Atherstone writes well. * Baptist Times *A riveting and well-written story * Premier Christianity *Accessible and lucid . . . a thoroughly theological history, weighing the full range of views on Alpha, positive and negative * English Churchman *Meticulously researched * Life and Work *Fascinating and informative * Prophecy Today *Alpha has become a global phenomenon and, in this well-researched and compelling account, it has now found its historian. * TLS *

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Book SynopsisMennonite German Soldiers traces the efforts of a small, pacifist, Christian religious minority in eastern Prussia-the Mennonite communities of the Vistula River basin-to preserve their exemption from military service, which was based on their religious confession of faith. Conscription was mandatory for nearly all male Prussian citizens, and the willingness to fight and die for country was essential to the ideals of a developing German national identity. In this engaging historical narrative, Mark Jantzen describes the policies of the Prussian federal and regional governments toward the Mennonites over a hundred-year period and the legal, economic, and social pressures brought to bear on the Mennonites to conform. Mennonite leaders defended the exemptions of their communities'' sons through a long history of petitions and legal pleas, and sought alternative ways, such as charitable donations, to support the state and prove their loyalty. Faced with increasingly punitive legaTrade Review“Jantzen emphasizes not only church and state dynamics but also tensions within the governing party, as well as those within the Mennonite community. The state increased its impact as the population became increasingly nationalistic. Jantzen also observes how theological developments among German Protestants influenced Mennonite pastors and thought leaders. Jantzen portrays an evolving Mennonite identity over a hundred-year period. His book makes a significant contribution to understanding the richness, diversity, and struggle in the Mennonite story.” —Mennonite Weekly Review“Mennonite German Soldiers offers a fascinating, carefully researched study of Prussian Mennonites during much of the nineteenth century. The author describes with exacting detail how persistent state and societal pressures coerced Mennonites into becoming ‘good German citizens.’ The book is organized into ten chapters, the last including observations on how profoundly the self-understanding of this Mennonite community changed, resulting in a culturally adapted Scriptural hermeneutic.” —Mennonite Brethren Herald“[A] fascinating analysis of how Prussian Mennonites adapted so thoroughly between 1772 and 1880 to German national identity and its attendant military responsibilities. . . . Jantzen deftly combines social, political, and family history along with the more traditional religious and political narratives to show us how Mennonites, as individuals, members of their communities, and family members, altered their religious identity. He also reveals the shifting attitudes and approaches taken by various levels and iterations of the Prussian government." —American Historical Review“This book deserves wide readership. The Mennonite experience in nineteenth-century Prussia/Germany is an intriguing example of the complex negotiations between a religious minority and the modern state. Jantzen’s analysis also holds valuable insights for the contemporary German Integrationsdebatte.” —German Studies Review“This is the first full-length study of a problem peculiar to Mennonites, but with implications for other minority religious groups and mainline churches: the issue of full political participation and enthusiastic military service in defense of shared national values. . . . This is a thoroughly researched work, graced by a broad view and written with a clear persuasive style that exhibits frequent poetic touches.” —The Mennonite Quarterly Review“In this engaging historical narrative, Mark Jantzen describes the policies of the Prussian federal and regional governments toward the Mennonites over a hundred-year period and the legal, economic, and social pressures brought to bear on the Mennonites to conform. . . . The public debates over their place in Prussian society shed light on a multi-confessional German past and on the dissemination of nationalist values.” —Canadian Mennonite“Jantzen’s study is highly recommended for anyone interested in Mennonite history. In addition to helping readers better understand the history of this important segment of the Mennonite past, it also sheds light on the character and identity of Mennonites from this community, who migrated to Russia and from there to North America and Latin America.” —Catholic Historical Review“With this highly informative volume, Professor Jantzen takes a major step in correcting the relative neglect, at least in English historical literature, of this period of Mennonite history in central Europe. While a number of German studies have addressed significant issues of this stressful century in German Mennonite history, none has done so with the analysis and Sitz im Leben perspective that Jantzen demonstrates.” —Journal of Mennonite Studies“In his remarkable study of Mennonites in the Prussian East, Mark Jantzen convincingly demonstrates how an examination of a seemingly marginal religious minority can make significant contributions to understanding larger historical processes, in this case those that shaped Prussia and Germany and the development of the modern state in Western Europe.” —Mennonite Life“This abundantly documented study explores the course of acculturation of the Mennonites, who from the sixteenth century on settled in the Vistula Delta and became Prussian subjects in the first partition of Poland. . . . That Jantzen’s discussion of the two literary works frames his social and political interpretation is also a welcome example of how productive it can be to combine one’s specialization with different approaches to history.” —Church History

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Book SynopsisWho are the Popes and how does the Roman Catholic Church define their role? What about the present day Popes? What is the ecumenical significance of the Papacy and what are its prospects in the global world? These and other questions are tackled as Leonardo De Chirico explores the Biblical, historical, and theological fabric of the Papacy. Trade ReviewDe Chirico's book is excellent. Not only is it well researched, thorough, and clear, its lessons hold crucial importance in this historical moment. In a day when the pope is featured on the cover of Time magazine and when unchurched pundits use phrases like "the Francis factor" (speaking of Pope Francis's popularity in the mainstream), it's important for us to have an informed perspective on the papacy. This volume, more than any other I've read, provides such perspective and therefore should be added to one's bookshelf. -- Chris Castaldo - The Gospel Coalition...Professor De Chirico investigate the phenomenon of Roman Catholic hierarchy using biblical exegesis, fascinating historical data, and basic theological insights to inform our view...engaging, clearly written, polemical in the best sense, and resolutely Scriptural, this is easily the best shorter guide for those wanting to know how to evaluate the institution of the papacy and related matters. -- William Edgar (Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)In terms of an introduction to the Catholic Church's doctrine and exercise of the papacy, this book is unmatched! Read this book and you will gain essential insights into what for many Christians is a mystery, now unpacked by a trusted evangelical theologian and pastor. -- Gregg R. Allison (Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky)... a marvellous book which will serve you well in conversing with Roman Catholic contacts and in understanding a significant religious celebrity of the modern world -- Evangelicals NowHow readable! How fascinating! How important! This book is a page-turner. I kept thinking, "I have it, to whom can I give it?"...Right at the heart of Roman Catholicism there is this giant delusion. You don't believe me? Then read this fascinating and brief book and think for yourself. -- Geoff Thomas (Conference Speaker and author, Aberystwyth, Wales)

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Book SynopsisLiberal Christian theology is a big topic in today''s churches and seminaries. But what does liberal theology really mean and why is it so controversial? What does it actually believe about truth, Scripture, and Jesus Christ? And where does it lead?The term liberal theology is often misinterpreted, confused with a set of loose ideologies within the Christian faith and sometimes rallied behind by genuine Christians who are simply concerned about modern social justice issues. It''s also been wrongly leveled against churches and even entire denominations that don''t adhere to the tradition of liberal theology.Against Liberal Theology, is written in a direct and conversational tone that makes sense of this theological movement by: Defining liberal theology and explaining its beliefs about central Christian doctrines. Giving its history and progression—beginning with 18th century German theologian Friedrich SchleTrade Review'Roger Olson shows us the absolute theological vacuity of American liberal Christianity. He demonstrates that liberalism's God is a mirror of themselves, their Jesus is not worthy of worship nor a savior of any sort, and the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol for their own musings. Olson's verdict is damning but indubitable: liberal Christianity has little to do with classic or historical Christianity.' * Michael Bird, academic dean and lecturer in New Testament, Ridley College *'Roger Olson's Against Liberal Theology is a courageous and calm definition, examination, and evaluation of the collapse of authentic, orthodox Christian theology in the minds, hearts, and hands of one liberal (not progressive) theologian after another. In their own words, Olson often shines a bright, piercing light on their own criticisms. This is a vintage example of Olson being Olson: he knows the literature, he is candid, he is fair, and he is unstinting in criticism of the pitfalls of liberal theologians. And he examines only those who overtly espouse 'liberal' in their theology. Those most attracted into progressivism and then into liberalism will benefit from a humble reading of this book.' * Scot McKnight, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary *

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Book SynopsisA look inside one of America''s most politically consequential churchesMark Driscoll, the founding pastor of Seattle''s Mars Hill Church, indelibly impacted American evangelicalism. Driscoll''s brash, authoritarian, and profanity-laden leadership grew Mars Hill Church into one of the fastest growing, most innovative, and most influential churches in the country--not an easy task in one of America''s most secular cities. Driscoll''s gender theology put men at the forefront of American Christianity, rebranding Jesus from a gay hippie in a dress to a sword-carrying, robe-dipped-in-blood warrior. This type of rhetoric paved the way for evangelicals'' embrace of hypermasculine Christianity, priming the pump for their unprecedented support of Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections.Making Christianity Manly Again places Driscoll''s gender theology in its social and historical contexts and analyzes the contemporary social patterns that explain how a hypermasculine theology heTrade ReviewMaking Christianity Manly Again is a powerful addition to the literature on American evangelicalism, gender, and Christian nationalism in the Trump era. McKinney's meticulous analysis of Mark Driscoll's sermons and writings generates an illuminating picture of his misogynistic theology and view of the U.S. as a "pussified nation." Her in-depth interviews show how Mars Hill church members experienced and lived out that theology (successfully or not) in their daily lives. An impressively researched and highly informative book. * R. Marie Griffith, author of Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics *As US politics increasingly reveals intertwined relations of religion and masculinity, there is a great need for careful social analysis. In Making Christianity Manly Again, Jennifer McKinney—one of the most seasoned observers of this scene—provides a careful and detailed account of the high-profile rise and fall of an icon of the times. Its pages reveal deep insights into broad questions that should concern us all. * Stewart M. Hoover, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Media Studies and the Department of Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder *Jennifer McKinney's Making Christianity Manly Again is a devastating account of a cultural car wreck. The man driving the car, Mark Driscoll, is both the maestro and engineer of its demise, with enough talent to attract money and followers, but with an ego that consumes everything in its tracks. McKinney shows the self-destructive and catastrophic nature of how a religion of the poor and peacemaker became an engine for money and manhood. This must-read book startles with details and testimony to the tragedy of an American evangelical church and its whoring after power, treasure, and empire. * Jim Wellman, author of High on God: How Megachurches Won the Heart of America *This is a solid study of a very influential church, resting on an interesting theoretical foundation. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Pussified Nation Chapter One: Evangelicals and Gender: The Road to Mars Hill Chapter Two: Real Men (Don't Wear Sweater-Vests) Chapter Three: Real Women: Wives, Mothers, and Lovers Chapter Four: Real Family: Dating and Marriage Chapter Five: Real Consequences Conclusion: Question Mark Notes Appendix A Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOne of the key foundation books of the English Reformation, The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528) makes a radical challenge to the established order of the all-powerful Church of its time. Himself a priest, Tyndale boldly claims that there is just one social structure created by God to which all must be obedient, without the intervention of the rule of the Pope. He argues that Christians cannot be saved simply by performing ceremonies or by hearing the Scriptures in Latin, which most could not understand, and that all should have access to the Bible in their own language - an idea that was then both bold and dangerous. Powerful in thought and theological learning, this is a landmark in religious and political thinking.

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Book Synopsis“Immensely rich and exciting . . . Christopher Hill has that supreme gift of being able to show us the seventeenth-century world from the inside.”—Arthur Marwick in New Society Within the English revolution of the mid-seventeenth century which resulted in the triumph of the protestant ethic—the ideology of the propertied class—there threatened another, quite different, revolution. Its success “might have established communal property, a far wider democracy in political and legal institutions, might have disestablished the state church and rejected the protestant ethic.” In The World Turned Upside Down Christopher Hill studies the beliefs of such radical groups as the Diggers, the Ranters, the Levellers, and others, and the social and emotional impulses that gave rise to them. The relations between rich and poor classes, the part played by wandering “master-less” men, the outbursts of sexual freedom

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Handbook of Early Evangelicalism offers the most comprehensive and authoritative volume on early evangelicalism, with essays written by the world's leading experts on religion in the long eighteenth century.Trade ReviewIt is an excellent addition to the burgeoning literature on the roots and essential nature of evangelicalism and is highly recommended. * Peter Morden, Principal, Bristol Baptist College *This volume has succeeded in providing an excellent range of concise and readable essays on early evangelicalism. It will be of use not only to graduate students but also to 'seasoned' scholars in this field, who are sure to learn something new from these discussions. * Simon Lewis, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society *This present volume summarises current scholarship on this crucial eighteenth-century movement whilst providing new perspectives and suggesting potential future lines of enquiry. It is an excellent addition to the burgeoning literature on the roots and essential nature of evangelicalism and is highly recommended. * Peter Morden, Baptist Quarterly *Jonathan Yeager, with his contributors, is to be commended for bringing such a fine volume to print through the very period when pandemic conditions have slowed many equally ambitious projects. * Kenneth J. Stewart, Calvin Theological Journal *The Handbook of Early Evangelicalism is well worth reading for those interested in a fair evaluation of the movement; its development, distinctiveness, and purpose. Historical in nature, the essays provide an invaluable amount of information enticing readers into further research and a comprehensive understanding of early evangelicalism. * Anthony Rivera, Reading Religion *The Handbook of Early Evangelicalism is well worth reading for those interested in a fair evaluation of the movement; its development, distinctiveness, and purpose. Historical in nature, the essays provide an invaluable amount of information enticing readers into further research and a comprehensive understanding of early evangelicalism. * Anthony Rivera, Reading Religion *Table of ContentsIntroduction-Jonathan Yeager (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) Part I: Context 1. The Social Context-Stephen Berry (Simmons College) 2. The Intellectual Context-John Coffey (University of Leicester) Part II: Churches and Movements 3. English Congregationalism-Robert Strivens (London Theological Seminary) 4. American Congregationalism- Robert E. Brown (James Madison University) 5. German Pietism-Jan Stievermann (Universität Heidelberg) 6. The Moravians- Paul Peucker (Moravian Church Archives) 7. Methodism- David Ceri Jones (University of Aberystwyth) 8. Dutch Evangelicalism-Fred van Lieburg (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) 9. Scottish Presbyterianism-Keith Beebe (Whitworth University) 10. Southern American Evangelicalism-Samuel Smith (Liberty University) 11. Canadian Evangelicalism-Kevin Flatt (Redeemer University College) 12. Particular Baptists-Michael Haykin (Southern Theological Seminary) 13. The New Divinity-Douglas Sweeney (Beeson Divinity School) 14. Anglican Evangelicalism-Grayson Carter (Fuller Theological Seminary) Part III: The Culture of Evangelicalism 15. Puritan Legacy- David Hall (Harvard Divinity School) 16. Capitalism-Lionel Laborie (University of Leiden) 17. Hymnody-Mark Noll (University of Notre Dame) 18. Itinerancy-Timothy Hall (Samford University) 19. Anti-Catholicism-Colin Haydon (Winchester) 20. Revivalism-Thomas Kidd and Paul Gutacker (Baylor University) 21. Politics-Daniel Dreisbach (American University) 22. Print Culture-Timothy Whelan (Georgia Southern University) 23. Poetry-Wendy Raphael Roberts (SUNY Albany) 24. Slavery- Paul Harvey (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs) 25. Missions-Ben Hartley (Seattle Pacific University) Part IV: Personalities 26. Jonathan Edwards's Life and Thought-Kenneth Minkema (Yale University) 27. George Whitefield and New Birth Preaching-Boyd Stanley Schlenther (University of Aberystwyth) 28. Samson Occom, Joseph Johnson and New England Native American Evangelicalism-Hilary Wyss (Trinity College) and Anthony Trujillo (Yale Divinity School) 29. John Erskine and Transatlantic Correspondent Networks-Jonathan Yeager (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) 30. Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley Peters, and the Black Evangelical Experience-Vincent Carretta (University of Maryland) Ann Bolton and Evangelical Women-Cynthia Aalders (Regent College)

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Book SynopsisHomer in Wittenberg discusses Homer's foundational significance for educational and theological reform during the Protestant Reformation. William P. Weaver provides a close examiantion of Melanchthon's use of Homer in his education reforms.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Homeric Grammar: Philip's Institutiones Graecae Grammaticae (1518) 2: Homeric Eloquence: Philip's 1518 Lectures on the Epistle to Titus and the iliad 3: Homeric Prudence: Melanchthon's 1523 Homer Lectures 4: The Homeric Poem 5: The Wittenberg Scholia 6: Rightly Dividing the Word Epilogue

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Book SynopsisThis study of the life and thought of John Williamson Nevin (1803-1886) offers a revised interpretation of an important nineteenth-century religious thinker. Along with the historian, Phillip Schaff, Nevin was a leading exponent of what became known as the Mercersburg Movement, named for the college and theological seminary of the German Reformed Church located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. The story is a neglected aspect of American studies. Wentz provides a kind of post-modern perspective on Nevin, presenting him as a distinctively American thinker, rather than as a reactionary romantic. Although influenced by German philosophy, historical studies, and theology, Nevin''s thought was a profound response to the American public context of his day. He was, in many respects, a public theologian, judging the prevailing development of American Christianity as a new religion that was fashioning its own disintegration and that of American culture at large. Nevin''s reinterpretation of catholTrade ReviewA thoughtful, scholarly reinterpretation....Wentz's work should be read by today's theologians whose penchant for relevance needs the correction of Nevin, who reminds us that our own great traditions, rightly understood and intelligently appropriated, can be just as revelant as the issues of today's world. * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisUsing a fresh reading of Barth's Church Dogmatics, Hunsinger advances a new interpretation of the Protestant theologian's work, and places it in relation to contemporary discussions of truth, justified belief, double agency, and religious pluralism.Trade ReviewBrings a thoroughness and carefulness to the daunting work of Barth interpretation ... He admirably and aptly accounts for the complexity and richness of Barth. * Journal of Religion *

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Book SynopsisA well researched account of gospel blues that encompasses the broader cultural and religious histories of the African-American experience between the late 1890s and the 1930s. Harris skilfully contextualizes sacred and secular music styles within African-American religious history and significant social developments of the period.Trade Review'In a text that is rich in historical, cultural and musical data and analysis, the discussion of the conflict over music in the 'old line' churches comes across strongly.' David Horn, University of Liverpool, Popular Music, Volume 13, Part 3 - 1994

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Book SynopsisIn this study, Irene Backus examines the fate of the Apocalypse at the hands of early Protestants in three centres of the Reformation: Geneva, Zurich, and Wittenberg. To do so, Backus systematically investigates sources and methods on the most important reformed and Lutheran commentaries of the Apocalypse from 1528-1584.Trade ReviewThe work is executed with meticulous scholarship, as one would expect from Irena Backus, and is a very worthy companion to Richard Bauckham's Tudor Apocalypse. * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *A valuable work of reference ... Backus has made a great deal of intriguing and obscure information easily accessible. * Reformation *This is a thorough, detailed, and valuable analysis of a field which has until now received little attention. * Journal of Theological Studies *There is much value in this book in that it includes material that has far too long lain undisturbed some way off from the well-beaten track. * tbr (theological book review, Feed The Minds) *Masterful treatment of the subject. * Sixteenth Century Journal *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGood quality sociological work should open the door to future research, and this book masterfully does so, where little research currently exists. This should be a welcomed resource for scholars and practitioners alike. * Joel Thiessen, Review of Religious Research *This book is an important effort to bridge a divide between studies of entrepreneurs and studies of religion. In the religion entrepreneur, Pitt identifies a social actor with particular needs and skills who operates in ways familiar to the business world to promote religious worship and fellowship. Their actions have consequences for religious vitality, communities, and how we think about the competitive religious landscape in the United States. * Brian J. Miller, Wheaton College, IL, USA, Social Forces *This book is an important effort to bridge a divide between studies of entrepreneurs and studies of religion. * Brian J. Miller, Wheaton College, IL, USA, Social Forces *Good quality sociological work should open the door to future research, and this book masterfully does so, where little research currently exists. This should be a welcomed resource for scholars and practitioners alike. * Joel Thiessen, Review of Religious Research *Church Planters will be of interest to several different audiences. First, for scholars of American religion, this book offers a finer grained portrait of the perspectives of Protestant religion entrepreneurs hoping to find success in a challenging religion marketplace.... Second, scholars interested in organizational leadership and business startups might find the arguments in Church Planters compelling for discussions regarding the entrepreneurial focus on church leaders in the United States. Third, for those who train ministers or pastors.... although this book is not a 'how-to manual,' many lessons could be drawn from the experiences and perspectives detailed within the chapters. * Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion *>"Church Planters offers a rich, insightful, and clear-eyed look at those who start new churches. Why do they do it? How do they do it? What counts as success? Richard N. Pitt's answers to these and other questions are sometimes surprising, often provocative, and always compelling. This engaging book is a must-read for anyone curious about how this often-overlooked kind of social entrepreneur helps shape the American religious landscape.>" - Mark Chaves, Anne Firor Scott Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Duke UniversityIn Church Planters, Richard N. Pitt shows us the deep commitment that religion entrepreneurs have to their spiritual calling to spread the Christian message by planting a new church. Pitt shows the importance of understanding these churches as start-up organizations with the same needs and requirements for their success as non-religious organizations. For those who are feeling the call to plant a church, or those who are interested in the interplay between the practical and spiritual innerworkings of religious entrepreneurial activity, this book is a must-read. * Richard Flory, Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California *<"Why does a 'religion entrepreneur' take on what seems to be a very risky undertaking? The research behind Church Planters offers a fresh angle and helps us understand the innovative qualities that set apart these organizational founders: both what motivates them and how they handle the fear of failure. Based on the 135 men and women Richard N. Pitt extensively interviewed, we walk away convinced that 'entrepreneurship' makes total sense as a helpful lens for understanding the decision to start a church.>" - Warren Bird, co-author of Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement MakersI suppose my judgement of Pitt's work is that it is thorough (within the limits identified above), sociological, entirely secular (appropriately so, given his assumptions) * Justin Anthony, Studies in Christian Ethics 38 *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1 Introduction 2 Church Planting: A Bird's Eye View PART I: BECOMING RELIGION ENTREPRENEURS 3

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Book SynopsisAn entertaining history of the soundtrack of American evangelical ChristianityFew things frightened conservative white Protestant parents of the 1950s and the 1960s more than thought of their children falling prey to the menace to Christendom known as rock and roll. The raucous sounds of Elvis Presley and Little Richard seemed tailor-made to destroy the faith of their young and, in the process, undermine the moral foundations of the United States. Parents and pastors launched a crusade against rock music, but they were fighting an uphill battle.Salvation came in a most unlikely form. Well, maybe not that unlikely--the long hair, the beards, the sandals--but still a far cry from the buttoned-up, conservative Protestantism they were striving to preserve. Yet when a revival swept through counterculture hippie communities of the West Coast in the 1960s and 1970s a new alternative emerged. Known as the Jesus Movement--and its members, more colloquially, as Jesus freaks--the revival was shor

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Book SynopsisIn many low-income neighborhoods in El Salvador, two groups have significant influence over the public sphere: gangs and evangelical churches. Members of both groups often belong to the same families, use similar organizational strategies, and engage each other in local marketplaces. Pastors and gang leaders compete for power within communities while informally sharing community governance. Entanglements even occur within formal organizations: Gang members can be found in churches and faith-based organizations, while an evangelical presence exists within prisons and other gang-controlled spaces. Blood Entanglements shows the importance of religion in gang-controlled neighborhoods in El Salvador through extensive empirical data and the personal stories of people who live there. Stephen Offutt uses the notion of entanglement to explain how and why evangelicals have such frequent and often intimate interactions with gangs, which are groups that many evangelicals believe are evil. Entanglement, he shows, also sheds light on how evangelicals engage with Latin American society and social problems more generally. The book concludes with policy recommendations for reducing gang prevalence and violence in areas with a prominent evangelical presence.Trade ReviewIn El Salvador, the country with highest murder rate on the planet, criminal gangs and evangelicals, mostly pentecostals, are the two most influential groups in towns and cities across the violence-plagued nation. This book, on the complex relations between the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs on one hand and evangelical communities on the other, is the most nuanced and insightful study to date on the topic. It belongs on the top shelf of readers interested in global Christianity, gang violence, and Latin American studies. * R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint *Like street gangs, religious traditions have always adapted to changing surroundings. Stephen Offutt's fascinating account of the overlapping social worlds of gangs and churches in El Salvador sheds light on the dynamic relationships between evangelicals and violence on Central America's urban margins. A must read for anyone interested in the place of lived religion in the Global South. * Robert Brenneman, author of Homies and Hermanos: God and the Gangs in Central America *Table of ContentsIntroduction Ch 1 Evangelicals & Gangs: Inverted Images Ch 2 Shared Cosmologies Ch 3 Ties that Bind: Family Networks Ch 4 Competing for Local Authority Ch 5 Unusual Alliances in Community Governance Ch 6 Economic Engagements Ch 7 Infiltrated Organizations Conclusion Appendix I: Methodology Works Cited

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Book SynopsisDuring the mid-seventeenth century, Anglo-American Protestants described Native American ceremonies as savage devilry, Islamic teaching as violent chicanery, and Catholicism as repugnant superstition. By the mid-eighteenth century, they would describe amicable debates between evangelical missionaries and Algonquian religious leaders about the moral appeal of Christianity, recount learned conversations between English merchants and Muslim scholars, and tell of encounters with hospitable and sincere priests in Catholic Canada and Europe. What explains this poignant shift?Using a variety of sources--travel narratives, dictionaries and encyclopaedias of the world''s religions, missionary tracts, and sermons, The Opening of the Protestant Mind traces a transformation in how English and colonial American Protestants described other religions during a crucial period of English colonization of North America. After the English Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent growth of the British empire, Trade ReviewThe Opening of the Protestant Mind provides a new origin story for the idea of freedom of conscience, demonstrating its intertwined roots in eighteenth-century political and religious concerns. Eschewing portrayals of puritans as pillars of intolerance, Valeri takes readers deep inside the minds of English Protestants during the colonial conquests that created the British Empire, introduced the comparative study of religion, and paved the way for missionary movements and argues that the imperialism of the nineteenth century was far from inevitable. * Ann Braude, author of Sisters and Saints: Women and American Religion *A deeply thoughtful, subtly multifaceted, and cogently argued intervention in ongoing discussions regarding Euro-American views of other peoples and religious traditions. * Arun W. Jones, Dan and Lillian Hankey Associate Professor of World Evangelism, Candler School of Theology, Emory University *This is a compelling account of how, between the Restoration and the American Revolution, Anglo-Protestants learned—at least sometimes—to tolerate non-Protestant people of faith and imagine them as trustworthy imperial subjects or republican citizens. Valeri's moderate Protestants did not embrace radical egalitarianism, but neither were they merely masking and enabling colonialism, imperialism, and racism. Under the regime of British religious toleration, Valeri finds a story marked by contingency, contestation, and conceptual transformation. * Christopher Grasso, author of Skepticism and American Faith: From the Revolution to the Civil War *Historians of religious toleration often tell a simple tale of atavistic bigotry yielding to enlightened, pragmatic secularism. The Opening of the Protestant Mind tells a more complicated story of sincere believers struggling to imagine a social order that accommodated religious difference. Making unexpected connections between domestic debates and imperial efforts to 'convert' non-European peoples, Mark Valeri deepens our appreciation of a now-imperiled legacy built by those who seriously—if imperfectly—embraced moderation as a spiritual value. * Daniel K. Richter, author of Before the Revolution: America's Ancient Pasts *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: Disorder and Confessionalism Sources for Restoration-era Writers England's Confessional Ideology Confessional Descriptions of the World's Religions Chapter Two: Praying Indians Conversion within English Protestant Communities Missions to Algonquian Communities in New England Chapter Three: Revolution and Toleration Apologists for the Revolution of 1688 Religious Comparison and the Idea of Toleration Travel and Religious Encounters Chapter Four: Empire and Whig Moralism Imperial Agendas Whig Criteria for Religious Authenticity New Studies of the World's Religions Eighteenth-century Travelers Chapter Five: Power, Ceremony, and Roman Catholicism French Whigs and the Critique of Ceremonialism Descriptions of Ceremonial Power Images of the World's Religions Religious Diversity and Roman Catholicism Chapter Six: Indian Conversions The Great Awakening and Moral Freedom Native American Moral Conscience Missionaries' Critique of Anglicization The Moral Appeal of Christianity Disaffiliation and Affiliation Epilogue Hannah Adams and the Revolutionary Nation Conclusion: Limits and Paradoxes Index

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Book SynopsisAristotle''s moral and political thought formed the backbone of education in practical philosophy for centuries during the classical and medieval periods. It has often been presumed, however, that with the advent of the Protestant Reformation, this tradition was broken. Originally a topic belonging to Roman Catholic polemics, this interpretation of Protestant relations with Aristotle gradually became a part of the Protestant self-understanding as well. Lack of engagement with the actual curriculum of early Protestant schools allowed Luther''s dismissive comments on Aristotle to be taken as representative of early Protestant teaching. In The Aristotelian Tradition in Early Modern Protestantism Manfred Svensson shows how the days of this view as a dominant narrative are over. Between 1529 and 1670, Protestants published around 55 commentaries on the Ethics and around 15 on the Politics, several of these in numerous editions. In academies and universities in Lutheran and Reformed territor

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Book SynopsisIn this Very Short Introduction, Jon Balserak explores major ideas associated with the Calvinist system of thought. Beginning during the Protestant Reformation in cities like Zurich, Geneva, and Basel, Calvinismâalso known as Reformed Theologyâspread rapidly throughout Europe and the New World, eventually making its way to the African Continent and the East. Balserak examines how Calvinist thought and practice spread and took root, helping shape church and society. Much of contemporary thought, especially western thought, on everything from theology to civil government, economics, the arts, work and leisure, education, and the family has been influenced by Calvinism. Balserak explores this influence. He also examines common misconceptions and objections to Calvinism, and sets forth a Calvinist understanding of God, the world, humankind, and the meaning of life.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Review[T]his book achieves its goal to introduce readers to the topics of Calvinism in a stimulating and accessible way. * Eundeuk Kim, Reading Religion *The task of writing a "very short introduction" to such a disputed phenomenon, then, is a tall order, if not next to impossible. Jon Balserak, however, has forged a concise and admirable overview of a phenomenon that resists simple description, and with an impressive breadth and depth, given the limitations of the series format. ... Balserak's concise, learned, and insightful treatment of other themes in this diminutive introduction is impressive. ... Especially given that writing a very short introduction to this faith tradition is an impossible task, Balserak's success in doing just that has resulted in one that is also very helpful. * Raymond Blacketer, Church History and Religious Culture 98/1 (April, 2018) *Jon Balserak's study appears in a series which has the aim of providing readers with an accessible way into a new subject. He certainly achieves this objective, through a thematic analysis of Calvinist ideas that will also be of interest to those already familiar with Calvinist thought. * Graeme Murdock, Journal of Ecclesiastical History 68 (2018) *Jon Balserak's volume on Calvinism in the Very Short Introduction series offers a profoundly accessible and well-written introduction to the 'living body of doctrines' (p. xvi) that is the Reformed faith. This 'family resemblance' approach to Calvinism is extremely salutary insofar as it gives Balserak the ability not to overemphasize any particular architectonic feature of Reformed culture as the sine qua non of the movement. * Jonathan Warren, Bunyan studies 21 (Jan, 2017) *This very small volume introduces and entices, familiarizes and complicates all at once. Those pairings are hard to pull off, but this little gem does so...this reviewer can imagine it being of much use to young undergraduates, especially those seeking to get a feel for how neo-Calvinism or Kuyperianism with all its entanglements in varied fields and disciplines relates to the wider world, deeper history, and ongoing debates about Calvinism or Reformed theology. In that regard, Balserak proves to be a particularly helpful guide.Table of ContentsREFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisFor 50 years, Margaret Mead told Americans how cultures worked, and Americans listened. While serving as a curator at the American Museum of Natural History and as a professor of anthropology at Columbia University, she published dozens of books and hundreds of articles, scholarly and popular, on topics ranging from adolescence to atomic energy, Polynesian kinship networks to kindergarten, national morale to marijuana. At her death in 1978, she was the most famous anthropologist in the world and one of the best-known women in America. She had amply achieved her goal, as she described it to an interviewer in 1975, To have lived long enough to be of some use.As befits her prominence, Mead has had many biographers, but there is a curious hole at the center of these accounts: Mead''s faith. Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith introduces a side of its subject that few people know. It re-narrates her life and reinterprets her work, highlighting religious concerns. Following Mead''s lead, it ranges across areas that are typically kept academically distinct: anthropology, gender studies, intellectual history, church history, and theology. It is a portrait of a mind at work, pursuing a unique vision of the good of the world.Trade ReviewWith a blend of evocative prose and careful research, Elesha Coffman presents a spiritual life of Margaret Mead finely attuned to reading for traces of Christianity as well as to revealing her more universalized—perhaps even anthropological—approach to "cherishing the life of the world" (206). * Pamela E. Klassen, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *both quotable and accessible * Ian Jones, Reading Religion *This sublime book reconciles the more widely known scholarly achievements of Margaret Mead with her deeply engaged Christian faith and worldview, and thus is an integral contribution to the biographical sources available. This accessibly written book, grounded in excellent scholarship, is an important contribution to the historiography of the twentieth-century Episcopal Church. * Sheryl A. Kujawa- Holbrook, Anglican and Episcopal History *Coffman's reconstruction of Margaret Mead's spiritual life is a commendable intervention in our popular understanding of Margaret Mead. Like her faith, Margaret Mead cannot be easily categorized, and readers will walk away from this biography not only with a reminder of Mead's complex identity, but also with a view into what kinds of existences were possible within liberal Protestantism. * Adrianne Francisco, US Intellectual History *Table of Contents1: Choosing Church 2: Student Marriage 3: Coming of Age 4: Bread and Wine 5: War Work 6: Building the World New 7: Back to Church 8: Margaret Mead Answers 9: Spiritual Significance 10: For the Joy of the Working Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFor much of his career as a Reformer John Calvin was involved in trinitarian controversy. Not only did these controversies span his career, but his opponents ranged across the spectrum of theological approaches-from staunch traditionalists to radical antitrinitarians. Remarkably, the heart of Calvin''s argument, and the heart of others'' criticism, remained the same throughout: Calvin claimed that the only-begotten Son of the Father is also, as the one true God, ''of himself''. Brannon Ellis investigates the various Reformation and post-Reformation responses to Calvin''s affirmation of the Son''s aseity (or essential self-existence), a significant episode in the history of theology that is often ignored or misunderstood. Calvin neither rejected eternal generation, nor merely toed the line of classical exposition. As such, these debates turned on the crucial pivot between simple unity and ordered plurality-the relationship between the processions and consubstantiality-at the heart of thTrade ReviewI have learned a lot from Ellis book and I highly appreciate it ... I recommend it warmly * Georg Plasger, Journal of Reformed Theology *The author's claim is that Calvin's autothean emphasis purifies such grammar, so making a significant contribution to Trinitarian theology. This erudite book will be of considerable interest to students of Reformed theology and (to a lesser extent) of Trinitarian theology more generally. * Paul Helm, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *Brannon Ellis, throughout this book, has shown that he is surely such a theologian, in the very best and most helpful way. Ellis holds togetherbrilliantlyboth the depth and breadth of the issues, concerns, nuances, subtleties, and significant differences among a vast range of individual thinkers, movements, councils, and credal statements on the question of how the Son of God may be said to be a seof himselfyet also of the Father. * Robert C. Fennel, The Journal of Theological Studies *Editor Ashford and company are commended for their efforts * Mitchell Dick, Mid-America Journal of Theology *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Calvin on the Aseity of the Son: The 1559 Institutes as Entry-Point ; 2. The Autothean Controversies: Calvin s Complex Solidarity ; 3. The Theological Shape of the Autothean Debates: Eternal Generation s Role in Classical Trinitarianism ; 4. Identity, Distinction, or Tension in Trinitarian Language?: Loose Approaches to the Son s Aseity ; 5. Tension In Distinction: Classical and Mainstream Reformed Approaches to the Son s Aseity ; 6. The Irreducible Triunity of God: The Reformed Minority Report s Strict Distinction of the Two Ways of Speaking ; 7. Of Himself, God Gives Himself

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Book SynopsisDewey Wallace tells the story of several prominent English Calvinist actors and thinkers in the first generations after the beginning of the Restoration. In the midst of conflicts between Church and Dissent and the intellectual challenges of the dawning age of Enlightenment, these five individuals and groups dealt with deism, anti-Trinitarianism, and scoffing atheism - usually understood as godlessness - by choosing different emphases in their defense and promotion of Calvinist piety and theology. In each case there was not only persistence in an earlier Calvinist trajectory, but also a transformation of the Calvinist heritage into a new mode of thinking and acting. The different paths taken illustrate the rich variety of English Calvinism in the period. This study offers description and analysis of the mystical Calvinism of Peter Sterry, the hermeticist Calvinism of Theophilus Gale, the evangelical Calvinism of Joseph Alleine and the circle that promoted his legacy, the natural theology of the moderate Calvinist Presbyterians Richard Baxter, William Bates, and John Howe, and the Church of England Calvinism of John Edwards. Wallace seeks to overturn conventional clichés about Calvinism: that it was anti-mystical, that it allowed no scope for the ''''ancient theology'''' that characterized much of Renaissance learning, that its piety was harshly predestinarian, that it was uninterested in natural theology, and that it had been purged from the established church by the end of the seventeenth century. Shapers of English Calvinism, 1660-1714 illuminates the religious and intellectual history of the era between the Reformation and modernity, offering fascinating insight into the development of Calvinism and also into English Puritanism as it transitioned into Dissent.Trade ReviewWallace ably demonstrates the life and death of Calvinism amoung English divines as well as the organic links between conformity and non-conformity in the half century following 1662. * Adam Richardson, Churchman *a humane, wise and informative account * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *a meaty but pleasurable read * Lee Gatiss, Theology *Wallace oVers a highly readable account of the continuing resilience and influence of Calvinism in the second half of the seventeenth century ... it is very carefully written and definitely proves his point that Calvinism was far from intellectually and spirituality stagnant. * Michael Brydon, Journal of Theological Studies *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; CONCLUSION; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisReligious traditions provide the stories and rituals that define the core values of church members. Focusing on the innovations of several mainline Protestant churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, this title provides understandings of the transformation of spiritual traditions.Trade Review"This book is an important contribution to the study of innovation in religion from one of the rising stars in the sociology of American religion. It will challenge both scholars and church leaders who think megachurches are the answer to the problems faced by mainline denominations and those who think they are the problem." - William McKinney, president and professor of American religion, Pacific School of Religion"

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Book SynopsisIn the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holocaust and troubled by missionaries' complicity with colonial regimes, they redirected their energies back home. Renewal explores the rise and fall of this movement, which began as a simple effort to restore the church's standing but wound up as nothing less than an openhearted crusade to remake our nation's cities. These campaigns reached beyond church walls to build or lend a hand to scores of organizations fighting for welfare, social justice, and community empowerment among the increasingly non-white urban working class, dovetailing with the contemporaneous War on Poverty and black freedom movement. Renewal illuminates the overlooked story of how religious institutions both shaped, and were shaped by, postwar urban America.

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Book SynopsisTensions between Protestantism and Catholicism dominated politics in nineteenth-century Canada, occasionally erupting into violence. While some liberal politicians and community leaders believed that equal treatment of Protestants and Catholics would defuse these ancient quarrels, other Protestant liberals perceived a battle for the soul of the nation.Protestant Liberty offers a new interpretation of nineteenth-century liberalism by re-examining the role of religion in Canadian politics. While this era's liberal thought is often characterized as being neutral toward religion, James Forbes argues that the origins of Canadian liberalism were firmly rooted in the British tradition of Protestantism and were based on the premise of guarding against the advance of supposedly illiberal faiths, especially Catholicism. After the union of Upper Canada with predominantly French-Catholic Lower Canada in 1840, this Protestant ideal of liberty came into conflict with a more neutral aTrade Review“Protestant Liberty provides readers with new and interesting perspectives by taking seriously the adage that one cannot understand nineteenth-century British North American history, politics, and political ideology without understanding the fundamental role of religion in that world. Particularly unique is James Forbes’s examination of the Dissenting Protestant groups as a collective, looking across denominations to determine where sectarianism could be set aside for collective political action.” Robynne Rogers Healey, Trinity Western University and author of From Quaker to Upper Canadian: Faith and Community among Yonge Street Friends, 1801–1850

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Book SynopsisThis innovative book explores the role of evangelical religion in the conflict in Northern Ireland, including how it may contribute to a peaceful political transition. Ganiel offers an original perspective on the role of a 'strong' religion in conflict transformation, and the misunderstood role of evangelicalism in the process.Trade Review"This is a remarkable first book by an excellent young scholar. It recognizes the importance of religion to Northern Ireland's sectarian conflict, while not reducing it to a religious war. Above all, it sees religionas a site of reconciliation as much as contest. It is based on impressive empirical analysis that displaysthe qualities of her insider knowledge, deriving fromGaniel'sextensive period of fieldwork in the Northof Ireland and her own evangelical beliefs, but also her outsider status asa North American social scientist, which gives the volume enormous sensitivity as well as a sense of balance. Evangelicals are a key sector of Northern Irish Protestantism, perhaps the dominant theological position within the Reformed tradition there, and Ganiel documents the transitions that are occurring in evangelical identities in Northern Ireland. The arguments are optimistic for Northern Ireland's future and fully consistent with the country's latest political developments. Politics, theology and ethnographyelide in this volume in wonderfully fertile ways that make it a pleasure to read." - John D Brewer, Department of Sociology, University of Aberdeen "Ganiel presents the world of Northern Ireland's Evangelical communities in an engaging and convincing manner...The fact that Ganiel documents how these Evangelical communities transform in response to policies of the state underscores her larger critique of the modern secular vision of autonomous social spheres...Ganiel's book offers an important contribution to the theoretical categories in the anthropology of Evangelicism" - William Girard, Anthropology NewsTable of ContentsCivil Society, Religion and Conflict in Northern Ireland Religion in Transition Comparative Perspectives Evangelical Congregations and Identity Change Evangelicals and the Reframing of Political Projects

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