This volume offers a comprehensive intellectual and experiential introduction to Christian spirituality. It embraces spiritual traditions from the Patristic period to the present day. Part I, "The Roots of Contemporary Western Spirituality," covers spiritual types that have been fundamental in shaping spiritual practice. Part II, "Distinctive Spiritual Traditions," offers major introductory essays on spiritual traditions formed by such notable figures as Luther, Wesley, Ignatius, and John ...

Over 200 ,000 copies sold!Have 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, and choirs? This ground-breaking book, now in affordable softcover, makes an unsettling proposal: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is rooted, not in the New Testament, but in pagan cult...

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers". Spurgeon was to 19th century England what D. L Moody was to America. Although Spurgeon never attended theological school, by the age of twenty-one he was the most popular preacher in London. A strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church i...

It's the end of Christianity as we know it. But it's not a catastrophe-it's an opportunity.Thousands are walking away from the church. Christians are grappling with their faith. And both believers and nonbelievers wondering-what's coming next?Fearless and provocative, spiritual trailblazer Christian Piatt offers a roadmap to the future of faith with an unflinching examination of the church today.What's left? Pairing the best "virtue...

This book is a history of Christianity from its earliest beginnings to the end of the twentieth century. The book provides students with an introduction to the many persons, places, movements, and events necessary for the telling of our story, the story of the Church. This history of Christianity is told in its essentials, simply and straightforwardly for students with little or no experience in the academic study of religion. It is a story told within the complex contexts of larger world ...

Did Paul ever meet Jesus and hear him teach? A century ago, a curious assortment of scholars - William Ramsay, Johannes Weiss, and James Hope Moulton - thought that he had. Since then, their idea has virtually disappeared from New Testament scholarship, to be revived in this monograph. When Paul Met Jesus is an exercise in both biblical exegesis and intellectual history. After examining the positive arguments raised, it considers the negative influence of Ferdinand Christian Baur, William ...

Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing Christian movement, particularly outside Europe, and Allan Heaton Anderson is one of the foremost scholars of this phenomenon. His innovative interpretation of Pentecostalism focuses on the serious contribution made by both western and Majority World participants in its development. In this second edition of his leading introductory course book, Anderson presents an updated global history of the movement, which addresses significant events and ...

This volume presents the composite character of the Cistercian Order in its unity and diversity, detailing the white monks' history from the Middle Ages to the present day. It charts the geographical spread of the Order from Burgundy to the peripheries of medieval Europe, examining key topics such as convents, liturgy, art, agriculture, spiritual life and education, providing an insight into Bernard of Clairvaux's life, work and sense of self, as well as the lives of other key Cistercian f...

The position of English monarchs as supreme governors of the Church of England profoundly affected early modern politics and religion. This innovative book explores how tensions in church-state relations created by Henry VIII's Reformation continued to influence relationships between the crown, Parliament and common law during the Restoration, a distinct phase in England's 'long Reformation'. Debates about the powers of kings and parliaments, the treatment of Dissenters and emerging concep...

Be inspired by stirring true accounts of famous missionaries! During the 19th century, many courageous and faithful missionaries were traveling to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel. They braved innumerable dangers, toils, and tragedies. Originally published in 1912, each chapter within this volume is devoted to ). missionary and provides a biography, as well as stories of their time in the field.Meet over 20 inspiring individuals of faithDiscover their call...

Essays by the distinguished historian of southern religion Wayne Flynt, that illuminate the often overlooked complexity among southern Protestants.Throughout its dramatic history, the American South has wrestled with issues such as poverty, social change, labor reform, civil rights, and party politics, and Flynt’s writing reaffirms religion as the lens through which southerners understand and attempt to answer these contentious questions. In Southern R...

As the twentieth century opened, American intellectuals grew increasingly sympathetic to Pragmatism and empirical methods in the social sciences. The Progressive program as a whole—in the form of Pragmatism, education, modern sociology, and nationalism—seemed to be in agreement on one thing: everything was in flux. The dogma and "absolute truth" of the Church were archaisms, unsuited to modern American citizenship and at odds with the new public philosophy being forged by such intellectual...