In Lutheran Germany of the post-Reformation era (ca. 1580-1750), a genre of pastoral, ethical writings arose that consisted in casuistry and in topically or thematically related theological counsels. In this first volume of the new Refo500 series Mayes shows that this casuistry literature was intended to instruct and comfort the consciences of Christians. Lutheran casuistry, related to but also distinct from Roman Catholic and Reformed counterparts, arose especially as pastors looked within Holy Scripture, the medieval tradition, and the writings of Martin Luther and other Lutheran authorities for answers to ethical problems and doctrinal disputes, and then catalogued their findings. As an extensive example from this genre Mayes examines the Thesaurus Consiliorum Et Decisionum, published in 1671 by Georg Dedekenn and Johann Ernst Gerhard. This Thesaurus was an anthology of wise advice from Lutheran theologians and jurists, published to encourage readers to avoid individualistic ethical choices and instead to engage in an aristocratic process of moral decision making in which one would consult the wise men of the past and present. The counsels included in the Thesaurus address inter-confessional disputes, intra-Lutheran disputes, sacraments, church government, pastoral ministry, social ethics, marriage, sexual ethics, and many other topics. The topics of divorce and remarriage, especially, show the different ways in which Lutherans reasoned about moral matters. The author shows that in the Thesaurus the Lutheran casuistry literature, which has been overlooked in most scholarship of the 20th and 21st centuries, was in bloom. It arose to meet the needs of people who had doubts, and it continued to instruct and console Christian consciences for many generations.

An invaluable landmark and an inspiration to all Christians, Boston's Park Street Church has led the way in missions, education, and evangelism and has had an enduring impact on the life of this nation. In this fascinating book, gifted historian Garth Rosell tells the amazing two-hundred year story of one of America's most famous churches. Peppered with illustrations and photographs, this chronicle turns a fresh eye on the church's storied past and the exceptional people who have helped it thrive for two centuries.

" This] is at once a wonderful read and more than a record of the church's two hundred years of faithful ministry--it is required reading for all who ask, 'What will ensure that my church will be faithful to our Lord in the years that are to come?'"--Walter C. Kaiser Jr., President Emeritus, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"Rosell's study of this Boston landmark sharpens our understanding . . . and it will inspire future generations to keep alive the church's rich legacy."--Dana L. Robert, Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission, Boston University School of Theology

"This important book is no typical congregational history. Garth Rosell has given us an exciting and inspiring story of a historic center of vital ministry that has had--and is still having --a profound impact on the hearts and minds of people around the world who are serving the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ."--Richard J. Mouw, President and Professor of Christian Philosophy, Fuller Theological Seminary

LIVRE ILLUSTRE: Ce livre contenant les recits bibliques sur le ministere de Jesus est specialement concu pour les enfants. Il est illustre . Les illustrations, meme pour les adultes, laissent une image permanente dans les pensees des lecteurs ainsi bien dans celles des ecouteurs. Il y a de celles qui sont en couleurs et d'autres naturelles. J'ai voulu produire un instrument educationnel pour que ceux qui vont lire ce livre puissent assimiler ces recits tant par les textes que par les images. Les messages ainsi inculques pourraient marquer leur vie a jamais. La lecture de bons livres, surtout dans notre societe actuelle a la tendance de remplir le vide laisse par l'absence des parents dans la formation tant intellectuelle que civique, culturelle, morale et religieuse des enfants a nos jours. Les salons sociaux abba comme on les avait connus dans la societe Bantu ont disparu depuis l'incertion des ecoles. Les tables a manger, les maisons-cuisines africaines avec des places assises et les lits, les grandes cours des villages ou les enfants passaient le temps sous le clair de lune pour dancer ou entendre les recits racontes et entonnes des chants par la grand-mere, etaient des instruments de transmission de valeurs culturelles de la societe. Mais aujourd'hui, tout cela a disparu. Nos enfants et grands enfants grandissent sous le guide de la television, des medias, et des influences etrangeres qui denaturent totalement notre societe africaine. Comme il est impossible de faire un retour aux anciens instruments de transmission de valeurs, utilisons les moyens modernes pour faire une difference positive dans la vie de ceux qui formrnt notre futur tant social que religieux. C'est donc dans ce contexte que j'ai ecrit ce livre qui couvre la vie de Jesus et son ministere allant des propheties de sa venue a la solide implantation de son Eglise sur terre. La Bible est la base de tout que j'ai ecrit, mais le plus souvent en mes propres termes afin de faciliter la comprehension. Il y a 29 chapitres illustres et chacun contient au moins 7 recits. Tous les recits ne sont pas illustres. Mais j'ai voulu inclure au moins trois a quatre photos dans chaque chapitre. Un autre merite de ce livre est qu'il est simple au point de donner un sens profond des conceptes fondamentaux de la foi chretienne sans pour autant utiliser les lourds termes. Un enfant qui a assimile les connaissances de ce livre aura une bonne comprehension de ce qu'est notre foi en Jesus Christ. Que ce livre soit le bienvenu parmi ceux qui prendront notre releve dans cette societe et surtout, ceux qui sont l'Eglise chretienne de demain en Afrique et dans le monde. Le 23 Mai 2014

Volume 3 of The Annotated Luther series presents five key writings that focus on Martin Luther's understanding of the gospel as it relates to church, sacraments, and worship. Included in the volume are: The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520); The German Mass and Order of the Liturgy (1526); That These Words of Christ,"This is my Body," etc., Still Stand Firm Against the Fanatics (1527); Concerning Rebaptism (1528), and On the Councils and the Church (1539).Luther refused to tolerate a church built on human works, whether it was the pope's authority or the faith or decision of individual believers. This is the thread that runs through all the texts in this volume: the church and sacraments belong to Christ, who founded and instituted them. Each volume in The Annotated Luther series contains new introductions, as well as annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther's context and interpret his writings for today. The translations of Luther's writings include updates of Luther's Works American Edition, or entirely new translations of Luther's German or Latin writings.

If God knows human actions in advance, do humans really have freedom of choice? Throughout the centuries various solutions have been offered as to how to retain or reconcile both the concepts of divine omniscience and human freedom. One solution focuses on the idea of middle knowledge. This theory originates with the Spanish Jesuit Luis de Molina, was contested by Reformed theologians such as Herman Bavinck, and makes a remarkable comeback among present-day analytical philosophers such as William Lane Craig. Apart from a wealth of philosophical considerations, the appeal to biblical texts also plays an important role in the work on middle knowledge by each of these thinkers. The book examines their writings and investigates how contemporary biblical scholars interpret the biblical texts used by them. The author elaborates a creative proposal as to how these gained insights apply to the theory of middle knowledge and what this means for our overall evaluation of this theory.

Faith and Slavery in the Presbyterian Diaspora considers how, in areas as diverse as the New Hebrides, Scotland, the United States, and East Central Africa, men's and women's shared Presbyterian faith conditioned their interpretations of and interactions with the institution of chattel slavery. The chapters highlight how Presbyterians' reactions to slavery -which ranged from abolitionism, to indifference, to support-reflected their considered application of the principles of the Reformed Tradition to the institution. Consequently, this collection reveals how the particular ways in which Presbyterians framed the Reformed Tradition made slavery an especially problematic and fraught issue for adherents to the faith. Faith and Slavery, by situating slavery at the nexus of Presbyterian theology and practice, offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between religion and slavery. It reverses the all too common assumption that religion primarily served to buttress existing views on slavery, by illustrating how groups' and individuals reactions to slavery emerged from their understanding of the Presbyterian faith. The collection's geographic reach-encompassing the experiences of people from Europe, Africa, America, and the Pacific-filtered through the lens of Presbyterianism also highlights the global dimensions of slavery and the debates surrounding it. The institution and the challenges it presented, Faith and Slavery stresses, reflected less the peculiar conditions of a particular place and time, than the broader human condition as people attempt to understand and shape their world.

The Reformer John Calvin has influenced America in a formative way. Calvin remains respected as a theologian to whose work intellectuals on both the right and left appeal. In the nineteen-nineties, Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) formed a politically influential ecumenical coalition to oppose abortion and change the culture. Its ecumenism of the trenches influenced the administration of George W. Bush and continues to influence religious elements in the Tea Party. Evangelicals in the coalition presume to speak for Calvin. This book provides a counter argument. Calvin rejects the ethics advocated by ECT, an ethics of individual virtue, conscience and natural right. Instead, he affirms an ethics of obedience to the authority of secular government as an institution with a divinely ordained mandate. This work considers the following themes in Calvin: *Calvin on Faith. Modern and postmodern philosophical approaches, including Reformed epistemology, do not explain how Calvin understood faith. Faith is divine activity. Belief is human activity. Faith is not a belief system or worldview on which to base a political theology. The author provides four Augustinian theses about Calvin on faith *Calvin on Sanctification. Calvin rejected virtue ethics or an ethics of individual conscience. His ethics require self-denial and service. An important requirement of his ethics is obedience to government. The author provides three theses about Calvin on sanctification, as a critique of attempts to revive virtue ethics. *Calvin on Natural Law. Calvin's doctrine of natural law is one of the most vexed issues in Calvin studies. The author provides five theses to clarify Calvin's doctrine of natural law. For Calvin, secular government transcends the authority of conscience, and Christians in conscience are required to obey it. In conclusion, the author discusses Karl Barth's interpretation of Calvin and its relevance for the church struggle against the Third Reich. Based on his analysis of Calvin, he provides a defense of gay marriage and the right to terminate a pregnancy, as well as an analysis of religious freedom. Calvin would reject ECT's theology of virtue, conscience and natural law. But he would affirm its ecumenism as a possible path out of culture war.

John Owen was a leading theologian in 17th-century England. As vice-chancellor of Oxford University, he was a man of immense intellectual and cultural significance. Through his association with Oliver Cromwell in particular, he exercised considerable influence on central government, and became the premier religious statesman of the Interregnum. The restoration of the monarchy pushed Owen into dissent, criminalizing his religious practice and inspiring his writings in defense of high Calvinism and religious toleration. But Owen transcended his many experiences of defeat, and his claims to quietism were frequently undermined by rumors of his involvement in anti-government conspiracies. Crawford Gribben's biography documents Owen's interactions with the intellectual and print cultures of his social, political and religious environments; its narrative is structured around Owen's own publications. In contrast to the current scholarly consensus, this book emphasizes Owen's importance as a controversial theologian deeply involved with his social and political environment. Far from personifying the Reformed tradition, he helped to undermine it, offering an individualist account of Christian faith which downplayed the significance of the Church's means of grace. His work contributed to the formation of the new religious movement known as evangelicalism, where his influence still can be seen today.