'Send Back the Money!' is a thorough and gripping examination of a fascinating and forgotten aspect of Scottish and American relations and Church history. A seminal period of Abolition activity is exposed by Iain Whyte through a study of the fiery 'Send back the Money!' campaign named after 'the hue and cry of the day' that encapsulated the argument that divided families, communities, and the Free Church itself. This examination of the Free Church's involvement with American Presbyterianism in the nineteenth century reveals the ethical furore caused by a Church wishing to emancipate itself from the religious and civil domination supported by the established religion of the state. The Free Church therefore found an affinity with those oppressed elsewhere, but subsequently found itself financially supported by the Southern slave states of America. Whyte sensitively handles this inherent contradiction in the political, ecclesiastical, and theological institutions, while informing the reader of the roles of charismatic characters such as Robert Burns, Thomas Chalmers and Frederick Douglass. These key individuals shaped contemporary culture with action, great oratory, and rhetoric. The author adroitly draws parallels from the twentieth century onwards, bringing the reader to a fuller understanding of the historic and topical issues within global Christianity, and the contentious topic of slavery. 'Send back the Money!' throws light upon nineteenth-century culture, British and American Abolitionists, and ecclesiastical politics, and is written in a clear and engaging style.

In Calvin's Political Theology and the Public Engagement of the Church, Matthew J. Tuininga explores a little appreciated dimension of John Calvin's political thought, his two kingdoms theology, as a model for constructive Christian participation in liberal society. Widely misunderstood as a proto-political culture warrior, due in part to his often misinterpreted role in controversies over predestination and the heretic Servetus, Calvin articulated a thoughtful approach to public life rooted in his understanding of the gospel and its teaching concerning the kingdom of God. He staked his ministry in Geneva on his commitment to keeping the church distinct from the state, abandoning simplistic approaches that placed one above the other, while rejecting the temptations of sectarianism or separatism. This revealing analysis of Calvin's vision offers timely guidance for Christians seeking a mode of faithful, respectful public engagement in democratic, pluralistic communities today.

Lincolnshire, 1537. Amid England's religious turmoil, fifteen-year-old Anne Askew is forced to take her dead sister's place in an arranged marriage. The witty, well-educated gentleman's daughter is determined to free herself from her abusive husband, harsh in-laws, and the cruel strictures of her married life. But this is the England of Henry VIII, where religion and politics are dangerously entangled. A young woman of Anne's fierce independence, Reformist faith, uncanny command of plainspoken scripture, and-not least-connections to Queen Katheryn Parr's court cannot long escape official notice, or censure. In a deft blend of history and imagination, award-winning novelist Rilla Askew brings to life a young woman who defied the conventions of her time, ultimately braving torture and the fire of martyrdom for her convictions. A rich evocation of Reformation England, from the fenlands of Lincolnshire to the teeming religious underground of London to the court of Henry VIII, this gripping tale of defiance is as pertinent today as it was in the sixteenth century. While skillfully portraying a significant historical figure-one of the first female writers known to have composed in the English language-Prize for the Fire renders the inner life of Anne Askew with a depth and immediacy that transcend time.

Edward Hendrie uses God's word to strip the sheep's clothing from false Christian ministers and expose them as ravening wolves preaching an anti-gospel. The anti-gospel is based on a myth that all men have a will that is free from the bondage of sin to choose whether to believe in Jesus. The Holy Bible, however, states that all men are spiritually dead and cannot believe in Jesus unless they are born again of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:1-7; John 3:3-8. God has chosen his elect to be saved by his grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3-9; 2:8-10. God imbues his elect with the faith needed to believe in Jesus. Hebrews 12:2; John 1:12-13. The devil's false gospel contradicts the word of God and reverses the order of things. Under the anti-gospel, instead of a sovereign God choosing his elect, sovereign man decides whether to choose God. The calling of the Lord Jesus Christ is effectual; all who are chosen for salvation will believe in Jesus. John 6:37-44. The anti-gospel has a false Jesus, who only offers the possibility of salvation, with no assurance. The anti-gospel blasphemously makes God out to be a liar by denying the total depravity of man and the sovereign election of God. All who preach that false gospel are under a curse from God. Galatians 1:6-9.

This biography offers an in-depth look at R. C. Sproul's life and ministry, detailing his contributions to the trajectory of the Reformed tradition and his influence on American evangelicalism.

"It would be difficult to mention any single work in which the glorious plan of man's redemption is more fully and clearly exhibited, than in Dr. Bates' Harmony Of The Divine Attributes. The writer recollects with pleasure and gratitude, that when he was first led to attend with interest to theological subjects, this work fell into his hands, and was read with profit and delight; and now, after the lapse of forty years, he has again perused it with unmingled approbation; and he can scarcely conceive of any better method of exhibiting the doctrines of the gospel, than that which is here pursued." - Archibald Alexander

John Murray said of him, "Dr. Vos is, in my judgment, the most penetrating exegete it has been my privilege to know, and I believe, the most incisive exegete that has appeared in the English-speaking world in this century." The uniqueness of Vos's emphasis on the centrality of the covenantal work of Jesus Christ in history and our possession of that work through His mediation draws us back time and again to his powerful and passionate sermons. Translated to the realm of glory itself through the proclamation of the accomplished work of our covenant Lord, and by the gift of His Spirit, we partake of unparalleled communion with God and possess Him as our highest treasure presently in Christ as our covenant God. Short of the consummation we have made His glory and joy in His people our chief end in this pilgrim life.

Bringing immigrants onstage as central players in the drama of rural
capitalist transformation, Anne Kelly Knowles traces a community of
Welsh immigrants to Jackson and Gallia counties in southern Ohio. After
reconstructing the gradual process of community-building, Knowles
focuses on the pivotal moment when the immigrants became involved with
the industrialization of their new region as workers and investors in
Welsh-owned charcoal iron companies. Setting the southern Ohio Welsh in
the context of Welsh immigration as a whole from 1795 to 1850, Knowles
explores how these strict Calvinists responded to the moral dilemmas
posed by leaving their native land and experiencing economic success in
the United States.
Knowles draws on a wide variety of sources, including obituaries and
community histories, to reconstruct the personal histories of over 1,700
immigrants. The resulting account will find appreciative readers not
only among historical geographers, but also among American economic
historians and historians of religion.

John Calvin was born on 10 July 1509. Five hundred years later, the ideas of this French theologian continue to influence churches all around the world, and Western culture in general. He has also been a victim of caricature and misunderstanding, even within his own lifetime. The contributors to this stimulating volume, linked with the 2009 Moore College School of Theology, are united by the conviction that Calvin needs to be heard afresh, understood first on his own terms and then drawn on as a theological resource for Christian life and thought today. The essays explore selected aspects of Calvin's contribution and encourage us to read Calvin for ourselves and to engage with him as he speaks about the knowledge of God the Creator and Redeemer, whom he served with a singular devotion, cannot but mean that we will have our vision of God expanded and our love for him inflamed. The contributors are Peter Adam, Michael Jensen, Paul Helm, Robert Doyle, Mark Thompson, Oliver Crisp, David HAhne, Martin Foord, John McClean, Andrew Cameron, Peter Jensen and Colin Bale.

In partnership with the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, Baker Academic is proud to offer in English for the very first time all four volumes of Herman Bavinck's complete "Reformed Dogmatics." This masterwork will appeal not only to scholars, students, pastors, and laity interested in Reformed theology but also to research and theological libraries.

Calvin's 1559 Institutes is one of the most important works of theology that emerged at a pivotal time in Europe's history. As a movement, Calvinism has often been linked to the emerging features of modernity, especially to capitalism, rationalism, disenchantment, and the formation of the modern sovereign state. In this book, Michelle Sanchez argues that a closer reading of the 1559 Institutes recalls some of the tensions that marked Calvinism's emergence among refugees, and ultimately opens new ways to understand the more complex ethical and political legacy of Calvinism. In conversation with theorists of practice and signification, she advocates for reading the Institutes as a pedagogical text that places the reader in the world as the domain in which to actively pursue the 'knowledge of God and ourselves' through participatory uses of divine revelation. Through this lens, she reconceives Calvin's understanding of sovereignty and how it works in relation to the embodied reader. Sanchez also critically examines Calvin's teaching on providence and the incarnation in conversation with theorists of political theology and modernity who emphasize the importance of those very doctrines.

A revealing new portrait of John Calvin that captures his human complexity and the sixteenth-century world in which he fought his personal and theological battles During the glory days of the French Renaissance, young John Calvin (1509-1564) experienced a profound conversion to the faith of the Reformation. For the rest of his days he lived out the implications of that transformation-as exile, inspired reformer, and ultimately the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin's vision of the Christian religion has inspired many volumes of analysis, but this engaging biography examines a remarkable life. Bruce Gordon presents Calvin as a human being, a man at once brilliant, arrogant, charismatic, unforgiving, generous, and shrewd. The book explores with particular insight Calvin's self-conscious view of himself as prophet and apostle for his age and his struggle to tame a sense of his own superiority, perceived by others as arrogance. Gordon looks at Calvin's character, his maturing vision of God and humanity, his personal tragedies and failures, his extensive relationships with others, and the context within which he wrote and taught. What emerges is a man who devoted himself to the Church, inspiring and transforming the lives of others, especially those who suffered persecution for their religious beliefs.

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards offers a state-of-the-art summary of scholarship on Edwards by a diverse, international, and interdisciplinary group of Edwards scholars, many of whom serve as global leaders in the burgeoning world of research and writing on 'America's theologian'. As an early modern clerical polymath, Edwards is of interest to historians, theologians, and literary scholars. He is also an interlocutor for contemporary clergy and philosophical theologians. All such readers-and many more-will find here an authoritative overview of Edwards' life, ministry, and writings, as well as a representative sampling of cutting-edge scholarship on Edwards from across several disciplines. The volume falls into four sections, which reflect the diversity of Edwards studies today. The first section turns to the historical Edwards and grounds him in his period and the relevant contexts that shaped his life and work. The second section balances the historical reconstruction of Edwards as a theological and philosophical thinker with explorations of his usefulness for constructive theology and the church today. In part three, the focus shifts to the different ways and contexts in which Edwards attempted to realize his ideas and ideals in his personal life, scholarship, and ministry, but also to the ways in which these historical realities stood in tension with, limited, or resisted his aspirations. The final section looks at Edwards' widening renown and influence as well as diverse appropriations. This Handbook serves as an authoritative guide for readers overwhelmed by the enormity of the multi-lingual world of Edwards studies. It will bring readers up to speed on the most important work being done and then serve them as a benchmark in the field of Edwards scholarship for decades to come.

A lay-friendly introduction to Presbyterian beliefs, practices, and history. Helps readers grasp what it means to be a (conservative) Presbyterian in a postmodern age.

Nathaniel Gray Sutanto offers a fresh reading of Herman Bavinck's theological epistemology, and argues that his Trinitarian and organic worldview utilizes an extensive range of sources. Sutanto unfolds Bavinck's understanding of what he considered to be the two most important aspects of epistemology: the character of the sciences and the correspondence between subjects and objects. Writing at the heels of the European debates in the 19th and 20th century concerning theology's place in the academy, and rooted in historic Christian teachings, Sutanto demonstrates how Bavinck's argument remains fresh and provocative. This volume explores archival material and peripheral works translated for the first time in English. The author re-reads several key concepts, ranging from Organicism to the Absolute, and relates Bavinck's work to Thomas Aquinas, Eduard von Hartmann, and other thinkers. Sutanto applies this reading to current debates on the relationship between theology and philosophy, nature and grace, and the nature of knowing; and in doing so provides students and scholars with fresh methods of considering Orthodox and modern forms of thought, and their connection with each other.

Award-winning essayist Lance Morrow writes about the partnership of God and Mammon in the New World-about the ways in which Americans have made money and lost money, and about how they have thought and obsessed about this peculiarly American subject. Fascinated by the tracings of theology in the ways of American money Morrow sees a reconciliation of God and Mammon in the working out of the American Dream. This sharp-eyed essay reflects upon American money in a series of individual life stories, including his own. Morrow writes about what he calls "the emotions of money," which he follows from the catastrophe of the Great Depression to the era of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Donald Trump. He considers money's dual character-functioning both as a hard, substantial reality and as a highly subjective force and shape-shifter, a sort of dream. Is money the root of all evil? Or is it the source of much good? Americans have struggled with the problem of how to square the country's money and power with its aspiration to virtue. Morrow pursues these themes as they unfold in the lives of Americans both famous and obscure: Here is Thomas Jefferson, the luminous Founder who died broke, his fortune in ruin, his estate and slaves at Monticello to be sold to pay his debts. Here are the Brown brothers of Providence, Rhode Island, members of the family that founded Brown University. John Brown was in the slave trade, while his brother Moses was an ardent abolitionist. With race in America a powerful subtheme throughout the book, Morrow considers Booker T. Washington, who, with a cunning that sometimes went unappreciated among his own people, recognized money as the key to full American citizenship. God and Mammon is a masterly weaving of America's money myths, from the nation's beginnings to the present.