Striving to cover a broad geographical and chronological span, and to bring new material to light, this title aims to provide an overview of religious images and iconoclasm, starting with the consequences of the Byzantine image controversy and ending with the Eastern Orthodox churches of the nineteenth century. The author argues that the image question played a large role in the divisions within European Protestantism and was intricately connected with the Eucharist controversy. He analyzes the positions of the major Protestant reformers - Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Karlstadt - on the legitimacy of religious paintings and investigates iconoclasm both as a form of religious and political protest and as a complex set of mock-revolutionary rites and denigration rituals. The book also contains research on relations between Protestant iconoclasm and the extreme icon-worship of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and provides a brief discussion of Eastern protestantizing sects, especially in Russia.

In this book Sunggu Yang proposes five socio-ecclesial codes as unique faith fundamentals of Korean American Christianity. Drawing from rigorous research and years of ecclesial experience, Yang names the codes as follows: the Wilderness Pilgrimage code, the Diasporic Mission Code, the Confucian Egalitarian code, the Buddhist Shamanistic code, and the Pentecostal Liberation code. These five codes, he asserts, help Korean Americans sustain their lives, culture, faith, and evangelical mission as aliens or "pilgrims" in the American "wilderness." Yang outlines how his five proposed codes serve as liberative and prophetic mechanisms of faith through which Korean Americans can contribute to racial harmony and cultural diversity in North America. In this sense, Korean American Christianity-its theology and spirituality-works not only on behalf of Korean Americans, but also for the sake of all Americans. Yang shows how the Korean American pulpit is the locus where these five codes appear most vividly.

This volume is a unique interpretation of what Martin Luther contributes to renewed appreciation of Biblical diversity. The Church in the West is struggling. One reason behind this is that the prevailing models for Theology have imposed logical and modern ways of thinking about faith that renders theology academic, and therefore largely irrelevant for daily life. By letting the first Reformer speak for himself in this book, Mark Ellingsen shows how Martin Luther's theological approach can reform the Church's theology today. The real Luther-not the one taught by his various systematic interpreters-presents Christian faith in its entirety, with all its rough edges, in such a way as to direct on how and when to employ those dimensions of the Biblical witness most appropriate for the situation in which we find ourselves.

The Salvation Army is an integral part of the Christian Church, although distinctive in government and practice. The Army's doctrine follows the mainstream of Christian belief and its articles of faith emphasize God's saving purposes. Its objects are 'the advancement of the Christian religion... of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.' The Salvation Army was founded in London in 1865 by William Booth its first 'General' and has continued growing ever since. In 2015 it celebrated it 150th anniversary and today it has a presence in 127 countries. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of The Salvation Army contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on i leaders, personalities, events, facts, movements, and beliefs of The Salvation Army. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about The Salvation Army..

Scholars have associated Calvinism with print and literary cultures, with republican, liberal, and participatory political cultures, with cultures of violence and vandalism, enlightened cultures, cultures of social discipline, secular cultures, and with the emergence of capitalism. Reflecting on these arguments, the essays in this volume recognize that Reformed Protestantism did not develop as a uniform tradition but varied across space and time. The authors demonstrate that multiple iterations of Calvinism developed and impacted upon differing European communities that were experiencing social and cultural transition. They show how these different forms of Calvinism were shaped by their adherents and opponents, and by the divergent political and social contexts in which they were articulated and performed. Recognizing that Reformed Protestantism developed in a variety of cultural settings, this volume analyzes the ways in which it related to the multi-confessional cultural environment that prevailed in Europe after the Reformation.

As works designed for mothers to instruct their children within the home, early modern mother-directed catechisms, like traditional catechisms, use the question-and-answer format to present the basic tenets of the Protestant faith. But such catechisms differ from traditional ones in how they represent the mother-child relationship. Because catechisms discuss fine questions of theology, and because they present a non-contentious image of maternal authority, many literary critics and cultural historians have failed to explore their cultural significance, focusing instead upon secular, dramatic representations of motherhood in early modern plays and pamphlet accounts of murderous mothers. This collection demonstrates that these catechisms provide valuable insight into constructions of early modern maternity, and more broadly, into the degree of power and authority accorded to women in the early modern Protestant family. It includes nearly all of the extant catechisms the editor was able to locate which were designed expressly for mothers and published between 1550 and 1750.

The New England Milton concentrates on the poet's place in the writings of the Unitarians and the Transcendentalists, especially Emerson, Thoreau, William Ellery Channing, Jones Very, Margaret Fuller, and Theodore Parker, and demonstrates that his reception by both groups was a function of their response as members of the New England elite to older and broader sociopolitical tensions in Yankee culture as it underwent the process of modernization. For Milton and his writings (particularly Paradise Lost) were themselves early manifestations of the continuing crisis of authority that later afflicted the dominant class and professions in Boston; and so, the Unitarian Milton, like the Milton of Emerson's lectures or Thoreau's Walden, quite naturally became the vehicle for literary attempts by these authors to resolve the ideological contradictions they had inherited from the Puritan past.

The Scottish Reformation is often presumed to have had little economic impact. Traditionally, scholars maintained that Scotland's late medieval church gradually secularised its estates, and that the religious changes of 1560 barely disrupted an ongoing trend. In Riches and Reform Bess Rhodes challenges this assumption with a study of church finance in Scotland's religious capital of St Andrews, a place once regarded as the 'cheif and mother citie of the Realme'. Drawing on largely unpublished charters, rentals, and account books, Riches and Reform argues that in St Andrews the Reformation triggered a rapid, large-scale, and ultimately ruinous redistribution of ecclesiastical wealth. Communal assets built up over generations were suddenly dispersed through a combination of official policies, individual opportunism, and a crisis in local administration, leading the post-Reformation churches and city of St Andrews into 'poverte and decay'.

This book examines the struggle for Protestant consensus and unity through the work of John a Lasco (1499-1560). It is only in recent years that scholars have begun to recognize the importance of Lasco as one of the leading figures of the European Reformation, and a pivotal figure between Lutheran and Reformed theologians. The Polish reformer was among the most dynamic church organizers of the sixteenth century, dedicated to healing the divisions among evangelicals and searching for the key to Protestant unity in the example of the Apostolic Church. It was to this end that he published the Forma ac ratio in 1555, a work that recorded the rites and practices of the London Strangers' Church (of which he had been the first superintendent) and to provide a model for uniting the disparate Protestant communities on the Continent. Although some recent works have focused on aspects of Lasco's early career in Germany and England, this is the first book to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Forma ac ratio, and the reformer's reasons for writing it. This study also puts Lasco's distinct model for Protestant churches into the wider European context and assesses his impact on the struggle for unity through an examination of his correspondence, the reaction to his writings, and his influence on Protestant congregations across Europe.

In this pioneer study, Ion investigates the experience of the Canadians who were part of the Protestant missionary movement in the Japanese Empire. He sheds new light on the dramatic challenges faced by foreign missionaries and Japanese Christians alike in what was the watershed period in the religious history of twentieth-century East Asia.

"The Cross in the Dark Valley" delivers significant lessons for Christian and missionary movements in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe which even now have to contend with oppression from authoritarian regimes and with hostility.

This new book by A. Hamish Ion, written with objectivity and scholarly competence, will be of interest to all scholars of Japanese-Canadian relations and missionary studies as well as to general historians.

Marking the centennial anniversary of the first publication of Max Weber's "Protestant Ethic" essays, a group of internationally recognized Weber scholars review the significance of Weber's essays by addressing their original context, historical reception, and ongoing relevance. Lawrence Scaff, Hartmut Lehmann, Philip Gorski, Stephen Kalberg, Martin Riesebrodt, Donald Nielsen, Peter Kivisto, and the editors offer original perspectives that engage Weber's indelible work so as to inform current issues central to sociology, history, religious studies, political science, economics, and cultural studies. Available in several English translations, the Protestant Ethic is listed by the International Sociological Association among the top five "Books of the Century." The Protestant Ethic continues to be a standard assigned reading in undergraduate and graduate courses, spanning a variety of academic disciplines.

Pietism is a reform movement originating among German Lutherans in the 17th century. It focused on personal faith, reacting against Lutheran Church's emphasis on doctrine and theology over Christian living. The movement quickly expanded, exerting an enormous influence on various forms of Christianity, and became concerned with social and educational matters. Indeed, Piestists showed a strong interest in issues of social and ecclesial reform, the nature of history and historical inquiry, the shape and purpose of theology and theological education, the missional task of the church, and social justice and political engagement. Though, the movement remained largely misunderstood, especially in Anglo-American contexts: negative stereotypes depicted Pietism as a quietist and sectarian form of religion, merely concerned with the "pious soul and its God." The main proposal of the editors of this volume is to correct this misunderstanding: assembling a deep collection of essays written by scholars from a variety of fields, this work demonstrates that Piestism was a movement characterized by great depth and originality. Besides, they show the vitality and impulse of Pietism today and emphasize the ongoing relevance of the movement for contemporary problems and questions.

In The Letters of Mary Penry, Scott Paul Gordon provides unprecedented access to the intimate world of a Moravian single sister. This vast collection of letters-compiled, transcribed, and annotated by Gordon-introduces readers to an unmarried woman who worked, worshiped, and wrote about her experience living in Moravian religious communities at the time of the American Revolution and early republic. Penry, a Welsh immigrant and a convert to the Moravian faith, was well connected in both the international Moravian community and the state of Pennsylvania. She counted among her acquaintances Elizabeth Sandwith Drinker and Hannah Callender Sansom, two American women whose writings have also been preserved, in addition to members of some of the most prominent families in Philadelphia, such as the Shippens, the Franklins, and the Rushes. This collection brings together more than seventy of Penry's letters, few of which have been previously published. Gordon's introduction provides a useful context for understanding the letters and the unique woman who wrote them. This collection of Penry's letters broadens perspectives on early America and the eighteenth-century Moravian Church by providing a sustained look at the spiritual and social life of a single woman at a time when singleness was extraordinarily rare. It also makes an important contribution to the recovery of women's voices in early America, amplifying views on politics, religion, and social networks from a time when few women's perspectives on these subjects have been preserved.

The recent global expansion of Protestant Christianity, and the increase in multiparty democracies, has led to the multiplication of Protestant political parties. One cannot talk of Protestant parties today without mentioning countries as diverse as Norway, Latvia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Zambia and Nicaragua. Whilst the well-established parties of the Netherlands and Scandinavia have long been studied, Paul Freston's groundbreaking book is the first global survey of this phenomenon. After looking at the traditional Protestant heartlands of Europe and the English-speaking world, Freston traces the spread of the Protestant party model to post-communist countries, the Pacific, the Muslim world, southern Africa and Latin America. He examines the circumstances favouring such parties, and the political projects they represent. The conclusion analyses the diversity of Protestant parties due to different interpretations of Christian politics and varied contexts. This unique book will interest specialists and non-specialists, across disciplines and in many parts of the world.

How are cathedrals and churches understood? Are they shop windows, through which to gaze at the riches on offer within the Christian life? Are they flagships of the Spirit? Are they both sacred spaces and community utilities? 'Shop-window, flagship, common ground' views the rich ministry and innovative mission of cathedrals through the novel lens of metaphor; and it offers comparative insights on cathedrals and cathedral-like churches. Located in the emerging international field of cathedral studies, the book explores the usage and inferences of a range of metaphors, including 'shop-windows of the Church of England', 'flagships of the Spirit', 'beacons of the Christian faith', 'magnets', and 'sacred space, common ground'. This volume also shows how such metaphors can stimulate different types of research about the function of cathedral and church buildings. With a Foreword by Professor Grace Davie, the book suggests that cathedrals and cathedral-like churches may play a role within 'vicarious religion' theory. It will provide a thought-provoking critique for practitioners and a valuable contribution for scholars of cathedral studies, congregational studies and ecclesiology.

Henry Barrow and John Greenwood are the fathers of Elizabethan Separatism. Unlike Robert Browne, they refused to compromise their beliefs or conform to Anglicanism and as a consequence they died in 1593 - as martyrs for their steadfast adherence to the principles of English Congregationalism. surreptitiously printed books and very rare pamphlets and documents which allow evaluation of the teachings of the Separatists, in relation to the activities of the Elizabethan hierarchy, to the Puritans, to the Pilgrims in the Netherlands and the New World and to the Independents and Congregationalists. (16 of the pieces are by Barrow, 6 by Greenwood and 5 by both men, in addition to 13 related Barrowist items in the Appendix).

Johann von Staupitz is generally acknowledged as one of the most important influences on Martin Luther, convincing him of the sin-remitting grace of God. It was this revelation that was to spur Luther to formulate his theology of salvation by faith alone which was to lead to his break with the Catholic church. When Luther was brought to task by the church authorities for his heretical views it was Staupitz who was deputed to remonstrate with him, and it was Staupitz who sent a copy of his theses on indulgences to the Pope. Despite Luther's defection from Rome, he was to remain on good terms with the orthodox Staupitz who was consistently at the forefront of reformation within the Catholic Church. This book sheds light on the spiritual and theological beliefs of Staupitz, placing him in the midst of the late medieval reform efforts in the Augustianian order. It argues that as reformer, sermonizer, and friend of humanists Staupitz was a major player in the world of early sixteenth century theology who had a profound influence on the course of the Reformation.

Sebastian Castellio, linguist, humanist and religious reformer, is one of the most remarkable figures of the Reformation. Attracted by Calvin's reforms, Castellio moved to Geneva in the 1540s, where he wrote his influential work on educational reform. Ironically, it was Castellio's work as a scholar in Geneva, which was to lead to his falling out with Calvin, and ultimately his forced departure from Geneva and his resettlement in Basle. Exiled from Geneva, Castellio soon attracted a circle of like-minded reformers who opposed the intolerant attitude of Calvin, exemplified by the execution of the heretical Michael Servetus. It is Castellio's residence in Basle, where he developed his 'liberal' humanist approach to religious toleration in opposition to Calvin's dogmatic othodoxy, which forms the core of this study. It explores what toleration meant and how both sides argued their case. Much attention is paid to Castellio's most important work 'On Heretics', in which he argues against the execution of those who err in the faith. By telling the fascinating tale of Castellio's life, this work illuminates the furious debate which he unleashed and how it marked a crucial stage in the development of Protestant thought.

Over the first four decades of the Reformation, hundreds of songs written in popular styles and set to well-known tunes appeared across the German territories. These polemical songs included satires on the pope or on Martin Luther, ballads retelling historical events, translations of psalms and musical sermons. They ranged from ditties of one strophe to didactic Lieder of fifty or more. Luther wrote many such songs and this book contends that these songs, and the propagandist ballads they inspired, had a greater effect on the German people than Luther's writings or his sermons. Music was a major force of propaganda in the German Reformation. Rebecca Wagner Oettinger examines a wide selection of songs and the role they played in disseminating Luther's teachings to a largely non-literate population, while simultaneously spreading subversive criticism of Catholicism. These songs formed an intersection for several forces: the comfortable familiarity of popular music, historical theories on the power of music, the educational beliefs of sixteenth-century theologians and the need for sense of community and identity during troubled times. As Oettinger demonstrates, this music, while in itself simple, provides us with a new understanding of what most people in sixteenth-century Germany knew of the Reformation, how they acquired their knowledge and the ways in which they expressed their views about it. With full details of nearly 200 Lieder from this period provided in the second half of the book, Music as Propaganda in the German Reformation is both a valuable investigation of music as a political and religious agent and a useful resource for future research.

Drawing on the early correspondence of Martin Luther, Timothy Dost presents a reassessment of the degree to which humanism influenced the thinking of this key reformation figure. Studying letters written by Luther between 1507 and 1522, he explores the various ways Luther used humanism and humanist techniques in his writings and the effect of these influences on his developing religious beliefs. The letters used in this study, many of which have never before been translated into English, focus on Luther's thoughts, attitudes and application of humanism, uncovering the extent to which he used humanist devices to develop his understanding of the gospel. Although there have been other studies of Luther and humanism, few have been grounded in such a close philological examination of Luther's writings. Combining a sound knowledge of recent historiography with a detailed familiarity with Luther's correspondence, Dost provides a sophisticated contribution to the field of reformation studies.

Billy Graham's ministry is often described as a quintessentially American success story. However, by 1954, Billy Graham was bigger news in London than in Texas. Altar Call explores how Graham's encounters and perception in Europe shaped what was from the beginning on an international ministry. Graham was responsible for an unparalleled transformation of US evangelicalism in the second half of the twentieth century. He is also remembered as America's pastor-in-chief, having met with every US President since Harry S. Truman. But Graham's path to triumph was paved abroad. The revival meetings Graham held in London, Berlin, and New York in the 1950s provided lively fora for ministers, politicians, and ordinary Christians to imagine and experience the future of faith, the role of religion in the Cold War, and the intersections between faith and consumer culture in new ways. Graham challenged believers and religious leaders alike to re-position religion amidst the rise of consumerism, moral post-war regeneration, and cold-war tensions. At this confluence of anxieties and desires across the Atlantic, Graham's ministry revealed remarkably similar needs among the faithful and those yearning for renewal. It is the responses of Church leaders to this need, rather than inherent differences in religious sensitivities, that helps to explain the divergent paths to secularization between the US and its European allies, Germany and the UK.

The Waldenses, like the Franciscans, emerged from the apostolic movements within the Latin Church of the decades around 1200, but unlike the Franciscans they were driven underground. Not a full counter-Church, like the Cathar heretics, they formed a clandestine religious order, preaching to and hearing the confessions of their secret followers, and surviving until the Reformation. This volume begins by surveying modern historiography. Then, using both inquisition records from the Baltic to the Alps and the Waldenses' own books, the author deals with the asceticism of the Waldensian order, its practice of poverty and medicine, the culture of the Brothers and the preaching of the Waldensian Sisters, the way both used and mythicised history to support their position, and the composition of their followers. The final chapters examine their origins and authorship of the inquisitors' texts, and look through them to see how inquisitors viewed the Waldenses.