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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > General
In Jesuit Survival and Restoration leading scholars from around the
world discuss the most dramatic event in the Society of Jesus's
history. The order was suppressed by papal command in 1773 and for
the next forty-one years ex-Jesuits endeavoured to keep the
Ignatian spirit alive and worked towards the order's restoration.
When this goal was achieved in 1814 the Society entered one of its
most dynamic but troubled eras. The contributions in the volume
trace this story in a global perspective, looking at developments
in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
While Protestant Christians made up only a small percentage of
China's overall population during the Republican period, they were
heavily represented among the urban elite. Protestant influence was
exercised through churches, hospitals, and schools, and reached
beyond these institutions into organizations such as the YMCA
(Young Men's Christian Association) and YWCA (Young Women's
Christian Association). The YMCA's city associations drew their
membership from the urban elite and were especially influential
within the modern sectors of urban society. Chinese Protestant
leaders adapted the social message and practice of Christianity to
the conditions of the republican era. Key to this effort was their
belief that Christianity could save China - that is, that
Christianity could be more than a religion focused on saving
individuals, but could also save a people, a society, and a nation.
Saving the Nation recounts the history of the Protestant elite
beginning with their participation in social reform campaigns in
the early twentieth century, continuing through their contribution
to the resistance against Japanese imperialism, and ending with
Protestant support for a social revolution. The story Thomas Reilly
tells is one about the Chinese Protestant elite and the faith they
adopted and adapted, Social Christianity. But it is also a broader
story about the Chinese people and their struggle to strengthen and
renew their nation - to build a New China.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature
according to its kind." At the beginning of creation, Adam and Eve
were holy, undefiled by sin, and it was that "kind," that
consecrated state of mind, that God commanded be reproduced. Of all
His commands, it is this command that both lost and saved have
chosen to obey. The lost, who see no need of God or His church,
reproduce after their kind: Like father, like son. Then look at the
saved and you'll find his "kind" in fellowship with God and with
His church: "Like father, like son." (LL157) Jerry Blout's series
of devotional messages give guidance to face every practical bump
on the road of our journey here on Earth. I found that in some of
these lessons, Jerry's personal experiences modeled many of my own,
and the counsel coming from the Bible verses he cites made me feel
I was hearing directly from Jesus. I highly recommend these
messages of life lessons to those who desire spiritual growth.
Pastor Randall James, Immediate Past Chairman Southern Baptist
Convention's Executive Committee I have been reading your daily
devotional messages and have been blessed. I know that Adrian would
be honored that you took his thoughts and wrote devotionals from
them. May God bless many lives through this book of devotional
thoughts. Joyce (Mrs. Adrian) Rogers
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