Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. The Reformation was a long struggle of ideas between the established Catholic Church and the questioning of faith brought about by the Renaissance in Western Europe. Started by Martin Luther in 1517, religious dissidence spread across Europe throughout the sixteenth century, causing wars, migration and disunity. By 1648 Henry VIII's desire for divorce led him to break with the Catholic Church in Rome and form the Church of England. The Reformation: History in an Hour is a clear and comprehensive look at this long and complex period of religious change. It explains the major causes of the Reformation and the differences between Protestants and Catholics. It will help you understand the significance of the Reformation in European history in just one hour. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour...

Invites readers to explore the implications of proclaiming the gospel. Gonzalez maintains that 'to be a congregation ready and able to proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind is to be the church in its exciting fullness.

Does the Church of Scotland have a future? Spirited views from those on the inside.

These minutes record the business conducted at the regular meetings of the Presbyterian ministers and elders who formed the leadership of the predominantly Ulser-Scots community in Antrim. They provide unparalleled insight into the concerns and pressures that helped to shape the identity and inform the practice of the communtity.

This volume of essays focuses on the thought of John Gill, the doyen of High Calvinism in the transatlantic Baptist community of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Among the topics covered are Gill's trinitarian theology, his soteriological views, his Baptist ecclesiology, and his use of Scripture. Other papers are more focused, examining, for instance, his clash with the Arminian Methodist leader John Wesley over the issues of predestination and election, a clash that decisively shaped Wesley's perspective on Calvinism.
The tercentennial of Gill's birth in 1997 is a fitting occasion to issue this study of a man whose systematic theology and exposition of the Old and New Testaments formed the mainstay of many eighteenth-century Baptist ministers' libraries and who has never been the subject of a major critical study.

Seit 1980 leiten Frauen reformierte Kirchen der Schweiz, selbstverstandlich und von der Basis unterstutzt. Der vorliegende Band enthalt Beitrage zur Fuhrungsrolle von Frauen aus einem neuen Blickwinkel: Esther Girsberger und Karin Ammann befragen die ersten Frauen in kirchlichen Spitzenpositionen: Was ist ihnen wichtig, warum haben sie Erfolg? Weiter wird gezeigt, dass fur die Fuhrungsrolle von Frauen neben der geschichtlichen Entwicklung der Schweizer Kirchen auch die typisch reformierte Spiritualitat wichtig ist, die ein anderes Verstandnis von religioser Fuhrung begrundet. Einer vergleichende Studie ist zu entnehmen, dass - anders als in den reformierten Kirchen der Schweiz - Frauen in kirchlichen Spitzenpositionen weltweit noch sehr selten anzutreffen sind. Mit Beitragen von Claudia Bandixen, Hella Hoppe, Doris Brodbeck, Ina Praetorius, Sabine Scheuter, Judith Stofer, Luzia Sutter Rehmann, Anne Waldner. Frank Worbs, Jahrgang 1957, ist Theologe und Leiter Kommunikation und Marketing der Evangelisch-reformierten Landeskirche Aargau. Claudia Bandixen ist Kirchenratsprasidentin der Reformierten Landeskirche Aargau und Initiantin der Tagung der Kirchenprasidentinnen 2005 auf dem Rugel.

A study of the rise and decline of puritanism in England and New England that focuses on the role of godly men and women. It explores the role of family devotions, lay conferences, prophesying and other means by which the laity influenced puritan belief and practice, and the efforts of the clergy to reduce lay power in the seventeenth century.

This study examines the influence of John Calvin in ethics eschatology and education, as well as those influences that affected him. It examines his writings to determine if his vision made him an innovator. The research searched for reforms in the areas of ethics, curriculum, understanding of the teaching office, and universal education. It also looked at philosophy, economics, and labor. A belief in the after life and end times was an ethical motivation for Calvin and education was a means by which the people that he worked with and wrote to could understand how they should live and why they should live like that. Thus, there is an important connection among ethics, eschatology and education. All people were to work to their potential at their job because in doing their job they would honor God. Teachers were especially important. Those who taught would affect the quality of education. Calvin worked to provide teacher training and support. He believed that all occupations could be a special calling from God and education was a means to prepare the young person for his or her calling. Schools existed in Geneva before Calvin arrived in 1536; however, they did not function in the way that Calvin would have liked. Calvin provided the elementary students with a needed text when he prepared a catechism. The students had written material that they could read and study and a systematic presentation of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. Calvin also wanted more appropriate facilities in which the students could learn. Although his organization of the schools improved the atmosphere for learning, the building of the Academy was his dream and became his major educational achievement in the city of Geneva. Because16th century students needed to be prepared for the new world, there was a need for curriculum change. The students were required to read many of the prominent Greek and Roman authors in the ancient languages but the student learned theology, Hebrew, poetry, dialectic and rhetoric, physics, and mathematics as well. Calvin wished to graduate a well rounded scholar who could take his or her place in society. In this way the citizens of Geneva and all those of the Reformed belief would be better prepared for life on earth and the after life.

The book explores the lives of the church's foot soldiers, its ministers, and examines the pressures that reduce some of them almost to despair. The book offers insights into many of the "Kirk problems" that go unnoticed by Church members and examines the church as a living and breathing organization and brings to life the people who make it tick and those who induce its sclerosis.

English summary: This volume collects contributions to a lecture series at the Theological Faculty of the University of Bern, held on occasion of the 500-year anniversary of John Calvin in 2009. The 12 contributions introduce selected topics from the life and works of the Genevan reformer and critically demonstrate his relevance in theological, social, and political matters. German text. German description: Johannes Calvin - wie konnen wir diese profilierte und umstrittene Gestalt des 16. Jahrhunderts heute noch verstehen? Welches Licht fallt aus dem 21. Jahrhundert auf sein Leben und Wirken? Und fallt moglicherweise auch ein Licht aus seiner Zeit in unser Leben und Wirken? Diesen Fragen ging eine Ringvorlesung der Theologischen Fakultat Bern zum Calvin-Jubilaum 2009 nach. 12 Beitrage fuhren an ausgewahlten Themen in Leben und Wirken des Genfer Reformators ein und zeigen kritisch seine Relevanz fur theologische, gesellschaftliche und politische Fragen auf. Mit Beitragen von Maurice Baumann, Mariano Delgado, Isabelle Grassle, J. Christine Janowski, Hans Rudolf Lavater-Briner, Wolfgang Lienemann, Christine Lienemann-Perrin, Andreas Marti, Moises Mayordomo, Martin Sallmann, Heinrich Richard Schmidt, Andreas Wagner. Martin Sallmann, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1963, ist ausserordentlicher Professor fur Neuere Kirchen- und Theologiegeschichte und Konfessionskunde an der Universitat Bern. Moises Mayordomo, Dr. theol. habil., Jahrgang 1966, ist Dozent fur Neues Testament und Antike Religionsgeschichte an der Universitat Bern. Hans Rudolf Lavater-Briner, Dr. theol. h. c., Jahrgang 1946, ist emeritierter Ethiklehrer am Gymnasium Neue Mittelschule Bern.

This book investigates the Mission of the Reformed Church in America sent to Arabia in 1889 to preach the Gospel, and which operated in the Persian Gulf until 1973. It also explores the various cultural encounters between missionaries and Muslims, and discusses conversion and the place of Islam in the Protestant eschatology. It maintains that John G. Lansing from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Jersey, who founded the Arabian Mission, deliberately dedicated the Mission to "direct Muslim evangelism". In terms of premillennialism, Lansing "moved" Islam into the very centre of the theological discourse, and presented the evangelization of Muslims as critical for Christ's Second Coming. This made the Arabian Mission unique among the American Protestant Missions, and placed the Church and missionaries between religious pluralism and the obligations of the Great Commission.

Let us Reason Together: Christians and Jews in Conversation addresses the theological understanding of the relationship that God intends between Christians and Jews. You will learn to welcome the differences between faiths and appreciate the how it affects the God we know and worship.

A detailed account of social and religious life among urban Highlanders, based on records of Aberdeen's Gaelic Chapel.

Irish Presbyterians and the Shaping of Western Pennsylvania, 1770-1830 is a historical study examining the religious culture of Irish immigrants in the early years of America. Despite fractious relations among competing sects, many immigrants shared a vision of a renewed Ireland in which their versions of Presbyterianism could flourish free from the domination of landlords and established church. In the process, they created the institutional foundations for western Pennsylvanian Presbyterian churches. Rural Presbyterian Irish church elders emphasized community and ethnoreligious group solidarity in supervising congregants' morality. Improved transportation and the greater reach of the market eliminated near-subsistence local economies and hastened the demise of religious traditions brought from Ireland. Gilmore contends that ritual and daily religious practice, as understood and carried out by migrant generations, were abandoned or altered by American-born generations in the context of major economic change.

Presbyterianism was not only the largest and most influential Protestant denomination in the Maritimes during much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but also one of the largest and most influential Protestant denominations in Canada. While the important role of religion in shaping the history and culture of Canada has gained recognition in recent years, the Reformed, or Presbyterian, faith has generally not fared as well as other denominations in terms of serious historical study. This interdisciplinary collection of essays redresses the situation by examining the development of Presbyterianism in the Maritimes from its roots in Scotland to Church Union in 1925. Contributors from a variety of disciplines provide fresh and fascinating explorations of the significance of Presbyterianism in such areas as education, literature, social influence, and missionary outreach.

Stanford Lehmberg, a noted authority on the Tudor period, examines the impact of the Reformation on the cathedrals of England and Wales. Based largely on manuscript materials from the cathedral archives themselves, this book is the first attempt to draw together information for all twenty-nine of the cathedrals that existed in the Tudor period. The author scrutinizes the major changes that took place during this era in the institutional structure, personnel, endowments, liturgy, and music of the cathedral and shows how the cathedrals, unlike the monasteries that were dissolved by Henry VIII, succeeded in adapting successfully to the Reformation. Forty-two illustrations depict sixteenth-century changes in cathedral buildings. Narrative chapters trace the changes that occurred during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, "Bloody" Mary, and Elizabeth I. Analytical sections are devoted to cathedral finance and cathedral music. The changing lives of cathedral musicians are described in some detail, and even greater attention is paid to the cathedral clergy, whose living conditions changed markedly when they were allowed to marry. Using a variety of sources, including such physical remains as tombs and monuments, the concluding chapter discusses the role of cathedrals in English society. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Calvin's eucharistic doctrine has been approached in the past from the standpoint of his polemic with the Lutherans and the Zwinglians, but Father McDonnell believes that Calvin's primary position was determined by his rejection of Roman Catholicism. The author, therefore, explores Calvin's eucharistic doctrine through a comprehensive analysis of his stand against the Roman Catholic Church. Introductory chapters are devoted to the broader currents of pre-Reformation thought: Scotist tradition, devotiomoderna, humanism, and the Platonic renewal. The study continues with a discussion of St. Augustine, the medieval disputants, and the doctrines of Calvin's contemporaries-Luther, Bucer, and Melanchthon. The final chapter considers the relevancy of Calvin's objections to Catholic eucharistic doctrine and their relation to modern developments in Catholic sacramental thought. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Examining the relationship between Hooker's activities and his writings, Frank Shuffelton considers his role in the crises of early New England politics and religion. The author analyzes Hooker's works and shows that as preacher and pastor, theologian and architect of the Puritan religious community, Thomas Hooker voiced concerns that remained important throughout American history. The analysis of Hooker's career is especially valuable for the information it provides concerning his close involvement with the major issues of the day: the conflict between Roger Williams and the Bay Colony; the antinomian controversy; the political and religious striving of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and the forming of a truly American community. The author distinguishes several phases in Hooker's activities that correspond to his cultural and geographical milieu at different times. He discusses Hooker's education, first pastoral experience, and career. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Although John Calvin often likened sacramental confession to butchery, the Council of Trent declared that for those who approached it worthily, it was made easy by its "great benefits and consolations." Thomas Tentler describes and evaluates the effectiveness of sacramental confession as a functioning institution designed "to cause guilt as well as cure guilt," seeing it in its proper place as a part of the social fabric of the Middle Ages. The author examines the institution of confession in practice as well as in theory, providing an analysis of a practical literature whose authors wanted to explain as clearly as they safely could what confessors and penitents had to believe, do, feel, say, and intend, if sacramental confession were to forgive sins. In so doing he recreates the mentality and experience that the Reformers attacked and the Counter-Reformers defended. Central to his thesis is the contention that Luther, Calvin, and the Fathers of Trent regarded religious institutions as the solution to certain social and psychological problems, and that an awareness of this attitude is important for an assessment of the significance of confession in late medieval and Reformation Europe. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.