|
|
Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Protestantism & Protestant Churches > Calvinist, Reformed & Presbyterian Churches > General
Reveals a much neglected strand of puritan theology which
emphasised the importance of inner happiness and personal piety.
The traditional view of puritans is that they were killjoys -
serious, austere, gloomy people who closed theatres and abolished
Christmas. This book, based on extensive original research,
presents a different view. Focusing on both the writings of the
leading Independent divine, Ralph Venning, and also on his pastoral
work in the 1640s and 1650s when he was successively chaplain to
the Tower of London and vicar of St Olave's, Southwark, the book
revealsa much neglected strand of puritan theology. This emphasised
the importance of inner happiness and the development of a personal
piety which, the author argues, was similar in its nature to
medieval mysticism, not that differentfrom the piety promoted by
earlier metaphysical preachers, and not at all driven by the
predestinarian ideas usually associated with puritans, ideas liable
to induce a sense of helplessness and despair. In addition, the
book reassesses the role of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where
Venning was educated, in shaping puritan thought, discusses Max
Weber's ideas about puritanism and capitalism especially in
relation to recreation and leisure activities, and demonstrates
that Venning's strand of puritanism favoured toleration, moderation
and church unity to a much greater degree than is usually
associated with puritans. Stephen Bryn Roberts was awarded his
doctorate from theUniversity of Aberdeen and has been Adjunct
Lecturer in Early Modern Church History at International Christian
College, Glasgow since 2011.
 |
Evangelical Calvinism
(Hardcover)
Myk Habets, Bobby Grow; Foreword by Oliver D. Crisp
|
R1,727
R1,410
Discovery Miles 14 100
Save R317 (18%)
|
Ships in 18 - 22 working days
|
|
|
The translator has done a truly excellent job of putting Calvin's
work into a very readable English format. If you have ever wanted
to read Calvin, here is your chance. Frankly, one might compare the
study of Calvin to the opportunity to either sit with Christ on the
mount or later to hear Matthew retell the story. Why go to a
secondary source when Calvin is so easy to understand and so
readily available in this edition? These pages bring Calvin right
into your living room, where you learn the reformed faith first
hand. To sum it up: Pastor, student, or layman, if you don't have
this work in your study collection, such a collection is
incomplete. Complete enough to suit the demands of the scholar,
written so the average layman can understand, here is John Calvin.
This is a terrific tool in understanding our Reformed faith from
the very father of the reformation that led to the Presbyterian
Church.
In this book, Richard Mouw probes, from a Calvinist tradition, the
place of obedience to a divine command. He suggests that a
Calvinist perspective on moral theology can profit from an openness
to some contemporary developments, particularly narrativist ethics
and feminist thought.
Most biographers of Luther are faced with a choice-focus on
Luther's life or focus on his thought. The choice, though real, is
false. Luther's thought was inextricably bound up with his life. In
this short, engaging volume, Hans Schwarz succeeds in blending the
two-creating a volume that introduces Luther's thought in the
context of his life story. The book meets the need for a clear and
concise introduction to the life and teachings of the great church
reformer, Martin Luther. After a brief overview of his life, the
book devotes chapters to Luther's thoughts on key areas of the
Christian faith and life, including the knowledge of God, church
and sacraments, the Scriptures, marriage and parenthood, and
vocation. The author incorporates quotations from Luther's own
writings to show how Luther's insights have relevance for all
Christians today. With questions for reflection and discussion, the
book can be used as a study resource for individuals, church
groups, or college and seminary classes. For this revised edition,
Schwarz has thoroughly reviewed the text and added important new
sections on Luther and music, Luther and the economy, Luther and
the Jews, and more.
A comprehensive survey and analysis of the Presbyterian community
in its important formative period. The Presbyterian community in
Ulster was created by waves of immigration, massively reinforced in
the 1690s as Scots fled successive poor harvests and famine, and by
1700 Presbyterians formed the largest Protestant community in the
north of Ireland. This book is a comprehensive survey and analysis
of the Presbyterian community in this important formative period.
It shows how the Presbyterians formed a highly organised,
self-confident community which exercised a rigorous discipline over
its members and had a well-developed intellectual life. It
considers the various social groups within the community,
demonstrating how the always small aristocratic and gentry
component dwindled andwas virtually extinct by the 1730s, the
Presbyterians deriving their strength from the middling sorts -
clergy, doctors, lawyers, merchants, traders and, in particular,
successful farmers and those active in the rapidly growing linen
trades - and among the laborious poor. It discusses how
Presbyterians were part of the economically dynamic element of
Irish society; how they took the lead in the emigration movement to
the American colonies; and how they maintained links with Scotland
and related to other communities, in Ireland and elsewhere. Later
in the eighteenth century, the Presbyterian community went on to
form the backbone of the Republican, separatist movement. ROBERT
WHAN obtained his Ph.D. in History from Queen's University,
Belfast.
A great deal has been written about the influence of humanism on the Reformation. The present study reverses the question, asking: how did the Reformation affect humanism? Although it is true that humanism influenced the course of the Reformation, says Erika Rummel, the dynamics of the relationship are better described by saying that humanism was co-opted, perhaps even exploited, in the religious debate. Both Reformers and Catholic reactionaries took from humanism what was useful for the advancement of their cause and suppressed what was unsuited to their purpose.
The Augsburg Confession is the single most-important confession of
faith among Lutherans today. However, it is often taught either
from a historical perspective or from a dogmatic one. Yet the
context out of which it arose was far more practical and lively:
marked from the outset as confessions of faith in the face of
fierce opposition and threats. The original princely signers, while
clearly outlining the teaching of their churches, were also staking
their lives on the witness to the gospel that had been emanating
from Wittenberg since 1517, when Martin Luther first published his
Ninety-Five Theses. By situating both the history and the theology
of this document within the practice and life of faith, Timothy J.
Wengert shows just how relevant the Confession's witness is for
today's Lutheran parishes and their leaders by unlocking how its
articles can shape and strengthen the church's witness today.
The year 2009 marked Calvin's 500th birthday. This volume collects
papers initially written as the plenary addresses for the largest
international scholarly conference held in connection with this
anniversary, organized in Geneva by the Institute of Reformation
History. The organizers chose as theme for the conference ''Calvin
and His Influence 1509-2009, '' hoping to stimulate reflection
about what Calvin's ideas and example have meant across the five
centuries since his lifetime, as well as about how much validity
the classic interpretations that have linked his legacy to
fundamental features of modernity such as democracy, capitalism, or
science still retain. In brief, the story that emerges from the
book is as follows: In the generations immediately after Calvin's
death, he became an authority whose writings were widely cited by
leading ''Calvinist'' theologians, but he was in fact just one of
several Reformed theologians of his generation who were much
appreciated by these theologians. In the eighteenth century, his
writings began to be far less frequently cited. Even in Reformed
circles what was now most frequently recalled was his action during
the Servetus affair, so that he now started to be widely criticized
in those quarters of the Reformed tradition that were now attached
to the idea of toleration or the ideal of a free church. In the
nineteenth century, his theology was recovered again in a variety
of different contexts, while scholars established the monument to
his life and work that was the Opera Calvini and undertook major
studies of his life and times. Church movements now claimed the
label ''Calvinist'' for themselves with increasing insistence and
pride. (The term had largely been a derogatory label in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.) The movements that identified
themselves as Calvinist or were identified as such by
contemporaries nonetheless varied considerably in the manner in
which they drew upon and understood Calvin's thought. Calvin and
His Influence should become the starting point for further
scholarly reflection about the history of Calvinism, from its
origin to the present.
Although "God loves you" is a common paraphrase of Christian
teaching and preaching, a close reading of the Bible and attention
to the Christian tradition will reveal passages of Scripture and
Christian doctrines-- particularly John Calvin's doctrine of
predestination--that seem to undermine confidence in God's love for
all people. For many theologians, not only in the Reformed
tradition, the secret decree of Calvin's God to save some and
condemn others seems completely to undercut any assurance of
salvation and the ability to trust in and worship God. However,
pastor and scholar John Calvin confidently spoke of God as a loving
Father throughout his teaching and preaching. In Uncovering
Calvin's God, Forrest H. Buckner unearths Calvin's teaching about
the God of love who reigns sovereign over predestination. Drawing
upon sources from across Calvin's corpus, Buckner examines Calvin's
teaching on the knowledge of God and the doctrine of predestination
to provide a more robust and cohesive understanding of Calvin's
theology, which Buckner then confirms through an extensive
examination of Calvin's preaching in Geneva. He then offers a
critical comparison of Calvin's approach with the teaching of
Luther, Zwingli, Bullinger, Arminius, and Barth. Using Calvin's
system as a starting point, this book helps readers perceive the
essentials and trade-offs of any doctrine of predestination that
takes seriously both the Bible and the loving God revealed in Jesus
Christ.
Long overshadowed by Luther and Calvin, Philipp Melanchthon
(1497-1560) is one of the most important figures in the Protestant
Reformation and had profound effect on Western church history. This
book gives the most detailed English-language biographical
treatment of Melanchthon to date, moving from his historical
context and personal origins, through his childhood, education, and
early career at Wittenberg during the dramatic events at the dawn
of the Reformation (1497-1524). Establishing the deep geopolitical
and religious context of Melanchthon's early life, the volume then
follows Melanchthon to the great halls of humanist learning at
Heidelberg and Tubingen, where his studies and teaching career
began and his'faith was richly fostered. The pivotal moment comes
in his appointment to the chair of Greek in Wittenberg where
Melanchthon became a great ally and supporter of Martin Luther.
Melanchthon's role as key player in the advocacy for reform
expanded through his involvement in the Leipzig Disputation, his
visible representation of the evangelical cause in Wittenberg
during Luther's absence at Worms and the Wartburg, and his struggle
with the radical wing. The volume closes by looking ahead to
Melanchthon's contribution to the Augsburg Confession of 1530.
 |
The Pastor
(Paperback)
Eugene H. Peterson
1
|
R429
R406
Discovery Miles 4 060
Save R23 (5%)
|
Ships in 18 - 22 working days
|
|
|
In The Pastor, Eugene H. Peterson, the translator of the
multimillion-selling The Message and the author of more than thirty
books, offers his life story as one answer to the surprisingly
neglected question: What does it mean to be a pastor?
When Peterson was asked by his denomination to begin a new
church in Bel Air, Maryland, he surprised himself by saying yes.
And so was born Christ Our King Presbyterian Church. But Peterson
quickly learned that he was not exactly sure what a pastor should
do. He had met many ministers in his life, from his Pentecostal
upbringing in Montana to his seminary days in New York, and he
admired only a few. He knew that the job's demands would drown him
unless he figured out what the essence of the job really was. Thus
began a thirty-year journey into the heart of this uncommon
vocation--the pastorate.
The Pastor steers away from abstractions, offering instead a
beautiful rendering of a life tied to the physical world--the land,
the holy space, the people--shaping Peterson's pastoral vocation as
well as his faith. He takes on church marketing, mega pastors, and
the church's too-cozy relationship to American glitz and
consumerism to present a simple, faith-filled job description of
what being a pastor means today. In the end, Peterson discovered
that being a pastor boiled down to "paying attention and calling
attention to 'what is going on right now' between men and women,
with each other and with God." The Pastor is destined to become a
classic statement on the contemporary trials, joys, and meaning of
this ancient vocation.
 |
Matthew Henry
(Hardcover)
Jong Hun Joo; Foreword by Todd E. Johnson
|
R1,194
R997
Discovery Miles 9 970
Save R197 (16%)
|
Ships in 18 - 22 working days
|
|
|
This title includes essays and examples of theological commentary
on biblical passages from leading scholars in the field. This
volume will contain examples of theological commentary written by
systematic or biblical theologians who share deep concern for the
Reformed scripture principle. Within the guild of dogmatic theology
careful engagement with the biblical text and, furthermore, with
biblical theology and historical exegesis in a consistent and
faithful manner is a crying need of the hour. To spur on
theologians to biblically-shaped thinking and to encourage biblical
scholars to consider dogmatic implications of texts read within the
church's traditions, this volume will include essays on critical
passages related to a number of key doctrinal loci (e.g.,
Colossians 3 and deification, Exodus 3 and divine transcendence).
Contributors have been and will be solicited for their proven
ability to integrate biblical exegesis and dogmatic extrapolation.
Inevitably, chapters will vary in emphasis and according to the
talents and interests of their authors. Nevertheless, a continual
conversation between Bible, tradition, and constructive formulation
will mark each essay. This multi-author collection, then, will
combine strong thematic coherence with individual variety.
Randall C. Zachman places Calvin in conversation with theologians
such as Pascal, Kierkegaard, Ezra the Scribe, Julian of Norwich and
Karl Barth, and attends to themes in Calvin's theology which are
often overlooked. Zachman draws out Calvin's use of astronomy and
great concern to see ourselves in comparison to the immensity of
the universe, acknowledging in wonder and awe our nothingness
before God. Throughout, Zachman presents a Calvin who seeks a route
out of self-deception to self-knowledge, though Kierkegaard shows
that it is love, and not judgment, that most deeply reveals us to
ourselves. The book discusses Calvin's understanding of the
election of the Jews and their relationship to God, and further
reconsiders Calvin's understanding of judgment and how the call to
love our neighbour is undermined by the formation of alliances.
Originally published during the early part of the twentieth
century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were
designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of
topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and
combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on
accessibility. The English Puritans, written by John Brown and
first published in 1910, presents an historical overview of the
rise, growth and decline of the Puritan movement in England in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
|
You may like...
The Crux
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Hardcover
R741
Discovery Miles 7 410
So Big
Edna Ferber
Hardcover
R776
Discovery Miles 7 760
|