Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious movement of our time. The unexpected birth of the modern-day Pentecostal movement at the doorsteps of the twentieth century is as perplexing as its continuing existence and unprecedented expansion worldwide. Once marginalized from public discourse, Pentecostals have entered into mainstream culture, religion, politics, academia, and social action. However, the unprecedented growth of Pentecostalism in all its diversity has led to characterizations ripe with platitudes, stereotypes, and misrepresentations. This Guide for the Perplexed sheds light on the most persistent contrasts characterizing the Pentecostal movement: the tension between local manifestations and global Pentecostalism, the inconsistency between spiritual discernment and charismatic excess, the gap between rampant denominationalism and the pursuit of Christian unity, the disparity between poverty among many Pentecostals and the popularity of the prosperity gospel, the division between Oneness Pentecostals and their trinitarian counterparts, and the worldview of Pentecostals beyond the confines of a religious movement. Those tensions form the essence of global Pentecostalism and represent the emergence of a global Christian world.

Virulent anti-Catholicism was a hallmark of New England society from the first Puritan settlements to the eve of the American Revolution and beyond. Thus America's tactical decision during the Revolution to form alliances with Catholics in Canada and France ignited an awkward debate. The paradox arising out of this partnership has been left virtually unexamined by previous historians of the Revolution.

In Necessary Virtue Charles P. Hanson explores the disruptive effects of the American Revolution on the religious culture of New England Protestantism. He examines the efforts of New Englanders to make sense of their own shifting ideas of Catholicism and anti-Catholicism and traces the "necessary virtue" of religious toleration to its origins in pragmatic cultural politics. To some patriots, abandoning traditional anti-Catholicism meant shedding an obsolete relic of the intolerant colonial past; others saw it as a temporary concession to be reversed as soon as possible. Their Tory opponents meanwhile assailed them all as hypocrites for making common cause with the "papists" they had so recently despised. What began as a Protestant crusade succeeded only with Catholic help and later culminated in the First Amendment's formal separation of church and state. The Catholic contribution to American independence was thus controversial from the start.

In this felicitously written and informative book, Hanson raises questions about difference, tolerance, and the role of religious belief in politics and government that help us see the American Revolution in a new light. Necessary Virtue is timely in pointing to the historical contingency and, perhaps, the fragility of the church-state separation that is very much a poltical and legal issue today.

From its inception the Christian Church thought of worship and prayer in Trinitarian terms. At the heart of this Trinitarian concept lay the doctrine of the priesthood of Christ, which in its liturgical expression, presented Christ not merely as the object of prayer, but also as its mediator - prayers were directed to the Father through Christ.;The author traces the idea of the priesthood of Christ, and its effects on Christian worship and prayer, to its origins with the earliest Christians and through the Arian and Apollinarian debates. He then focuses on the Reformed tradition, and the influences of John Calvin, John Knox, John Craig, John McLeod Campbell, William Milligan, Theodore Beza, William Perkins, federal theology and the Westminster tradition, through to the present day.;The book is a history of an important doctrine, but it also shows in a remarkable way how the doctrinal struggles within the church have been reflected in the actual worshipping life of the church and how they continue to be reflected today.;Redding concludes with a number of key affirmations for a reformed understanding of prayer and also a critique of some modern tendencies and practices in the church.

Journeying to Justice provides the very first comprehensive appraisal of the tumultuous journey towards equity and reconciliation amongst British and Jamaican Baptists across two centuries of Christian missionary work, in which slavery, colonialism and racism has loomed large. This ground-breaking text brings together scholars and practitioners, lay and ordained, peoples from a variety of culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds, all speaking to the enduring truth of the gospel of Christ as a means of effecting social, political and spiritual transformation. Journeying to Justice reminds us that the way of Christ is that of the cross and that grace is always costly and being a disciple demands commitment to God and to others with whom we walk this journey of faith. At a time when the resurgence of nationalism is threatening to polarise many nations this text reminds us that in Christ there is solidarity amongst all peoples.

The Anglican Communion is in turmoil. One of the great historic pillars of Christianity, embraced by 70 million people in 164 countries, faces the real and immediate possibility of dismberment, as the spectre of schism looms ever closer. Yet why is gay sexuality the tinderbox that could rip the Anglican Communion apart, and put an end to a century-old and hugely-prized international unity, when such contentious issues as the ordination of women, or unity discussions with other churches, failed to cause a split? In answering this question, Stephen Bates will show that unity has been coveted by some above integrity, and has been the cause of vicious infighting and internal politics. In the run-up to publication of A Church At War the author will be in the front line, as he files regular reports on the twists and turns of battle. His eagerly awaited book will be the only one to assess the current state and historical context of the row, the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonists' positions, and the tactics that they are employing to win the day. A Church At War promises compelling insights into a power struggle between factions seemingly united only by their mutual antipathy, and conducted, paradoxically, in the name of true communion.'

Korea has had a miraculous history of Christian church growth. But it came at a price of much suffering, death, persecution, and hardship. Korean Church history of modern times has been intertwined with American history, such as involving World War 2, and American church politics, such as the Fundamentalist Debate of early 1900s. In this biography of a key figure in Korean Church history, Rev. Sang-Dong Han (the founder of the Korean Presbyterian Church in Korea, Koshin, denomination), Rev. Koon Sik Shim, a personal friend of Rev. Sang-Dong Han and person who also experienced various stages of Korean history as "a living witness" recounts the life and work of Rev. Sang-Dong Han. This book is a "must have" for all those who are interested in Korean history and learning how it relates to American and world church history.