This study describes the diverse experiences and political opinions of the colonial Anglican clergy during the American Revolution. As an intercolonial study, it depicts regional variations, but also the full range of ministerial responses including loyalism, neutrality, and patriotism. Rhoden explores the extraordinary dilemmas which tested these members of the King's church, from the 1760s controversy over a proposed episcopate to the 1780s formation of the Episcopal Church, and thoroughly demonstrates the impact of the Revolution on their lives and their church.

This volume investigates Paul Tillich's relationship to Asian religions and locates Tillich in a global religious context. It appreciates Tillich's heritage within the western and eastern religious contexts and explores the possibility of global religious-cultural understanding through the dialogue of Tillich's thought and East-West religious-cultural matrix.

The Reformer John Calvin has influenced America in a formative way. Calvin remains respected as a theologian to whose work intellectuals on both the right and left appeal. In the nineteen-nineties, Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) formed a politically influential ecumenical coalition to oppose abortion and change the culture. Its ecumenism of the trenches influenced the administration of George W. Bush and continues to influence religious elements in the Tea Party. Evangelicals in the coalition presume to speak for Calvin. This book provides a counter argument. Calvin rejects the ethics advocated by ECT, an ethics of individual virtue, conscience and natural right. Instead, he affirms an ethics of obedience to the authority of secular government as an institution with a divinely ordained mandate. This work considers the following themes in Calvin: *Calvin on Faith. Modern and postmodern philosophical approaches, including Reformed epistemology, do not explain how Calvin understood faith. Faith is divine activity. Belief is human activity. Faith is not a belief system or worldview on which to base a political theology. The author provides four Augustinian theses about Calvin on faith *Calvin on Sanctification. Calvin rejected virtue ethics or an ethics of individual conscience. His ethics require self-denial and service. An important requirement of his ethics is obedience to government. The author provides three theses about Calvin on sanctification, as a critique of attempts to revive virtue ethics. *Calvin on Natural Law. Calvin's doctrine of natural law is one of the most vexed issues in Calvin studies. The author provides five theses to clarify Calvin's doctrine of natural law. For Calvin, secular government transcends the authority of conscience, and Christians in conscience are required to obey it. In conclusion, the author discusses Karl Barth's interpretation of Calvin and its relevance for the church struggle against the Third Reich. Based on his analysis of Calvin, he provides a defense of gay marriage and the right to terminate a pregnancy, as well as an analysis of religious freedom. Calvin would reject ECT's theology of virtue, conscience and natural law. But he would affirm its ecumenism as a possible path out of culture war.

This unique book aims to provide the first extended account of the intellectual history of aesthetic discourse among British and American evangelicals from the awakening of a modern aesthetic consciousness in the eighteenth century to the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the early twentieth century. Drawing on an extensive but largely forgotten body of periodical source materials, it seeks to map the evangelical aesthetic tradition's intellectual terrain, to highlight its connections to other philosophical discourses, and to assess some of its theological implications. In doing so, it challenges the still prevalent stereotype of evangelicalism as aesthetically 'impoverished' and devoid of serious reflection on the arts, offering instead a narrative sensitive to the historical complexities of evangelical approaches to aesthetic theory and criticism.

This is the first full-length detailed survey and critique of modern Jerome scholarship, covering the crucial period 1880-2014. At one level, the author ably argues that, despite Jerome's faults, his work holds many important insights into the Early Church's formation of Christian identity and Christian orthodoxy. On another level, by examining aspects of Jerome's writing through the lens of modern scholarship, the study also illumines the changing directions and perspectives of Jerome studies. As such, it is a valuable and unique account of the scholarly representation of Jerome's oeuvre. Christopher Knight's work will continue to have a respected place amongst Jerome studies for years to come. Content 1. Introduction 2. Jerome and Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church 3. Early Modern Jerome Scholarship: 1880-1965 4. Later Modern Jerome Scholarship: 1966-2012 5. Present Jerome Scholarship: 2013-2015 6. The Future of Jerome Studies 7. Conclusion

Puritanism has a reputation for being emotionally dry, but seventeenth-century Puritans did not only have rich and complex emotional lives, they also found meaning in and drew spiritual strength from emotion. From theology to lived experience and from joy to affliction, this volume surveys the wealth and depth of the Puritans' passions.

Pastor of Angelus Temple and the Dream Center, founder Matthew Barnett leads participants on a six-week learning experience to understand how simple it is to make a lasting impact on their world. It is not as daunting as we might think. World-changers start with a heart open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to do as he asks. Ideal for small groups, Bible studies, and church classes, this kit includes a copy of the book One Small Step, a DVD with an in-depth video for each session, and a participant's guide to help members hear the Holy Spirit's voice and obey his nudges. Also included are small step activities to participate in, throughout the study and beyond. Boldly embrace the life-changing adventure of becoming the hands and feet of Jesus to the people right outside your front door. You will soon discover that "random acts of kindness" are not so random after all.

Martin Luther was one of the most influential figures of the last millennium, with around 900 million people worldwide belonging to Protestant churches that can trace their origins back to the Reformation which he started five hundred years ago. His thinking and his writing were always original, fresh, controversial and provocative; evoking world-changing reactions in the sixteenth century that are still echoed today. This book offers an accessible path into Luther's mode of thought, by paying close attention to the way he approached a wide range of issues in his own century, and how some of that thinking might give us new ways to approach contemporary issues. Analysing his approach to topics such as sex, freedom, prayer, evil, pilgrimage and Bible translation, Tomlin's analysis vividly illustrates the mind of a man who was very much of his time, and yet whose ideas still speak creatively to the modern world and those who follow in his footsteps. Combining scholarly insight into some of the key issues surrounding the study of Luther today with a written style that renders it easily accessible to the academic and non-specialist alike, the result is an ideal guide for those wishing to get inside the mind of this most remarkable man.

The period 1928-1942 saw some of the greatest political and social upheavals in modern British history. Lang, as Archbishop of Canterbury, led the Church of England through this tumultuous period and was a pivotal influence in political and religious decision-making. In this book, Robert Beaken provides a new perspective on Lang, including his considerable relationship with the royal family. Beaken also shows how Lang proved to be a sensitive leader during wartime, opposing any demonisation of the enemy and showing compassion to conscientious objectors. Despite his central role at a time of flux, there has been little written on Lang since the original biography published in 1949, and history has not been kind to this intellectually gifted but emotionally complex man. Although Lang has often been seen as a fairly unsuccessful archbishop who was resistant to change, Beaken shows that he was, in fact, an effective leader of the Anglican community at a time when the Church of England was internally divided over issues surrounding the Revised Prayer Book and its position in an ever-changing world. Lang's reputation is therefore ripe for reassessment. Drawing on previously unseen material and first-hand interviews, Beaken tells the story of a fascinating and complex man, who was, he argues, Britain's first 'modern' Archbishop of Canterbury.

This book explores one of the great paradoxes of our era. Western culture has almost imperceptibly come to secularize the sacred, while at the same time sacralizing the secular. The authors endeavor to show the debilitating effects that this paradox has had on the foundations of Christian worship with special reference to the history of worship and in particular the Presbyterian Church in Australia. The authors show how the theological predilection for 'minimization' has become inextricably woven into the fabric of what we call 'the theory of transformative subjugation' which drives the rationale for religious secularization. The book argues that it is necessary to consider a serious reconstruction of theological education in which its framework is located in a specific Christian theory of knowledge which engenders the Lordship of Christ and encourages a spirit of transformative love and connectedness. It is only in this context that the theology of worship and the beauty and usefulness of liturgical forms can be appreciated.