Hymns, and the music the church sings, are tangible means of expressing worship. While worship is one of the central functions of the church (along with mission, service, education, justice, and compassion) and occupies a prime focus of our churches, a renewed sense of awareness to our theological presuppositions and cultural cues must be maintained to ensure a proper focus in worship. Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions is an introductory textbook in three volumes describing the most influential hymnists, liturgists, and musical movements of the church. This academically-grounded resource evaluates both the historical and theological perspectives of the major hymnists and composers that have impacted the church over the course of twenty centuries. Volume 3 engages nineteenth century hymnists to the contemporary movements of the twenty-first century. Each chapter contains five elements: historical background, theological perspectives communicated in their hymns/compositions, contribution to liturgy and worship, notable hymns, and bibliography. The missions of Hymns and Hymnody are to provide biographical data on influential hymn writers for students and interested laypeople, and to provide a theological analysis of what the cited composers have communicated in the theology of their hymns. It is vital for those involved in leading the worship of the church to recognize that what they communicate is in fact theology. This latter aspect is missing in accessible formats for the current literature.

ECPA Christian Book Award 2021 Finalist: Biography & Memoir Explore Apologetics through the Lives of History's Great Apologists The History of Apologetics follows the great apologists in the history of the church to understand how they approached the task of apologetics in their own cultural and theological context. Each chapter looks at the life of a well-known apologist from history, unpacks their methodology, and details how they approached the task of defending the faith. By better understanding how apologetics has been done, readers will be better able to grasp the contextualized nature of apologetics and apply those insights to today's context. The History of Apologetics covers forty-four apologists including: Part One: Patristic Apologists Justin Martyr by Gerald Bray Irenaeus of Lyons by Stephen O. Presley Athenagoras of Athens by W. Brian Shelton Tertullian of Carthage by Bryan M. Litfin Origen by A. Chadwick Thornhill Athanasius of Alexandria by Jonathan Morgan Augustine of Hippo by Chad Meister Part Two: Medieval Apologists John of Damascus by Daniel J. Janosik Theodore Abu Qurrah by Byard Bennett Timothy I of Baghdad by Edward L. Smither and Trevor Castor Anselm of Canterbury by Edward N. Martin and Steven B. Cowan Saint Thomas Aquinas by Francis J. Beckwith and Shawn Floyd Ramon Lull by Greg Peters Gregory Palamas by Byard Bennett Part Three: Early Modern Apologists Hugo Grotius by Bryan Baise Blaise Pascal by Tyler Dalton McNabb and Michael R. DeVito Jonathan Edwards by Michael McClymond William Paley by Charles Taliaferro Joseph Butler by David McNaughton Part Four: 19th C. Apologists Simon Greenleaf by Craig A. Parton John Henry Newman by Corneliu C. Simut Soren Kierkegaard by Sean A. Turchin and Christian Kettering James Orr by Ronnie Campbell B. B. Warfield by Kim Riddlebarger Part Five: 20th C. American Apologists J. Gresham Machen by D. G. Hart Cornelius Van Til by K. Scott Oliphint Gordon Haddon Clark by Robert A. Weathers Francis A. Schaeffer by William Edgar Edward John Carnell by Steven A. Hein Part Six: 20th C. European Apologists A. E. Taylor by Michael O. Obanla and David Baggett G. K. Chesterton by Ralph Wood Dorothy Sayers by Amy Orr-Ewing C. S. Lewis by Alister McGrath Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick Lesslie Newbigin by Krish Kandiah Part Seven: Contemporary Apologists John Warwick Montgomery by Craig A. Parton Charles Taylor by Bruce Riley Ashford and Matthew Ng Alvin Plantinga by James Beilby Richard Swinburne by Greg Welty William Lane Craig by R. Keith Loftin Gary R. Habermas by W. David Beck and Benjamin C. F. Shaw Alister E. McGrath by James K. Dew and Jordan Steffaniak Timothy Keller by Joshua D. Chatraw

This brief introduction to making effective arguments helps readers to understand the basics of sound reasoning and to learn how to use it to persuade others. Practical, inexpensive, and easy-to-read, the book enables students in a wide variety of courses to improve the clarity of their writing and public speaking. It equips readers to formulate firmly grounded, clearly articulated, and logically arranged arguments, avoid fallacious thinking, and discover how to reason well. This supplemental text is especially suitable for use in Christian colleges and seminaries and includes classroom discussion questions.