Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

For Christians, the Bible is a book inspired by God. Its eternal words are transmitted across the world by fallible human hands. Following Jesus’s departing instruction to go out into the world, the Bible has been a book in motion from its very beginnings, and every community it has encountered has read, heard, and seen the Bible through its own language and culture. 
 
In The Bible, Bruce Gordon tells the astounding story of the Bible’s journey around the globe and across more than two thousand years, showing how it has shaped and been shaped by changing beliefs and believers’ radically different needs. The Bible has been a tool for violence and oppression, and it has expressed hopes for liberation. God speaks with one voice, but the people who receive it are scattered and divided—found in desert monasteries and Chinese house churches, in Byzantine cathedrals and Guatemalan villages.
 
Breathtakingly global in scope, The Bible tells the story of this sacred book through the stories of its many and diverse human encounters, revealing not a static text but a living, dynamic cultural force.

Following Zwingli explores history, scholarship, and memory in Reformation Zurich. The humanist culture of this city was shaped by a remarkable sodality of scholars, many of whom had been associated with Erasmus. In creating a new Christian order, Zwingli and his colleagues sought biblical, historical, literary, and political models to shape and defend their radical reforms. After Zwingli's sudden death, the next generation was committed to the institutional and intellectual establishment of the Reformation through ongoing dialogue with the past. The essays of this volume examine the immediacy of antiquity, early Christianity, and the Middle Ages for the Zurich reformers. Their reading and appropriation of history was no mere rhetorical exercise or polemical defence. The Bible, theology, church institutions, pedagogy, and humanist scholarship were the lifeblood of the Reformation. But their appropriation depended on the interplay of past ideals with the pressing demands of a sixteenth-century reform movement troubled by internal dissention and constantly under attack. This book focuses on Zwingli's successors and on their interpretations of the recent and distant past: the choices they made, and why. How those pasts spoke to the present and how they were heard tell us a great deal not only about the distinctive nature of Zurich and Zwinglianism, but also about locality, history, and religious change in the European Reformation.

The Swiss Reformation was a seminal event of the sixteenth century which created a Protestant culture whose influence spread across Europe from Transylvania to Scotland. Offers the first comprehensive study of the Swiss Reformation and argues that the movement must be understood in terms of the historical evolution of the Swiss Confederation, its unique and fluid structures, the legacy of the mercenary trade, the distinctive character of Swiss theology, the powerful influence of Renaissance humanism, and, most decisively, the roles played by the dominant figures, Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger. Marked by astounding creative energy, incendiary preaching, burning political passions, peasant revolts, and breath-taking scholarship, as well as by painful divisions, civil war, executions and dashed hopes, the story of the Swiss Reformation is told with extensive use of primary sources. Explores the narrative of events before turning to consider themes such as the radical opposition, church and community, daily life in the Confederation, cultural achievements and the Swiss place in the wider European Reformation world. -- .

A major new biography of Huldrych Zwingli-the warrior preacher who shaped the early Reformation Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) was the most significant early reformer after Martin Luther. As the architect of the Reformation in Switzerland, he created the Reformed tradition later inherited by John Calvin. His movement ultimately became a global religion. A visionary of a new society, Zwingli was also a divisive and fiercely radical figure. Bruce Gordon presents a fresh interpretation of the early Reformation and the key role played by Zwingli. A charismatic preacher and politician, Zwingli transformed church and society in Zurich and inspired supporters throughout Europe. Yet, Gordon shows, he was seen as an agitator and heretic by many and his bellicose, unyielding efforts to realize his vision would prove his undoing. Unable to control the movement he had launched, Zwingli died on the battlefield fighting his Catholic opponents.

Sebastian Castellio, linguist, humanist and religious reformer, is one of the most remarkable figures of the Reformation. Attracted by Calvin's reforms, Castellio moved to Geneva in the 1540s, where he wrote his influential work on educational reform. Ironically, it was Castellio's work as a scholar in Geneva, which was to lead to his falling out with Calvin, and ultimately his forced departure from Geneva and his resettlement in Basle. Exiled from Geneva, Castellio soon attracted a circle of like-minded reformers who opposed the intolerant attitude of Calvin, exemplified by the execution of the heretical Michael Servetus. It is Castellio's residence in Basle, where he developed his 'liberal' humanist approach to religious toleration in opposition to Calvin's dogmatic othodoxy, which forms the core of this study. It explores what toleration meant and how both sides argued their case. Much attention is paid to Castellio's most important work 'On Heretics', in which he argues against the execution of those who err in the faith. By telling the fascinating tale of Castellio's life, this work illuminates the furious debate which he unleashed and how it marked a crucial stage in the development of Protestant thought.

Although much has been published on the social history of death, this is the first book to give a comprehensive account of attitudes toward the dead--above all the "placing" of the dead, in physical, spiritual and social terms--in order to reveal the social and religious outlook of past societies. The contributions range widely geographically, from Scotland to Transylvania, and address a spectrum of themes: attitudes toward the corpse, patterns of burial, forms of commemoration, the treatment of dead infants, the nature of the afterlife, and ghosts.

A revealing new portrait of John Calvin that captures his human complexity and the sixteenth-century world in which he fought his personal and theological battles During the glory days of the French Renaissance, young John Calvin (1509-1564) experienced a profound conversion to the faith of the Reformation. For the rest of his days he lived out the implications of that transformation-as exile, inspired reformer, and ultimately the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin's vision of the Christian religion has inspired many volumes of analysis, but this engaging biography examines a remarkable life. Bruce Gordon presents Calvin as a human being, a man at once brilliant, arrogant, charismatic, unforgiving, generous, and shrewd. The book explores with particular insight Calvin's self-conscious view of himself as prophet and apostle for his age and his struggle to tame a sense of his own superiority, perceived by others as arrogance. Gordon looks at Calvin's character, his maturing vision of God and humanity, his personal tragedies and failures, his extensive relationships with others, and the context within which he wrote and taught. What emerges is a man who devoted himself to the Church, inspiring and transforming the lives of others, especially those who suffered persecution for their religious beliefs.

The Oxford Handbook of Calvin and Calvinism offers a comprehensive assessment of John Calvin and the tradition of Calvinism as it evolved from the sixteenth century to today. Featuring contributions from scholars who present the latest research on a pluriform religious movement that became a global faith. The volume focuses on key aspects of Calvin's thought and its diverse reception in Europe, the transatlantic world, Africa, South America, and Asia. Calvin's theology was from the beginning open to a wide range of interpretations and was never a static body of ideas and practices. Over the course of his life his thought evolved and deepened while retaining unresolved tensions and questions that created a legacy that was constantly evolving in different cultural contexts. Calvinism itself is an elusive term, bringing together Christian communities that claim a shared heritage but often possess radically distinct characters. The Handbook reveals fascinating patterns of continuity and change to demonstrate how the movement claimed the name of the Genevan reformer but was moulded by an extraordinary range of religious, intellectual and historical influences, from the Enlightenment and Darwinism to indigenous African beliefs and postmodernism. In its global contexts, Calvinism has been continuously reimagined and reinterpreted. This collection throws new light on the highly dynamic and fluid nature of a deeply influential form of Christianity.

Although much has been published on the social history of death, this is the first book to give a comprehensive account of attitudes toward the dead--above all the "placing" of the dead, in physical, spiritual and social terms--in order to reveal the social and religious outlook of past societies. The contributions range widely geographically, from Scotland to Transylvania, and address a spectrum of themes: attitudes toward the corpse, patterns of burial, forms of commemoration, the treatment of dead infants, the nature of the afterlife, and ghosts.

John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is a defining book of the Reformation and a pillar of Protestant theology. First published in Latin in 1536 and in Calvin's native French in 1541, the Institutes argues for the majesty of God and for justification by faith alone. The book decisively shaped Calvinism as a major religious and intellectual force in Europe and throughout the world. Here, Bruce Gordon provides an essential biography of Calvin's influential and enduring theological masterpiece, tracing the diverse ways it has been read and interpreted from Calvin's time to today. Gordon explores the origins and character of the Institutes, looking closely at its theological and historical roots, and explaining how it evolved through numerous editions to become a complete summary of Reformation doctrine. He shows how the development of the book reflected the evolving thought of Calvin, who instilled in the work a restlessness that reflected his understanding of the Christian life as a journey to God. Following Calvin's death in 1564, the Institutes continued to be reprinted, reedited, and reworked through the centuries. Gordon describes how it has been used in radically different ways, such as in South Africa, where it was invoked both to defend and attack the horror of apartheid. He examines its vexed relationship with the historical Calvin--a figure both revered and despised--and charts its robust and contentious reception history, taking readers from the Puritans and Voltaire to YouTube, the novels of Marilynne Robinson, and to China and Africa, where the Institutes continues to find new audiences today.

SCRAMBLE In a couple of minutes my wingman and I would be airborne on another adventure. Sometimes we intercepted an airliner, sometimes a misplaced B-52 bomber, and sometimes Russian bombers probing our defenses; Russian warships; MIG fighters; or troops in contact in Vietnam, calling for napalm only yards from their positions. Twice it was UFOs - Unidentified Flying Objects This book is a series of short stories, supported by more than 90 photographs. The first part has my own stories; later stories were contributed by my fellow pilots. The last story is from WW II of our P-38 fighters attacking the Romanian oil fields and getting badly mauled by defending Romanian fighters - and a Romanian pilot's view of the battle Only the spirit of attack borne in a brave heart will bring success to any fighter aircraft, to matter how highly developed the aircraft may be. That quote from Adolf Galland, an Ace of the German Luftwaffe in WW II, was the motto of our 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Alaska. The fighter pilot is a hunter, and his quarry is the most dangerous in the world - men who want to kill him The best defense is a good offense - ATTACK The US Air Force had a program called Every Man a Tiger. A tiger does not kill impulsively or in anger, but plans his attack carefully and strikes with cool ferocity. We were tigers Fighter pilots tell stories around the bar, but they seldom write them down. These stories were written by the fighter pilots themselves Come with me and hear of the beauty of flight, the mortal danger of electrical power failure at night in a snowstorm, and the thrill of attack with 20mm cannons firing right under your feet

Who was Jacob Latomus? What did he write in the series of lectures to which Luther penned an answer in 1521, an answer which is now so central to many interpretations of the great reformer? And how is the reading of that answer affected when it is preceded by an interpretation of what Latomus wrote? The study goes through the most important parts of Latomus' treatise against Luther (1521). The aim is to identify Latomus' theological convictions and thus to pin down who and what Luther was up against. The second and major part of the book is a reading of Luther's pamphlet against Latomus (1521). Parallels are drawn with Latomus' theology in order to facilitate as much as possible an appreciation of the differences between the two.The comparison between the two theologians shows that they speak completely different languages and that their viewpoints do not square at all. Basically their ways depart in their understanding of God's word and how it is communicated to man. This generates two ways of perceiving the matter of theology, and of speaking theologically -- and prevents mutual understanding. Latomus cannot understand Luther's view of the autonomy of God's word and the special character of proclamation, and hence a theology which is incompatible with natural reason. Even though he accepts a division between a natural and a supernatural rationality, and thus admits that natural reason has a limit, he grants the very same natural reason an important role in the ascent of cognition towards revelation. Everything else - such as Luther's theology - is a dehumanisation of the human being. Luther, on the other hand, regards Latomus' theology as a result of the impulse in sinful man towards ruling and controlling the word of God with his own inadequate natural abilities. In Luther's eyes that proclamation of Christ, which in the shape of a human being comes to man in contradiction of everything human, here disappears in the twinkling of an eye.

Vordenker der Moderne wie Thomas Hobbes, Baruch de Spinoza, James Harrington, Christian Thomasius und viele mehr griffen in ihren politischen Lehren oft auf das Modell des alten judischen Gemeinwesens zuruck. Entscheidend beeinflusste sie dabei ein Schrifttum (politia-judaica-Literatur), das in der zweiten Halfte des 16. Jahrhunderts entstand und Moses Gesetze als politisches Vorbild darstellte. Markus M. Totzeck legt die erste vollstandige Untersuchung zur Entstehung dieser Literatur vor. Die antiken ausserbiblischen Mose-Traditionen bilden den Hintergrund seiner Arbeit. Diese Traditionen waren in der Fruhen Neuzeit zum ersten Mal als Druckausgaben erschienen und hatten sich im Renaissance-Humanismus mit Konzeptionen einer uralten Theologie und Weisheit (prisca theologia bzw. prisca sapientia) des Mose verbunden. Totzeck stellt heraus, wie Debatten uber die politische Relevanz der mosaischen Gesetze spater in der Reformation zur Entstehung der politia-judaica-Literatur beitrugen. Die ersten Werke stammten aus der Feder humanistischer Gelehrter, die in erster Linie ausgebildete Juristen und Historiographen waren, zugleich aber auch einen mehrheitlich calvinistischen Hintergrund hatten. Die Nahe zwischen humanistischer Jurisprudenz und dem Calvinismus pragte die politia-judaica-Literatur in einer ersten Phase bis zu Petrus Cunaeus Werk De republica Hebraeorum libri III (1617). Die Verbreitung dieses Buchklassikers des 17. Jahrhunderts fuhrte den ursprunglichen Rechtsdiskurs in umfangreichere politische Diskussionen.