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October 2017 marks five hundred years since Martin Luther nailed
his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg and launched the
Protestant Reformation. At least, that's what the legend says. But
with a figure like Martin Luther, who looms so large in the
historical imagination, it's hard to separate the legend from the
life, or even sometimes to separate assorted legends from each
other. Over the centuries, Luther the man has given way to Luther
the icon, a polished bronze figure on a pedestal. In A World
Ablaze, Craig Harline introduces us to the flesh-and-blood Martin
Luther. Harline tells the riveting story of the first crucial years
of the accidental crusade that would make Luther a legendary
figure. He didn't start out that way; Luther was a sometimes-cranky
friar and professor who worried endlessly about the fate of his
eternal soul. He sought answers in the Bible and the Church
fathers, and what he found distressed him even more - the way many
in the Church had come to understand salvation was profoundly
wrong, thought Luther, putting millions of souls, not least his
own, at risk of damnation. His ideas would pit him against numerous
scholars, priests, bishops, princes, and the Pope, even as others
adopted or adapted his cause, ultimately dividing the Church
against itself. A World Ablaze is a tale not just of religious
debate but of political intrigue, of shifting alliances and daring
escapes, with Luther often narrowly avoiding capture, which might
have led to execution. The conflict would eventually encompass the
whole of Christendom and served as the crucible in which a new
world was forged. The Luther we find in these pages is not a statue
to be admired but a complex figure - brilliant and volatile,
fretful and self-righteous, curious and stubborn. Harline brings
out the immediacy, uncertainty, and drama of his story, giving
readers a sense of what it felt like in the moment, when the ending
was still very much in doubt. The result is a masterful recreation
of a momentous turning point in the history of the world.
The mere mention of "Sunday" will immediately conjure up a rich mix
of memories, associations, and ideas for most anyone of any age.
Whatever we think of-be it attending church, reading a bulky
newspaper, eating brunch, or watching football-Sunday occupies a
unique place in Western civilization. But how did we come to have a
day with such a singular set of traditions? Here, historian Craig
Harline examines Sunday from its ancient beginnings to contemporary
America in a fascinating blend of stories and analysis. For the
earliest Christians, the first day of the week was a time to
celebrate the liturgy, observe the Resurrection, and work. But over
time, Sunday in the Western world took on still other meanings and
rituals, especially in the addition of both rest and recreation to
the day's activities. Harline illuminates these changes in
enlightening profiles of Sunday in medieval Catholic England,
Sunday in the Reformation, and Sunday in nineteenth-century
France-home of the most envied and sometimes despised Sunday of the
modern world. He continues with moving portraits of soldiers and
civilians trying to observe Sunday during World War I, examines the
quiet Sunday of England in the 1930s, and concludes with the
convergence of various European traditions in the American Sunday,
which also adds some distinctly original habits of its own, such as
in the realms of commerce and professional sports. With engaging
prose and scholarly integrity, Sunday is an entertaining and
long-overdue look at a significant hallmark of Western culture.
Based on a treasure trove of letters, this fascinating book tells
the history of a seventeenth-century nun in a convent in Leuven and
how her complaints-of sexual harassment, fears of demonic
possession, alliances among the other sisters against her-led to
her banishment from the convent on two occasions. Highly acclaimed
when it was first published as a revealing look at female religious
life in early modern Europe, the book is now available in an
abridged paperbound version with a new preface by the author.
Reviews of the clothbound edition: "A window to the past. . . . I
loved, just loved, this book."-Carolyn See, Washington Post "The
world Mr. Harline uncovers is a fascinating one. . . . The story of
Sister Margaret gives an extra dimension of humanity to a turning
point in the history of ideas."-Sonia Gernes, Wall Street Journal
"Better-than-fiction social history. . . . This is a glimpse into
diaries, letters, hearts, minds, hatreds, and hopes; it will
enthrall."-Christian Century "Harline's graceful writing allows the
women and men in this religious community to breathe, gossip, pray
with tears. . . . The Burdens of Sister Margaret helps us see the
familiar Reformation in a fresh way."-Kevin A. Miller, Christianity
Today "Microhistory at its best."-Larissa Taylor, Renaissance
Quarterly
The experiences of two families-one in seventeenth-century Holland,
the other in America today-and how they coped when a family member
changed religions This powerful and innovative work by a gifted
cultural historian explores the effects of religious conversion on
family relationships, showing how the challenges of the Reformation
can offer insight to families facing similarly divisive situations
today. Craig Harline begins with the story of young Jacob Rolandus,
the son of a Dutch Reformed preacher, who converted to Catholicism
in 1654 and ran away from home, causing his family to disown him.
In the companion story, Michael Sunbloom, a young American, leaves
his family's religion in 1973 to convert to Mormonism, similarly
upsetting his distraught parents. The modern twist to Michael's
story is his realization that he is gay, causing him to leave his
new church, and upsetting his parents again-but this time the
family reconciles. Recounting these stories in short, alternating
chapters, Harline underscores the parallel aspects of the two
far-flung families. Despite different outcomes and forms, their
situations involve nearly identical dynamics and heart-wrenching
choices. Through the author's deeply informed imagination, the
experiences of a seventeenth-century European family are
transformed into immediately recognizable terms.
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