Newman himself called the Oxford University Sermons, first published in 1843, the best, not the most perfect, book I have done'. He added, I mean there is more to develop in it'. Indeed, the book is a precursor of all his major later works, including especially the Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Assent. Dealing with the relationship of faith and reason, the fifteen sermons represent Newman's resolution of the conflict between heart and head that so troubled believers, non-believers, and agnostics of the nineteenth century, Their controversial nature also makes them one of the primary documents of the Oxford Movement. This new edition provides an introduction to the sermons, a definitive text with textual variants, extensive annotation, and appendices containing previously unpublished material.

John Henry Newman (1801-90) was brought up in the Church of England in the Evangelical tradition. An Oxford graduate and Fellow of Oriel College, he was appointed Vicar of St Mary's Oxford in 1828; from 1839 onwards he began to have doubts about the claims of the Anglican Church and in 1845 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a Cardinal in 1879. His influence on both the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and the advance of Catholic ideas in the Church of England was profound.
This volume covers a crucially important and significant period in Newman's life. The Church of England bishops' continuing condemnation of Tract 90 - plus Pusey's two-year suspension for preaching a university sermon on the Real Presence - are major factors in Newman resigning as Vicar of St Mary's, Oxford. His doubts about the Church of England are deeper and stronger than ever, and he is moving closer to Rome. William Lockhart's sudden defection to Rome in August 1843 precipitates his resignation. He preaches his final Anglican sermon, 'The Parting of Friends', and retires into lay communion at Littlemore. The first edition of University Sermons, including the celebrated sermon on theological development, virtually sells out within a fortnight.

John Henry Newman (1801-90) was at the height of his position in the Church of England in 1839, when he first began to feel doubts concerning the claims of the Anglican Church. His editorship of the British Critic took up a great deal of time, but he was greatly encouraged by its increasing sales. Uncomfortable with his position as Vicar of St Mary's, Oxford Newman was considering giving up the position at the end of 1840. This volume covers a significant period in Newman's life, with a background of social ferment and political tension: the Corn Laws, Chartism, an inexperienced monarch, weak government, and foreign problems. Contemporary writers such as Carlyle attracted Newman's attention, and university reform was a live issue.

John Henry Newman (1801-90) was brought up in the Church of England in the Evangelical tradition. An Oxford graduate and Fellow of Oriel College, he was appointed Vicar of St Mary's Oxford in 1828; from 1839 onwards he began to have doubts about the claims of the Anglican Church and in 1845 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a Cardinal in 1879. His influence on both the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and the advance of Catholic ideas in the Church of England was profound. Volume VIII covers a turbulent period in Newman's life with the publication of Tract 90. His attempt to show the compatibility of the 39 Articles with Catholic doctrine caused a storm both in the University of Oxford and in the Church. He and others were horrified by the establishment of a joint Anglo-Prussian Bishopric in Jerusalem, considering it an attempt to give Apostolical succession to an heretical church. In 1842 he moved away from the hubbub of Oxford life to nearby Littlemore.

Discussions and Arguments on Various Subjects, volume VII in the Birmingham Oratory Millenium Edition, is a collection of six articles, which were written between 1835, after the publication of The Arians of the Fourth Century, and 1866, when, as a Roman Catholic, Newman contributed a review to the Jesuit periodical The Month. Two of these articles appeared as Tracts for the Times; two are a series of letters to a newspaper. The letters discuss the nature of scientific knowledge as a quasi-substitute for faith, and the nature of the balance between executive power and democratic constraints. The opening essay, in the imaginary setting of the Roman forum, is a discussion between three friends of the nature of the via media, its shortcomings, and how it can be made to work. This book has been unavailable for many years and contains some of Newman's best and most amusing writing, scattered throughout with historical and literary references, which have been extensively researched for the modern reader in this edition.