The Cost of Discipleship


Dietrich Bonhoeffer - 1937
    One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus in this classic text on ethics, humanism, and civic duty.What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

Mortification of Sin


John Owen - 1656
    Owen is very insistent that believers cannot hope to succeed in this battle in their own strength. He sees clearly that the fight can be won only through faith in Christ, and in the power of the Spirit. Fighting sin with human strength will produce only self-righteousness, superstition and anxiety of conscience. But with faith in Christ, and with the power of the Spirit, victory is certain. The temptations in times like Owen's and ours are obvious on every side; the remedy to them is clearly pointed out in this practical and helpful book.

Jesus and the Disinherited


Howard Thurman - 1949
    Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower—it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.

The Cloud of Unknowing


Anonymous
    Originally written in the 14th century, now part of the HarperCollins Spiritual classics series, this beautiful contemplative resource, has been embraced for hundreds of years for its simple, engaging style and spiritual truths. As the unknown author assures us, “if you are to experience Him or to see Him at all, insofar as it is possible here, it must always be in this cloud.” —The Cloud of Unknowing.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church


Gregory A. Boyd - 2006
    It is called to look like a corporate Jesus, dying on the cross for those who crucified him, not a religious version of Caesar. It is called to manifest the kingdom of the cross in contrast to the kingdom of the sword. Whenever the church has succeeded in gaining what most American evangelicals are now trying to get – political power – it has been disastrous both for the church and the culture. Whenever the church picks up the sword, it lays down the cross. The present activity of the religious right is destroying the heart and soul of the evangelical church and destroying its unique witness to the world. The church is to have a political voice, but we are to have it the way Jesus had it: by manifesting an alternative to the political, “power over,” way of doing life. We are to transform the world by being willing to suffer for others – exercising “power under,” not by getting our way in society – exercising “power over.”

Pearl of Great Price


Joseph Smith Jr. - 1974
    The Pearl of great Price chapters include the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith on Matthew and History and the Articles of Faith. This book is a must read for those of the mormon faith, or those studying mormon or religious history.

The Scandal of the Incarnation: Irenaeus Against the Heresies


Irenaeus of Lyons
    Born in Asia Minor in about 130 A.D., he became Bishop of Lyons and died as a martyr early in the third century. His main work, Adversus Haereses (Against the Heresies), is as relevant today as it was eighteen hundred years ago. It is a critique of Gnosticism, the 'anti-body' heresy, which, far from dying out, continues to flourish as the main threat to the Christian faith in our own day. With serenity and good humor, Irenaeus unfolds the unity of God's purpose in creation and redemption, in Old and New Testaments. The flesh and blood which Gnosticism so despised has been assumed by God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and glorified in the Resurrection and the Eucharist. In this book, quotations from Saint Irenaeus have been arranged thematically in order to show the unity of his Christian view of the world. The texts have been selected and are introduced by the late Hans Urs von Balthasar, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest Catholic theologians of this century. They are translated by John Saward.

How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture


Francis A. Schaeffer - 1975
    Schaeffer contemplates the reasons for modern society's sorry state of affairs and argues for total affirmation of the Bible's morals, values, and meaning.

C. S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet


Alister E. McGrath - 2012
    S. Lewis continues to inspire and fascinate millions. His legacy remains varied and vast. He was a towering intellectual figure, a popular fiction author who inspired a global movie franchise around the world of Narnia, and an atheist-turned-Christian thinker.In C.S. Lewis: A Life, Alister McGrath, prolific author and respected professor at King's College of London, paints a definitive portrait of the life of C. S. Lewis. After thoroughly examining recently published Lewis correspondence, Alister challenges some of the previously held beliefs about the exact timing of Lewis's shift from atheism to theism and then to Christianity. He paints a portrait of an eccentric thinker who became an inspiring, though reluctant, prophet for our times.You won't want to miss this fascinating portrait of a creative genius who inspired generations. (Tyndale House Publishers)

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Heart of His People


Jim Cymbala - 1997
    The Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor discusses how he built up a broken-down church to a membership of six thousand.

The Major Works


Anselm of Canterbury
    He considered the doctrines of faith an invitation to question, to think, and to learn; and he devoted his life to confronting and understanding the most elusive aspects of Christianity. His writings on matters such as free will, the nature of truth, and the existence of God make Anselm one of the greatest theologians and philosophers in history, and this translation provides readers with their first opportunity to read his most important works within a single volume.

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity


Ronald J. Sider - 1977
    Ron Sider does. He has, since before he first published Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger in 1978. Despite a dramatic reduction in world hunger since then, 34,000 children still die daily of starvation and preventable disease, and 1.3 billion people, worldwide, remain in abject poverty. So, the professor of theology went back to re-examine the issues by twenty-first century standards. Finding that Conservatives blame morally reprehensible individual choices, and Liberals blame constrictive social and economic policy, Dr. Sider finds himself agreeing with both sides. In this new look at an age-old problem, he offers not only a detailed explanation of the causes, but also a comprehensive series of practical solutions, in the hopes that Christians like him will choose to make a difference.

The Way to Nicaea (Formation Of Christian Theology, Vol. 1)


John Behr - 2001
    No student of theology can avoid the problems tackled in this period. They range from the most fundamental issues, concerning how Christ is known and the standard by which responses to him can be evaluated, to the subsequent reflections regarding his relationship to God and to us. Through original and penetrating analyses of selected figures and controversies, Behr presents not only the history of theological reflection, but a sustained analysis of the essential elements of the resulting theology.This first volume treats the initial three centuries of the Christian era. Part I examines the establishment of normative Christianity on the basis of the tradition and canon of the Gospel, and briefly sketches the portrait of the Scriptural Christ inscribed in the New Testament. Part II analyzes selected figures from the second period, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons, considering how they understood Christ to be the Word of God. Part III turns to the third century, treating Hippolytus and the debates in Rome, Origen and his legacy in Alexandria and the Council of Antioch, in a continued examination of Christ as the Word of God. it is these debates that form the background for the controversies and Councils of the following centuries, to be examined in subsequent volumes.

The Works of Jonathan Edwards


Jonathan Edwards - 1732
    Edwards' sermons, while intellectually engaging, were also accessible to the common people and often generated highly emotional responses. His foremost desire was to help people transform from mere believers in Christian doctrine to converted Christians who were moved to action by the principles of their belief.This two-volume collection of Edwards' works features important sermons of the Great Awakening as well as Edwards' memoirs and other essays. First published in 1834, here is what makes this new edition of "The Works of Jonathan Edwards" the best available:"More readable." This edition has larger, more readable type than previous editions."More complete." This edition contains all matter included in the first collected American edition, various original extracts from the diary and papers of Edwards, several smaller pieces printed originally in a separate form, and a memoir by descendant Sereno E. Dwight.For anyone interested in the roots of Christianity and revival in colonial America, "The Works of Jonathan Edwards" is a fundamental resource."Jonathan Edwards . . . was among the noblest and ablest Christians of his age, and can now be seen, two centuries after, as one of the greatest theologians ever given by God to his church. As a saint and scholar, evangelist and educationalist, pastor and teacher, missionary and metaphysician, he showed a grasp of the grandeur of God's sovereignty and the glory of divine grace equaled only by men of the caliber of John Owen and John Calvin."--J. I. Packer"Edwards is widely recognized as being probably the greatest American theologian. His writings, though sometimes difficult, are often inspiring. Full doctrinal agreement is not a prerequisite to profiting from this great man of God."--Christianity Today

Foxe's Book of Martyrs


John Foxe
    Some were people of rank and influence. Some were ordinary folk. Some were even his friends. Four centuries later, these deeply moving accounts of faith and courage mark a path for modern Christians to measure the depth of their commitment.