In it a young pastor, born and raised during the devastating Thirty Years War, voiced a plea for reform of the church which made the author and his proposals famous. A lifelong friend of the philosopher Leibnitz, Spener was an important influence in the life of the next leader of German Pietism, August Herman Francke. He was also a sponsor at the baptism of Nicholas Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravian Church, whose members played a crucial role in the life of John Wesley.

    Although the American Revolution swept away the institutional structures of the Anglican Church in the South, the itinerant evangelical preachers who subsequently flooded the region at first encountered resistance from southern whites, who were affronted by their opposition to slaveholding and traditional ideals of masculinity, their lack of respect for generational hierarchy, their encouragement of women's public involvement in church affairs, and their allowance for spiritual intimacy with blacks. As Heyrman shows, these evangelicals achieved dominance in the region over the course of a century by deliberately changing their own "traditional values" and assimilating the conventional southern understandings of family relationships, masculine prerogatives, classic patriotism, and martial honor. In so doing, religious groups earlier associated with nonviolence and antislavery activity came to the defense of slavery and secession and the holy cause of upholding both by force of arms—and adopted the values we now associate with the "Bible Belt."

    But is what we've been taught about them or their harvest feast what actually happened? And if not, what difference does it make?Through the captivating story of the birth of this quintessentially American holiday, veteran historian Tracy McKenzie helps us to better understand the tale of America's origins--and for Christians, to grasp the significance of this story and those like it. McKenzie avoids both idolizing and demonizing the Pilgrims, and calls us to love and learn from our flawed yet fascinating forebears.The First Thanksgiving is narrative history at its best, and promises to be an indispensable guide to the interplay of historical thinking and Christian reflection on the meaning of the past for the present.

    This classic work, winner of the 1973 National Book Award in Philosophy and Religion and Christian Century’s choice as the Religious Book of the Decade (1979), is now issued with a new chapter by noted religious historian David Hall, who carries the story of American religious history forward to the present day.

    Exploring how Christianity became a world religion, this brief history examines Christian missions and their relationship to the current globalization of Christianity.A short and enlightening history of Christian missions: a phenomenon that many say reflects the single most important intercultural movement over a sustained period of human history Offers a thematic overview that takes into account the political, cultural, social, and theological issues Discusses the significance of missions to the globalization of Christianity, and broadens our understanding of Christianity as a multicultural world religion Helps Western audiences understand the meaning of mission as a historical process Contains several new maps that illustrate demographic shifts in world Christianity

    He makes the provocative case that to remedy this problem, we should return to teaching religion in the public schools. Alongside "reading, writing, and arithmetic," religion ought to become the "Fourth R" of American education.Many believe that America's descent into religious illiteracy was the doing of activist judges and secularists hell-bent on banishing religion from the public square. Prothero reveals that this is a profound misunderstanding. "In one of the great ironies of American religious history," Prothero writes, "it was the nation's most fervent people of faith who steered us down the road to religious illiteracy. Just how that happened is one of the stories this book has to tell."Prothero avoids the trap of religious relativism by addressing both the core tenets of the world's major religions and the real differences among them. Complete with a dictionary of the key beliefs, characters, and stories of Christianity, Islam, and other religions, Religious Literacy reveals what every American needs to know in order to confront the domestic and foreign challenges facing this country today.

    The real story of Knox surpasses the best fiction novels. Five hundred years after his death, Steven Lawson seeks to ignite our faith in Jesus through Knox's story. If you think of Knox as the dull Presbyterian, prepare to think again. Let this seminal figure in the history of the Scottish Reformation inspire you to stand firm in your faith and let God impact your spiritual life.

    These debates began with the extraordinary thought and struggles of Roger Williams, who had an unparalleled understanding of the conflict between a government that justified itself by "reason of state"—i.e., national security—and its perceived "will of God" and the "ancient rights and liberties" of individuals.This is a story of power, set against Puritan America and the English Civil War. Williams's interactions with King James, Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, and his mentor Edward Coke set his course, but his fundamental ideas came to fruition in America, as Williams, though a Puritan, collided with John Winthrop's vision of his "City upon a Hill."Acclaimed historian John M. Barry explores the development of these fundamental ideas through the story of the man who was the first to link religious freedom to individual liberty, and who created in America the first government and society on earth informed by those beliefs. The story is essential to the continuing debate over how we define the role of religion and political power in modern American life.

    The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the Word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation: but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very Word of God.

    As a class of churches that profess allegiance to Reformed theology, practice, and piety, we have drifted from our moorings. This book is written to facilitate change, specifically reformation according to God's Word as summarized in the Reformed confessions.

     But who were its leaders? And how did it survive through waves of hostility and oppression? George Hodges, in this fascinating history, explains how the early Church developed from its lowly and persecuted origins of the first century through to becoming the main religion of the Roman Empire and the various kingdoms that succeeded it. Hodges provides a full picture of the Roman Empire and its religion at this time, explaining how the Church was able to gain a foothold, how heresy nearly tore it apart and how many men and women sacrificed their own lives to protect the faith. He uncovers why by the third century the Church began to develop into a settled and definite organisation, with leaders, like Cyprian and Cyril, who assisted their followers, convened at gatherings like the Council of Nicaea to agree on doctrinal matters and how monasticism developed in both the East and West. Finally, Hodges explains how the Church was able survive the collapse of the Roman Empire, a state that had begun to protect and support the Church after Constantine’s conversion in 312. The Church was forced to contend with the power vacuum of the tumultuous fourth and fifth centuries and to make allies and convert the pagans who were threatening them. The Early Church: From Ignatius to Augustine is a brilliant history of the late Roman Empire and how the Christian Church developed within it. George Hodges was an American theologian and dean of the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge Massachusetts. The Independent stated that many of his works were reissued during his lifetime due to “the high esteem in which his religious messages are held by the reading public." This work was first published in 1915 and he died in 1919.

    

    Following the Christians down through the Centuries.

    Jones delivers a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy, and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation.As the nation grapples with demographic changes and the legacy of racism in America, Christianity’s role as a cornerstone of white supremacy has been largely overlooked. But white Christians—from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast—have not just been complacent or complicit; rather, as the dominant cultural power, they have constructed and sustained a project of protecting white supremacy and opposing black equality that has framed the entire American story. With his family’s 1815 Bible in one hand and contemporary public opinion surveys by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in the other, Robert P. Jones delivers a groundbreaking analysis of the repressed history of the symbiotic relationship between Christianity and white supremacy. White Too Long demonstrates how deeply racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with a complicated, painful, and even shameful past. Jones challenges white Christians to acknowledge that public apologies are not enough—accepting responsibility for the past requires work toward repair in the present. White Too Long is not an appeal to altruism. Drawing on lessons gleaned from case studies of communities beginning to face these challenges, Jones argues that contemporary white Christians must confront these unsettling truths because this is the only way to salvage the integrity of their faith and their own identities. More broadly, it is no exaggeration to say that not just the future of white Christianity but the outcome of the American experiment is at stake.

    Nearly forgotton today, this version of the Holy Scriptures—first translated into English in 1560—created the conditions for a Christian reformation of life and culture the likes of which the world had never seen. The Geneva Bible is the Bible of "firsts." It was the first Bible to qualify as a study Bible, providing readers with copious notes, cross-references, and commentary about the original manuscripts. It was the first Bible to be printed in a portable and affordable edition. And it was the first Bible to assign chapter and verse numbers, facilitating the location of passages, memorization, and recitation—and the nurture of a nation of Bible readers. We're pleased to announce the re-release of the Geneva Bible in a superior quality genuine leather binding edition that features word-for-word accuracy with the 1599 Geneva Bible; original cross references; original study notes by Reformers; genuine leather; modern spelling; and easy to read print.