Showing titles in History

From one of the foremost medievalists of our time, a groundbreaking work on history and memory that goes well beyond the life of this influential saint.

Bloomsbury presents Reformation Divided written and read by Eamon Duffy. Published to mark the 500th anniversary of the events of 1517, Reformation Divided explores the impact in England of the cataclysmic transformations of European Christianity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The...

Over the centuries, people have longed for a messiah, whether a religious figure such as Jesus, a political leader, or even in popular culture. The messianic quest emerges most acutely during difficult times when people experience a sense of powerlessness and desperation. But the concept of a messiah — a savior — has its root in the writings of ancient Judaism and early Christianity, evolving from an anointed leader to universal savior.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “The most important book ever written about the Catholic Church and its conduct during World War II.”—Daniel Silva “Kertzer brings all of his usual detective and narrative skills to [The Pope at War] . . . the most comprehensive account of the Vatican’s...

For centuries, St Cuthbert (c. 634-687) was the most worshipped saint in England, revered for his virtuous life and his miracles. Even centuries after his death, stories were told of his body remaining ‘incorrupt’ in his tomb. What we know about his work and character comes from the records and significantly from the writings of the Venerable Bede (673-735). His Life of St Cuthbert (published in 721) was part of the tradition of hagiography, a reverential biography of a saint. Bede diligently collected accounts, both written and word of mouth, to compile his work.   

Gospel unity creates racial harmony. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said that the most segregated hour in America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. Equipped with the gospel, the church should be the catalyst for reconciliation, yet it continues to ignore immense pain and division.

In A Most Peculiar Book, Kristin Swenson addresses the dirty little secret of biblical studies that the Bible is a weird book. It is full of surprises and contradictions, unexplained impossibilities, intriguing supernatural creatures, and heroes doing horrible deeds. It does not provide a simple worldview: What "the Bible says" on a given topic is multi-faceted, sometimes even contradictory.

The most famous of all English Bibles, the King James Version, was the culmination of centuries of work by various translators, from John Wycliffe, the 14 century catalyst of English Bible translation, to the committee of scholars who collaborated on the King James translation. Wide as the Waters examines the life and work of Wycliffe and recounts the tribulations of his successors, including William Tyndale, who was martyred, Miles Coverdale, and others who came to bitter ends. 

In the midst of our hectic, overscheduled lives, caring for the soul is imperative. Now, more than ever, we need to pause - intentionally - and encounter the Divine. Soul care director Barbara Peacock illustrates a journey of prayer, spiritual direction, and soul care from an African American perspective. She reflects on how these disciplines are woven into the African American culture and lived out in the rich heritage of its faith community.

Many scholars have come to think of the European Christian mission to the Americas as an inevitable success. But in its early period it was very much on the brink of failure. In 1576, Indigenous Mexican communities suffered a catastrophic epidemic that took almost two million lives and simultaneously left the colonial church in ruins. In the crisis and its immediate aftermath, Spanish missionaries and surviving pueblos de indios held radically different visions for the future of Christianity in the Americas.

This Very Short Introduction audiobook offers a clear, accessible, and concise account of the apocryphal gospels - exploring their origins, their discovery, and discussing how the various texts have been interpreted both by the Church and beyond. 

In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, Philip Jenkins describes how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful characters shaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today's church could be teaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as we know it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profound implications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction of Roman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another. 

Eminent biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan offers here a wide-ranging and stimulating exploration of the Old Testament, illuminating its importance as history, literature, and sacred text.

The church needs a new perspective on its responsibility for the deep racial brokenness at the heart of American culture. This book makes a compelling historical and theological case for the church's obligation to provide reparations for the oppression of African Americans. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson articulate the church's responsibility for its promotion and preservation of white supremacy throughout history, investigate the Bible's call to repent and make restitution, and offer concrete examples of the work of reparation at the local level. 

Este livro é um relato fiel e livre de estereótipos dos Puritanos, homens que souberam aplicar a teologia em muitas áreas de suas vidas. A cada capítulo, Ryken apresenta a compreensão teológica dos puritanos aplicada às principais esferas da vida do homem, como fé, igreja, família, trabalho, dinheiro e tantas outras.

Francis J. Bremer focuses on the role of religion in the settlement of the Plymouth Colony and how those values influenced political, intellectual, and cultural aspects of New England life 150 years before the American Revolution. He traces the Puritans' persecution in early 17th-century England for challenging the established national church and the difficulties they faced as refugees in the Netherlands in the 1610s.  

John Fea offers a thoroughly researched, evenhanded primer on whether America was founded to be a Christian nation, as many evangelicals assert, or a secular state, as others contend. He approaches the title's question from a historical perspective, helping listeners see past the emotional rhetoric of today to the recorded facts of our past. This updated edition reports on the many issues that have arisen in recent years concerning religion's place in American society.

According to Tertullian and others Marcion was the son of a bishop and was born at Sinope, in Pontus. He arrived in Rome in about 140 CE, bringing a scripture with him that he named "The Gospel of the Lord". Marcion described this not as a new gospel, but as that which Saint Paul had used and which he communicated to the churches he founded.

Robert William Dale (1829-1895) was an English Congregational church leader based in Birmingham. In "Christian Worldliness" he explores the endless conflict between Christianity and worldliness. He warns of "the bitter melancholy, this profound discontent with all things in Heaven above and on the earth beneath". Rejecting the idea of "the sanctity of misery" he criticizes the Book of Ecclesiastes and the image of the traditional "Romish Saint", and concludes by stating that for the miseries which we cannot avoid, Divine love offers infinite consolation.

Samuel Davies (1723-1761) was an evangelist, Presbyterian minister, composer of hymns, and prolific author. Davies was one of the first Puritan preachers in Virginia, and one of earliest missionaries to slaves in the British colonies. Davies’ sermons were infused by eschatological fervor as he proclaimed the need for the liberation of the soul from the claws of sin. Sins like avarice, prodigality, evil diversions, vanity, sensuality, and popery had for 150 years afflicted the land, he complains....