Martin Luther was one of the most influential men of his day. When he posted a series of theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, he was merely inviting debate. He set off something much larger. The Protestant Reformation that began with his posting of the Ninety-Five Theses reshaped Europe, redirected Christian history, and recovered the truth of God’s Word. Five hundred year…
John Calvin's name evokes powerful images, most of them negative. In the minds of many, he is perceived as an ivory-tower theologian who was harsh and unreasonable, the driving force behind a dangerous theological system. In this volume, Burk Parsons and eighteen other leading Reformed pastors and scholars authoritatively reveal the truth about Calvin and his teaching - that he was humble, cari…
Famous for setting in motion the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther is often lifted high as a hero or condemned as a rebel. But underneath it all, he was a man of flesh and blood, with a deep longing to live for God. This biography by respected Reformation scholar Herman Selderhuis captures Luther in his original context and follows him on his spiritual journey, from childhood through the Re…
Historians have credited—or blamed—Calvinism for many developments in the modern world, including capitalism, modern science, secularization, democracy, individualism, and unitarianism. These same historians, however, have largely ignored John Calvin the man. When people consider him at all, they tend to view him as little more than the joyless tyrant of Geneva who created an abstract theol…
Mention history and some might struggle to stifle a yawn. But when presented as a narrative it can often be compelling reading. Stephen J. Nichols takes a key period in time, the Reformation, and presents its major players in a fresh way. From Martin Luther, a simple monk who wielded the mallet, to kings and queens, this book goes behind the scenes to uncover the human side of these larger-than…
In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his "Confessions" is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his s…
Garry Wills examines this famed fourth-century bishop and seminal thinker whose grounding in classical philosophy informed his influential interpretation of the Christian doctrines of mind and body, wisdom and God. Saint Augustine explores both the great ruminator on the human condition and the everyday man who set pen to parchment. It challenges many misconceptions - among them the myth of Aug…
This is a biography of a member of the prominent Drexel family of Philadelphia who devoted her immense fortune and her life to the services of others, and in the black habit of a nun was content to walk “simple, silent and unknown.” Granddaughter of the first Francis Drexel, who built up one of the large financial empires of our country, Katharine Drexel grew up in ease, even in luxury.…
"Character Counts" contains briefs biographical and reflective chapters about four remarkable world figures who not only withstood the extreme adversities of their offices and circumstances but flourished and grew under pressure to become people who made a difference in their times. Concerned citizens and all who eager to raise the level of character in this generation and the next will draw i…