This volume includes the texts of Erasmus's 1524 diatribe against Luther, De Libero Arbitrio, and Luther's violent counterattack, De Servo Arbitrio. E. Gordon Rupp and Philip Watson offer commentary on these texts as well. Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with mode…
The ambiguity and obscurity of statements from religious leaders today often confuse ordinary Christians. J. C. Ryle's writings were of a different character. His outspoken comments can still help us towards clear Bible-based convictions. The church's doctrine and practice are in constant danger of being corrupted from their original divinely-given character. Seeing this, Ryle felt compelled…
Lauded for his thoughts, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) has influenced virtually every philosopher of the last fifteen hundred years. But his personal character and ministry are even more remarkable, for in a time when most monastery dwellers sought solitude, Augustine was always in the company of friends, visiting disciples and writing mentoring letters to those he knew. Augustine as Mentor is w…
What is an evangelical . . . and has he lost his mind? Carl Trueman wrestles with those two provocative questions and concludes that modern evangelicals emphasize experience and activism at the expense of theology. Their minds go fuzzy as they downplay doctrine. The result is "a world in which everyone from Joel Osteen to Brian McLaren to John MacArthur may be called an evangelical." Fifteen…
In the opinion of B.B. Warfield, the Westminster divines left to posterity not only ‘the most thoroughly thought out statement ever penned of the elements of evangelical religion’ but also one which breathes ‘the finest fragrance of spiritual religion’. Their most influential work, ‘The Shorter Catechism’, was intended as a teaching basis for an introduction to the Christian Faith. …
The culture of the Eastern Church is alien to our experience. Yet the more we familiarize ourselves with the Eastern Church the more we recognize, for all the differences, the family resemblances. The family has been parted for a very long time. But chances have arisen to meet again and get to know one another. In recent years, Eastern Orthodoxy has emerged vividly on the radar of Western Chris…
Abraham Kuyper?s Rooted & Grounded is the Word of the Lord for the Christian church today. Christians know the Gospel must permeate every area of life organically, that every vocation is integral and not accidental to the missio Dei, as my friend and colleague Steven Garber is fond of saying. This is what Kuyper means when he talks about the church being rooted in the organism of the Gospel. Bu…
Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture. But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like vis…
This masterful study of the early centuries of Christianity vividly brings to life the religious, political, and cultural developments through which the faith that began as a sect within Judaism became finally the religion of the Roman empire. First published in 1970, Grant's classic is enhanced with a new foreward by Margaret M. Mitchell, which assesses its importance and puts the reader in to…
The author advocates a closer identification between the local congregation and the universal church. He works through the realities of church life and denominational organizations before challenging church leaders to redefine ecclesiology.