The Spirit of American Liberal Theology is an interpretation of the entire U.S. American tradition of liberal theology. A highly condensed and far-more-accessible summary of Gary Dorrien’s three-volume trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology (Westminster John Knox Press 2001, 2003, and 2006), Dorrien here presses the argument that the most abundant, diverse, and persistent tradition of liberal theology is the one that blossomed in the United States and is still refashioning itself...
William Placher and Derek Nelson compile significant passages written by the most important Christian thinkers, from the Reformers of the sixteenth century through the major participants in the contemporary theological conversation. Illustrating the major theologians, controversies, and schools of thought, Readings in the History of Christian Theology is an essential companion to the study of church history and historical theology. Excerpts are preceded by the editors' introductions...
In this interesting and important introduction to the life and thought of Martin Luther King Jr., theologian Rufus Burrow explores King's life as well as his thinking and activism. Burrow addresses those who see King as only a social activist by showing how his studies, particularly his theological studies, influenced, shaped, and transformed the activist path he pursued during his public life. This book, with dozens of illustrations by artist Ron Hill, is written for a broad audi...
This witty and illuminating volume introduces the life and writings of the great American theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). The most widely studied figure in American religious history and an iconic figure of the American colonial period, Edwards is well known and highly regarded as a stalwart defender of Calvinist theology and his Puritan heritage. As James P. Byrd deftly reveals, however, Edwards was also a brilliant thinker and passionate pastor who wrestle...
In this concluding volume of his magisterial trilogy, Gary Dorrien sustains his previous definition of liberal theology and his mixture of theological, philosophical, and historical analysis, while emphasizing the unprecedented diversity of liberal theology in the postmodern age. Dorrien argues that liberal theology has been in crisis for the past half-century, yet despite the crisis, and also because of it, it has also experienced a "hidden renaissance" of intellectual creativity. ...
This volume introduces readers to the life and thought of Karl Barth (1886-1968), one of the most important theologians since the Reformation era. Featuring the Armchair series' characteristic whimsical illustrations, Barth for Armchair Theologians surveys Barth's theology as it emerges and culminates in his monumental Church Dogmatics as well as how his theology continues to be interpreted in the present day.Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series pr...
In this seminal work, pioneering theologian Ernst Troeltsch raises the question, how can we pass beyond the diversity with which history presents us to norms for our faith and for our judgments about life? He trenchantly probes the issue of how one religion--when viewed historically in the context of other world religions--can be universally and absolutely true. Though many others since have explored the issue of historical relativism and religious truth, few have done so with Troel...
Wesley for Armchair Theologians engagingly presents the life and theology of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Written by prominent Wesley scholar William Abraham, who aimed to "make Wesley come alive for those who would truly love to become armchair theologians," the book is an excellent, entertaining, and expert guide to the work of this important Christian figure.Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty ov...
The women's rights movement in nineteenth-century America has primarily been interpreted as a secular movement. However, in From Preachers to Suffragists, Beverly Zink-Sawyer examines the lives of three nineteenth-century clergywomen--Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Olympia Brown, and Anna Howard Shaw--who, seeing their calling to the suffrage movement as an extension of their call to ministry, left the parish to join and become leaders in the movement. Zink-Sawyer tells the storie...
In this book, the second of his three-volume history, Gary Dorrien explores American theological liberalism in its heyday--at the advent of the research university and the institutionally identified school. He argues that in its prime theological liberalism effected a creative blending of theological schools, featured a tension between its evangelical and modernist impulses, and was fueled by its expectation of social and cultural progress, until its optimism was subjected to wither...
Despite her prominence in the Christian narrative, Mary has largely been neglected within the Protestant church. Recent interest in such issues as feminism, spirituality, parenting, and ecumenism, however, force a serious reexamination of Mary's place in Protestant faith. In Blessed One, widely respected Protestant scholars seek to answer three basic questions: who is Mary? how does Mary's story intersect with contemporary life? and what does Mary teach us about God? This though...
This comprehensive biography of William Sheppard, the first African American Presbyterian missionary, presents the remarkable story of how an African American born in the South during the era of slavery emerged as one of the most distinguished Presbyterian leaders in American history. The book chronicles Sheppard's journey to the Congo, details his efforts to challenge human rights violations, and describes his impact on the areas of religion, human rights, education, and art.
All Things New presents a study of Schleiermacher's important but sometimes misunderstood Christian Ethics. Brandt places Schleiermacher's ethics in the context of his life, illuminates its main themes, and corrects some common misperceptions about Schleiermacher and his work. He argues that Schleiermacher's ethical concerns helped to make him truly a "Reformed" theologian. All Things New also shows Schleiermacher to be more than an "academic theologian," but rather one who was a c...
In this first of a three-volume, comprehensive series, Gary Dorrien mixes theological analysis with historical and biographical detail to present the first comprehensive interpretation of American theological liberalism. Arguing that the indigenous roots of American liberal theology existed before the rise of Darwinism, Dorrien maintains that this tradition took shape in the nineteenth century and was motivated by a desire to map a progressive "third way" between authority-based orth...
In this volume, the internationally respected theologian Jan Rohls chronicles the dynamic tradition of Reformed confessions of faith from the sixteenth century through the first third of the twentieth century. He discusses theological themes and positions that have informed both the tradition in its entirety and also particular confessions, concluding with the Theological Declaration of Barmen in 1934. An introduction by Jack L. Stotts discusses Reformed confessions since Barmen.The...
In this in-depth historical analysis of evangelical theology, Gary Dorrien describes how evangelicalism has developed and matured. Beginning at the turn of the century and the start of the fundamentalist-modernist controversies, he notes the key figures and institutions of the evangelical movement. He also shows how evangelicalism has both diversified and entered into the broader theological discussions of today.
While the effects of historical criticism on theology in the modern period have been well documented, their implications for modern preaching have been largely ignored. Dawn DeVries examines the content of and reasoning behind the preaching on the Synoptic Gospels by John Calvin and Friedrich Schleiermacher in order to ascertain their responses to the historical Jesus. By doing so, DeVries demonstrates that the shifting of emphasis in modern preaching from the miraculous aspects of ...
This notable study of Christian faith and how it functions in "dark times" reveals the thoughts and actions of six leading theologians of the Weimar Republic/Third Reich period--Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Paul Althaus, Emanuel Hirsch, and Friedrich Gogarten--and what prompted them to either resist or support the Nazi movement. Jack Forstman examines the theological values of these theologians and considers the interconnectedness among them; their easy, uneasy, and sh...
In this thought-provoking book, Luis Rivera argues that evangelical reasoning and symbolism were appropriated to justify the armed seizure of people and land in the New World and to validate the conversion, peaceful or forced, of the natives. He recaptures the sixteenth-century political debates--where priests and theologians are both voices of dissent against the Spanish military conquest and fervent defenders of it. Rivera contrasts "discovery" and conquest and examines the tragic...
Creeds of the Churches offers, in one comprehensive volume, the major Christian statements of faith from biblical times to the present. The third edition has been updated to include the Athanasian Creed, the London Confession, the Frankfurt Declaration, and the Lima Text, among others. A brief introduction to each creed explains its place in the developing theology of the Christian community.
This devotional classic, written by William Law, an eloquent religious teacher of the eighteenth century, was designed to prod indifferent Christians into making an honest effort to live up to what they professed to believe. It has been appreciated in every succeeding generation because of its innate vigor and virility.
