Historical Theology

The Christian life includes many demands, but perhaps none are as challenging or as misunderstood as the biblical command to "be holy" (Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:16) or to "be perfect" (Matthew 5:48). How should we understand these charges? In this volume, three scholars from the Wesleyan tradition offer a collective treatment of the theme of holiness that includes: exegesis of key biblical passages, a survey across church history, and theological reflections on the relationship between entire sanctification and other doctrines.

This is a letter to Scapula, Proconsul of Africa, who had begun persecuting Christians, during AD 212 (an eclipse visible in Utica is referred to). Tertullian exhorts the Proconsul to remember the fate that befell other persecutors of the Church, not as a threat, but because Christians love those who persecute them, and do not wish to see the judgment of God be unleashed on even the most devout haters of the faith.

Luther, Calvin, and Knox: Three men who changed the world because they were radically driven and shaped by the Word of God. To study their lives apart from this perfect Word would be folly, and to study the Word apart from its work in history would be incomplete. Living & Active: Volume I introduces us to the catalysts of the Reformation, through the Scripture that shaped them, in hope that we too would find God's Word alive and active in our souls.

Dieses Buch ist eine kompakte, faktenbasierte Reise durch die Frage, die seit Jahrhunderten Gläubige, Skeptiker und Historiker gleichermaßen beschäftigt: Gab es Jesus wirklich? Es kombiniert wissenschaftliche Präzision mit einem zugänglichen Stil und verzichtet bewusst auf überlange Ausschweifungen oder spekulative Mystik. Stattdessen konzentriert es sich auf das Wesentliche – die Spuren, die Jesus von Nazareth in der Geschichte, Kultur und dem Denken der Menschheit hinterlassen hat.

Das Wort "evangelikal" wird oft unzureichend definiert und ist mit manchem Ballast beladen. So stellen sich einige sogar die Frage, ob sie diese Bezeichnung nicht ganz aufgeben sollten. Michael Reeves argumentiert anhand der Bibel und der Kirchengeschichte, dass es nicht notwendig ist, das Wort zu verwerfen. Christen müssen jedoch zu den Wurzeln des Begriffs – zum euangélion, dem Evangelium – zurückkehren und verstehen, was er tatsächlich bedeutet.

What happens to us after we die? For the first 500 years after Christ, most Christians believed that God would ultimately redeem all of his creation. Hell was real, but it didn't last forever. Its purpose was to restore, not just to punish. Then beliefs changed. For the past 1,500 years we’ve been told that most of the billions of people who have lived on this earth will remain separated from the love and mercy of God for all eternity.

This among Christians is a season of persecution. When, therefore, faith is greatly agitated, and the Church burning, as represented by the bush, then the Gnostics break out, then the Valentinians creep forth, then all the opponents of martyrdom bubble up, being themselves also hot to strike, penetrate, kill.

A groundbreaking account of the Secret Gospel of Mark, one of the most hotly debated documents in Christian history.

The number of Christian denominations and churches is staggering. This book covers many main issues dividing churches from what began in the first century. It is embarrassing that Christians cannot come together until the final days, though efforts to reduce needless gaps is the subject of this work. Determine where you agree and become a force for reconciliation rather than division. While fun and exciting debates unfold, find the walls that should be demolished.

Despite the commonly held assumption that the Bible says little about the mother of Jesus, there are many indications that Mary preceded and inspired her son in fostering the emergence of a new faith community. Setting aside presuppositions, Chris Maunder returns to the New Testament to answer the question: "Who was Mary?" He re-examines the virgin conception of Jesus, Mary's contribution to Jesus' ministry, and her central role in the events of the crucifixion and the resurrection. In so doing, Maunder casts a thought-provoking new light on Mary and the women who stood alongside her.

Most Christians are familiar with the opening words of Genesis: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” But push beyond those iconic words, and sometimes the details get a little hazy. And strange. God walked around in a garden? Eve was made from Adam’s rib? A talking serpent? And what the in the world were the “Nephilim”? In The Characters of Creation, Daniel Darling re-introduces listeners to the story they thought they knew.

Jesus's command to the disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons was an integral part of the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God in the early centuries of the church. Did we lose God's gift of healing and deliverance in the church as the centuries rolled on? Can we mesh Christian healing with scientific progress? A Case for Healing Today presents biblical, historical, and theological perspectives on Christian healing. Through an understanding of author Bob Sawvelle's meticulous research, Christians can proclaim and demonstrate the good news of God's healing presence today.

“God isn’t really good.” "God doesn’t want the best for you.” “God could never forgive that sin." “God could never truly love you." These lies are as old as time, and yet how readily we still believe them to this day. Believing the lies of Satan leads to a life of defeat and despair. But it doesn’t have to be this way! In The Devil’s Newsroom, Pastor Jeff Schreve tackles Satan’s fake news head on.

Among the traditional tenets of the Christian faith is the belief that God chooses or elects people for salvation. For some Christians, such an affirmation is an indication of God's sovereign and perfect will. For others, such a notion is troubling for it seems to downplay the significance of human agency and choice. Throughout the church's history, Christians have sought to understand the meaning of relevant biblical texts and debated this theological conundrum.

The extremes to which the church and its leaders have gone in order to protect and justify various decisions regarding points of faith is fascinating, but tends to obscure the truth. Revisionist history, coercion, greed, lust, and propaganda were the order of the day when the major items of doctrine were being decided. In fact, many of those truths that we hold so dear in our Christian faith were decided, if not invented, through or because of political and financial aims, and not by theological insight. Many doctrines went well beyond what the early church held as truth.

This 1754 work by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is subtitled An Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of the Will Which Is Supposed to Be Essential to Moral Agency, Virtue and Vice, Reward and Punishment, Praise and Blame. Edwards was a Christian reformer, theologian, and author in the Calvinist tradition, and in this work he explores the necessity of divine grace for the redeeming of the damaged will of humanity. He contends that free will is an extension of, and connected to, the grace of God.

Aurelius Augustinus von Hippo, (* 13. November 354 in Tagaste, auch: Thagaste, in Numidien, heute Souk Ahras in Algerien; † 28. August 430 in Hippo Regius in Numidien, heute Annaba in Algerien) war ein numidischer Kirchenlehrer. Er war neben Hieronymus, Ambrosius von Mailand und Papst Gregor dem Großen einer der vier lateinischen Kirchenväter der Spätantike und ein wichtiger Philosoph an der Schwelle zwischen Antike und Frühmittelalter.

By examining the earliest and most ancient texts of the faith, the original and unaltered words and intentions of Jesus may be heard in a brighter light. With fresh insight, we may better understand the evolution and journey of a new movement from a small Jewish sect to a world religion.

In the biblical canon, two books lack any explicit reference to the name of God: Song of Songs and Esther. God's peculiar absence in these texts is unsettling, both for theological discourse and for believers considering implications for their own lived experience. Chloe T. Sun takes on the challenges of God's absence by exploring the often overlooked theological connections between these two Old Testament books.

After the death of Charles Senior, his son, also named Charles, compiled his father’s personal letters into a lesser-known book, which you are about to have the pleasure of listening to. This volume gives a unique perspective into the personal life of the Prince of Preachers. It shows that while he walked in revival his entire life, he was a man like any other. He was a man that had a family he dearly loved, got angry when people twisted his words, was often wracked with sickness and pain, and above all, loved Jesus.