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First-class insight into the life and mission of the Christian church in the first four centuries, based on solid scholarship and a clear sense of mission. --Samuel Escobar, Palmer Theological Seminary Written in a lively and clear manner, this small volume makes many connections between different aspects of early Christian history and practice. I have learned from reading it and recommend it to both scholars and beginners. --Paul Bradshaw, University of Notre Dame Kreider traces the changing nature of the process of conversion across some four centuries. I know of no better treatment of religious initiation undergone by the most seriously committed Christians of this period. --Ramsay MacMullen, Yale University I recommend this book highly to anyone interested not only in the history and theology of Christian initiation, but in the relationship of Christianity and culture throughout the ages. - Maxwell E. Johnson, University of Notre Dame, in 'Worship'
Mark Husbands and Jeffrey P. Greenman bring together select essays from the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference, Ancient Faith for the Church's Future demonstrates the vitality and significance of the early church for contemporary Christian witness and practice. These fourteen essays provide for a significant evangelical ressourcement by considering the importance of the thought and practice of the patristic church especially for our (1) interpreting Scripture, (2) engaging in missional witness through hospitality, social justice and evangelism, (3) renewing our worship and prayer, (4) grasping afresh our salvation through Jesus Christ, and (5) authentically engaging our surrounding culture. Fr...
How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Challenging traditional understandings, Kreider contends the church grew because the virtue of patience was of central importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. They wrote about patience, not evangelism, and reflected on prayer, catechesis, and worship, yet the church grew--not by specific strategies but by patient ferment.
Monthly current affairs magazine from a Christian perspective with a focus on politics, society, economics and culture.
Why is peace such a divisive issue, even among Christians? Why is it so hard to practice right here right now? Why is peace often considered an extra, rather than an essential, to faithful Christian living? The three authors decided to write this book when the Indonesian member of the team remarked to the other two: "If the Christian church is to make any impact on Indonesia, it must address itself to the biggest peace issue -- reconciliation with Muslims." But before the writers could honestly consider that explosive possibility, they first had to ask why Christians find it so difficult to live peaceably with other Christians. They've discovered that conflict is often a prerequisite of peac...
The chantries of medieval England were founded in the belief that intercessory masses shortened the period spent by souls in purgatory. They played a greater role in the daily life of sixteenth-century Englishmen than did monasteries, yet up to now the dissolution of the chantries has not been a popular subject of study. Alan Kreider rectifies this, establishing the importance of the chantries in the story of late medieval and Reformation England. He discusses their social and religious significance. He explains the role of purgatory in the founding of chantries and in the theological debates, popular preaching and political struggles unleashed by the Reformation that led to their confiscation. He explores the forces that led the governments of Henry VIII and Edward VI to jettison traditional practices, and he underlines the pain of state-fostered religious change.
In this time of post-Christendom, worship and mission are to be integrated anew. This is the view of Alan Kreider %26 Eleanor Kreider. Worship and Mission After Christendom looks at how we can re-think our understanding of 'worship' and of 'mission'. In Worship and Mission After Christendom, authors Alan Kreider %26 Eleanor Kreider discuss how mission is now emerging as God's mission, where God is calling all Christians to participate in His plan, and how Worship is changing too; becoming more narrative-based, telling the story of God and celebrating His works both past and present to inspire us to live in hope as people of God.
The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture provides readers with a concise, readable and scholarly introduction to twenty-first century approaches to the Bible. Consists of 30 articles written by distinguished specialists from around the world Draws on interdisciplinary and international examples to explore how the Bible has impacted on all the major social contexts where it has been influential – ancient, medieval and modern, world-wide Gives examples of how the Bible has influenced literature, art, music, history, religious studies, politics, ecology and sociology Each article is accompanied by a comprehensive bibliography Offers guidance on how to read the Bible and its many interpretations
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The late second through third centuries saw the remarkable confluence of the early church's developing identity, theological understanding and praxis, with a period of opposition and intermittent persecution from the world around it. Theology necessarily engaged with the persecution experience, as the church considered the goodness and providence of God, the Name to be confessed and the purposeful outcome of the antagonism they faced. Ruth Sutcliffe argues that the early fathers' theological understanding of the role of persecution in the Christian life informed their exhortations to individual and communal response, contributing to the church's remarkable survival and growth through this pe...