Theology/Religion

This is Niebuhr's immensely influential masterpiece.  Anthropology was Niebuhr's strongest suit, and this powerful overview highlights creation, the fall, the tension between finis and telos, pride and sensuality, hence the ambiguity of all social institutions.  The Nature and Destiny of Man issues a vigorous challenge to Western civilization to understand its roots in the faith of the Bible, particularly the Hebraic tradition. The growth, corruption, and purification of the important Western emphases on individuality are insightfully chronicled here. This book is arguably Reinhold Niebuhr's most important work.  It offers a sustained articulation of Niebuhr's theological ethics and is considered a landmark in twentieth-century thought.  While this author is not representative of an evangelical perspective, this book can be helpful for students who want to have a deeper understanding of theological thought, especially the trends that developed in the 20th century.

Written by preeminent religious historian Robert Wilken, this book provides an introduction to early Christian thought.  Focusing on major figures such as St. Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as a host of less well known thinkers, Wilken chronicles the emergence of a specifically Christian intellectual tradition.

This modern classic of biblical scholarship explains what the apostles meant when they used such words as redeem, covenant, propitiate, reconcile, and justify.  Leon Morris (1914-2006), a well-known Australian New Testament scholar, carefully explores these themes against the backgrounds of both Old Testament Judaism and New Testament Christianity--a rewarding task that results in a more complete understanding of these key Christian terms.

In this classic devotional (taken from the third volume of Calvin's Institutes), John Calvin urges readers to apply the Christian life in a balanced way to mind, heart, and hand.  Rather than focusing on contemplative otherworldliness, the book stresses the importance of a devotedly active Christian life.

In this volume the author traces the development of liberty of conscience from the English Puritan William Perkins to the First Amendment two hundred years later.  He gives special attention to Perkins himself, Roger Williams, the Westminster Assembly, the colonial charters, and state and federal constitutions.  In so doing the author shows how liberty of conscience became a fundamental idea in the American mind and why it remains such an important issue today.

Many books have been written about the Bible, but few explain its origins. This volume provides a fascinating overview of how the Bible was first inspired, canonized, read as sacred literature, copied in ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, and eventually translated into the languages of the world. No other one-volume work can match this wealth of information about the historical development of the Bible.