The Hope of the Gospel is one great selection of the more importants sermons of the George Macdonald. George Macdonald's literature inspired authors such as CS Lewis and others important names in world Christian literature. This work presents the most important Christian sermons.

The leading MacDonald scholar settles the longstanding debate about the author’s views on hell with an in-depth analysis of his thought on the afterlife. Throughout his extensive and influential writings on Christian theology, George MacDonald only hints at his perspectives on hell, atonement, and everlasting punishment. Nowhere does he clearly state a doctrinal position on the subject. As a result, a controversy has raged for more than a century about whether or not MacDonald was a universalist. Now MacDonald scholar and biographer Michael Phillips tackles the “great hell debate” head on in this authoritative book. With numerous quotes from MacDonald’s writings and his extensive knowledge of MacDonald’s work, Phillips blows the lid off the debate by illuminating the full scope of MacDonald’s afterlife vision. One of the most significant studies of MacDonald’s theological perspectives ever written, this is a must-read for all serious students of George MacDonald.

A leading George MacDonald scholar presents a fascinating introduction to the 19th century Scottish author’s views on Christianity, faith, and God. The Victorian author, poet, and theologian George MacDonald inspired some of the greatest writers of the early 20th century, including C.S. Lewis, who said MacDonald’s books were pivotal in leading him toward Christianity. While MacDonald’s beloved fiction—including classics like Robert Falconer and At the Back of the North Wind—remain popular, his sermons and nonfiction writings on faith are less well-known. Now MacDonald scholar and biographer Michael Phillips presents a comprehensive introduction to George MacDonald’s theological ideas. In George MacDonald’s Spiritual Vision, Phillips provides extensive, thematically arranged quotes from the author’s writings. This brief volume covers topics from the nature and character of God to salvation, justice and atonement.

A critical study of this nineteenth century Scot's writings in two genres: the sentimental Victorian novel and the symbolic fantasies.

C. S. Lewis once remarked that his debt to George MacDonald's writings was "almost as great as one man can owe to another . . . I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself." Born in Scotland in 1824, MacDonald was educated at King's College in Aberdeen and Highbury Seminary in London. As a Christian minister, he indulged early his fondness--and skill--in the writing of poetry, then fantasy and fiction, as well as sermons. Quickly becoming known for his literary skills, he became a popular writer and lecturer, counting among his friends and fans Lady Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Mark Twain, John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, and Lewis Carroll (who only published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the urging of the MacDonald family). At the time of his death in 1905, he left behind a large volume of work that has had a profound influence on many writers, including G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, and Frederick Buechner. This seminal biography is based upon a careful researching of thousands of letters written to and by MacDonald as well as personal papers and documents collected in museums and libraries in America and Europe. A noted MacDonald scholar, Rolland Hein spent over a decade reading and researching these documents with a view to exploring those aspects of the life and experiences of this great author and saint that have so profoundly influenced many of the seminal authors of the twentieth century.

Inspired by C.S. Lewis’s classic Mere Christianity, the renowned Christian author presents a bold new vision of faith in modern times. In 1952, C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity turned the tide of public debate surrounding the validity of Christian faith. In a series of essays, Lewis made compelling arguments for the existence of God and the divinity of Jesus, answering popular criticisms of the era. Now author Michael Phillips takes up the mantle, going beyond “mere” Christianity to present intellectually rigorous faith as an essential component of contemporary life. Once an avowed atheist, Lewis found spiritual inspiration in the spiritual writings of George MacDonald. As the leading authority on MacDonald’s work, Michael Phillips draws from the same wellspring of wisdom to provide an equally stimulating examination of Christian theology.

The acclaimed Christian author shares his spiritual and intellectual journey away from received dogmas and toward a personal relationship with God. “When I began writing, I recognized that God’s primary call on my life was to speak through my writing to Christians. That call was to challenge readers to think beyond formula-faith. I desired to present no new formulas, but to point to the deeper truths toward which Jesus persistently urged his disciples about his Father. It was a call directed as much toward myself as anyone else.” Novelist and devotional author Michael Phillips takes the reader on a personal journey of faith, chronicling his quest to move beyond learned formulas of belief to an intimate knowledge of God’s Fatherhood. The Salvation Conundrum, the Hell Conundrum, and the Cross Conundrum all came under Phillips’ scrutiny as he learned what it means to be a bold thinking Christian.

The leading MacDonald scholar and biographer presents the most comprehensive work to date on the 19th century author’s life and work. Best known for his fiction and fairy tales, such as the immortal classics Robert Falconer and At the Back of the North Wind, the Victorian author and theologian George MacDonald inspired some of the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Most notably, C.S. Lewis credits MacDonald’s books with inspiring his works of fantasy fiction as well as putting him on the path to Christianity. In this major biographical work, MacDonald scholar Michael Phillips examines how the events of the author’s life contributed to his work and legacy. Referring to this volume as a “bibliographic biography,” Phillips brings his expertise to bear on the complete corpus of MacDonald’s fiction, pointing out each book’s essential themes, and offering insights into how each title can be most perceptively be read.