William Tyndale is one of the most important of the early reformers, and particularly through his translation of the New Testament, has had a formative influence on the development of the English language and religious thought. The sources of his theology are, however, not immediately clear, and historians have often seen him as being influenced chiefly by continental, and in particular Lutheran, ideas. In his important new book, Ralph Werrell shows that the most important influences were to befound closer to home, and that the home-grown Wycliffite tradition was of far greater importance. In doing so, Werrell shows that the apparent differences between Tyndale's writings from the period before 1530 and his later writings, in the period leading up to his arrest and martyrdom in 1526, are spurious, and that a simpler explanation is that his ideas were formed as a result of an upbringing in a household in which Wycliffite ideas were accepted. Werrell explores the impact of humanist writers, and above all Erasmus, on the development of Tyndale's thought. He also shows how far Tyndale's theology, fully developed by 1525, was from that of the continental reformers. He then examines in detail some of the main strands of Tyndale's thought - and in particular, doctrines such as the Fall, Salvation, the Sacraments and the Blood of Christ - showing how different they are from Luther and most other contemporary reformers. While Tyndale, in his early writings, used some of Luther's writings, he made theological changes and additions to Luther's text. The influences of John Trevisa, Wyclif and the later Wycliffite writers were far more important. Werrell shows that without accepting the huge influence of the Wycliffite ideas, Tyndale's significance as a theologian, and the development of the English Reformation cannot be fully understood.

While Tyndale's importance in the history of biblical translation is well understood, his theology has been much less studied. Ralph Werrell has become the leading authority on his theology, and in The Blood of Christ in the Theology of William Tyndale, he explores the background to and influences on one of Tyndale's central theories. Werrell shows that Tyndale's ideas were developed independently, based on a wide range of earlier theology, and - in particular - from Wycliffite thought. He explains the way in which Old Testament sacrifice featured in Tyndale's thought, explaining his many references to the Epistle to the Hebrews, linking as it does Christ's sacrificial blood with the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Tyndale believed that man died spiritually through Adam's disobedience, and that it was brought back to life by Christ's blood. In this volume, Werrell brings out the differences between the covenant theology of Tyndale and both Luther's theology of the cross and Calvin's forensic justification, showing clearly the originality of Tyndale's beliefs.

A Legacy of Preaching, Two-Volume Set--Apostles to the Present Day explores the history and development of preaching through a biographical and theological examination of its most important preachers. Instead of teaching the history of preaching from the perspective of movements and eras, each contributor tells the story of a particular preacher in history, allowing these preachers from the past to come alive and instruct us through their lives, theologies, and methods of preaching. Each chapter introduces readers to a key figure in the history of preaching, followed by an analysis of the theological views that shaped their preaching, their methodology of sermon preparation and delivery, and an appraisal of the significant contributions they have made to the history of preaching. This diverse collection of familiar and lesser-known individuals provides a detailed and fascinating look at what it has meant to communicate the gospel over the past two thousand years. By looking at how the gospel has been communicated over time and across different cultures, pastors, scholars, and homiletics students can enrich their own understanding and practice of preaching for application today. Volume One covers the period from the apostles to the Puritans and profiles thirty preachers including: Origen of Alexandria by Stephen O. Presley John Chrysostom by Paul A. Hartog Augustine of Hippo by Edward L. Smither Gregory the Great by W. Brian Shelton Bernard of Clairvaux by Elizabeth Hoare Francis of Assisi by Timothy D. Holder Saint Bonaventure by G. R. Evans Meister Eckhart by Daniel Farca? John Huss by Mark A. Howell Martin Luther by Robert Kolb John Calvin by Anthony N. S. Lane Jonathan Edwards by Gerald R. McDermott John Wesley by Michael Pasquarello III George Whitefield by Bill Curtis and Timothy McKnight and many more Volume Two covers the period from the Enlightenment to the present day and profiles thirty-one preachers including: Catherine Booth by Roger J. Green Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Thomas J. Nettles Henry Ward Beecher by Michael Duduit John Albert Broadus by Hershael W. York D. L. Moody by Gregg L. Quiggle Billy Sunday by Kristopher K. Barnett Karl Barth by William H. Willimon Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Keith W. Clements D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones by Carl Trueman John Stott by Greg R. Scharf Harry Emerson Fosdick by Dwayne Milioni Aimee Semple McPherson by Aaron Friesen Gardner C. Taylor by Alfonza W. Fulwood and Robert Smith Jr. Billy Graham by John N. Akers Martin Luther King Jr. by Alfonza W. Fulwood, Dennis R. McDonald, and Anil Sook Deo J. I. Packer by Leland Ryken and Benjamin Hernández and many more

Notions of which behaviours comprised sin, and what actions might lead to salvation, sat at the heart of Christian belief and practice in early modern England, but both of these vitally important concepts were fundamentally reconfigured by the reformation. Remarkably little work has been undertaken exploring the ways in which these essential ideas were transformed by the religious changes of the sixteenth-century. In the field of reformation studies, revisionist scholarship has underlined the vitality of late-medieval English Christianity and the degree to which people remained committed to the practices of the Catholic Church up to the eve of the reformation, including those dealing with the mortification of sin and the promise of salvation. Such popular commitment to late-medieval lay piety has in turn raised questions about how the reformation itself was able to take root. Whilst post-revisionist scholars have explored a wide range of religious beliefs and practices - such as death, providence, angels, and music - there has been a surprising lack of engagement with the two central religious preoccupations of the vast majority of people. To address this omission, this collection focusses upon the history and theology of sin and salvation in reformation and post-reformation England. Exploring their complex social and cultural constructions, it underlines how sin and salvation were not only great religious constants, but also constantly evolving in order to survive in the rapidly transforming religious landscape of the reformation. Drawing upon a range of disciplinary perspectives - historical, theological, literary, and material/art-historical - to both reveal and explain the complexity of the concepts of sin and salvation, the volume further illuminates a subject central to the nature and success of the Reformation itself. Divided into four sections, Part I explores reformers’ attempts to define and re-define the theological concepts of sin and salvation, while Part II looks at some of the ways in which sin and salvation were contested: through confessional conflict, polemic, poetry and martyrology. Part III focuses on the practical attempts of English divines to reform sin with respect to key religious practices, while Part IV explores the significance of sin and salvation in the lived experience of both clergy and laity. Evenly balancing contributions by established academics in the field with cutting-edge contributions from junior researchers, this collection breaks new ground, in what one historian of the period has referred to as the ‘social history of theology’.

A consistent, indigenous English doctrine of scriptural perspicuity correlates with a commitment to the availability of the vernacular scriptures in English and supports the English roots of the Early English Reformation (EER). Although political events and figures dominate the EER, its religious component springing from John Wyclif and streaming throughout the tradition must be recognized more widely. This book critically surveys the doctrine of scriptural perspicuity from the beginning of the Church in the first century (noted as early as John Chrysostom) through the seventeenth century, examining its impact on the current debates concerning competing hermeneutical systems, reader response hermeneutics, and the debates in conservative American Presbyterianism and Reformed theology on subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the length of «creation days», and other issues.

The open-air pulpit within the precincts of St. Paul’s Cathedral known as ‘Paul’s Cross’ can be reckoned among the most influential of all public venues in early-modern England. Between 1520 and the early 1640s, this pulpit and its auditory constituted a microcosm of the realm and functioned at the epicentre of events which radically transformed England’s political and religious identities. Through cultivation of a sophisticated culture of persuasion, sermons at Paul’s Cross contributed substantially to the emergence of an early-modern public sphere. This collection of 24 essays seeks to situate the institution of this most public of pulpits and to reconstruct a detailed history of some of the more influential sermons preached at Paul’s Cross during this formative period. Contributors include: Thomas Dabbs, Ellie Gebarowski-Shafer, Cecilia Hatt, Roze Hentschell, Anne James, Gerard Kilroy, John N. King, Torrance Kirby, Bradford Littlejohn, Steven May, Natalie Mears, Mary Morrissey, David Neelands, Kathleen O'Leary, Mark Rankin, Angela Ranson, Richard Rex, John Schofield, Jeanne Shami, P.G. Stanwood, Susan Wabuda, John Wall, Ralph Werrell, and Jason Zuidema.

A major and original account of the theological importance of the father of the English Bible.

Reformation Thought Praise for previous editions: “Theologically informed, lucid, supremely accessible: no wonder McGrath’s introduction to the Reformation has staying power!” —Denis R. Janz, Loyola University “Vigorous, brisk, and highly stimulating. The reader will be thoroughly engaged from the outset, and considerably enlightened at the end.” —Dr. John Platt, Oxford University “[McGrath] is one of the best scholars and teachers of the Reformation... Teachers will rejoice in this wonderfully useful book.” —Teaching History Reformation Thought: An Introduction is a clear, engaging, and accessible introduction to the European Reformation of the sixteenth century. Written for readers with little to no knowledge of Christian theology or history, this indispensable guide surveys the ideas of the prominent thought leaders of the period, as well as its many movements, including Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptism, and the Catholic and English Reformations. The text offers readers a framework to interpret the events of the Reformation in full view of the intellectual landscape and socio-political issues that fueled its development. Based on Alister McGrath’s acclaimed lecture course at Oxford University, the fully updated fifth edition incorporates the latest academic research in historical theology. Revised and expanded chapters describe the cultural backdrop of the Reformation, discuss the Reformation’s background in late Renaissance humanism and medieval scholasticism, and distill the findings of recent scholarship, including work on the history of the Christian doctrine of justification. A wealth of pedagogical features—including illustrations, updated bibliographies, a glossary, a chronology of political and historical ideas, and several appendices—supplement McGrath’s clear explanations. Written by a world-renowned theologian, Reformation Thought: An Introduction, Fifth Edition upholds its reputation as the ideal resource for university and seminary courses on Reformation thought and the widespread change it inspired in Christian belief and practice.

In the broad context of Christianity as it developed over two millennia, and with special reference to the last three centuries, this discussion finds that Evangelicalism has repeatedly offered a reduced and distorted understanding of the faith. The evangelical outlook is much less scriptural than evangelicals generally assume. When it comes to appreciating the order of creation, our calling to develop integral Christian thinking and living, the religious significance of culture, and the coming of the kingdom, reductionist Evangelicalism struggles with its only rarely acknowledged deficiencies. As a result, we have all too often ended up with a Christianity shorn of its cosmic scope and wide cultural implications, and restricted to institutional church life and the cultivation of private spiritual experience. The consequences are frequently enervating and corrosive. Without disregarding what is important in the past, evangelicals are here challenged to take the Bible much more seriously, and thereby transcend the limitations of their habitual reductionism. Evangelicals are encouraged to embrace an integral and full-orbed understanding of Christian discipleship that will equip the faithful to address the deep and complex challenges of the twenty-first century.

Explores the cultural functions played in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by accounts of the Bible's origins.