This collection of essays ponders upon the intricate relations between the military and the spiritual from the Middle Ages to the present day. In order to analyse human attitudes towards conflicts, it is necessary to dwell upon the nebulous area where the religious and political spheres interweave so tightly that they become virtually impossible to distinguish. Indeed, despite remaining the responsibility of the state, the political decision to go to war depends heavily on some spiritual underpinning since, without a moral, ethical, or religious justification, it stands for gratuitous violence and is often equated with aggression. Situated as they are at the intersection of religious and political awareness, war sermons are an invaluable source of information regarding societies in times of conflict. Indeed, whether favourable or hostile to the waging of war, preachers participated in the edification of parishioners’ opinion. The writing, delivering or reading of sermons shaped the mental process of peoples who sought their ministers’ moral and spiritual guidance in times of crisis. This collection of essays offers contributions to the renewed debate on the function of war, its representations and its rhetoric as generators of identity.

Beginning with the chapters on warfare in the first three volumes of the New Cambridge Modern History, Sir John Hale's writings on the subject present an original and rich assessment of war's place in Renaissance life and thought. The first section of this collection constitutes a major contribution to the study of Renaissance fortifications, their design, planning and execution, and their political as well as their military significance. The second deals with the recruitment and training of officers and men. In the third, contemporary reactions to war are analysed in a variety of social and intellectual contexts. The archival and literary sources drawn on are primarily Italian, in the second place English, but the imaginative scene is that of western Europe as a whole.

This wide-ranging volume covers the final fifteen of the thirty-three years that Jonathan Edwards preached and includes some of his greatest sermons--including his Farewell Sermons to his Northampton congregation. The period is defined by Edwards' inventive strategies to improvise during the delivery of his sermons. Considering dependence on the written text in the pulpit to be a serious failing, he devised a double-columned, outlined format for his sermon manuscripts and continued to use it for the rest of his life. Sermons from this period also include those preached to Mahican and Mohawk Indians at the mission post of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Edwards' various writings of 1743-58 map the complex terrain of his spiritual, intellectual, and professional life after the Great Awakening. He deals with topics ranging from the spiritual role of youth in the community to the struggles over communion in his Northampton congregation to the war with the French and their Indian allies.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1868.

Fear runs rampant in the world today, including fears related to the rise of nationalism, refugees, political corruption, violence, religious extremism, and climate crises. Amid these existential realities, the biblical idea of "the fear of God" poses theological opportunities and challenges for those who address these themes in their preaching and public ministry. This collection of conference presentations from the 2018 meeting of Societas Homiletica focuses on how preaching and homiletical studies around the world address the rhetorical, biblical, political, and spiritual dimensions of fear as it has emerged in recent decades in church and society.

This book identifies the impasse between classical Protestant and contemporary charismatic and Pentecostal pneumatologies as a fundamental theological problem. Its goal is to contribute a constructive pneumatological proposal for moving beyond this impasse, based on the resources of the theology of Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842-1919). The disagreement is over the question of unmediated experience of the Holy Spirit. Luther's rejection of 'enthusiastic' pneumatologies on the basis of a narrow concept of the mediation of the Word and a pessimistic anthropology became Protestant orthodoxy. In relation to classical Protestantism, the primary theological distinctive of charismatic theology is its strong affirmation of unmediated experience of the Spirit in Christian life and worship. The Pentecostal movement's rapid growth in the past century has brought this difference to the fore. Christoph Blumhardt's theology, which integrates pessimistic anthropology and unmediated experience, is well-suited to exploring the impasse between the two theological traditions.

Looking at topics across the spectrum of America's wars, religious groups, personalities, and ideas, this volume shows that even in an increasingly secular society, religious roots and values run deep throughout American society and are elevated in times of war. There is a long and deep relationship between religion, politics, and war in U.S. history. While there is a constitutional and legal separation of religion and the state in American society, religion has been and remains a potent force in American culture and politics affecting many aspects of life, including perspectives on war and peace and the experience of war in U.S. history. From the American Revolution to the wars of the 21st century, religious values have informed and influenced American attitudes toward war and peace and have provided rationale for support and non-support of American participation in conflicts. An overview essay surveys the background and significance of religion in American culture and provides historical context for discussions of contemporary topics. A timeline highlights key events related to wars and conflicts. The volume then includes more than 50 topical essays that discuss specific wars as well as religious themes within culture and politics, ultimately providing a detailed overview of the intersection of religion, war, and politics in contemporary America.

This book looks at the role of preaching culture in eighteenth-century England. Beyond the confines of churches, preaching was heard at political anniversaries and elections, thanksgiving and fast days, and society and charity meetings, all of which were major occasions on the English political and social calendars. Dozens of sermons were published each year, and the popularity of sermons, both from the pulpit and in print, make them crucial for understanding the role of religion in eighteenth-century society. To provide a broad perspective on preaching culture, this book focuses on print and manuscript evidence for preaching in London. London had a unique combination of preaching venues and audiences, including St. Paul's cathedral, parliament, the royal court, the corporation of London, London-based societies, and numerous parish churches and Dissenting meetinghouses. The capital had the greatest range of preaching anywhere in England. However, many of the developments in London reflected trends in preaching culture across the country. This was a period when English society experienced significant social, religious and political changes, and preachers' roles evolved in response to these changes. Early in the century, preachers were heavily engaged in partisan politics. However, as these party heats waned, they increasingly became involved with societies and charities that were part of the blossoming English urban culture. The book also explores the impact of sermons on society by looking at contemporary perceptions of preaching, trends in the publication of sermons, the process of the publication and the distribution of sermons, and the reception of sermons. It demonstrates how preachers of various denominations adapted to an increasingly literate and print-centred culture and the continuing vitality of oral preaching culture. The book will be of interest not only to scholars of religion and sermon literature, but also to those interested in eighteenth-century politics, urban society, oral and print cultures, and publishing. JENNIFER FAROOQ is an independent scholar.