Theology

The first volume of an ambitious project to document the history of the early church, this is one of John Mason Neale’s crowning achievements. Meticulously researched, Neale’s treatment of the early church in Egypt is among the required reading of any student of oriental Christianity still today. Beginning with the traditions of St. Mark’s foundation of the Egyptian church, the developments of Christianity are traced up through the controversies associated with Nestorius and the Council of Chalcedon. In Neale’s characteristically readable style, the early stages of Eastern Christianity and its noteworthy figures are presented here with historical accuracy and authority. The origins of monasticism, the troubles and triumphs of St. Athanasius, the Arian heresy, and the ecumenical councils are all treated in this important study of the church in Egypt.

Designed as a primer for Catholic children, this booklet became an historic fixture in American Catholic literature. Dividing the Bible into episodes easily understood by children, the author, Bishop Gilmour, explained in easy language, the Roman Catholic understanding of these stories. Wonderfully illustrated with classic woodcuts, this beguiling book also undertook to introduce the general overlay of church history to young readers.

This classic account of the missionary life of James Hannington has delighted generations of readers. Written by an enthusiastic exponent of the mission field, this account has stood the test of time to become a recognized icon of the genre. The first Anglican Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Hannington was reared in a not untypical English setting, eventually being schooled at Oxford. His remarkable accomplishments and savage martyrdom are narrated with poignancy and empathy. A moving account of a man willing to risk all for his convictions, this missionary story appeals to popular readers and those interested in the European presence in Africa.

La Religion a Rome sous les Sévères is a classic work on third century Roman religion, ranging from the stoicism of Marcus Aurelius to the syncretism of Severus. Reville's knowledge of religion in the late antique world is considerable, and his analysis draws together Eastern mystery cults, Baal worship, and Neopythagorean philosophy as well as classical pagan religion. Yielding lasting results, Reville's study will be welcomed by readers interested in the history of religions.

A modern classic, Modern Religious Cults and Movements has continued to garner citations even after further investigation has continued to add to the literature on the subject. Atkins begins with the forms and backgrounds of what he considered the inevitable Catholic and Protestant traditions. This portrayal of non-traditional religions in its own day is a period piece that will be of interest to students of American religion and historians of religion in general.

Written in the period affected by the Neo-Scholastic movement in philosophy, Perrier’s well-known treatment of the subject is still ubiquitously cited. This handy resource lays out the premises of Scholasticism and traces its development up to the author’s time.

Moving away from his usual interest in Egyptian mummies, Pettigrew here addresses another morbid interest in antiquities: the epitaphs and inscriptions of ancient sepulchers. The majority of this study focuses on the epitaphs of England and surrounding regions that fall into several categories ranging from devotional to untruthful, from rhetorical to ridiculous. Laid out catalogue style with an index, this book was among the first of its genre and retains its value for readers interested in the perceptions of death as left in the monuments of the departed.

Undertaking the classic question of the relationship of Islam to Judaism, Geiger begins his treatment with the intertwined questions of what Islam wishes to do, is able to do, and is permitted to do with Judaism. Concepts and opinions such as faith beliefs, moral and legal regulations, and concepts of life are all considered as they moved from Judaism to Islam. A well-regarded early work in the field of comparative religions, Geiger’s work is not to be missed by anyone with an interest in Judaism and its relationship to Islam.

Les Calligraphes et les Miniaturistes de l’Orient Musulman is a highly regarded exploration of the Islamic art of calligraphy. Compiled by the noted Orientalist Clément Huart, the main body of the work is dedicated to the exploration of various schools of the art form throughout history.

Considered one of the greatest works of the Sufi writers, Saadi’s Bostan (The Orchard) is an astounding poetic collection of wisdom that includes anecdotes, proverbs, and quotations that engage the rules of life and psychological observations of individual behavior. Saadi (or Abu Muslih bin Abdallah Shirazi, 1184 – 1283/1291?) was a Persian poet and traveler. Here Bostan is presented in German translation, the work of one of Germany’s great poets, Friedrich Rückert, who also had the distinction of being a professor of oriental languages. The lover of medieval poetry will find this supreme accomplishment of Persian poetry irresistible.

Taking his interest in the Islamic conquest to its northwestern frontier, Lane-Pool here considers the history of the Moors in Spain. The famous battles and their various outcomes are recorded. A gripping account for students of history, this treatment of the Islamic presence in Europe is a solid piece of research that has stood the test of time.

This volume contains the Greek and Syriac versions of the Contra Manicheos by Titus, Bishop of Bostra, as well as the letters of Pope Julius I and a brief expostion of the Christian faith by Gregory the Thaumaturge.

Two chief texts of the pseudo-Clementine literature: the Homilies in Greek, and the Recognitions in Syriac

Apostolic Constitutions, as edited by Paul de Lagarde, who corrects the Greek text extensively from the Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic and Coptic translations.

Catena on selected passages from the Gospels, from Eusebius of Caesarea and others.

Distinguished biblical scholar Paul de Lagarde provides an annotated Coptic version of the New Testament arranged by the General Epistles, preceding Pauline Epistles, and concluding with Philemon. Titles and references are in Latin.

This eastern Aramaic translation of the Old Testament contains one section of Paul de Lagarde's critical edition of the Babylonian Targum.

Henry Boynton Smith presents a complete manual of Christian theology from the perspective of an anti-Unitarian Congregationalist.

This book concentrates on the life and teachings of Jesus, as related by the fashionable Gilded Age clergyman. As a crystallized sample of one sort of Victorian devotion, Beecher's book is full of miracles, scenery and sentiment, but devoid of systematic theology.

The essential presence of the personality of Christ in the Atonement, by the Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology at Oxford; with a historical sketch of the doctrine.

The historicity, testimony, and importance of the Resurrection, by the Professor of Theology at Aberdeen.

These fifteen essays by a Presbyterian clergyman are devoted to the personality of Jesus,

In this second-century defense of Christianity, Athenian philosopher Aristides explains to the Emperor why the Christian way of worship is the only philosophically adequate one.

This book examines Paul as a hybrid of both Jewish and early Christian traditions meeting at the crossroads of a commonly-shared Hellenistic culture.

This book explores baptism in the ancient world, the sects which practiced it, their history, origins, characters, diversity, and influences.