Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin’s seminal work on Protestant systematic theology. Highly influential in the Western world and still widely read by theological students today, it was published in Latin in 1536 and in his native French in 1541, with the definitive editions appearing in 1559 (Latin) and in 1560 (French). The book was written as an introductory textbook on the Protestant faith for those with some learning already and covered a broad range of theological topics...

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Switzerland. Calvin developed his theology in his biblical commentaries as well as in his sermons and treatises. Calvin produced commentaries on most of the books of the Bible...

In 1548, Calvin published his "Commentaries on six of St Paul's Epistles, viz., Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Timothy. In his "Commentaries," the peculiar doctrines which mark his system of theology occur, of course, in a scattered manner, as the occasion of his text may call them forth.

While many of Calvin's sermons are now lost after they were sold by weight by the library of Geneva, his sermons on Ephesians have been preserved, having been translated into Early Modern English by Arthur Golding . Arthur Golding's claim to fame is that his translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses influenced Shakespeare. A comparison with Calvin's commentary on the same letter shows that Calvin saw preaching as no mere explanation of the text - the sermons work consecutively through the text but circle round on the point many time with brief illustration and continuous application to the hearers...

In offering this selection of Sermons to the publick, the publisher has not been governed by Sectarian principles, but has selected Sermons upon various subjects, that the reader may understand the general doctrine held forth by those eminent divines. When we consider the mental darkness which enveloped the world in the days of Luther and Calvin, under Popish superstition and idolatry, and that theirs were some of the first attempts to emancipate the human intellect from more than "Egyptian darkness,"...

Two godly and learned sermons, made by that famous and worthy instrument in God's church, John Calvin. Which sermons were long since translated out of Latin into English, by Robert Horne late Bishop of Winchester, at what time he suffered exile from his country, for the testimony of a good conscience, as his Apology in the beginning of the book will witness. And because these sermons have long lain hidden in silence, and many godly and religious persons, have been very desirous of them: at their earnest request they are now published.

The prayers of John Calvin, however, have received little attention, as compared with the fame which crowns his theological writings. His commentaries upon Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor prophets were originally delivered in the form of lectures, each followed by appropriate petitions. Both lectures and prayers were extemporaneous. In his epistle dedicatory, prefaced to the commentary upon the minor prophets, and addressed to the King of Sweden, Calvin says: "Had it been in my power I would rather have tried to prevent the wider circulation of that extemporaneous kind of teaching, intended for the particular benefit of my auditory, and with which benefit I was abundantly satisfied.

Of all commentators I believe John Calvin to be the most candid...He was no trimmer and pruner of texts. He gave their meaning as far as he knew it. His honest intention was to translate the Hebrew and the Greek originals as accurately as he possibly could, and then to give the meaning which would naturally be conveyed by such Greek and Hebrew words: he laboured, in fact, to declare, not his own mind upon the Spirit's words, but the mind of the Spirit as couched in those words. Dr. King very truly says of him, "No writer ever dealt more fairly and honestly by the Word of God...

Now, my design in this work has been to prepare and qualify students of theology for the reading of the divine word, that they may have an easy introduction to it, and be enabled to proceed in it without any obstruction. For I think I have given such a comprehensive summary, and orderly arrangement of all the branches of religion, that, with proper attention, no person will find any difficulty in determining what ought to be the principal objects of his research in the Scripture, and to what end he ought to refer any thing it contains...

The reading-over of these present sermons will sufficiently declare what commodity and profit they may bring with them: As in very deed the author of them right well showeth throughout all his work, in what sort the Lord God hath heretofore been served and also how ordinarily he is served by him. And therefore, for a full recommendation as well of the author as also of the work itself, I intend through God his assistance to set forth none other thing than the same fruit and profit, which they have already gotten that have read them and that fruit which they may make report of, that shall hereafter read them...

The Conferences were written by John Cassian at the request of Pope Leo. They document the conversations that Cassian had with the elders living in Scetis , and about principles of the spiritual and ascetic life. The work would go on to be a classic for both the Western and Eastern monastic world, and would frequently be read at mealtimes. - Summary by ancientchristian

John Churton Collins was a literary critic who lived from 1848-1908. In 1904 John Collins became professor of English literature at Birmingham University (United Kingdom). He writes about the lives of English and German authors beginning with William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and ending with Alfred, Lord Tennyson(1809-1892). He wrote the book in response to On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, by Thomas Carlyle (1840). His son, L.C. Collins, collected these essays from various sources after his father's death. Additional proof-listening by Larry Wilson.

This is a picturesque and moving account of the life and work of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821), the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. This widowed mother of five established schools in New York and Maryland and was the first to found a congregation of Religious Sisters in the United States, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, whose motherhouse stands today in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

John Donne (1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean poet and preacher, representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works, notable for their realistic and sensual style, include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and immediacy of metaphor, compared with that of his contemporaries. Towards the end of his life Donne wrote works that challenged death, and the fear that it inspired in many men, on the grounds of his belief that those who die are sent to Heaven to live eternally...

Devotions upon Emergent Occasions is a 1624 prose work by the English writer John Donne. It is a series of reflections that were written as Donne recovered from a serious illness, believed to be either typhus or relapsing fever. (Donne does not clearly identify the disease in his text.) The work consists of twenty-three parts describing each stage of the sickness. Each part is further divided into a Meditation, an Expostulation, and a Prayer. The seventeenth meditation is perhaps the best-known part of the work...

John Donne was an English Jacobean preacher, sometime lawyer, later in life a Member of Parliament and Royal Chaplain. Marrying for love against the wishes of his influential father-in-law; Donne's career was cast into shadow: forcing him to support his wife, Anne, as best he might under a specter of unforgiving penury. Despite such hardships - perhaps because of them - Donne's writings demonstrate a mastery of poetry layered with metaphysical meaning and mystery: which continues to delight and challenge modern-day readers...

John Eliot, a North American missionary, advocates for post-civil-war England to adopt a representative democracy, using the Mosaic Law as a model.

Shows God's providence in every aspect of our lives. - Summary by RuthP

"The present work has as its basis the series of five Short Histories by the same author, which appeared in the following order: The Reformation, 1884; The Early Church, 1886; The Medieval Church, 1887; The Modern Church in Europe, 1888; and The Church in the United States, 1890. The five volumes form a connected History of the Church nearly down to the present time." John Fletcher Hurst was an American bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He wrote the 5 histories as Chautauqua textbooks. The audio files are in the following order:Part 1: The Early Church Part 2: The Medieval Church Part 3: The Reformation Part 4: The Modern Church in Europe Part 5: The Church in the United States

The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, is an English Protestant account of the persecutions of Protestants, many of whom had died for their beliefs within the decade immediately preceding its first publication. It was first published by John Day, in 1563. Lavishly illustrated with many woodcuts, it was the largest publishing project undertaken in Britain up to that time. Commonly known as, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”, the work’s full title begins with “Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church...

The purpose of this book is not to decide the religious issue of the present day, but merely to present the issue as sharply and clearly as possible, in order that the reader may be aided in deciding it for himself...In the sphere of religion, in particular, the present time is a time of conflict; the great redemptive religion which has always been known as Christianity is battling against a totally diverse type of religious belief, which is only the more destructive of the Christian faith because it makes use of traditional Christian terminology...

There is a tendency in the modern Church to neglect the study of Bible history. Such neglect will inevitably result in a loss of power. The gospel is a record of something that has happened, and uncertainty about the gospel is fatal weakness. Furthermore the historical study of the apostolic age—that age when divine revelation established the great principles of the Church's life—is the best corrective for a thousand vagaries. Much can be learned from modern pedagogy; but after all what is absolutely fundamental, both for teacher and for student, is an orderly acquaintance with the Bible facts...

Henry Martyn , a brilliant and ambitious young student in Cambridge, England, was led by God to be a missionary to India and Persia. While pastoring, starting schools, and teaching the locals as well as Europeans through his role as chaplain for the East India Company, he worked on several far-reaching Bible translations. All this despite much weakness and illness due to harsh climates and difficult travels. This short life of 31 years is a testament to the power of God to work through one life fully dedicated to Him.

As a rule, when Cardinal Newman's poetry is mentioned, people think of "The Pillar of the Cloud," better known as "Lead, Kindly Light." This lyric is only one of the many beautiful poems written by an author whose fame as a writer of the finest modern prose in the English language has eclipsed his reputation as a poet. Nevertheless, he wrote a very great poem, "The Dream of Gerontius"—a poem which the intellectual world admires more and more every year, and which yields its best only after careful study and consideration...

John Henry Newman's sermons enter the human heart easily and with transformative power. Lucid thinking, beautiful English prose, an integrated theology, insightful spiritual psychology, and a meditative biblical focus combine to make his sermons live even though many of them were written and preached almost 200 years ago. A convert to Roman Catholicism from the Anglican Church, Newman was made a Cardinal and had a wide influence on Catholic thought. More recently, his spiritual depth and personal holiness have been recognized, and in 2020 he was canonized becoming Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman. - Summary by Russell Hobbs

The Two Treatises of Civil Government is a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke. The First Treatise is an extended attack on Sir Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, which argued for a divinely-ordained, hereditary, absolute monarchy. The more influential Second Treatise outlines a theory of civil society based on natural rights and contract theory. Locke begins by describing the “state of nature,” and goes on to explain the hypothetical rise of property and civilization, asserting that the only legitimate governments are those which have the consent of the people...

The first of 14 volumes, this book discusses ancient civilization looking primarily at religion and philosophy.

"Jesus of Nazareth, a Biography, by John Mark," recognizes the author of the second Gospel as that "John, whose surname was Mark" (Acts 15:37), whom Barnabas chose as companion when he sailed for Cyprus on his second missionary journey. In making use of the new title, the plan of the Editor is to present "The Gospel: According to Mark" as it would be printed were it written in the twentieth rather than the first century. (Introduction from Forward, by D. Appleton & Co, Publishers, 1922)

This book is a collection of English translations of medieval Latin hymns. It contains interesting historical and/or liguistic facts about each hymn, some of which are still used in one form or other in the modern Christian church.Note: An asterisk implies a belief that the piece so marked has not previously appeared in an English translation. - Summary by Devorah Allen

Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes. Based on the Gospel of Luke’s version of the Temptation of Christ, Paradise Regained is more thoughtful in writing style, and thrives upon the imagery of Jesus’ perfection in contrast to the shame of Satan.

Having been publicly acknowledged as God's "beloved Son," Jesus retires to the desert to meditate upon what it means to be the Messiah, about whose coming many conflicting opinions have been circulating among the Jews. Although a learned rabbi, Jesus possesses no knowledge beyond what is available to all human beings. Satan also takes a new interest in this favored "son of God" and seeks to learn what threat he constitutes. The poem consists of a debate between these two adversaries, each seeking the same understanding of precisely what mankind's Savior will do in a world where the way to success typically lies through "wealth ...

The celebrated German-British composer G.F. Handel premiered his now famous oratorio "Messiah" in 1742. In 1785 there was a celebration at Westminster Abbey of Handel's birth 100 years before. It was on this occasion that John Newton decided to preach 50 sermons from the Bible passages that form the libretto of Messiah. The sermons were preached over two years in the Parish Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard-Street - 3 miles from Westminster Abbey. - Summary by InTheDesert

Four Letters to a Minister of an Independent Church by a Minister of the Church of England Quid me alta silentia cogis rumpere? - Virgil Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love — Rom. xiv.19 Gal. v.6 First printed in 1764 - Summary by Title Page

John Owen, in this Puritan classic, writes succinctly of the matters of the heart in dealing with sin in the life of the Christian. In a way that cuts right to the heart of the matter while leaving no room for excuses, Owen encourages the Christian to “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

This is a small volume of Evening Prayers. Thoughts to think on in the quiet before bedtime; ideas that edify the soul, calm the mind and prepare our bodies and spirits for sleep. Each is not long, but they are edifying and thought provoking. As the author says in the prefact "May He with whom is "the residue of the Spirit," "cause His Angel to fly swiftly" and touch us in the time of our Evening Oblation; and may all that is amiss in thought and word be lost in the fragrant incense-cloud which ascends from the Golden Altar before the Throne!" "And thou shalt make an ALTAR to burn INCENSE upon: "And thou shalt put it ...

A short series of Christian sermons covering a range of topics, with the common thread throughout being the relationship between what we do know, what we may know, and what we cannot yet know about our lives, our world, and our faith. - Summary by Devorah Allen

The Three Essays on Religion were written at different times during Mill's life, and only published after his death. The first two, 'Nature' and 'The Utility of Religion' date from the 1850s - the period between the publication of 'The Principles of Political Economy' and 'On Liberty'. The third longer essay, 'Theism' was written between 1868 and 1870. The three essays were published posthumously in 1874.

Part 1 lays out the framework for Positivism as originated in France by Auguste Comte in his Cours de Philosophie Positive. Mill examines the tenets of Comte's movement and alerts us to defects. Part 2 concerns all Comte's writings except the Cours de Philosophie Positive. During Comte's later years he gave up reading newspapers and periodicals to keep his mind pure for higher study. He also became enamored of a certain woman who changed his view of life. Comte turned his philosophy into a religion, with morality the supreme guide. Mill finds that Comte learned to despise science and the intellect, instead substituting his frantic need for the regulation of change.

An outline of the Government of God as held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as outlined by John Taylor, third President of the Church. Summary by Wayne Cooke.

Pantheisticon: or, the Form Of Celebrating the Socratic-Society. Divided into Three Parts. Which Contain, I. The Morals and Axioms of the Pantheists; or the Brotherhood. II. Their Deity and Philosophy. III. Their Liberty, and a Law, neither deceiving, nor to be deceived. To which is prefix’d a Discourse upon the Antient and Modern Societies of the Learned, as also upon the Infinite and Eternal Universe. And subjoined, a short dissertation upon a Two-fold Philosophy of the Pantheists, that is to be followed; together with an Idea of the best and most accomplished Man...

This work addresses the birth and development of a rationalist stream in the Christianity of England in the seventeenth century. In this volume, Tulloch focuses on five latitudinarian churchmen, examining their lives and thought. - Summary by Barry Ganong

John Wesley, along with his brother Charles, are credited with founding the Methodist denomination. "The following Sermons contain the substance of what I have been preaching for between eight and nine years last past. Every serious man who peruses these, will therefore see, in the clearest manner, what these doctrines are which I embrace and teach as the essentials of true religion." This first series contains sermons concerning the way to heaven.

John Wesley, along with his brother Charles, are credited with founding the Methodist denomination. "The following Sermons contain the substance of what I have been preaching for between eight and nine years last past. Every serious man who peruses these, will therefore see, in the clearest manner, what these doctrines are which I embrace and teach as the essentials of true religion." This second series contains sermons concerning important Christian doctrines and practices.

A collection of poems reflecting on Christmas and the New Year, written by the founder of the Methodist denomination.

John Wesley, along with his brother Charles, are credited with founding the Methodist denomination. "The following Sermons contain the substance of what I have been preaching for between eight and nine years last past. Every serious man who peruses these, will therefore see, in the clearest manner, what these doctrines are which I embrace and teach as the essentials of true religion." The third through fifth series contain sermons on a wide variety of topics, from sermons preached at funerals, to natural disasters, to the roles of elders and deacons.

“… an alemaunde tre schal floure, a locuste schal be maad fat, and capparis schal be distried; for a man schal go in to the hous of his euerlastyngnesse…” – Eccl. xii, 5 (see Note below).Traditionally composed by Solomon sometime around 950-970 BCE but dated on linguistic evidence somewhere in the third century, this meditation on the futility of mankind’s striving can bring comfort to those of firm or fragile faith, or of no faith at all. The text used here is a revision of Wycliffe’s original translation, made by his follower John Purvey in the mid-1390s...

Born to a prosperous cloth merchant of Assisi, Francis (1182-1226) lived the typically high-spirited life of a wealthy young man of his day, which included fighting as a soldier. In 1205, while away at war, he experienced a vision that beckoned him return to Assisi, where he soon lost his taste for the worldly life and began to live a life of evangelical poverty in imitation of Jesus Christ. He embarked upon a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged for alms alongside the poor at St. Peter's Basilica...

Jonathan Edwards was a colonial American Congregational preacher, theologian, and missionary to Native Americans. Edwards “is widely acknowledged to be America’s most important and original philosophical theologian.” His work is very broad in scope, but he is often associated with his defense of Calvinist theology, the metaphysics of theological determinism, and the Puritan heritage. His famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” emphasized the just wrath of God against sin and contrasted it with the provision of God for salvation; the intensity of his preaching sometimes resulted in members of the audience fainting, swooning, and other more obtrusive reactions...

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a pre-revolutionary American pastor and academic in Massachusetts, and is also widely considered to be both the last of the great Puritans, and a founder of modern evangelicalism. In 1732, his church and many churches in the surrounding region experienced “The Great Awakening”, a massive religious revival. The Great Awakening saw many people having heightened “affections”, or emotions, in response to their increased spirituality – this included excessive weeping, joyous outbursts, and many other manifestations that concerned more conservative people around them...