"In the latter part of the second and in the former part of the third century there flourished at Carthage the famous Tertullian, the first Latin writer of the church whose works are come down to us. All his writings betray a sour, monastic, harsh, and severe turn of mind. "Touch not, taste not, handle not," might seem to have been the maxims of his religious conduct. The abilities of Tertullian, as an orator and a scholar, are far from being contemptible, and have doubtless given him a reputation to which his theological knowledge by no means entitles him...

In this work Tertullian defends Christianity, demanding legal toleration and that Christians be treated as all other sects of the Roman Empire. His most famous apologetic work, written in Carthage in the summer or autumn of AD 197.

A DOUBTER'S Doubts about Science and Religion was first published anonymously, at a time when the author was Assistant Commissioner of Police and Head of the Criminal Investigation Department, at Scotland Yard . As the book is addressed to men of the world, it speaks from the standpoint of scepticism — the true scepticism which tests everything, not the sham sort which credulously accepts anything that seems to discredit the Bible. If, for example, the Bible taught evolution, it may be averred that evolution would be scoffed by many who now cling to it with a childlike faith worthy of the infant class in the Sunday School...

This book [was] written in war-time to minister comfort and, if it may be, to reinforce hope and faith.

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

Scripture translated according to the letter and idioms of the original languages.

He who attempts to expound the Epistle to the Romans, when his sacred task is over, is little disposed to speak about his Commentary; he is occupied rather with an ever deeper reverence and wonder over the Text which he has been permitted to handle, a Text so full of a marvellous man, above all so full of God. It remains only to express the hope that these pages may serve in some degree to convey to their readers a new Tolle, Lege for the divine Text itself; if only by suggesting to them sometimes the words of St Augustine, "To Paul I appeal from all interpreters of his writings."

The Catena Aurea presents the commentaries of the greatest theologians of the Church as if they were having a discussion on each verse of the Bible. St. Thomas Aquinas put this work together from sermons and commentaries on the Gospels composed by over eighty early Church Fathers, providing their insights into each passage. The work shows his intimate acquaintance with the Early Fathers. The work was commissioned by Pope Urban IV, so that everyone could understand the established meaning of the Gospels from the teaching of the early Fathers. - Summary by ancientchristian

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

Simeon's Works, as they were published 1832, fill twenty-one large octavo volumes, and the title-page reads, "Horae Homileticae or Discourses now first digested into one continued Series and forming a Commentary upon every book of the Old and New Testament ; to which is annexed an improved Edition of a Translation of Claude's Essay on the Composition of a Sermon". It was the literary achievement of his life, and no unworthy one. These volumes, now long out of print, contain many discourses fully...

It sometimes happens, when we are dispirited, that God's gracious gift of reviving comes to us along a very ordinary channel--in the form, perhaps, of some tonic, heartening passage found in reading, or the "morning face" and cheerful greeting of a friend. That is often all that we need--when our hurt is not serious-- to send us back with a new zest and courage to our tasks; and that is the sort of usefulness which is desired for this book.It does not pretend to deal with the great themes or the great hours of the religious life, but only with some of its simple encouragements and ideals for everyday...

Frank Boreham was a well known preacher who served in England, Australia, and New Zealand. He published dozens of books and thousands of editorials during his lifetime, with no sign of slowing down, even up until his death at age 88. He wrote with a distinctive style, seeming to be able to draw a spiritual lesson out of any conceivable topic.In this volume, the author has "tried to point out a few of the things that make [the world] so loveable. If something I have said," he writes, "makes somebody somewhere more glad to be alive, I shall be inclined to forgive this truant pen of mine its inordinate garrulity." - Summary by Devorah Allen

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,"...

Christian Science is a 1907 collection of essays Mark Twain wrote about Christian Science, beginning with an article that was published in Cosmopolitan in 1899. Although Twain was interested in mental healing and the ideas behind Christian Science, he was hostile towards its founder, Mary Baker Eddy . He called her, according to American writer Caroline Fraser, "[g]rasping, sordid, penurious, famishing for everything she sees—money, power, glory—vain, untruthful, jealous, despotic, arrogant, insolent, pitiless where thinkers and hypnotists are concerned, illiterate, shallow, incapable of reasoning outside of commercial lines, immeasurably selfish...

The day on which a volume of C. H. Spurgeon's Pulpit Prayers appears is a day to be desired. Decidedly this selection of the great preacher's prayers supplies a want. Lovers of C. H. Spurgeon will delight in this treasury of devotion. It was memorable to hear this incomparable devine when he preached. It was often even more memorable to hear him pray. Prayer was the instinct of his soul, and the atmosphere of his life. It was his "vital breath" and "native air." How naturally he inhaled and exhaled it! The greatness of his prayers more and more impresses and delights me...

"Much of the preaching and teaching of religion is in a theological dialect that is scarcely more intelligible to the people than a foreign language. Many pulpits need an interpreter as much as do the foreign missionaries among the heathen. The attempt of the writer is to put the matter of full salvation in a simple, direct way, that all may see the simplicity of a subject that is sometimes “darkened with words". It is an attempt to show that the experience of a clean heart is but the answer to a prayer that is both scriptural and reasonable. It is an attempt to furnish food for hungry souls...”

The Explanation of the Apocalypse by Ven. Beda is the earliest of the many works of our own writers on that Book, and, as such, may well deserve to appear in a form accessible to English readers.The chief characteristics of Beda's method of exposition may be thus stated. The several visions are considered not to be successive, but contemporaneous, with occasional recapitulations and to represent the condition of the Church in all ages, under different aspects. The thousand years, in the twentieth chapter, are interpreted of the present period of the Church's existence, in accordance with the opinion of St Augustine, in the second part of his De Civitate Dei...

Many of B. B. Warfield's diverse and erudite theological writings were published as long articles in The Princeton Theological Review, sometimes spanning many issues of the periodical. The articles in this collection showcase the breadth of Warfield's scholarship and interest, his clarity of analysis of cultural trends and his deep Calvinistic piety. The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 2 The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 3 The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 4

It is no easy matter to write a book for the family of God. Yet it is for them that these thoughts on chastisement are written. They may be found not unsuitable for the younger brethren of the man of sorrows. For the way is rough, and the desert-blast is keen. Who of them can say aught regarding their prospects here, save that tribulation awaiteth them in every place as they pass along. This they must know and prepare for, grasping more firmly at every step the gracious hand that is leading them...

Pacian, Bishop of Barcelona in the Pyrenees, of chastened eloquence, eminent for his life as for his writings, wrote various works, of which is the Cervus and against the Novatians. He died lately in the reign of Theodosius, in extreme old age; i.e. before A. 392. He was born then probably about 30 years after the martyrdom of St. Cyprian, was a younger contemporary of Hosius, and through him joined on to the Council of Eliberis, and the restoration of discipline in the Spanish Church. His memory was kept with great affection at Barcelona on May 9, on which he is commemorated in the Martyrologium Romanum, in words taken from St...

This book needs a preliminary note that its scope be not misunderstood. The view suggested is historical rather than theological, and does not deal directly with a religious change which has been the chief event of my own life; and about which I am already writing a more purely controversial volume. It is impossible, I hope, for any Catholic to write any book on any subject, above all this subject, without showing that he is a Catholic; but this study is not specially concerned with the differences between a Catholic and a Protestant...

The Catena Aurea presents the commentaries of the greatest theologians of the Church as if they were having a discussion on each verse of the Bible. St. Thomas Aquinas put this work together from sermons and commentaries on the Gospels composed by over eighty early Church Fathers, providing their insights into each passage. The work shows his intimate acquaintance with the Early Fathers. The work was commissioned by Pope Urban IV, so that everyone could understand the established meaning of the Gospels from the teaching of the early Fathers. - Summary by ancientchristian

This volume of the Reformation collection begins with a summary of Protestant belief in the form of the Belgic Confession and John Calvin's 'cover letter' to Francis I of France requesting that he read Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion to understand the Protestant doctrine from its source rather than secondhand. 100 aphorisms summarising the contents of the Institutes follow as well as some instructions given by Thomas Cranmer showing the effect of the Reformation for clergy and parishes, as does a short protestation from the reformer William Tyndale expressing the Reformation methodology privileging the Bible as the source of doctrine and practice...

The Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th-century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda. According to María de Ágreda, the book was to a considerable extent dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary and regarded the life of the Virgin Mary and the divine plan for creation and the salvation of souls. The work alternates between descriptions of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary's life, and the spiritual guidance she provides to the author, by whom her words were reproduced for the spiritual benefit and growth of the reader...

Walter Waddington Shirley was made Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford in 1863. This short work comprises the text of a lecture he gave at Oxford University in January, 1866. In it, he describes the historical setting in which scholasticism flourished and then summarizes its features. - Summary by Barry Ganong

The Dhammapada collects sayings of the Buddha, offering advice on how to live a full and thoughtful life. The translation used for this recording is by Friedrich Max Müller and was first published in the 19th century. - Summary by Newgatenovelist

M. Schele de Vere was born in Sweden in 1820 and studied language in Germany before eventually becoming a professor of modern language at the University of Virginia in 1844 where he would teach for more than 50 years. During his time as a professor, he would write many books, mostly focusing on language. One of his last works, being first published in 1873, "Modern Magic" instead focuses on the occult. From the preface: "The main purpose of our existence on earth—aside from the sacred and paramount...

The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. According to its foreword, the publication was designed to be "a new statement of the fundamentals of Christianity." However, its contents reflect a concern with certain theological innovations related to liberal Christianity, especially biblical higher criticism. It is widely considered to be the foundation of modern Christian fundamentalism. The essays were written by sixty-four different authors, representing most of the major Protestant Christian denominations...

This Bible version tries to stay as close to the original Hebrew and Greek texts as possible. As stated in the preface to the second edition, "If a translation gives a present tense when the original gives a past, or a past when it has a present; a perfect for a future, or a future for a perfect; an a for a the, or a the for an a; an imperative for a subjunctive, or a subjunctive for an imperative; a verb for a noun, or a noun for a verb, it is clear that verbal inspiration is as much overlooked as if it had no existence...

A book of sermons on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Given at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, New York City, on Good Friday, 1916.

Spoken hymns and readings for a shorter form of the Easter Vigil liturgy.

The collection begins with two short works on the Trinity by Gregory of Nyssa, followed by two works on Christology by Theodoret and Pope Leo I. Victorinus interprets Genesis 1 allegorically to justify certain early church practices and traces the number 7 through the whole Bible. Hippolytus lists various liturgical practices of the Roman church at the start of the 3rd century with potentially much earlier origins. In "On the Faith", Gregory of Nyssa defends the divinity of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit...

The Catena Aurea presents the commentaries of the greatest theologians of the Church as if they were having a discussion on each verse of the Bible. St. Thomas Aquinas put this opus together from sermons and commentaries on the Gospels composed by over eighty early Church Fathers, providing their insights into each passage. The work shows his intimate acquaintance with the Early Fathers. The work was commissioned by Pope Urban IV, so that everyone could understand the established meaning of the Gospels from the teaching of the early Fathers. - Summary by ancientchristian

The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work likely from the late first half of the second century. It was considered inspired scripture by some of the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus and Origen, but not Tertullian. The Shepherd was very popular amongst Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and is found in some Bibles after the Acts of the Apostles. The book is made up of five allegorical visions granted to Hermas, a former slave. This is followed by twelve mandates or commandments, and ten similitudes, or parables.

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners...

The Summa Contra Gentiles was composed by Thomas Aquinas between 1259 and 1265, in four books broadly covering teachings on God, on Creation, on Providence, and on tenets specific to Christianity. This Summa is not to be confused with his final Summa, the Summa Theologiae. The latter is specifically "theological" and directed to a Christian audience , whereas the former, as the "Contra Gentiles" indicates, is directed toward "non-Christian" thinkers. Implicitly a defence of the Catholic Christian...

Doddridge defines 'inspiration' and explains in what sense the New Testament writers are self-aware in their claim to it and the logical incoherence of their various statements if they were uninspired.

This recording comprises chapters from two different works: How To Visit The English Cathedrals by Esther Singleton, and The Cathedral Churches Of England by Helen Marshall Pratt. Each book devotes a chapter to each cathedral, but this recording includes only the introductory chapters of general information. - Summary by David Wales

Twenty-three sermons where the truth to be taught is appended to a story as a Moral. Some of these sermons reflect the doctrines of infant baptism and transubstantiation.

Warfield wrote many articles for Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias on diverse subjects and managed to condense dense subjects into the limitations of a short article. This collection contains several articles on the resurrection of Jesus and Warfield's reflections on theological education from his experience as professor of theology and later principal of Princeton Seminary. The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 1 The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 3 The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 4

The evils of the times are many. and it is the ever recurring duty of the Church to combat them relentlessly. Especially during Lent the attack is particularly vigorous and deliberate. The Rev H. Nagelschmitt, in a course of Lenten sermons, outlines a very effective campaign against these stubborn evils. It will prove of great service, as it deals with such omnipresent corruptive influences as frivolity, contempt for authority, love of pleasure, human respect, and other well known human frailties.

"The obedience of a Christian man" begins by contrasting the life of a true Christian to those holding high positions within the Romish Church. A scathing attack against the Popes, Cardinals and Bishops living in luxury, who also refrain from teaching Scripture and would rather attach themselves to "Doctors" who often contradict themselves. Tyndale compares these men to the statements set forth in Scripture which teach that all men will be persecuted for their faith in Christ. He then shares his treatise on how Christians of all walks ought to conduct themselves, from servants to rulers, and all members of the household...

In 1841 and 1842, Fr. Pierre-Jean DeSmet traversed the wide and wild American West to bring the gospel to the Flatheads, who had sent multiple delegations from Montana to St. Louis, repeatedly requesting a Blackgown priest to instruct them in Christianity. Fr. DeSmet’s letters to his Jesuit Superiors show his heroic religious dedication and selflessness, as he recounts fatigues, hunger, thirst, and dangers that rival those of the apostle St. Paul. He also makes intelligent observations of geography, geology, weather , and the interesting customs of the different tribes he meets...

The Reverend Thomas Guthrie was first introduced to the idea of ragged schools in 1841, while acting as the Parish Minister of St. John's Church in Edinburgh. On a visit to Portsmouth, he saw a picture of John Pounds and felt inspired and humbled by the crippled cobbler's work. Pounds had been injured in a shipbuilding accident at the age of 15. He later became a shoemaker and, in 1818, he began teaching poor children without charging fees. He actively recruited children and young people to his school, spending time on the streets and quays making contact and even bribing them to come with the offer of baked potatoes...

Rufus Matthew Jones was an American religious leader, writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Haverford Emergency Unit . One of the most influential Quakers of the 20th century, he was a Quaker historian and theologian as well as a philosopher. In 1917 he helped found the American Friends Service Committee. This work was delivered as a Swarthmore Lecture in August 1920 and was printed by the Swarthmore Press Ltd.

The times, for which God raised up Saint Athanasius, have, in many respects, a counterpart in our own. There is, now too, earnest, ever-enlarging, adherence to the faith, in those who hold it. But there is also a wide-spread dislike of definite doctrine, such as found a vent in the different shades of Arianism. They framed eleven Creeds, to satisfy themselves or others, over-against the one faith, put forth at Nicaea and accepted by the whole Church. They swung to and fro, at times approximating nearer to the truth; but their secret maxim, unknown to themselves, was, "anything but the Truth"...

These are the letters of the Apostle Paul to the fellowship at Thessalonica. Both letters cover a variety of subjects, including proper conduct and wholesome relationships between believers, the impending arrival of Paul's beloved disciple Timothy, and Paul's comments about his own conduct towards his flock. The Thessalonians are mentioned in the book of Acts as having been quite open and receptive the the preaching and teaching of Paul. - Summary by Mark Penfold

An English translation that holds as closely as was possible to the original languages and idioms. - Summary by KevinS

This is based on Philip Schaff's Creeds of Christendom taking only the creeds that he selected, using the translations he supplied where possible but rearranged chronologically but excluding his commentary and notes. "He who wishes to grow strong in his religious life, let him, I say, next to the Bible, feed himself on the great Creeds of the Church. There is a force of religious inspiration in them which you will seek in vain elsewhere. And this for good reasons. First, because it is ever true that it is by the truth that sanctification is wrought...

The Story of Ella Clinton who regardless of her desire to be good is ruled by her passions. Then one day she submits her desires to the only source of good - Almighty God. She is known to be His child by her fruits, for "By Their Fruits Ye shall know them". - Summary by Michelle Hannah

An English translation that holds as closely as was possible to the original languages and idioms. - Summary by KevinS

The Apostolic Constitutions are made up of eight treatises on Early Christian discipline, worship, and doctrine, which was intended to act as a manual of guidance for the clergy, and laity. It claims to be composed by the Twelve Apostles who received these instructions from Jesus Christ, although most scholars believe it to be a 4th-century work.The structure of the work is as follows: Books 1 to 6 are a re-writing of the Didascalia Apostolorum. Book 7 is based largely on the Didache, with Chapters 33-45 containing prayers similar to existing Jewish ones. Book 8 has a treatise on charismata, along with, what are known as, the Canons of the Apostles.

Saint Gregory's Commentary on Job, sometimes called "An Extensive Consideration of Moral Questions," was written between 578 and 595. It is Gregory's major work, filling some 35 books or 6 volumes, making perhaps the single largest surviving patristic work. In his work he both comments on the book of Job and draws moral lessons from it. Pope Gregory is considered a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox church and in the West in the Catholic church and some Protestant churches. - Summary by ancientchristian

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

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.

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners...

"Translated according to the letter and idioms of the original languages" - Summary by the translator

Frank Boreham was a well known preacher who served in England, Australia, and New Zealand. He published dozens of books and thousands of editorials during his lifetime, with no sign of slowing down, even up until his death at age 88. He wrote with a distinctive style, seeming to be able to draw a spiritual lesson out of any conceivable topic.In this volume, Boreham challenges us to view things from a perspective we may not be accustomed to–from the other side of the hill, as it were–and then to return home with a fresh outlook. - Summary by Devorah Allen

Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide was born in Belgium. He became a priest in 1595 and taught philosophy, and Hebrew, while also preaching and administering the Sacraments. In 1616 he was moved to Rome in the same capacity. Towards the end of his life, he devoted himself exclusively to completing and correcting his commentaries, which covered almost every part of the Bible. The commentaries show a mastery of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac and Arabic, in addition to a familiarity with the church fathers. His Latin commentaries stretched over 30 volumes and were the standard Catholic texts for understanding any part of scripture, until more modern times. - Summary by ancientchristian

Let us then stretch our mind towards Heaven, let us be held fast by that desire, let us clothe ourselves with spiritual fire, let us gird ourselves with its flame. No man who bears flame fears those who meet him; be it wild beast, be it man, be it snares innumerable, so long as he is armed with fire, all things stand out of his way, all things retire. The flame is intolerable, the fire cannot be endured, it consumes all. With this fire let us clothe ourselves, offering up glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Ghost, be glory, might, honor, now and ever and world without end. Amen. Thanks be to God.