Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (JCI): Christianity

Western Christians are increasingly interested in the Orthodox Church. Here, the author explains Orthodox views on issues such as ecumenical councils, sacraments, freewill, purgatory, the papacy and the relationships between different orthodox churches.

Part I. The Crucible of Trade: 1. A larger world; 2. Mercantile origins: ‘passengers only’; Part II. The Management of Trade: 3. Managing from a ‘Merchant’s public counting house’; 4. Shipping and trading in an ‘empire of the seas’; 5. Planting: ‘a great fund of riches and of strength to Great Britain’; 6. Slaving: Bance Island’s ‘general rendezvous’; 7. Government contracting: ‘a work of Hercules’; 8. Financing: ‘turning the great wheel of unfathomable commerce round’; Part III. Becoming a Gentleman: 9. The urge to improve; 10. The way to be rich and respectable; Epilogue: mercantile legacies: ‘industrious friends’.

The story of the Episcopalians in America is the story of an influential denomination that has furnished a disproportionately large share of the American political and cultural leadership. Beginning with the denomination's roots in 16th-century England, this book offers a fresh account of the Episcopal Church's rise to prominence in America. Chronologically arranged, it follows the establishment of colonial Anglicanism in the New World, the national organization of the denomination following the Revolution, its rise during the 19th century, and the complex array of forces that affected the church in the 20th century--and continue to affect it today. The authors pay particular attention to the established leadership of the Episcopal Church, as well as to the experience of the ordinary layperson, the form and function of sacred space, developments in church parties and theology, relations with other Christian communities, and the evolving roles and status of women and minorities. Shining a light on the lives of ordinary churchgoers and historically marginalized groups, the authors reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the Episcopal Church. While the church evolved into the denomination of the urban establishment, a politically, theologically, and socially moderate religious body that appealed to those seeking the society of their largely middle- and upper-middle-class peers, it also appealed to those whom the dominant society excluded from power: African and Hispanic Americans, women, and American Indians. The volume concludes with a chronology of important events and biographical sketches of major figures in the Episcopal Church.

A thorough, carefully researched history that sets church events against the background of social changes. Revised edition includes an additional chapter that brings the history up through the 1990's.

This valuable compliation preserves the voice and spirit of women whose faith, integrity, courage, and actions represent many ministries lived over the course of two centuries. Included are such diverse voices as Queen Emma of Hawaii, the Delaney Sisters, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Mead, Pauli Murray, Ella deloria, Amelia Bloomer, and many others.

Part I. The Crucible of Trade: 1. A larger world; 2. Mercantile origins: ‘passengers only’; Part II. The Management of Trade: 3. Managing from a ‘Merchant’s public counting house’; 4. Shipping and trading in an ‘empire of the seas’; 5. Planting: ‘a great fund of riches and of strength to Great Britain’; 6. Slaving: Bance Island’s ‘general rendezvous’; 7. Government contracting: ‘a work of Hercules’; 8. Financing: ‘turning the great wheel of unfathomable commerce round’; Part III. Becoming a Gentleman: 9. The urge to improve; 10. The way to be rich and respectable; Epilogue: mercantile legacies: ‘industrious friends’.

Christianity is the world's largest religion, and has had a profound impact on the course of civilization. Introduction to the History of Christianity is a beautifully crafted and clearly written introduction to Christianity over its 2000 year history. The broad underlying theme of the book is the interaction between Christianity and the secular world, exploring how one has shaped and been shaped by the other. The volume does not attempt to cover the whole of Christian history in detail. It focuses on three key chronological periods pivotal in the development of Christianity: Christ and Caesar, Christianity circa 300-500; Expansion and Order, Latin Christendom, circa 1050-1250; and Grace and Authority, Western Christianity, circa 1450-1650, as well as a concluding section on Christianity in the modern world, providing illustrative snapshots of the tradition over the course of its long development. In addition, the volume includes maps, timelines, quotations from primary source material, a glossary, and a further reading section. No staid, laborious introduction to its subject, Introduction to the History of Christianity offers an inviting and informative overview of this rich religious tradition.

An insightful look at the long tradition of communal societies in the United States from colonial times to the present, examining their ideological foundations, daily life, and relationships to mainstream American society. * 40 entries on specific utopian communal movements in American history, from the Puritans to the Amish to single-tax movement communities * 45 entries on special topics related to utopian life, including socialism, Bible-based communism, family roles, and leadership * 25 entries on important figures, including Robert Owen and Eberhard Arnold, and events such as the Branch Davidian disaster * A comparative chronology detailing the dates of existence of the utopias covered * Bibliographical listings with each entry, leading to further investigations in print and online

An Interview with the Author on the History News Network A Founding Father with a Vision of Equality: Richard Newman's op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer Author Spotlight in The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle "Gold" Winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, Biography Category Freedom's Prophet is a long-overdue biography of Richard Allen, founder of the first major African-American church and the leading black activist of the early American republic. A tireless minister, abolitionist, and reformer, Allen inaugurated some of the most important institutions in African-American history and influenced nearly every black leader of the nineteenth century, from Douglass to Du Bois. Allen (1760-1831) was born a slave in colonial Philadelphia, secured his freedom during the American Revolution, and became one of the nations leading black activists before the Civil War. Among his many achievements, Allen helped form the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, co-authored the first copyrighted pamphlet by an African American writer, published the first African American eulogy of George Washington, and convened the first national convention of black reformers. In a time when most black men and women were categorized as slave property, Allen was championed as a black hero. As Richard S. Newman writes, Allen must be considered one of America's black Founding Fathers. In this thoroughly engaging and beautifully written book, Newman describes Allen's continually evolving life and thought, setting both in the context of his times. From Allen's early antislavery struggles and belief in interracial harmony to his later reflections on black democracy and black emigration, Newman traces Allen's impact on American reform and reformers, on racial attitudes during the years of the early republic, and on the black struggle for justice in the age of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Washington. Whether serving as Americas first black bishop, challenging slaveholding statesmen in a nation devoted to liberty, or visiting the President's House (the first black activist to do so), this important book makes it clear that Allen belongs in the pantheon of Americas great founding figures. Freedom's Prophet reintroduces Allen to today's readers and restores him to his rightful place in our nation's history.

The Quakers in America is a multifaceted history of the Religious Society of Friends and a fascinating study of its culture and controversies today. Lively vignettes of Conservative, Evangelical, Friends General Conference, and Friends United meetings illuminate basic Quaker theology and reflect the group's diversity while also highlighting the fundamental unity within the religion. Quaker culture encompasses a rich tradition of practice even as believers continue to debate whether Quakerism is necessarily Christian, where religious authority should reside, how one transmits faith to children, and how gender and sexuality shape religious belief and behavior. Praised for its rich insight and wide-ranging perspective, The Quakers in America is a penetrating account of an influential, vibrant, and often misunderstood religious sect. Known best for their long-standing commitment to social activism, pacifism, fair treatment for Native Americans, and equality for women, the Quakers have influenced American thought and society far out of proportion to their relatively small numbers. Whether in the foreign policy arena (the American Friends Service Committee), in education (the Friends schools), or in the arts (prominent Quakers profiled in this book include James Turrell, Bonnie Raitt, and James Michener), Quakers have left a lasting imprint on American life. This multifaceted book is a concise history of the Religious Society of Friends; an introduction to its beliefs and practices; and a vivid picture of the culture and controversies of the Friends today. The book opens with lively vignettes of Conservative, Evangelical, Friends General Conference, and Friends United meetings that illuminate basic Quaker concepts and theology and reflect the group's diversity in the wake of the sectarian splintering of the nineteenth century. Yet the book also examines commonalities among American Friends that demonstrate a fundamental unity within the religion: their commitments to worship, the ministry of all believers, decision making based on seeking spiritual consensus rather than voting, a simple lifestyle, and education. Thomas Hamm shows that Quaker culture encompasses a rich tradition of practice even as believers continue to debate a number of central questions: Is Quakerism necessarily Christian? Where should religious authority reside? Is the self sacred? How does one transmit faith to children? How do gender and sexuality shape religious belief and behavior? Hamm's analysis of these debates reveals a vital religion that prizes both unity and diversity.

With Mormonism on the verge of an unprecedented cultural and political breakthrough, an eminent scholar of American evangelicalism explores the history and reflects on the future of this native-born American faith and its connection to the life of the nation.   In 1830, a young seer and sometime treasure hunter named Joseph Smith began organizing adherents into a new religious community that would come to be called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and known informally as the Mormons). One of the nascent faith's early initiates was a twenty-three-year-old Ohio farmer named Parley Pratt, the distant grandfather of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In The Mormon People, religious historian Matthew Bowman peels back the curtain on more than 180 years of Mormon history and doctrine. He recounts the church's origin and development, explains how Mormonism came to be one of the fastest-growing religions in the world by the turn of twenty-first-century, and ably sets the scene for a 2012 presidential election that has the potential to mark a major turning point in the way this "all-American" faith is perceived by the wider American public--and internationally.   Mormonism started as a radical movement, with a profoundly transformative vision of American society that was rooted in a form of Christian socialism. Over the ensuing centuries, Bowman demonstrates, that vision has evolved--and with it the esteem in which Mormons have been held in the eyes of their countrymen. Admired on the one hand as hardworking paragons of family values, Mormons have also been derided as oddballs and persecuted as polygamists, heretics, and zealots clad in "magic underwear." Even today, the place of Mormonism in public life continues to generate heated debate on both sides of the political divide. Polls show widespread unease at the prospect of a Mormon president. Yet the faith has never been more popular. Today there are about 14 million Mormons in the world, fewer than half of whom live inside the United States. It is a church with a powerful sense of its own identity and an uneasy sense of its relationship with the main line of American culture.   Mormons will surely play an even greater role in American civic life in the years ahead. In such a time, The Mormon People comes as a vital addition to the corpus of American religious history--a frank and fair-minded demystification of a faith that remains a mystery for many.

Founded in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was initially perceived as a movement of polygamous, radical zealots; now in parts of the U.S. it has become synonymous with the establishment. In reevaluating its preoccupation with issues of church and state, Abanes uncovers the political agenda at Mormonism's core: the transformation of the world into a theocratic kingdom under Mormon authority. This illustrated edition has been revised and offers a new postscript by the author.