General

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Dover Value Editions)

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

Introduction to Evangelism

Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists

From places like John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, and Jonathan Edwards’s college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today’s young Calvinists tick.

Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today’s twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence.

For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow’s church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors.

“Collin Hansen invites us on a voyage of discovery, learning how our restless youth are discovering anew the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Weary of churches that seek to entertain rather than teach, longing after the true meat of the Word, these young people are pursuing doctrine. Discover how God is moving among the young, the restless, and the Reformed.”
Tim Challies, author, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment; blogger at Challies.com

“Young, Restless, Reformed is the product of some outstanding research. This book will help the reader gain valuable insight into the growing Reformed movement in America.”
Jerry Bridges, author of The Pursuit of Holiness

“Collin Hansen has uncovered a fresh movement of young Christians for whom doctrine fuels evangelism, kindles passion, and transforms lives. Read it and rejoice.”
David Neff, editor-in-chief, Christianity Today media group

“A number of strategic ministries have been quietly upholding the doctrines of grace, planting churches, seeing people converted, teaching the whole counsel of God. It is time for quiet gratitude to God and earnest intercessory prayer that what has begun well will flourish beyond all human expectation.”
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“This lively account is must reading for ministry leaders working with young adults. A wake-up call to baby boomers to move beyond the superficial faith they taught their children and to grow with them in the knowledge and love of God.”
Douglas A. Sweeney, Associate Professor of Church History, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive-and-well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in us All (Living Way: Emergent Visions)

Praise for A Christianity Worth Believing

"If you are drawn to the mystifying, loving God whom we meet in Jesus Christ, but put off by? 'Christianity,' this contrarian, wise, winsome, passionate book is a must-read."
--Lauren F. Winner, author, Girl Meets God; assistant professor, Duke Divinity School

"Envisioning and articulating fresh ways of holding and living Christian faith, Pagitt's book reads like an old-fashioned testimony, but it opens up important new possibilities and serves as a window into the soul of a new generation of Christians."
--Brian McLaren, networker; speaker; author, A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, and Everything Must Change

"With honesty, humor, and insight, Doug Pagitt offers us a beautiful, holistic, compelling vision of the Kingdom of God. If you're one of the ever-increasing multitude who sense something is profoundly 'off' with traditional Christianity, this book is a must read!"
--Gregory A. Boyd, author, Myth of a Christian Nation

"This is Doug Pagitt's raw, honest, fear-and-trembling faith workout. Thanks, Doug."
--Shane Claiborne, activist, author, and recovering sinner

"I am certain that this book will resonate with the many who have always felt there must be more to this faith life that we've chosen. Doug has created a treatise on Kingdom living in the here and now that you just will not want to miss."
--Jim Watters, former vice president of support ministries, World Relief; currently director of development, Pastor's Retreat Network

"Here is theology as it is supposed to be: a love story between two parts of one whole. Intimate, candid, vulnerable as well as brilliant and salvific, this one is God-talk at its most persuasive. It is also emergence Christianity at its clearest and best."
--Phyllis Tickle, founding editor, Religion Department of Publishers Weekly; author, The Words of Jesus

The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditation on Faith

Perhaps no recent spiritual movement has caused more division than the emergent church. For some, the trend represents a refreshing resistance to fundamentalist attitudes. For others, the ideas suffer from a lack of sound theology. Is there a middle ground?

With a casual, narrative voice, Timothy Stoner presents an honest look at a controversial subject. The God Who Smokes is an unwavering answer to the postmodern cry for an authentic, knowable truth that is compassionate and courageous, demonstrated in sacrificial commitment to a life of righteousness and justice. Throughout, Timothy celebrates what the movement has achieved, provides a balanced critique, and offers an engaging read for anyone seeking to understand this cultural phenomenon.

The Bondage of the Will

First published in 1525, Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will is acknowledged by theologians as one of the great masterpieces of the Reformation. It is Luther response to Desiderius Erasmus' Diatribe on Free Will, written in his direct and unique style, combining deep spirituality with humor. Luther writes powerfully about man's depravity and God's sovereignty. The crucial issue for Luther concerned what ability free will has, and to what degree it is subject to God's sovereignty. For Luther, this key issue of free will is directly connected to God's plan of salvation. Is man able to save himself, or is his salvation entirely a work of divine grace? This work is vital to understanding the primary doctrines of the Reformation and will long remain among the great theological classics of Christian history.

A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism

A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism, by John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church, is hard to describe. The book is a history of the denomination, with lively passages depicting the lives and ministries of important Unitarian-Universalist leaders such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Ellery Channing. Yet it is also a collection of testimonies by contemporary laypeople and ministers, who describe their churches' responses to questions ranging from "How do I know when to get married?" to "How should the government treat single mothers?" The funny and wise introduction was written by Robert Fulghum, who indulges the often invoked criticism that Unitarian Universalism's ideals are interchangeable with those of PBS. And, finally, it contains some straightforward explications of the denomination's core principles. The Church's aversion to creeds will be off-putting to some readers--at times, it seems Unitarian Universalists believe in nothing so much as not committing to any one belief. But there's something universally refreshing about this protean faith: most religious people, at one time or another, find that God leads them to reject some tenets of their religion. Unitarian Universalists have a true genius for accepting God's most surprising Words, which makes A Chosen Faith a valuable resource for all of us. --Michael Joseph Gross

Affirming diversity, dialogue, and personal choice in religious living, providing common ground and community for people from a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs, and encouraging the work for social justice that religion inspires, Unitarian Universalism has become an increasingly appealing religious alternative. A Chosen Faith is a clear, helpful introduction to this growing religious movement. Two long-time ministers and denominational leaders, John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church, describe the sources and history of Unitarian Universalism, how those traditions are adapted in congregations today, and how they each came to choose Unitarian Universalism as a career and a way of life.

This revised edition includes two new chapters as well as a new foreword by best-selling writer and Unitarian Universalist Robert Fulghum.

"An excellent introduction for anyone interested in the nature of Unitarian Universalist religious beliefs, the history of those movements, and the emphasis on openness, tolerance, and social concerns."


—Michael J. McBride, Religious Studies Review
"Simply superb. I know of nothing comparable to it. The old-timer as well as the 'come-outer' will find A Chosen Faith irresistible. It will be a gift for everyone, for the minister, for the laity, for theological students. Engaging, seductive, infectious."


—James Luther Adams

Christianity's Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution--A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First

The "dangerous idea" lying at the heart of Protestantism is that the interpretation of the Bible is each individual's right and responsibility. The spread of this principle has resulted in five hundred years of remarkable innovation and adaptability, but it has also created cultural incoherence and social instability. Without any overarching authority to rein in "wayward" thought, opposing sides on controversial issues can only appeal to the Bible—yet the Bible is open to many diverse interpretations. Christianity's Dangerous Idea is the first book that attempts to define this core element of Protestantism and the religious and cultural dynamic that this dangerous idea unleashed, culminating in the remarkable new developments of the twentieth century.

At a time when Protestants will soon cease to be the predominant faith tradition in the United States, McGrath's landmark reassessment of the movement and its future is well-timed. Replete with helpful modern-day examples that explain the past, McGrath brings to life the Protestant movements and personalities that shaped history and the central Christian idea that continues to dramatically influence world events today.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, by Mark Noll, is "an epistle from a wounded lover." Noll loves God and he loves academics, but he is wounded because many of his colleagues deny the possibility of maintaining the integrity of both loves. Noll's epistle is a memoir, a historical study, and a wide-ranging piece of cultural criticism that argues, "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." Noll considers the effects of evangelical intellectual atrophy on American politics, science, and the arts, and he ultimately offers wise and practical advice for readers who want to explore the full intellectual implications of the incarnation of Christ. --Michael Joseph Gross

“The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” So begins this award-winning intellectual history and critique of the evangelical movement by one of evangelicalism's most respected historians.

Unsparing in his judgment, Mark Noll ask why the largest single group of religious Americans—who enjoy increasing wealth, status, and political influence—have contributed so little to rigorous intellectual scholarship in North America. In nourishing believers in the simple truths of the gospel, why have evangelicals failed at sustaining a serious intellectual life and abandoned the universities, the arts, and other realms of “high” culture?

Noll is probing and forthright in his analysis of how this situation came about, but he doesn't end there. Challenging the evangelical community, he sets out to find, within evangelicalism itself, resources for turning the situation around.