“Faith’s Checkbook” is a classic and inspirational work by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the world’s most famous preachers. Born in Essex, England in 1834, he converted from the Anglican Church to the Baptist faith at the age of 15 and by the age of 22 he was well-known throughout London for his powerful and engaging style. Spurgeon went on to preach at the New Park Street Chapel, later the Metropolitan Tabernacle, for 38 years. He was an important and influential figure in the Reformed...
First published in 1589, Father Lorenzo Scupoli’s “The Spiritual Combat, The Peace of the Soul, and Thoughts on Death” is a classic Catholic text on spiritual discipline. Scupoli’s work was commercially successful and was highly influential soon after it was published. Prominent religious figures such as St. Francis de Sales recommended that everyone under his direction read it every day as he did. Father Scupoli believed that in one’s daily life one must “fight or die” in a spiritual sense. The...
The sacrament of Confession is probably the most talked about sacraments in the Catholic Church, as well as a spiritual practice being revived in many Protestant churches. This book explores the sacrament focusing on the two people who confess – God and the penitent. God is the primary confessor when he confesses his forgiveness for and trust in the one who is celebrating the sacrament. The gift of freedom, the existence of hell, and the role of conscience are discussed at length. Jean Vanier...
St. Teresa of Avila’s 16th century work “The Way of Perfection” is a classic of Christian literature which was written for the nuns of the order she founded. Encouraged by her religious counselors, she sought to give advice and guidance to other nuns in her ways of prayer and Christian meditation during the upheaval and change of the Reformation in Europe. In this influential work, St. Teresa of Avila gives practical advice for incorporating prayer in one’s everyday life and in using meditation...
One of the most important works of Christian theology, the treatise “On the Incarnation” was written by the fourth century Egyptian religious leader St. Athanasius of Alexandria. An influential Christian theologian and church elder, St. Athanasius, also known as Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, and Athanasius the Apostolic, was the twentieth bishop of Alexandria from 328 AD to 373 AD. St. Athanasius played an important role in the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD where Roman...
Philo, known also as Philo of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus, and Philo the Jew, among other names, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria from 20 BC to 50 CE. Philo's works are most known for being allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures, fusing Jewish thought to Stoic philosophy. Although not widely accepted in his time, his vast collection of works had a powerful influence on early Christian theology and especially on later Christian writers like Clement of...
15th-century Dutch priest Thomas a Kempis is best known for his famous Christian devotional book, “The Imitation of Christ.” Influenced by the era of Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, a movement of religious reform which called for a return to the Christian principles of humility, obedience, and simplicity of life, Kempis intended his work to help further this reform. Arguably the most famous of all Christian devotional works next to the Bible, “The Imitation of Christ” is divided into four...
John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was a significant figure in the religious history of nineteenth century England. Cardinal Newman was a leader of the Oxford Movement which eventually lead to the development of Anglo-Catholicism. No small presence within religious literature, John Henry Newman also wrote a great deal of tracts, hymns, and apologias. Here are collected thirty-two sermons, in Volume II of his «Parochial and Plain Sermons». These sermons are essential to an understanding of...
St. Paul’s “Epistle to the Galatians” is one of the most important of all Christian writings. The work was treasured by Martin Luther, the 15th century German priest, scholar, and father of the Protestant Reformation. For this reason, Luther delivered lectures on the “Epistle to the Galatians” in 1531 and published those lectures in 1535. The resulting “Commentary on Galatians” by Luther is widely regarded as one of the most important commentaries ever written on Christian faith and love. Deeply...
Confucius was a Chinese teacher, statesman, and philosopher who lived in the 5th and 6th century BC. One of the most influential philosophers of all time, and still deeply regarded amongst the Chinese people, his ideology is one which emphasizes the importance of the family, as well as justice, sincerity, and morality in both personal and political matters. Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth and ceremonial propriety. He dealt with neither...
South African pastor Andrew Murray and his elder brother, John, studied theology at the University of Utrecht. Both were members of the Het Réveil, a religious revival movement that arose in opposition to theistic rationalism. Murray believed that missionary work was “the chief end of the church”. Important to this end is the concept of humility, which he discusses in this work. In his preface he writes “In these meditations I have, for more than one reason, almost exclusively directed attention...