Great Christian Classics Volume 1

There is a wealth of great literature to study in the history of man, some written by Christians and some by non-Christians. However, the Christian student should direct special attention to literature produced by Christians. The empires of man will always crumble and fall, but the kingdom of Jesus Christ will continue forever. This collection covers five of the greatest life narratives of all time. A thorough study of these great books will help students understand the life, theology, and worldview of some of the greatest Christian men in church history. Sit at the feet of some of the best teachers God has given to His church. Augustine Confessions: (354-430) Augustine is perhaps the most influential thinker of the first thousand years of Christian history. This fifth-century Christian wrote Confessions as a biography in the form of a prayer to God. Patrick Confessions: (387-493) Amid the chaos following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Patrick, a man of legendary faith, led the way to the evangelization of the wild and pagan tribes of Ireland. John Knox History of the Reformation In Scotland (c.1510-1572) Few men have lived in more dangerous times than John Knox of Scotland. Yet he led a reformation movement in a very dangerous land, leaving a testimony for generations to come. John Bunyan Grace Abounding (1628-1688) Great men tell great stories because they live them. This is the case with John Bunyan, whose personal testimony, Grace Abounding, records one of the most tumultuous and agonizing spiritual journeys. John Paton Autobiography (1824-1907) The kingdom of God is only taken by force by courageous men of faith like John Paton, whose missionary work among the cannibals in the New Hebrides is nothing short of legendary.

The Existence and Attributes of God comprises the first two volumes of the works of Stephen Charnock (1628-1680), an English puritan divine who was highly skilled in philosophy, patristics, Reformed theology, and Biblical languages. These volumes are his abiding monument. They are worthy of being compared with the finest in theology. "When the existence and attributes of God are called into question, to whom else can we better go than to Stephen Charnock'' . . . ''those [things revealed belong to us and to our children forever]. The material that Charnock discusses is firmly founded in the Word of God'' . . . ''Both the Old Testament and the New emphasize these two things: First, we should study the whole revelation, not just some easy or favorite parts of it; secondly, the study of God's attributes is not dry as dust theology, but is practical; that is, it leads to righteousness" (Dr. Gordon H. Clark, from a preface to this great work in a Sovereign Grace edition, 1958). One of the greatest tragedies in these spiritually starved times is the sad fact that most Christians know so very little about their God. It is often said that this is simply because these volumes are exhaustive on the subject. Yet it is clearly filled with sublime expositions of the truth regarding God's existence and attributes. "Charnock displays God's attributes not as impersonal abstractions for the mind to juggle with, but as qualities observable in the concrete actions of the living God of which the Bible speaks. The technical terms and sometimes, arguments of scholastic theology are employed, but always with a Biblical orientation. Charnock has no desire to speculate, but only to declare the works and ways, the nature and character, of the God of the Bible. The substance of his doctrine is characteristically Puritan and representatively Reformed." (Dr. James I. Packer, in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume II, p. 410) The possessor of these rare volumes will be blessed by getting acquainted with the incomparable God, and thereby will reach a higher plane of spiritual enjoyment never attained before. To know Him better is to love Him more.

This text is the first of three volumes combining the greatest spiritual classics of all times. Together they combine the most popular names of Christian history and the writings that changed the face of the earth.

2014 Best Book of Spirituality—Academic, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore Ever since Richard Foster wrote Celebration of Discipline in 1978, evangelicals have hungered for a deeper and more historic spirituality. Many have come to discover the wealth of spiritual insight available in the Desert Fathers, the medieval mystics, German Pietism and other traditions. While these classics have been a source of life-changing renewal for many, still others are wary of these texts and the foreign theological traditions from which they come. The essays in this volume provide a guide for evangelicals to read the Christian spiritual classics. The contributions fall into four sections. The first three answer the big questions: why should we read the spiritual classics, what are these classics and how should we read them? The last section brings these questions together into a brief reading guide for each of the major traditions. Each essay not only explores the historical and theological context, but also expounds the appropriate hermeneutical framework and the significance for the church today. Together these essays provide a comprehensive and charitable introduction to the spiritual classics, suitable for both those who already embrace them and those who remain concerned and cautious. Whether you are a newcomer to historic spirituality or a seasoned reader looking to go deeper, you will find this volume to be a reliable resource for years to come.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

We live in an era of unprecedented growth in knowledge. Never before has there been so great an availability of and access to information in both print and online. Yet as opportunities to educate ourselves have greatly increased, our time for reading has significantly diminished. And when we do read, we rarely have the patience to read in the slow, sustained fashion that great books require if we are to be truly transformed by them. In Reading the Hindu and Christian Classics, renowned Harvard Divinity School professor Francis Clooney argues that our increasing inability to read in a concerted manner is particularly notable in the realm of religion, where the proliferation of information detracts from the learning of practices that require slow and patient reading. Although awareness of the world’s many religions is at an all-time high, deep knowledge of the various traditions has suffered. Clooney challenges this trend by considering six classic Hindu and Christian texts dealing with ritual and law, catechesis and doctrine, and devotion and religious participation, showing how, in distinctive ways, such texts instruct, teach truth, and draw willing readers to participate in the realities they are learning. Through readings of these seminal scriptural and theological texts, he reveals the rewards of a more spiritually transformative mode of reading—and how individuals and communities can achieve it.