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.

This selection of writings from early church leaders includes work by Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, and Justin Martyr.Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.

Reading and understanding the classics is important for college preparation, as well as for personal enjoyment. With the Christian Reading Companion for 50 Classics you can gain a deeper understanding of them from a Christian perspective. Selections include books and plays for both middle school and high school levels.

This new collections of essays edited by Kyle Strobel and Jamin Goggin offers an evangelical hermeneutic for reading the Christian spiritual classics. Addressing the why, what and how of reading these texts, these essays challenge us to find our own questions deepened by the church's long history of spiritual reflection.

"One of the most readable and inspiring surveys of the development of the theology of the early Church is to be found in the introduction on faith, theology, and creeds in this volume.....Dr. Hardy here clearly interprests the scope of the vast, yet delicate, problem faced by the Fathers in the period of the Ecumenical Councils.

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.

Excerpt from Our Christian Classics, Vol. 1 of 4: Readings From the Best Divines, With Notices Biographical and Critical True, our excursions in these old paths must be very short; and it is not unlikely that treasures over which we have rejoiced as those that find great spoil may be regarded by others as great rubbish. It is even too possible that, on returning to well-remembered wonders, we may find the spell broken - the beryl converted into bottle-glass - the hoard of coins replaced by fairy money. But, like him whose Childhood's home was beside some storied ruin, and who still finds a pleasure in revisit ing the ancient nooks and crannies of'what once was half his world - in screwing up the vertiginous stairs - in basking on the mossy pavement of the roofless hall - and in rousing up the echo which gave back the shouts of himself and his brothers a long, long time ago 3 a benevolent fellow-traveller will forgive the enthusiasm with which he cannot entirely sympathise. But two fears come over us. Our first, dear reader, is a fear that you will not have patience for our introductory number. And doubtless it is dry. But to make our survey of English theology anywise complete, there Is need for these origines sacrce. The narrow keep or little sanctuary, which has sub sequently expanded into a baronial castle or lofty minster, may be insignificant in itself, but it has an interest of its own. The lays and. Legends which formed the favourite lore of early English churchmen may not have much intrinsic importance; but every one will regard with mingled curiosity and affection the nucleus round which has arisen the mightiest fabric of Christian literature which any modern nation has produced. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.