This slim volume is a reprint of a series of sermons preached in London in 1661, with the aim of exposing the hypocrisy of those who profess Christianity but do not truly follow its teachings. The author remains anonymous, but the book was popular in its day and went through multiple editions. Its message of religious sincerity resonated with Puritan audiences in England and America alike. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Matthew Mead guides Christians who wish to know whether they have taken the spiritual and emotional steps necessary to attain conversion to the faith. Mead takes a multi-faceted approach to conversion; the journey of Christians varies in length, some must walk far and do much to enter the faith. Many must try for successive years, held back by personal circumstances or persistent shortfalls of character. What keeps a person 'almost Christian' is discussed at length, with examples given of those who frequently come close, but do not quite make it and become true believers in the Lord. The central pillar of Christian belief is the admission that Christ is the keystone to all salvation; there can be no half-measures in this. Another common pitfall is refusing to accept aspects of Christ's divinity, or his prophecies or his being the Son of God. Refusing to give up a sin, be it one of pride, lust or weak will, is another trait that keeps a believer 'almost Christian'. Writing in the mid-17th century, Mead was part of the Puritan movement, working as an educator and lecturer on religious topics. He worked at multiple churches in England and in Holland, and was affiliated to the east London borough of Stepney for most of his life.

Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion--the same invaluable data as its predecessor, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers--Kenda Creasy Dean's compelling new book, Almost Christian, investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice. In Soul Searching, Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that American teenagers have embraced a "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism"--a hodgepodge of banal, self-serving, feel-good beliefs that bears little resemblance to traditional Christianity. But far from faulting teens, Dean places the blame for this theological watering down squarely on the churches themselves. Instead of proclaiming a God who calls believers to lives of love, service and sacrifice, churches offer instead a bargain religion, easy to use, easy to forget, offering little and demanding less. But what is to be done? In order to produce ardent young Christians, Dean argues, churches must rediscover their sense of mission and model an understanding of being Christian as not something you do for yourself, but something that calls you to share God's love, in word and deed, with others. Dean found that the most committed young Christians shared four important traits: they could tell a personal and powerful story about God; they belonged to a significant faith community; they exhibited a sense of vocation; and they possessed a profound sense of hope. Based on these findings, Dean proposes an approach to Christian education that places the idea of mission at its core and offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for inspiring teens to live more authentically engaged Christian lives. Persuasively and accessibly written, Almost Christian is a wake up call no one concerned about the future of Christianity in America can afford to ignore.

""But leaving the treatise to speak for itself, we beseech the man who is but almost a Christian, in traveling through its pages to avail himself of its aid. We ask him simply, to reason the matter on the principles and findings which it sets before him; but to do this in that spirit of earnest and humble inquisitiveness, which befits so grave a subject: and if such a spirit be far from him, or appearing to evaporate as he proceeds, let him pause and invoke its return, from that God in Jesus Christ, who maketh the heart of the rash to understand doctrine. As be wishes to prosper, let him never forget, that while it is easy to show him the proper means, and possible to bring him into contact with these, yet the disposition to apply the means in such a way, as to gain their end, cometh forth from Him, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.""