A magisterial work of American theological history--authoritative, insightful, and unparalleled in scope This book, the most comprehensive survey of early American Christian theology ever written, encompasses scores of American theological traditions, schools of thought, and thinkers. E. Brooks Holifield examines mainstream Protestant and Catholic traditions as well as those of more marginal groups. He looks closely at the intricacies of American theology from 1636 to 1865 and considers the social and institutional settings for religious thought during this period. The book explores a range of themes, including the strand of Christian thought that sought to demonstrate the reasonableness of Christianity, the place of American theology within the larger European setting, the social location of theology in early America, and the special importance of the Calvinist traditions in the development of American theology. Broad in scope and deep in its insights, this magisterial book acquaints us with the full chorus of voices that contributed to theological conversation in America's early years.

This book explores the influences of German theology on Emanuel Gerhart and Charles Hodge, two Reformed theologians who addressed questions concerning method and atonement theology in light of modernism and new scientific theories.

A provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic "The so-called Second Great Awakening was the shaping epoch of American Protestantism, and this book is the most important study of it ever published."—James Turner, Journal of Interdisciplinary History Winner of the John Hope Franklin Publication Prize, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic book prize, and the Albert C. Outler Prize In this provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic, Nathan O. Hatch argues that during this period American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful actors on the religious scene. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century—the Christian movement, Methodism, the Baptist movement, the black churches, and the Mormons—showing how all offered compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration to the unschooled and unsophisticated.

"Modern Reformed Theology In America Has shown astonishing variety in its expression. Grouped under the name "Reformed" are, in fact, five diverse traditions - the Princeton theology, Westminster Calvinism, the Dutch schools, Southern Reformed thought, and Neoorthodoxy. This book provides penetrating analysis of these five traditions and the two leading theologians of each. The result is an important advance in our understanding of what being Reformed has meant and what it should now mean in the late twentieth century." -- Publisher.

In nineteenth-century France, parents abandoned their children in overwhelming numbers--up to 20 percent of live births in the Parisian area. The infants were left at state-run homes and were then transferred to rural wet nurses and foster parents. Their chances of survival were slim, but with alterations in state policy, economic and medical development, and changing attitudes toward children and the family, their chances had significantly improved by the end of the century. “br /> Rachel Fuchs has drawn on newly discovered archival sources and previously untapped documents of the Paris foundling home in order to depict the actual conditions of abandoned children and to reveal the bureaucratic and political response. This study traces the evolution of French social policy from early attempts to limit welfare to later efforts to increase social programs and influence family life. Abandoned Children illuminates in detail the family life of nineteenth-century French poor. It shows how French social policy with respect to abandoned children sought to create an economically useful and politically neutral underclass out of a segment of the population that might otherwise have been an economic drain and a potential political threat.

Knowledge of the ideas of the theologian Emanuel V. Gerhart is essential for understanding nineteenth-century American theology. Gerhart was one of the first to introduce a complete systematic Christocentric theological system to Americans. His Institutes of the Christian Religion developed the ideas of European theologians and promoted the effort to systematize Mercersburg theology. Gerhart embraced German idealism rather than Scottish philosophy in his scholarship. As a mediating theologian, he attempted to reconcile historical Christianity with modern culture. His lectures, essays, and texts addressed the religious challenges and intellectual issues of his day from a Christocentric perspective. Together they were a major contribution to the Mercersburg Movement in particular and American theology in general from the antebellum period to the progressive era. His publications were devoted to a range of disciplines that included education, philosophy, and theology. This volume portrays Gerhart’s core theological ideas as found in his main texts and offers introductory commentaries and gives the historical background for his intellectual contributions.

This book argues that Christians have a stake in the sustainability and success of core cultural values of the West in general and America in particular. Steven M. Studebaker considers Western and American decline from a theological and, specifically, Pentecostal perspective. The volume proposes and develops a Pentecostal political theology that can be used to address and reframe Christian political identity in the United States. Studebaker asserts that American Christians are currently not properly engaged in preventing America’s decline or halting the shifts in its core values. The problem, he suggests, is that American Christianity not only gives little thought to the state of the nation beyond a handful of moral issues like abortion, but its popular political theologies lead Christians to think of themselves more as aliens than as citizens. This book posits that the proposed Pentecostal political theology would help American Christians view themselves as citizens and better recognize their stake in the renewal of their nation. The foundation of this proposed political theology is a pneumatological narrative of renewal—a biblical narrative of the Spirit that begins with creation, proceeds through Incarnation and Pentecost, and culminates in the new creation and everlasting kingdom of God. This narrative provides the foundation for a political theology that speaks to the issues of Christian political identity and encourages Christian political participation.

This comprehensive narrative account of religion in America from 1607 through the present depicts the religious life of the American people within the context of American society. It addresses topics ranging from the European/Puritan origins of American religious thought, the ramifications of the "Great Awakening", the effect of nationhood on religious practice, and the shifting religious configuration of the late 20th century.

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. Perhaps no other theologian of the second half of this century has shaped theology so profoundly as has Jürgen Moltmann. He appeared on the world theological scene with his Theology of Hope (1964) and took most of its capitals by storm. His subsequent works have kept him at the forefront of the modern theological enterprise, and the power of his vision and the originality of his method have inspired a host of new theologians. In terms of fecundity, Moltmann's opus remains unmatched among his generation of theologians. More than 130 dissertations written so far on his thought -- most of them in the past decade -- testify eloquently to its continued attractiveness. In honor of Moltmann's 70th birthday, twenty-six of the world's leading theologians -- his friends, colleagues, interlocutors, and former students -- have contributed to this volume on the future of theology. Moltmann himself has always sought to be both contemporary and future-oriented: his theology can be viewed as an exercise not only from the perspective of God's future but also toward a new human future. Thus, a book on the future of theology takes up an aspect of "his" theme and "his" concern. Yet this volume also makes a significant contribution to theology in its own right, seeking as it does to address the present crisis of theology. As Miroslav Volf writes in his introduction, "On the threshold of the third millennium, the presumed queen of sciences has grown old and feeble, unable to see that what she thinks is her throne is just an ordinary chair, uncertain about what her territories are, and confused about how to rule in the realms she thinks are hers, seeking advice from a quarrelsome chorus of counselors each of whom thinks himself the king, and ending up with a divided, even schizophrenic, mind." The essays in this volume attempt to revitalize theology as it confronts a difficult future. Despite the formidable obstacles that threaten the very survival of theology in the next century -- religious and cultural plurality; the marginalization of theology in public discourse; increasing abstraction in the practice of theology; pressing issues of gender, race, poverty, and ecology; the seemingly archaic voice of theology in post- Christian societies -- the contributors to this volume all believe in the future of theology as a vibrant discipline. The Future of Theology is organized in three parts. "Challenges" deals with the external or internal problems that theology is facing. "Perspectives" offers proposals on how to meet the challenges. "Themes" concentrates on various issues that need special attention today. Together, these essays succeed in setting the theological agenda for the future of theology, and thereby serve as a fitting tribute to this volume's esteemed honoree. Contributors: Stanley Hauerwas Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel John B. Cobb Jr. James H. Cone D. Lyle Dabney Ingolf U. Dalferth Gustavo Gutiérrez Douglas John Hall Ellen T. Charry M. Douglas Meeks Johann Baptist Metz Konrad Raiser Wolfhart Pannenberg Paul Ricoeur John Howard Yoder Dietrich Ritschl Dorothée Sölle Jon Sobrino Elsa Tamez Geoffrey Wainwright Rosemary Radford Ruether Miroslav Volf Michael Welker Nicholas Wolterstorff Catherine Keller Huns Küng

Named an Honor Book for Nonfiction by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association African American theology has a long and important history. With modern roots in the civil rights movements of the 1960s, African American theology has gone beyond issues of justice and social transformation to participate in broader dialogues of theological inquiry. The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology brings together leading scholars in the field to offer a critical and comprehensive analysis of this theological tradition in its many forms and contexts. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this Oxford Handbook examines the nature, structures, and functions of African American Theology. The volume surveys the field by highlighting its sources, doctrines, internal debates, current challenges, and future prospects in order to present key topics related to the wider palette of Black Religion in a sustained scholarly format. This formative collection presents current scholarship on African American Theology and scripture, eschatology, Christology, womanist theology, sexuality, ontology, the global economy, and much more. The contributors represent a diverse set of faith perspectives, adding to the layered discourses within the volume. These essays further important discussions on the pressing debates and challenges that shape black and womanist theologies.