Christianity - Other

Leo Tolstoy’s “A Confession,” written in 1882 shortly after a life-altering spiritual crisis, is a brutally sincere reflection on life, morality, and the nature of faith. Tolstoy describes in great detail the process by which he lost his faith in established Christian churches, the meaninglessness of wealth and fame, the agony of acute depression, and how he overcame misery and dread through personal study of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Along the way, he contrasts the artificial faith and arrogance of educated people with the genuine faith and humility of the Russian peasant. This work, and others of its ilk, were aggressively censored by the Tsarist regime and directly led to Tolstoy being excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church. Summary by Paul Rizik.

This is a series of short messages written by the South African minister, Andrew Murray. They deal with the necessity and joy of surrendering our lives completely to God. (Summary written by Joy Chan)

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia

St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, describes several schools of Gnosticism which were prevalent among pre-Nicene Christianity. He then refutes these beliefs as heresies by contrasting them with what he describes as catholic, orthodox Christianity. Against Heresies demonstrates that earliest Christianity was a fascinating and diverse plethora of beliefs, debates, and schisms. (Summary by JoeD)

Jovinianus, had published at Rome a treatise containing the following opinions: (1) “That a virgin is no better as such than a wife in the sight of God. (2) Abstinence is no better than a thankful partaking of food. (3) A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. (4) All sins are equal. (5) There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state.” Also he held the birth of our Lord to have been natural, rather than that Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as His Resurrection body afterwards did out of the tomb. All these opinions were condemned in synods at that city and at Milan (about A.D. 390). He subsequently sent Jovinian’s books to Jerome, who answered them in the present treatise in the year 393. Book I is wholly on (1), marriage and virginity. Chp 4-13 are Jerome’s sense, of St. Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor. vii. In chp. 14-39 Jerome uses both the Old and the New Testaments. Chp. 40 praises virginity and single marriages from examples in the heathen world. – Summary: A shortened version from the introduction.

Catherine Booth was very much partner with her husband, William Booth, in founding the little London mission that would flourish into the global ministry of the Salvation Army. She was not only an organizer but a powerful preacher in her own right. This is a short collection of her passionate, but practical sermons, still full of transforming truth. – Summary by Larry Wilson

The Christian Book of Concord was published in 1580 as a collection of eleven documents: Three Ecumenical Creeds and eight documents from the Reformation Era. Here is the Preface to the entire work together with the Saxon Visitation Articles from 1592. (Summary by Jonathan Lange)

The 30 works in this volume are arranged thematically around the following headings: materialism or anti-supernaturalism (responses to David Friedrich Strauss, David Hume, Thomas Henry Huxley, sermons about natural religion and its limits), church and state or politics (contrasting perspectives from Britain, America and the Netherlands), the office of the pastor (sermons, opinions on church government, evidence from the early church, personal experiences, principles for preaching), sermons and miscellaneous pieces (theology and history). Note: “Receipt” in the title of section 2 means “recipe”. – Summary by InTheDesert Christianity in the 18th and 19th Century, Volume 2

The Apostolic Constitutions are made up of eight treatises on Early Christian discipline, worship, and doctrine, which was intended to act as a manual of guidance for the clergy, and laity. It claims to be composed by the Twelve Apostles who received these instructions from Jesus Christ, although most scholars believe it to be a 4th-century work. The structure of the work is as follows: Books 1 to 6 are a re-writing of the Didascalia Apostolorum. Book 7 is based largely on the Didache, with Chapters 33-45 containing prayers similar to existing Jewish ones. Book 8 has a treatise on charismata, along with, what are known as, the Canons of the Apostles. (Summarized from Wikipedia)

A collection of 10 out of the 12 Encyclicals written by Pope Benedict XV, who was Pope from 1914-1922. Public domain English translations of ‘In Hac Tanta’ and ‘Principi Apostolorum Petro’ were not able to be located for this collection. (Summary by Maria Therese)

Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) wrote eighty-eight Encyclicals during his twenty-five year pontificate (1878-1903). Fifty-six of those are included in this collection. Among the topics covered are the Rosary, socialism, Christian marriage, labour, freemasonry, Church and state, human liberty, dueling, the Holy Eucharist, and more. (Summary by Maria Therese)

During his eleven year pontificate (1903-1914) Pope St. Pius X wrote 16 encyclicals. The subjects ranged from saints, The Immaculate Conception, The Restoration of All Things in Christ, Catholic Social Action, and more. This is collection of 14 out of the 16 encyclicals that he authored. His most well known encyclical, Pascendi, has been recorded separately, and can be found at this link here: Pascendi Dominici Gregis (Summary by Maria Therese)

In this collection of essays, Frank Boreham shares with us his musings on how everyday items such as boots and linoleum, or a cozy fire, or even Nothing at all, can enrich our spiritual lives and draw us closer to our Heavenly Father. Summary by Devorah Allen.

Brief instruction on numerous subjects pertaining to the Catholic faith, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments and more. (Summary by Maria Therese)

This volume of The Age of the Puritans (late 16th century and 17th century) begins with Theodore Beza’s 1575 catechism, brief and simple enough to be learned by children. William Perkins preaches a sermon on a life centred on ‘Christ crucified’, Pierre du Moulin, the Huguenot, on suffering as a Christian and Richard Sibbes on 1 Peter 4:18. John Owen gives his oppinion on how dissenters should consider their own excommunication. Richard Sibbes preaches sermons on 1 Peter 4:17-19 and Philippians 1:23-24. Thomas Cartwright’s preface to the Admonition to the parliament was a petitionary address to the two houses of parliament, humbly submitting to them the great need of reforming the church, furnishing a detail of what the puritans wished to see reformed and exhibiting the obvious occasion of the sufferings inflicted upon worthy ministers of Jesus Christ. William Fulke preaches on 2 Samuel 24:1, William Perkins summarises the positive and negative implications of the 10 commandments, Edward Fisher asks whether it is appropriate for someone to be barred from the Lord’s Supper and the implications of an affirmative answer. Then come an exchange between Pierre du Moulin and Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, a Protestant and Roman Catholic in France. Giovanni Diodati writes from Geneva to England during the First English Civil War, Queen Elizabeth I of England gives her view of transubstantiation in verse and then a brief letter from Church of England Bishop John Jewel to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester about Jewel’s answer to Thomas Harding’s (1516?1572) book against the Church of England. Theodore Beza responds to those who say that the plague is not infectious because it is sent by God and who say it is wrong to flee from the plague. An appendix to Lambert Daneau’s commentary on 1 Timothy discusses church government and discipline and the volume closes with Beza’s second speech to the prelates of France at the Colloquy of Poissy after controversy about his statements about the Lord’s Supper. (Summary by InTheDesert using PD sources) Other volumes in this series:

All of the earthly trappings of a royal birth were absent from the birth of Jesus, yet the angels filled the heavens with the song “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.” Join the angels around the manger to look in wonder on the birth of the Redeemer and to reflect on the peace that Jesus brings to the world of men. The Rev. Thomas Guthrie was a 19th century Scotch Presbyterian minister who was an early advocate of the “ragged schools” movement. He wrote a number of devotional books reflecting the love for his Savior which motivated his lifelong work to provide education and training for the children of the poor. (Summary by MaryAnn)

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) has for nearly 500 years provided the basis for Anglican and allied worship, not only in its English home but many countries around the world. Following England’s break from Rome in 1534, a need was felt for a single order of worship – in English rather than the traditional Latin – to be used in churches throughout the country. BCP first appeared in 1549 during the reign of Edward VI, was abolished under Mary (who restored Roman Catholicism) and was re-introduced with modifications by Elizabeth I in 1559. During the English Civil War (1642?1651) it was again abolished, returning with a 1662 revision under James I. In its 1662 incarnation, BCP remained largely unchanged as the sole legal basis for Anglican worship in England right up until the 1970s (though in 1859 some of the more anti-Catholic elements such as the Gunpowder Treason remembrance service were dropped). Many words and phrases from BCP have entered common parlance, including “to have and to hold”, “ashes to ashes”, “till death us do part” and “speak now or forever hold your peace”. This early modern text is in the US public domain, but in the United Kingdom some restrictions under the Royal prerogative still remain, and UK reproductions require consent. The Book of Common Prayer, the rights in which are vested in the Crown, are reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press. I am grateful to CUP for permission to record selections from this 1762 reprinting, and for the recording to be uploaded to and published by Librivox. – Summary by Michael Maggs

Jasher (The Sefer haYashar (first edition 1552) The Hebrew title may be translated Sefer haYashar – “Book of the Upright” – but it is known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher following English tradition. The book is named after the Book of Jasher referenced In Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; And 2 Timothy 3:8. Jasher is an historical text that covers the time period from Creation through Israel’s journey into Canaan. – Summary by CJ Plog.