On the 500th anniversary of Luther’s theses, a landmark history of the revolutionary faith that shaped the modern world. "Ryrie writes that his aim 'is to persuade you that we cannot understand the modern age without understanding the dynamic history of Protestant Christianity.' To which I reply: Mission accomplished." –Jon Meacham, author of American Lion and Thomas Jefferson Five hundred years ago a stubborn German monk challenged the Pope with a radical vision of what Christianity could be. The revolution he set in motion toppled governments, upended social norms and transformed millions of people's understanding of their relationship with God. In this dazzling history, Alec Ryrie makes the case that we owe many of the rights and freedoms we have cause to take for granted--from free speech to limited government--to our Protestant roots. Fired up by their faith, Protestants have embarked on courageous journeys into the unknown like many rebels and refugees who made their way to our shores. Protestants created America and defined its special brand of entrepreneurial diligence. Some turned to their bibles to justify bold acts of political opposition, others to spurn orthodoxies and insight on their God-given rights. Above all Protestants have fought for their beliefs, establishing a tradition of principled opposition and civil disobedience that is as alive today as it was 500 years ago. In this engrossing and magisterial work, Alec Ryrie makes the case that whether or not you are yourself a Protestant, you live in a world shaped by Protestants.

"The document ... is a declaration of the consensus achieved by Lutherans and Catholics on the topics of church, ministry, and eucharist as the result of ecumenical dialogue between the two communions since 1965. It is a consensus 'on the way, ' because dialogue has not yet resolved all the church-dividing differences on these topics."--Preface.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "A Treatise on Good Works" by Martin Luther. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Mark A. Noll presents a fresh and accessible history of Protestantism from the era of Martin Luther to the present day. Beginning with the founding of Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Anabaptist churches in the sixteenth-century Reformation, he also considers the rise of other important Christian movements like Methodism and Pentecostalism. Focussing on worldwide developments, rather than just the familiar European and American histories, he considers the recent expansion of Protestant movements in Africa, China, India, and Latin America, emphasising the on-going and rapidly expanding story of Protestants worldwide. Noll examines the contributions from well-known figures including Martin Luther and John Calvin, along with many others, and explores why Protestant energies have flagged recently in the Western world yet expanded so dramatically elsewhere. Highlighting the key points of Protestant commonality including the message of Christian salvation, reliance on the Bible, and organization through personal initiative, he also explores the reasons for Protestantism's extraordinary diversity. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

After thirty years of study and reflection, Lutheran philosopher Robert Koons joined the Catholic Church in 2007. This book articulates his reasons for abandoning the church of his ancestors for the Roman communion, reasons that centered on a deep and systematic re-thinking of the central issue of the Reformation: the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith alone. Koons draws on a broad knowledge of the Scriptures, the Church Fathers, and the most prominent theologians of the Lutheran movement from the time of the Reformation until the present, including Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, and Robert Preus. Since Jesus clearly intended for the church to remain visibly united, the burden of proof on any theological innovation is heavy, and Koons demonstrates that the Lutheran doctrine was innovative, and he argues, relying on the best New Testament scholarship, that the Bible passages cited by the Reformers do not support the innovative features of the Lutheran doctrine. Koons seeks to eliminate widespread misunderstandings of the Catholic doctrine of justification on the part of many Protestants, emphasizing the christocentric character of that teaching. Koons argues that, in contrast, the Lutheran doctrine is inconsistent. He also points out serious logical problems with the principle of sola scriptura.