This Commemorative Edition of The Notebook of a Colonial Clergyman marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania and celebrates the pioneer missionary spirit and work of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg arrived in the American colonies as 31-year-old Lutheran pastorin 1742, to take up missionary work among the German immigrants who were coming to the New World in search of a new life. His ministry spanned 45 tumultuous years - years of political revolution, years that saw both the birth of a new nation and the establishment of the Lutheran Church on American soil. With the inception of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in 1748, the Lutheran tradition took on an organizational structure that positioned the fledgling church to grow in the American context. The birth of the new nation and the growth of the new church are uniquely captured in this collection of Muhlenberg's journal entries. These excerpts from Muhlenberg's notebooks take you back to the colonial period with fascinating anecdotes and penetrating insights into the political, religious, and cultural realities of the time. Muhlenberg the man and Muhlenberg the missionary of the gospel of Christ come alive for later generations in these revealing journal entries.

Post-Christendom Studies publishes research on the nature of Christian identity and mission in the contexts of post-Christendom. Post-Christendom refers to places, both now and in the past, where Christianity was once a significant cultural presence, though not necessarily the dominant religion. Sometimes “Christendom” refers to the official link between church and state. The term “post-Christendom” is often associated with the rise of secularization, religious pluralism, and multiculturalism in western countries over the past sixty years. Our use of the term is broader than that however. Egypt for example can be considered a post-Christendom context. It was once a leading center of Christianity. “Christendom” moreover does not necessarily mean official public and dominant religion. For example, under Saddam Hussein, Christianity was probably a minority religion, but, for the most part, Christians were left alone. After America deposed Saddam, Christians began to flee because they became a persecuted minority. In that sense, post-Saddam Iraq is an experience of post-Christendom—it is a shift from a cultural context in which Christians have more or less freedom to exercise their faith to one where they are persecuted and/or marginalized for doing so.

Includes Part 1, Number 2: Books and Pamphlets, Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals (July - December)

This book chronologically analyzes thirteen key US Presidents, from Washington to Trump, to highlight how religion has informed or influence their politics and policies. For years, leading scholars have largely neglected religion in presidential studies. Yet, religion has played a significant role in a number of critical presidencies in US history. This volume reveals the deep religious side to such presidents as Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others, and the impact that faith had on their administrations. Now in its third edition, this work also provides a fresh look at the legacy of Obama’s faith-based administration, as well as a new chapter on the 2016 Trump campaign’s dependence on religious voters to provide a timely update to a key text in the study of religion and the presidency.

This volume opens a new avenue toward understanding the politics and policies of many US presidents. As the essays in this book reveal, religion has had an enormous impact on many critical presidencies in US history. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, these essays reveal the deeply religious side to Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others.

Special volume celebrating a 250-year-old American church body In 1748 six Lutheran pastors and laity from ten congregations gathered in Philadelphia under German missionary pastor Henry Melchior Muhlenberg to form the Ministerium of Pennsylvania the first Lutheran church body in North America. These early American Lutherans stood at the crossroads of Lutheran orthodoxy, pietism, and rationalism as they faced the very new, very American challenge of forging a missional, confessional identity within their increasingly pluralistic and multi-religious society. Now, more than 250 years later, this choice selection of essays, addresses, and other pieces celebrates the ongoing legacy of the Ministerium and will allow churches in the twenty-first century to glean new wisdom from a pioneering colonial church body.