Church Books

This was written by a priest for many years for his congregation to learn about the psalms. He looks at each psalm and uses historical references to help interpret the psalms. This helps those of us who don't know much about the Jews or the outlaying area and cities of that time. This is not something to read straight through, but to pick up every now and then. There is a chapter for every psalm.
Here is a quote from page 55, speaking of psalm 28:

"The setting of this tempest is a giant cedar forest, whose overarching branches assume the contours of a vaulted temple, and through this lofty sylvan shrine the booming voice of God comes pounding and roaring with a terrifying majesty, accompanied by the swishing of the wind and rain, while flashing bolts of lightning split the very trunks of the towering trees: 'In His temple everything speaks glory.'
This is a psalm about God's 'glory' (kavod) and 'holiness. In any language, this is certainly a psalm to be prayed out loud, allowing the words to come rumbling through the soul..."

Christ in the Psalms is a first-class compendium of commentaries on the Bible's prayer book. Moreover, linking commentary with New Testament cites creates a rich repertoire of meditation -- personal or for small groups. The instructions on how to use the book, particularly not to pass quickly one to another, are accurate and meaningful. Written in user-friendly language, this book brings to life in unique ways material worthy of contemplation. Great resource.

Though the writer is a Bible Scholar his writing style is both contemplative and devotional. He shows how each Psalm is a prophetic picture of Jesus Chirst. This is a great companion volume to read side by side with the Book of Psalms. I am a pastor of a non-denomination Christian church and have found this to be a great resource.

Christ in the Psalms is one of the rare books that one can consider a true "blessing" to have read. It gives the reader a lot of spiritual 'meat' to chew on, and yet it is entirely readable and accessable. Erudite without being academic. Spiritual without being maudlin. Entirely orthodox and filled with dry wit and wry observations. Sometimes a passage was like a hand on the shoulder whispering kindly advice in my ear; other passages sharp but much needed criticism. Simply outstanding. At a time when I had a very poor spiritual director and so much unhappiness in the seminary, Fr. Reardon provided sorely needed mercy and respite through his book.

I have read this book twice, and in two ways. First, cover to cover, but in two or three chapter bits as an aid to meditation in chapel. The other way was skipping from psalm to psalm as I progressed through the (Roman Catholic) Liturgy of the Hours...praying the Psalms of the hour and then reading Fr. Reardon's commentary on the Psalms just prayed.

As I write this review, I cannot help but to think of the words of the Disciples on the road to Emmaeus: "Did not our hearts burn within us he opened the Scriptures to us?"

Perhaps the best thing I can say about the book is that it showed me the love and friendship of Christ in ways I had not known before. Therefore, I am compelled to recommend it to you and hope that you will get as much out of it as I did.

It's hard to believe that Reardon can pack so much depth into such brief and elegant essays on all 150 Psalms. If all you have is ten minutes you can read a Psalm and his essay and you will have both a heart-glow and a mind-challenge for the rest of the day. Filled with appropriate quotes from the church fathers and information about the formation of the liturgical life of the church---how a particular psalm is used in the church's liturgy.

It's easy to understand. It summarizes and gives you highlights on the most important stuff, so it's great when you have alot of material (such as christian history)but not much time to give it. But I have to agree with another review I read, it isn't easy finding all the websites it gives, most of them aren't at that webaddress. other than that, it's a great book!

Jones does an excellent job in organizing the vast church history materials into a 13 weeks sunday school class. I used it for my sunday school class and find it very helpful. He uses page borders to mark out plainly key persons, events, concepts, and extra materials. All these are very helpful for lay persons who have no education of church history whatsoever, and gives teachers freedom in selecting his own focus. Strongly recommend!

This book was great for learning the basics. Now that I have a better understanding of the origination, and occurances regarding the christian church over the years, I now feel better equipped to read a more thorough account of these happenings from another author. This book sets up a wonderful timeline of events throughout history and has a great way of presenting facts via various visual aids, such as pictures, charts, and subtitles... all in all, very user friendly. :)

I teach a small group Bible study that has been meeting for several years. Since I have a graduate degree in theology, I usually write my own curriculum. However, recently I have been using this book as the basis for our studies. It is very well put together;providing more than enough information for my students, without being pedantic and including interesting discussion topics. My students (most of whom are 65 and older) LOVE the material. They keep asking for more. They are so engaged with it that I have a hard time ending the group discussions when our meeting time is up.
My only negative comment is that the web addresses need to be updated as some are no longer valid. Also the accompanying PowerPoint presentation (also a web address) was hard to find. Other that those minor points, I love the book-both for my own enjoyment and as a group curriculum.

I have used this book to teach one class of adults and will be using it in a few months to teach another class. They really enjoyed it. It is not overwhelming and yet hits most of the highlights of our "family" history. The conversational style keeps it from being boring and it is on a level that one does not have to have a college degree to understand. As with any study, it is always a good thing to undergird, support, and illustrate with other resources. If this is done, it balances any weaknesses found in the book's material. For instance, if a central character is not covered in depth enough, or even not at all, just add material to round it out. Our church is using it now for both teens and adults. Would recommend it to anyone.

This book should be required reading for all large-church pastors and their lay leadership. It presents solid ideas for becoming what Christ told the Church to be - the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Highly recommended.

This book is right on. If we all were able to show Christ to the world around us the way the book encourages us to do, we would live in a different world. This is a must read for anyone wanting to make an impact on the world they live in.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is concerned about reaching their community with the gospel. It is a different approach to the challenge that churches face today in our culture where the local church has often become irrelevant in the eyes of the community.

This book is an excellent, balanced, scriptural view of the need for the church to be engaged in outreach. It is not only a good view, theoretically, but it is extremely practical and motivational. Even though Fellowship Bible church has moved on from the approach described here, it is still an excellent stepping stone for a growing church.

"The Church of Irresistible Influence" is one of the most compelling books that I've ever read about what the church can and should be. I'm not one to casually embrace huge concepts on a whim, so I'm not yet convinced that every notion from this book is appropriate or even workable in many churches. In fact, Lewis' church has undergone some significant organizational changes since he wrote the book. I would be most intrigued to read a sequel that describes the process of becoming a church of irresistible influence after several more years of experience.

In any case, perfect model or not, Lewis presents many extremely dynamic examples of how his church (and, more specifically, the people within his church) began to impact the Little Rock community in amazing ways. It's great to read those stories of connection, blessing, and service, particularly as so many churches are becoming painfully aware of how useless they really are to their communities.

I would strongly recommend this book to any modern church leader, not because I think that every church should adopt this exact model of church structure, but because it presents some big issues and paradigm-shifting ideas that have the potential to totally redefine the impact of the American church. It just might totally rearrange the way you think about church!!

This is a small prayer book full of big-time punch. I always find it hard to review prayer books. Either you like them or you don't, which is like most books, but unlike fiction or theology it is a much more personal reaction. That being said, this is a great book. I wish there were a hard cover edition so it could take more of a beating.

Michael Dubrueil does an amazing job in just over 350 pages of giving solid teaching on Novenas - both the history of Novenas, and how to endure in praying Novenas. He also instructs the reader in ways of encountering God, the reasons to pray Novenas and gives a personal account of some of the prayers he has used and God's care and provision for him.

With over 30 Novenas highlighted in the book and Appendices to the prayers common to Novenas, and the shrines associated with Novenas in the book, Michael covers the whole gambit of Novenas. The specific Novenas in the book are categorized as Novenas to:

1. Christ and the Holy Spirit
2. The Blessed Virgin Mary
3. Relatives of Jesus
4. Particular Saints
5. American Saints
6. Holy Souls
7. A Quick Novena

This collection of Novenas and prayers said over nine days will be a source of light, hope and encouragement in your life. Thank you Michael for this treasury.

I was expecting the usual novena book and was wondering why I had ordered it when I already had so many. But as I thumbed through the book I was fascinated with each little story attached to the individual novenas. The foreward and introduction was fascinating as well because I was not all that familiar with the history of novenas. I enjoying reading how they progressed from prayers for the dead to weekly "social nights" in church and finally to private novenas. I think my favorite novena from this book will be the "Quickie Novena" by Mother Theresa. If you don't have 9 days to do a novena, you just do this one 9 times in one sitting. There are also novenas that I had never seen before. Even if you, like me, have a stack of novena books, you will enjoy this one. My only worry is that the pages are super-thin. Keep your coffee cups away!

Small enough to carry with you everywhere.

Get one and watch the power of Devotions prayers work!

Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!

I bought this book for my wife and she likes it. She said that the variety of reflections in it are quite good. She carries it around in her purse and she also reads it at home.

I bought this book for my Mother for Christmas. She just loved it, so much so, that she insisted I buy a copy for myself.

I'm really enjoying it. The effort made regarding history, reasons, superstitions etc, as well as the personal note from Mike regarding his experience with St. Therese makes the book practical as well as inspirational.

The stories prior to the Novenas are perfect.

I bought this when I was teaching in our Children's Ministry at church. When we stopped that because of a lack of volunteers, I was disappointed, and stuck with a book I thought I'd never use again. However, I have used several of the projects for my CCD classes. The materials are reprintable and fun to do.

I highly recommend this book.

If you are new to Children's Liturgy of the Word, this is a great book to start with! It is easy for anyone to use to facilitate Children's Liturgy of the Word, and it has all the Sundays for all three cycles. My parish has been using this book as a resource for two years.

A wonderful resource to use for Children's Liturgy of the Word or for catechesis.

we bought this book this summer, as a workbook/instruction manual for our church's recently re-introduced children's liturgy program. it's perfect! completely scripted, any one of the 4 couples who take turns leading, can just pick it up the night before, read over it and be ready to lead the next morning. in years past, the leaders spent so much time preparing and planning that they could offer only ONE children's liturgy a month! but with so much of the work done for us, in this book, we are happy to offer it EVERY sunday. the gospel is kid friendly, the discussion questions are very helpful and the kids love the activity pages....we love that they directly correlate to each sunday's gospel reading. 5 STARS! highly recommend!

I have been in charge of the children's mass at my church for a few years now. We had some old books from the 1970's that we were using, but they had inadvertantly got recycled during a clean out that I missed at our church. So, I went on several sites trying to find a replacement. When I found this book, I was apprehensive about what might be inside. I was very happy when it arrived. Not only does it cover the gospel for each week, but it has a suggested activity to go along with it that you can photocopy. I have requested that my church order one to keep with the children's mass supplies as I plan on keeping this one for myself to use not only for the mass, but also as a reference for the sunday school class I teach. This book will help anyone who wishes to teach a child about their religion in an easy and fun way.

I have been a Christian for many years and student of the laws of the mind for the last 8 or so. Im all of my readings, this book, by far, has been the most clear, concise, and complete presentation of the Law of the Universe that i have ever read. 100 or pages of pure power packed truth that is easy to read and understand whether you are just starting this path or have been on it for many years. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, whether you believe in the laws of the mind or not, this IS the way the world works. This book is a must read for the entire world. We are all putting these truths into effect every day consciously or unconsciously. If you dont read another book this year, read this one.

I used to think that success was all about having a lot of money, having a big house, and wearing diamond studded underwear. Sure, there is nothing wrong with these things...except maybe the diamond studded underwear, that is just wrong on too many levels...but to me, success is not so much about externals as it is a deep inner feeling of knowing that you are doing something with your life that can make you feel good about who you are as a person.

I've mentioned in several other reviews how there was a time in my life where I felt like an abject failure...that I was a huge dissapointment to all of life. I'd look at my world and see nothing but despair and negativity and hopelessness. I really wanted to end my life at one time. But looking back on those days, I realize that I didn't want to die as much as I wanted all those thoughts I had about my life to die.

But how do we change our thoughts? How do we go from thinking that we are failures to thinking that we're successful? We change our thoughts about ourselves by changing the thoughts we have about ourselves. I'm sorry to be so simplistic. I'm sorry I don't have some "Wa-zoo" device I could sell to you like the Nega-vac 3000 that sucks away all your negative thoughts and feelings, but the bottom line is that if you want to start thinking and feeling good about your life, then you are going to have to start thinking and feeling good.

You see, we do play a role in our own lives. We do have a say as to what we are going to think about. If you woke up feeling kind of lousy this morning, I want you to do something. I want you to go back to bed. That's it. Put the covers back over you and get up again...but this time get up thinking a positive thought about yourself...this time get up feeling as though you have something to offer life because you do; YOU!

This book is a total Godsend. It is to be devoured. It is to be assimilated. When you read it you can just feel little skyrockets of joy going off in your mind. I'm not gonna kid you, it does take work to change your thoughts and it takes even more work to keep them changed but think about this, the moment you begin to change, the WHOLE UNIVERSE will change with you. It has to! There is no set reality! All reality is, is your ideas about it, anyway.

So you could be a totally boring, mouth breathing drone or you could actually become something wonderful...something beautiful...you could be like me! And I am wonderful! I am beautiful! I am rich! I am successful! But then again, so are you. The only difference is, is that you aren't thinking it...you aren't feeling it. You are a success now. You really are. Consider this your invitation to become even more successful!

I wish you well on your journey of Light.

Ernest Holmes' philosophy, applied with a somewhat specialized focus and in capsule form. A magnificent book to pack for trips, taking little space and keeping the spirits up. Unconditionally recommended.

If you have never read Ernest Holmes before, this is a great book to start with. It is simple to read, yet it conveys Ernest Holmes' wisdoms at the core, and directly.

Ernest Holmes will tell you about the concept of Divine Mind, Spiritual Supply, Mental Laws, and why our thoughts create our experience.

The first time I read his concept of "Entering The Absolute", it really opened up a new way of thinking for me. He says that to enter the absolute means, be able to think independently of any existing circumstances or problems. Meaning, if you have any problem or situation which you wish to solve or get out from, the only way to get out from it is to spend your focus mainly on what you really want - which is the solution/answer. If you are poor, you have to think thoughts of wealth,abundance and success, to dwell on the "Infinite Supply" and never on the present circumstances. Many other authors have written about true stories where people have gotten themself out of their situation of lack, by daily thinking and feeling about what they truly desire.

I recently read that the author Anthony Robbins, many years ago when he was broke, he set such big 'impossible' goals for himself such as owning a huge castle to live in, a limosine, being a multi-millionaire and being the successful person he desired to be. And he mentally rehearsed each goal everyday, as if its already achieved, that within JUST ONE YEAR he achieved all of his goals above! The castle, the limo, the wealth and life he dwelled on everyday!

For those who are interested in this topic, you may want to read "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen. However, I still think 'Creative Mind and Sucess' is the best. If you are interested in Ernest Holmes, I recommend his other books such as "This Thing Called YOU", "Love And Law", "The Essential Ernest Holmes".

Its kind of hard to believe that this book proceeded Ernest Holmes classic text "Science of Mind", but I am glad it did and would recommend this book prior to reading Science of Mind. This is truly the secret unlocked but with a powerful spiritual foundation. Bottom line we are each God, the Universe in expression, and that truth appears in our life according to consciousness (awareness) and I will say it again and again BELIEF. For those looking for a quick fix, put this book down and go out and find something else. While results may happen rather quickly this spiritual path is for those willing to commit themselves to a better life by expanding their consciousness and putting out to LIFE. Once I embraced and realized my relatonship to the One, a great sense of peace, poise, fearlessness and confidence starting expressing through me. I thought I had these before but the foundation was largely ego based. Many of the ideas and concepts I believed as a child have been revealed to me in this book, concepts, ideas, and truths of prosperity, abundance, peace, poise, health and that I can live in this world bu not be of it. I am by far not a religious zealot or fly by night "im spiritual" type. I use these ideas to better my life and they are expressing through me here and now. I am manifesting more prosperity and abundance in all forms like never before. I pull this book out as a part of my daily study when im feeling good and when I need a pick me up. Former Oaklund A's pitcher Barry Zito sings the book praises for helping him become a a star pitcher.

Ive read all of Ernest Holmes book, but this one has to be the best for those on a new path or wanting to study and practice these principles especially when you cant make it to a local churtch or study group. Science of Mind is the ultimate text, but the language is very rich , Creative Mind was written almost 100 years ago but is still very prevalent today. YOU CANT DO WRONG WITH STARTING HERE!

I first encountered Enneagram literature in the early '90s, and became engrossed, but soon felt bogged down in belly-gazing and type-analyzing, and somewhat depressed by the way the types seemed locked into their weaknesses, according to the sources I was reading at the time. Rohr and Ebert's book, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. The "Christian perspective" in this book is a perspective of redemption and transformation. Knowledge of one's type becomes a key toward growth and transformation, rather than a stimulus for belly-gazing. Also, the book's treatment of "wings" and different "centers" (gut, head, heart), as well as its discussion of factors that lead to type-confusion (a person of one type taking on the characteristics of another at a certain point in his/her life), helps account for the unique variations and complexities found in individual personalities. I also found it better than some of the other sources I'd read at pinpointing the essential issues of the types, and after having mis-typed myself for years, I finally made the correct identification.

A suggestion to any newcomer to the Enneagram: Explore different discussions to gain a nuanced understanding of it (as well as to avoid the pitfall of narrowing people into rigid categories). One of the beauties of the Enneagram is its complexity. Although the insights in this book were the most constructive to me, other helpful sources have been: audio recordings of Enneagram workshops led by Rohr; The Enneagram Made Easy by Baron and Wagele (a fun quick-reference, and there's a brief but interesting cross-reference with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator); http://www.9types.com/; and http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/.

This was a wonderfully well written and insightful book...explores the depths of the enneagram in relation to one's Christian life.

This updated version of DISCOVERING THE ENEAGRAM is truly a gem. It does a good job of explaining Enneagram theory and an excellent scholarly job of looking at the history of the Enneagram. In addition, its descriptions of the 9 Enneagram types are well done and insightful. Each of these sections also contains many interesting historical references to important figures and event in Christian history.

I have read a lot of Enneagram books including some that were written from a Christian perspective. Within the Christian subset of books, I feel this one is "hands down" the very best. It is also in general agreement with Riso and Hudson, Helen Palmer and Sandra Maitri on the characteristics of the types. These are three of the biggest names in Enneagram study and each has a useful perspective to offer.

Rohr sees the Enneagram as both a useful psychological and spiritual tool for self growth. Psychologists and spiritual directors will really appreciate his rigor and depth. Another Christian author who uses the Enneagram for spiritual direction is James Empereur. His book THE ENNEAGRAM AND SPIRITUAL DIRECTION is also quite good.

If you are a psychologist you may also want a copy of PERSONALITY TYPES by Riso and Hudson. This book covers the 9 developmental levels of each type in detail and the associated psychological pathologies. For a general audience, THE WISDOM OF THE ENNEAGRAM by the same authors may be better because it has a more broad focus on theory and keeps the detail on each developmental level to a minimum.

Another point worth mentioning is that this updating version of Rohr's DISCOVERING THE ENNEAGRAM (retitled) covers new discoveries about the history of the Enneagram. This includes its use and possible origins in Early Christianity. This section is well-researched and you can find a lot of good references here on the history of the Enneagram.

This book hit my personality type totally! With jaw-dropping accuracy, it brought my natural inclinations to light as a typical personality type. All of a sudden, I was not alone and there was reason for my tendencies. This book was great because it bridges the gap between your natural inclinations and where you should go as a Christian. Highly recommended!

As a fan of Richard Rohr, i must confess I found this book quite disappointing. Having engaged in coursework on the enneagram I entered this book with some familiarity with the lens it provided.
I was very disappointed in Rohr's generalizations and use of stereotypical terms such as "Jewish mother" which I find inflammatory. I also found his assumptions as with certain types having had abusive childhoods (when this is not necessarily true). It appears that either Rohr or the other author has some personal issues with the two and seven types. As the tone of these chapters is much more negative than the rest of the book. Incidentally, in the chapter entitled "The enneagram and Jesus" there is disproportionately less space devoted to how Jesus was an enneagram 2 than any other type.
As the book appears to be translated from German and is a republication of a 1989 german edition, I give Rohr the benefit of the doubt and give him 3 stars when I really believe it worthy of only 2 stars. There is some worthwhile information presented but the manner it is presented is questionable at best.
Regardless of the author or teacher, the enneagram is a none too gentle wake up call to take a long hard look at our compulsions. Studying it is always painful if one truly invests in its philosophy. However I urge extreme caution in reading this book as I find it to have more potential for traumitization.
For a more gentle yet credible introduction to the enneagram I reccomend anything by Riso and Hudson especially THE WISDOM OF THE ENNEAGRAM. Similarly anything by Helen Palmer is excellent. For brief bare bones essentials on the enneagram, THE ESSENTIAL ENNEAGRAM by Daniels and Price will suffice. For an excellent and gentle read on the Enneagram and its relation to Kabbalah look into the two books by Rabbi Addison.
For an excellent book by Rohr read HOPE AGAINST DARKNESS: THE TRANSFORMING VISION OF SAINT FRANCIS IN AN AGE OF ANXIETY.

You don't need to be a Lutheran to benefit greatly from this book. Klemet Preus has a gift as a theological communicator. I found myself arguing with him at points but he exposed more than one weak spot in my thinking. I must have talked to my wife about it quite a bit as she kept pushing me to finish so she could read it! And she is glad she did. Highly recommended.

This book is both informative and accessible. Preus does a good job explaining the conflicts between traditional Lutheran Christianity and contemporary Evangelical Protestantism. He can be a little repetitive at times, but that is due to the fact that in theology everything builds off of and refers back to what came before. Preus' discussion of vocation was also very helpful, as the contemporary views of discipleship often achieve nothing more than create stress-everything carries with it a significance that it just does not deserve. The emotional aspect of contemporary worship has also always bothered me. Preus does a great job illustrating the problems with basing one's faith off of transient sentiments. This book deserves a close reading and serious thought.

This book gives real practical do's and don'ts to Lutheran Theology and Practice from a man who experienced all the do's and don'ts himself. I love the book for its boldness and I would recommend any Lutheran layman to read it and learn from it. Pastors can learn from it too.

This is a book that helps the reader understand why we worship as Lutherans the way we do. It goes into great depths to understand the theology behind our actions as a church and yet is not too hard to understand. The author has a good way of putting things down on a layman's level.

A most excellent book and a must read for all Lutherans and those who are toying with the whole "church growth" movement. Rev. Preus is no-nonsense, hard hitting, confessional and orthodox while reaching out in love to those in error. If you are concerned that the church is losing its ancient orthodox and catholic roots and is becoming the "church of what's happening now", you need to read this book! Buy one for your pastor, he needs to read this as well. Promote the book in your church as a most excellent replacement for "The purpose driven life."

This is one of those rare books which you can read over and over again and always discover something new. The themes and material dealt with are better understood after taking Gnosticweb's courses.

The book also sheds light on the misconception most people have of Judas Iskariot, a man who has been falsely condemned to the status of "traitor" by history and those who dictate it.

Overall, a great book to have and read many times, but even better with the free online courses provided by Gnosticweb.

The book reads very much like the Gospel of Thomas in that it's very esoteric. Indeed, at times it's even more cryptic than GOT. Yet, it is well worth reading again and again and again.

This book is inspiring, powerful, and authentic. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for answers. It is well-written and captivating. I couldn't put it down. It is appropriate for all levels.

There is so much wisdom in this book... you can discover new things and gain more understanding with each time you read it...

The book explains why Judas wasn't a bad guy after all... very interesting now with the new discovery of the Gospel of Judas, which explains the same!

Highly recommendable!

This book is so amazing!
It is more than a book and it is a book in the same time.
It's truly magical -you read it and you change inside.
It really touches you, touches your heart and it's a challenge to read it, it goes all the way from simple language to the very hard to understand, full of deep esoteric symbolism, language of mysticism. If you read it with closed heart it opens you, if it's opened, it opens it more and more. It's like a door to another world which is so more real than where we live. Like a spring where you can go time to time and drink fresh water. It tells you a story of a greatest Master which was so abused, is abused and will be abused.
I find it a very good addition to teachings of Samael Aun Weor, Rabolu, and Mark Pritchard, Master Belzebuub available at Gnosticweb.
It is also an excellent addition to teachings of George Gourgieff.
I can recomend it to read to all the people who have read many esoteric, religious and spiritual books and still could not be fully satisfied.
This is a great book.

Fundamentalism is the movement arising among Christians in the early 20th century who fervently defended the fundamental doctrines of Christianity while opposing modernist liberalism. In his Fundamentalism and American Culture, George M. Marsden investigates the historical context and ideological roots of what came to be American fundamentalist Christianity, recognizing complex influences from nineteenth-century traditions like revivalism, holiness, and patriotism. Marsden says, "Fundamentalists were evangelical Christians, close to the traditions of the dominant American revivalist establishment of the nineteenth century, who in the twentieth century militantly opposed both modernism in theology and the cultural changes that modernism endorsed" (4). His interpretation of the phenomenon of fundamentalism treads a middle ground between those who reduce it to a purely social reaction to the emerging trend of modernist thought, and someone like Ernest Sandeen who views fundamentalism as essentially theological (201). Some evaluations from observers of the height of the fundamentalist frenzy saw it as hollow and brief; the Christian Century said in 1926, "it is henceforth to be a disappearing quanitity in American religious life, while our churches go on to larger issues..." (192). Marsden does not relegate fundamentalism to the position of a short-lived radical sect, but sees it as a significant movement with deep roots and continued relevance to today's American evangelicalism. As a result, he devotes about half of his book to in depth account of late 19th and early 20th century currents of Christian thought.

Marsden focuses on three major themes. First, he highlights a tension within fundamentalism--the tendency at times to preserve the perceived identity of American culture (viewing America as Israel), and at other times to take on the identity of a separatist minority sect (viewing America as Babylon). Second, he studies the prominent movements of Christian thought in American evangelicalism before the emergence of fundamentalism. He sees deep roots in America's revivalism, pietism, the popularity of holiness, and middle-class Victorian values. Third, Marsden observes a wavering stance among fundamentalists regarding science and the intellect. On one hand, the scientific "common sense" type of principles of 17th century philosopher Francis Bacon allowed the average person clearly to see the plain facts of God evident in Scripture. On the other hand, this same scientific approach allowed proponents of Darwinian evolution to discard the unrealistic, supernatural, miraculous accounts found in the Bible. Naturalism and evolution were powerful enemies of Christians who wanted to maintain the fundamental supernatural tenets of the faith. Increasingly over the years, anti-evolution became a more unifying passion than even adherence to Christian orthodoxy. Marsden comments, "Many people with little or no interest in fundamentalism's doctrinal concerns were drawn into the campaign to keep Darwinism out of America's schools... The more clearly [fundamentalists] realized that there was a mass audience for the message of the social danger of evolution, the more central this social message became" (170).

After chronologically recounting the origins of fundamentalism, its peak in 1920-1925, as well as the subsequent gradual growth of fundamentalist ideology through denominations and universities, Marsden shares his interpretation of the movement. Fundamentalism was initially a religious assertion against the threat of modernism, but the event of World War I gave fundamentalism crucial characteristics. War-related crisis provided an occasion for paranoia and militant defense of religious views. Marsden compares evangelicals experience of encroaching modernism to the "traumatic cultural upheaval" of cross-cultural immigration (204).

I find quite helpful Marsden's reluctance to paint the fundamentalist movement as either purely theological or purely social. By resisting extremes, Marsden's eyes are open to the great and sometimes even contradictory complex issues informing fundamentalism. He says it is "a mistake to reduce religious behavior to its social dimensions" and admirably acknoweledges the power of spiritual forces and deep-seated convictions (203). I wish he had made some value judgments, even if tentative and qualified, and used a biblical standard to grant the reader practical ideas for how to move forth with knowledge of historical fundamentalism. What traps and misconceptions did fundamentalists fall into that contemporary evangelical may be vigilant to avoid? For what elements of fundamentalism can we be grateful and which can we even strive to emulate? This desire of mine, though, is just because I'm more interested in ideas than events. I prefer philosophy to history. People who love history may have more fun reading this than I did. Marsden's objectivity seems appropriate to a scholarly book in the genre of history.

Good reading. It presents a good review of the culture and the strengths and weaknesses that religion can play in forming it.

George Marsden's biography of Jonathan Edwards was so well written that I decided to read more of his stuff. This book on fundamentalism is a classic. Many scholars of Christian fundamentalism paint with too broad a brush, often lumping evangelicals into the fundy camp. Marsden avoids this mistake. He also acknowledges what many do not, that the fundamentalism of the post WWI era took on a much harsher and more separatistic tone.

Marsden does a nice of discussing some of the towering figures of the movement: D.L Moody, R.A Torrey, Arno Gaebelein, J, Gresham Machen, Jonathan Blanchard and Charles Blanchard (the President of Wheaton College). He shows how early fundamentalists like R.A Torrey and W.H Griffith Thomas thought that evangelical zeal should be coupled with social concern. Marsden also highlights the fundamentalist disdain over the more liberal Social Gospel, which jettisoned evangelism completely.

We also get to see the fundamentalists like Billy Sunday and William Jennings Bryan, who were concerned about people coming to know Christ, but not quite as concerned about people coming to know more about the doctrinal content of Christianity. This was a major concern of the evangelical Princeton theologians (BB Warfield, Charles Hodge, and J. Gresham Machen).

There is also a newer chapter in this edition that traces the development of fundamentalism from 1980 to the present day. In this chaoter, Marsden also takes himself to task for not discussing how the relaxed mores of the "Roaring Twenties" alarmed the fundamentalist community, nor did her mention the role of women in the fundamentalist movement of 1871-1925.

But these criticisms duly noted, I still like the book very much and commend it to those interested in religious movements.

Rev. Marc Axelrod

I have read the 1980 edition of this book.

How to use the word miracle in one's vocabulary, but not accept the signs and wonders of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Birth, the ressurection, any event recorded in the Old Testament that goes against the laws of Nature. To accept the premise that God on rare occasions does something beyound the laws of Nature or the existence of God entirely, A modernist may use may use the word miracle to describe the unexpexted or an event happening despite the mathematical odds- but not an act by a supernatural being overruling the laws of Nature.

To not believe in such a Being, means to deny the facts described in the bible. These scholars do not accept the Lord God as described in the Bible. This type of Theologian albeit University instructor or Pastor of a church was quite prominant in Europe before 1870, but not in the United States until later. This book is a debate among those who accept the bible as true as it is and those who deny the word of God as valid.

The date of the book is not arbitrary. Since the author cites the end of the Civil war and Darwins theory of evolution as major cataylist to bringing the debate to the forefront in the United States. This includes the University, the pulpit and in the American Culture. This book is a narrative about social change in American society, theological thought, and the major players in Christian Revivals and Theology. Not just the scholars in the Universities. The book touches on changes in the Universities(1980 edition), but its main focus is on society. Is the Bible sufficient to show how God interacts with the created.

I found the reading interesting and easy to understand.

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I used this book to get insight in background of R.A. Torrey, and it helped wonderfully. Espescially for me as a European theologian, it helped to get insight in history and society of the States, especially concerning the relation between pre-millenianism and cultural atmosphere and impact on theology, especially on the question of the personhood of the Holy Spirit!

For European theology it gives an insight in the background of the more and more popular evangelical and pentecostal churches and their theology, that has its roots there, where this book is al about!

Stefan R Timmerman