Select Bible & Christian Reference Books

WONDERFUL works by this classic spiritual author. Includes: Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God.

Saint Anslem died in 1109 after serving as the Archbishop of Canterbury for 12 years. A man modern philosophers consider Saint Anslem one of their kin because Saint Anselm "attempted to prove the existence of God." Actually, Saint Anslem presupposed only Christians would read his works. His arguments are difficult to refute even after 900 years.

Saint Anslem died in 1109 after serving as the Archbishop of Canterbury for 12 years. A man modern philosophers consider Saint Anslem one of their kin because Saint Anselm "attempted to prove the existence of God." Actually, Saint Anslem presupposed only Christians would read his works. His arguments are difficult to refute even after 900 years.

Bernard was a Catholic spiritual whose writing is still worthy of our attention today.

Archbishop Fenelon (1651-1715) was the leader of the quietist movement in the Roman Catholic Church. John Wesley spoke highly of Fenelon's writings, recommending them to others, while rejecting extreme quietism.

Madame Guyon was a student of St. Francis de Sales. She was a woman of noble birth (1648-1717) whose spiritual writings continue to be inspirational today.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a leader of the Protestant Reformation and namesake of the Lutheran Tradition. He was born in Eisleben and was well-educated before entering the University of Erfurt. It was there that, rather than pursue an advanced law degree, Luther became an Augustinian monk. Between 1505 and 1512 he studied and lectured in theology, punctuated by achievement of his Doctorate at Wittenberg. By 1517 Luther was realizing in full the doctrine of justification by faith, as declared by the apostle Paul and Augustine. His publication of 95 theses against indulgences sparked protest throughout Germany, forcing Luther to defend his theology in disputations at Heidelberg and Leipzig. His treatises of 1520 brought him into greater conflict with the papacy, and he was excommunicated. After the Diet of Worms in 1521, he continued to define and uphold his theology, seeking to reform the Church, emphasizing the authority of Scripture and the Pauline doctrine of justification.

The Pious Confession of Faith and Doctrine Reitereated by Unanimous Consent of the Electors, Princes, and Estates of the Empire, and of Their Theologians, who Embrace the Augsburg Confession. Whereunto there has been added from Holy Scripture, that Only Norm and Rule of Doctrine which after Dr. Martin Luther’s happy departure from this life were being controverted.

The Book of Concord or Concordia is the doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church. It is composed of ten documents, each of which has been recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since at least the 16th century. (The Three Ecumenical Creeds, The Augsburg Confession, The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, The Smalcald Articles, A Treatise of the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Luther's Small and large Catechisms, and The Formula of Concord.) They are also known as the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, or the Lutheran Confessions. The Book of Concord was published in German on June 25, 1580 in Dresden; this date was chosen to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg.