A History of Pastoral Care

A History of Pastoral Care
Author: G. R. Evans
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2000-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780225668407

A history of pastoral care is a history of the Christian church in action. But if any sense is to be made of the centuries of Christian work and effort, not only the practicalities of making the message of the Gospel a reality on earth, but also the ideas which have shaped the attempt, century by century, must be examined.This is the history of 2000 years of thought and practice in Christian pastoral ministry. Until comparatively late in that story the bulk of the formative thinking took place in the Middle East and in Europe and this forms the background for recent developments in understanding human nature, and the ways in which that understanding has influenced our thinking in pastoral care.Subjects covered range from the Biblical foundations to the sects and new religious movements; from the Fathers, the monks, the Friars, the Templars to the changes at the end of the twentieth century.

Covenanted Uniformity in Religion

Covenanted Uniformity in Religion
Author: Wayne R. Spear
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2013-08-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1601782454

It is a common view that the Westminster Assembly was dominated by Scots pursuing their nationalistic goals to the disadvantage of a desperate English Parliament. But in Covenanted Uniformity in Religion , Wayne R. Spear reassesses the Assembly from the standpoint of the Scottish commissioners and their influence in the drawing up of the Form of Church Government. Spear begins by placing the Assembly in its historical setting and giving an overview of how it conducted its business. Then, following the order of the Form of Church Government, he traces each significant expression from its origin in a committee, through its debate and modification in the Assembly, to its final placement in the document. Finally, Spear evaluates the significance of this document by considering the responses it received in England and Scotland. Here we see how the Scots failed to achieve some of their most cherished goals in the Assembly debates, which demonstrates that the Assembly operated as a truly deliberative body. This book gives us a more accurate picture of the Westminster Assembly as it debated the proper structure and function of the Christian church. Table of Contents: Part 1: The Westminster Assembly in its Historical Setting 1. The Historical Background of the Westminster Assembly 2. The Organization and Operation of the Assembly 3. The Scottish Commissioners and Their Work Part 2: The Composition of the Westminster Assembly’s Form of Church Government 4. The Church and Its Officers 5. The Local Church 6. Governmental Assemblies 7. Ordination Series Description Complementing the primary source material in the Principal Documents of the Westminster Assembly series, the Studies on the Westminster Assembly provides access to classic studies that have not been reprinted and to new studies, providing some of the best existing research on the Assembly and its members.