Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches

Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches
Author: Robert Benedetto
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 895
Release: 2023-10-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1538130041

As its name implies, the Reformed tradition grew out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Reformed churches consider themselves to be the Catholic Church reformed. The movement originated in the reform efforts of Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) of Zurich and John Calvin (1509-1564) of Geneva. Although the Reformed movement was dependent upon many Protestant leaders, it was Calvin's tireless work as a writer, preacher, teacher, and social and ecclesiastical reformer that provided a substantial body of literature and an ethos from which the Reformed tradition grew. Today, the Reformed churches are a multicultural, multiethnic, and multinational phenomenon. Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches, Third Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1,000 cross-referenced entries on leaders, personalities, events, facts, movements, and beliefs of the Reformed churches. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about reformed churches.

A History of the Church in Africa

A History of the Church in Africa
Author: Bengt Sundkler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1268
Release: 2000-05-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521583428

Bengt Sundkler's long-awaited book on African Christian churches will become the standard reference for the subject.

Mission and Church in Malawi

Mission and Church in Malawi
Author: Christoff Martin Pauw
Publisher: Digital on Demand
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2016-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1868045021

Martin Pauw was born in 1940 at Madzimoyo Mission, Eastern Zambia, where both his grandparents and parents had served as missionaries. After completing his theological studies at the University of Stellenbosch, he was ordained in Malawi in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in 1965. Like his great grandfather, grandfather and father, he became a “missionary” – the fourth generation! He served as youth pastor and lecturer at the CCAP Theological College at Nkhoma until 1973. From 1975 he lectured at Justo Mwale Theological College of the Reformed Church in Zambia in Lusaka and from 1983 to 2001 he was lecturer and eventually professor in Missiology in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Stellenbosch (where he also had previously completed his doctoral studies with a thesis on the history of the CCAP Nkhoma Synod). Over the years Prof Pauw acted as study leader to a large number of under- and post graduate students, authored a considerable number of publications and served in various leadership positions in the church. After retiring as lecturer, he served the Western Cape Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church for a further six years as Secretary for Witness and focussed on building partnerships between the DRC and sister churches in various countries in Africa. His vast experience in, knowledge of and passion for humbly serving the churches in Southern and Central Africa, is remarkable.

Conversion to Christianity

Conversion to Christianity
Author: Robert W. Hefner
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2023-04-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 052091256X

One of the most striking developments in the history of modern civilizations has been the conversion of tribal peoples to more expansively organized "world" religions. There is little scholarly consensus as to why these religions have endured and why conversion to them has been so widespread. These essays explore the phenomenon of Christian conversion from this world-building perspective. Combining rich case studies with original theoretical insights, this work challenges sociologists, anthropologists and historians of religion to reassess the varieties of religious experience and the convergent processes involved in religious change. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994. One of the most striking developments in the history of modern civilizations has been the conversion of tribal peoples to more expansively organized "world" religions. There is little scholarly consensus as to why these religions have endured and why conv

The Equality of Believers

The Equality of Believers
Author: Richard Elphick
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Total Pages: 862
Release: 2012-10-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813932793

From the beginning of the nineteenth century through to 1960, Protestant missionaries were the most important intermediaries between South Africa’s ruling white minority and its black majority. The Equality of Believers reconfigures the narrative of race in South Africa by exploring the pivotal role played by these missionaries and their teachings in shaping that nation’s history. The missionaries articulated a universalist and egalitarian ideology derived from New Testament teachings that rebuked the racial hierarchies endemic to South African society. Yet white settlers, the churches closely tied to them, and even many missionaries evaded or subverted these ideas. In the early years of settlement, the white minority justified its supremacy by equating Christianity with white racial identity. Later, they adopted segregated churches for blacks and whites, followed by segregationist laws blocking blacks’ access to prosperity and citizenship—and, eventually, by the ambitious plan of social engineering that was apartheid. Providing historical context reaching back to 1652, Elphick concentrates on the era of industrialization, segregation, and the beginnings of apartheid in the first half of the twentieth century. The most ambitious work yet from this renowned historian, Elphick’s book reveals the deep religious roots of racial ideas and initiatives that have so profoundly shaped the history of South Africa.

African Christianity

African Christianity
Author: Paul Gifford
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 1998-07-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780253212047

These detailed analyses of the state of the churches in each country suggest more general patterns operating widely across sub-Saharan Africa.

Christianity in Eurafrica

Christianity in Eurafrica
Author: Steven Pass
Publisher: Digital on Demand
Total Pages: 554
Release: 2016-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 186804498X

Christianity in Eurafrica is an impressive book, meticulously researched and well written by a professional scholar. The first chapter includes some valuable historiographical guidelines for writing and understanding the History of the Church. In its first part, the book traces the history of the Church in the Middle East and Europe, explaining the roots of theological diversity to this day. In the second part, the author narrates how the Faith moved south, took root in African soil and grew independently. Many pictures and illustrations serve to further enliven the account. Steven Paas, taught Theology in Malawi for many years. He writes from a deep knowledge of and love for the Lord’s Church, especially in Africa and Europe. This textbook on the history of Christianity in two continents fits with the curricula of institutions of theological training in Africa and the West. The content is especially aimed at students who prepare for the ministry and for Christian education. The book is, however, also invaluable for all scholars of the History of Christianity.

The Chiwaya War

The Chiwaya War
Author: Melvin E Page
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2019-07-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000315436

This book focuses on the great War's effect on Africa in general and Malawi in particular. It describes the outbreak of the war, the recruitment of soldiers, the drafting of porters, the conditions of military life, the conditions on the home front, and the war's end.