In this dramatic journey through religious and artistic history, R. A. Scotti traces the defining event of a glorious epoch: the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Begun by the ferociously ambitious Pope Julius II in 1506, the endeavor would span two tumultuous centuries, challenge the greatest Renaissance masters—Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante—and enrage Martin Luther. By the time it was completed, Shakespeare had written all of his plays, the Mayflower had reached Plymouth—and Rome had risen with its astounding basilica to become Europe's holy metropolis. A dazzling portrait of human achievement and excess, Basilica is a triumph of historical writing.
In the sixteenth century the Western Church was rent asunder by the quarrel over justification. Today scholars from churches on both sides of the controversy are carefully rethinking the question. Dr. Toon shows how contemporary biblical scholarship and exegesis are attempting to resolve the thorny question of justification without compromising the integrity of either side. Provocative and far-reaching in its analysis and conclusions, Justification and Sanctification gives the student an invaluable introduction while providing the scholar a fresh look at the issue.
Presbyterian Worship in America is the first fully documented historical survey of its theme in the United States. Its value is to be found in a combination of broad painting of the major trends with delightfully detailed vignettes of city and country congregations at worship. Horton Davies Melton exposes the tension between freedom and order which has always existed among American Presbyterians.... This concise, well-researched and well-written book will be valuable for students of American religious history as well as for pastors and laymen responsible for guiding the worship of their congregations. James H. Smylie Dr. Melton...surveys discussions of [worship] in the church press and in books, arranged loosely according to New School evangelism and Old School formalism. Particularly valuable are the sketches of such colorful individuals as Charles Baird, Charles Shields, Levi Ward, Benjamin Comegys, and Henry van Dyke. James H. Nichols
Subject: Places of worship can inspire, evoke humility, bring together communities, or provide solace. In a richly illustrated volume of photographs featuring sacred spaces across America, House of Worship illustrates how through design a physical space becomes scared. Remarkable for an architecture that expresses spirituality, each of the structures represented in this book are notable in their design--and spirit. Included are great photographers' pictures of churches of various denominations, Buddhist temples, small chapels, mosques, and synagogues that are presented by inspiring informative texts