Edward Irving Reconsidered


Book Description

Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Edward Irving "a minister of Christ, after the order of Paul." Edward Irving was a great preacher, probably the best in Georgian Britain. He was also a profound theologian and a caring pastor. Yet, it is a strange fact of history that this Paul-like "minister of Christ" was eventually removed from the church he had made famous, unfairly expelled from his denomination for heresy, and at the end of his brief life, was demoted in the sect that emerged from his ministry. Towards the end of Irving's life, charismatic gifts emerged in his church amidst great controversy. He had already developed a theological rationale for such gifting, and his extensive teaching on spiritual gifts is still widely consulted today. Edward Irving was and is a controversial figure. It is time that his life, ministry, and teaching were reconsidered. Who was Edward Irving? How did he live? What made him outstanding? What made him so controversial? What is his legacy? These are the questions answered in Edward Irving Reconsidered. It is a compelling story, as sad as it is powerful.




Edward Irving Reconsidered


Book Description

Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Edward Irving "a minister of Christ, after the order of Paul." Edward Irving was a great preacher, probably the best in Georgian Britain. He was also a profound theologian and a caring pastor. Yet, it is a strange fact of history that this Paul-like "minister of Christ" was eventually removed from the church he had made famous, unfairly expelled from his denomination for heresy, and at the end of his brief life, was demoted in the sect that emerged from his ministry. Towards the end of Irving's life, charismatic gifts emerged in his church amidst great controversy. He had already developed a theological rationale for such gifting, and his extensive teaching on spiritual gifts is still widely consulted today. Edward Irving was and is a controversial figure. It is time that his life, ministry, and teaching were reconsidered. Who was Edward Irving? How did he live? What made him outstanding? What made him so controversial? What is his legacy? These are the questions answered in Edward Irving Reconsidered. It is a compelling story, as sad as it is powerful.




The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened


Book Description

In The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened, an abridgement of Edward Irving's (1792-1834) sermons, readers have fresh access to and insightful comment on Irving's distinctive views regarding the person of Jesus Christ. The book follows the sermons in a logical progression: the goal and method of the incarnation, the events of the incarnate life and the death of Christ, and the effects of the incarnation. For Irving, God the Son's assumption of a fallen human nature was of the upmost importance, and garnered most attention. This view also dominates Irving's soteriology, according to which the incarnate Son takes over the human will, reforming the very origin of sin, and offers obedience to the Father as a sacrifice of praise. Irving's radical Christological thought informed the thinking of notable theologians such as John McLeod Campbell, Thomas F. Torrance, and Karl Barth. With an introduction by G. McFarlane and a critical response by J.D. Cameron, The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened provides an accessible format to engage with Irving's influential thoughts and ideas.




Australian Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements


Book Description

In Australian Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Arguments from the Margins, Rocha, Hutchinson and Openshaw argue that Australia has made and still makes important contributions to how Pentecostal and charismatic Christianities have developed worldwide. This edited volume fills a critical gap in two important scholarly literatures. The first is the Australian literature on religion, in which the absence of the charismatic and Pentecostal element tends to reinforce now widely debunked notions of Australia as lacking the religious tendencies of old Europe. The second is the emerging transnational literature on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. This book enriches our understanding not only of how these movements spread worldwide but also how they are indigenised and grow new shoots in very diverse contexts.




A Communion of Love


Book Description

Few figures in church history that died before the age of thirty have left such a lasting legacy as Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813–43). His name is virtually synonymous with the pursuit of personal holiness. M’Cheyne was a living testimony to Scripture’s command to “let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). His ardent praying, preaching, and progress in godliness continue to captivate countless Christians around the world. The model of piety found in M’Cheyne’s life and ministry provides needed encouragement for properly understanding biblical spirituality. What was the main fuel of his spirituality? Love for Jesus Christ. In A Communion of Love, Jordan Stone argues that rightly understanding M’Cheyne’s spirituality must begin with the fundamental issue of why he pursued the means of grace as he did, before reckoning with how he used those means. Such a reorientation reveals that loving communion with Christ was the all-consuming, driving force for M’Cheyne’s vision of the Christian life.




Origins Reconsidered


Book Description

Richard Leakey's personal account of his fossil hunting and landmark discoveries at Lake Turkana, his reassessment of human prehistory based on new evidence and analytic techniques, and his profound pondering of how we became "human" and what being "human" really means.




London Voices, 1820–1840


Book Description

London, 1820. The British capital is a metropolis that overwhelms dwellers and visitors alike with constant exposure to all kinds of sensory stimulation. Over the next two decades, the city’s tumult will reach new heights: as population expansion places different classes in dangerous proximity and ideas of political and social reform linger in the air, London begins to undergo enormous infrastructure change that will alter it forever. It is the London of this period that editors Roger Parker and Susan Rutherford pinpoint in this book, which chooses one broad musical category—voice—and engages with it through essays on music of the streets, theaters, opera houses, and concert halls; on the raising of voices in religious and sociopolitical contexts; and on the perception of voice in literary works and scientific experiments with acoustics. Emphasizing human subjects, this focus on voice allows the authors to explore the multifaceted issues that shaped London, from the anxiety surrounding the city’s importance in the musical world at large to the changing vocal imaginations that permeated the epoch. Capturing the breadth of sonic stimulations and cultures available—and sometimes unavoidable—to residents at the time, London Voices, 1820–1840 sheds new light on music in Britain and the richness of London culture during this period.




Scholarship Reconsidered


Book Description

Shifting faculty roles in a changing landscape Ernest L. Boyer's landmark book Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate challenged the publish-or-perish status quo that dominated the academic landscape for generations. His powerful and enduring argument for a new approach to faculty roles and rewards continues to play a significant part of the national conversation on scholarship in the academy. Though steeped in tradition, the role of faculty in the academic world has shifted significantly in recent decades. The rise of the non-tenure-track class of professors is well documented. If the historic rule of promotion and tenure is waning, what role can scholarship play in a fragmented, unbundled academy? Boyer offers a still much-needed approach. He calls for a broadened view of scholarship, audaciously refocusing its gaze from the tenure file and to a wider community. This expanded edition offers, in addition to the original text, a critical introduction that explores the impact of Boyer's views, a call to action for applying Boyer's message to the changing nature of faculty work, and a discussion guide to help readers start a new conversation about how Scholarship Reconsidered applies today.




Transformation by the Spirit and the Word


Book Description

This book is a distillation of reading Acts for over fifty years, preaching it for twenty-five years, and studying it in-depth for five years. My aim is for students, church leaders, preachers, and missionaries to join me on a journey of narrative theology--a literary exploration of transformation by the Spirit and the Word in Acts. As with every part of God's inspired Scriptures, there is always more to discover and apply. As a Reformed Charismatic I believe that Acts is our story. However, rather than just attempting to copy it, I suggest that the book's unexpected literary shape reveals a challenging missional significance. The need for world gospel mission continues today. However, like the early church, we often contain the Holy Spirit within our own structures and are reluctant to move out of our comfort zones. Acts shows the church's priority is to be God's mission instrument in the world. Let's study, lead, preach, and go from Acts so that we realize Jesus's promise "that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end(s) of the earth" (Acts 1:8).




'Christ’s Sinful Flesh'


Book Description

Christ’s Sinful Flesh explores the life and theology of Edward Irving, a nineteenth-century Scottish preacher and theologian, focusing on his theological framework in the perspective of his understanding of Christ’s humanity. Irving is especially known for his teachings regarding the return of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, pre-millennialism, and his distinct Christology. Most scholarly interpretations of Irving have focused on particular aspects of his thought, such as his teachings on the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, his millenarianism, or his understanding of Christology. This book provides a new interpretation of Irving’s contributions to developments in nineteenth-century theology within the English-speaking world, examining the interrelationship of his theological ideas and exploring the development of them within the context of his life. The book offers a fascinating historical account of Irving’s ministry and theology, bringing in the backdrop of his theological dissident companions and contemporary Romanticism, coupled with the tension between his Presbyterianism and his desire of pursuing the truth. Christ’s Sinful Flesh shows that Irving’s theological views, including his views on the gifts of the Spirit and his millennialism, formed a coherent system, which focused on his doctrine of Christ, and more particularly on his belief that Christ had taken on a fully human nature, including the propensity to sin. Only by sharing fully in the human condition with its “sinful flesh” concerning all temptations, Irving believed, could Christ become the true reconciler of God and humanity and a true exemplar of godly living for humankind. This interesting study is a rare exception in the research of Irving, in that it shows the origin of Irving’s Christology and his methodology. Its description of Irving’s theological development in accordance with the critical moments in his life provides the reader with not only a more vivid interpretation of Irving’s life and theology, but also shows the coherence of the preacher’s theological framework.