From a distinguished assembly of twelve internationally acclaimed scholars comes this rich, interdisciplinary study that explores the Protestant Reformation and its revolutionary impact on the church and the world. The Reformation revolutionized the church and spiritual life as well as art, music, literature, architecture, and aesthetics. It transformed economics, trade, banking, and moreâ€"transformations that shifted power away from the church to the state, unleashing radical new campaigns for freedom, equality, democracy, and constitutional order. In this authoritative but accessible study, the authors analyze the kaleidoscopic impact of the Reformation over the past 500 yearsâ€"for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for the West and increasingly for the world.

The sixteenth-century Reformation in all its forms and expressions sought nothing less than the transformation of the Christian faith. Five hundred years later, in today's context of world Christianity, the transformation continues. In this volume, editor Dale Irvin draws together a variety of international Christian perspectives that open up new understandings of the Reformation. In six chapters, contributors offer general discussions and case studies of the effects of the Protestant Reformation on global communities from the sixteenth century to the present. Together, these essays encourage a reading and interpretation of the Reformation that will aid in the further transformation of Christianity today. CONTENTS: Introduction 1. Jews and Muslims in Europe: Exorcising Prejudice against the Other Charles Amjad-Ali 2. Spaniards in the Americas: Las Casas among the Reformers Joel Morales Cruz 3. Women from Then to Now: A Commitment to Mutuality and Literacy Rebecca A. Giselbrecht 4. The Global South: The Synod of Dort on Baptizing the "Ethnics" David D. Daniels 5. The Protestant Reformations in Asia: A Blessing or a Curse? Peter C. Phan 6. The Modern Era: Contemporary Challenges in Light of the Reformation Vladimir Latinovic

On retrieving historic Protestant faith today At its heart, the Protestant Reformation was about a deep, doctrinally shaped faith centered on God and his Word. But that historic, substantive faith is not faring so well in our contemporary Western (post-Christian) context. In his 2008 bookThe Courage to Be Protestant, David Wells issued a summons to return to the historic faith, defined by the Reformationsolas(grace, faith, and Scripture alone) and by a high regard for doctrine. In this thoroughly reworked second edition, Wells presents an updated look at the state of evangelicalism and the changes that have taken place in the last decade. On the cusp of the Protestant Reformation's 500th anniversary, there is no better time to hear Wells's clarion call to reclaim the historic, doctrinally serious Reformation faith in our fast-paced, technologically dominated, postmodern culture."

Our world is obsessed with stories about Protestantism and modernity.Are Protestant societies dynamic, progressive, and free? Or are they godless, Erastian, and libertine? Thinkers and theologians once argued we should rejoice in Protestantism's creation of societies grounded on reason, freedom, and the individual; now, many are quick to pin the blame for modernity's ills squarely on the Reformation. But these are two sides of the same coin, united by a shared assumption: that Protestantism necessitates revolution, and with it the dissolution of religious and metaphysical bonds which once united generations, nations, a continent, the Church, and even heaven and earth.But what if these accounts are wrong? What if Protestantism is more than this, or something different altogether? The burden of this book is to illuminate Protestantism's historic vision of society, culture, and governance, with the aim of applying its rich legacy in our own day. Collecting and expanding essays originally published in the journal "Ad Fontes", this book deals with the issues of church and state, politics and culture, and economics and justice, and proposes that Protestantism's own vision for these things is worth seeing afresh, on its own terms.If you are willing to ask "A Protestant Christendom?", you may be surprised by the answer.

In a church rocked by controversies over vernacular Scripture, iconoclasm, and the power of clergy, men and women arose in protest. Today we call this protest movement the Protestant Reformation. At its heart, the Reformation was a great revival of the church centered on the recovery of biblical truth and the gospel of free grace. This movement continues to instruct and inspire believers even into the present day. Reformation 500 celebrates the Reformation and probes the ways it has shaped our world for the better. With essays from an array of disciplines, this book explores the impact of the Reformation across a wide range of human experience. Literature, education, visual art, culture, politics, music, theology, church life, and Baptist history all provide prisms through which the Reformation legacy is viewed. From Augustine to Zwingli, historical figures like Luther, Calvin, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Rembrandt, Bach, Bunyan, and Wycliffe all find their way into this amazing 500-year story. From Anglicans to Baptists, scientists to poets, Reformation 500 weaves these many historical threads into a modern-day tapestry.

On the 500th anniversary of Luther’s theses, a landmark history of the revolutionary faith that shaped the modern world. "Ryrie writes that his aim 'is to persuade you that we cannot understand the modern age without understanding the dynamic history of Protestant Christianity.' To which I reply: Mission accomplished." –Jon Meacham, author of American Lion and Thomas Jefferson Five hundred years ago a stubborn German monk challenged the Pope with a radical vision of what Christianity could be. The revolution he set in motion toppled governments, upended social norms and transformed millions of people's understanding of their relationship with God. In this dazzling history, Alec Ryrie makes the case that we owe many of the rights and freedoms we have cause to take for granted--from free speech to limited government--to our Protestant roots. Fired up by their faith, Protestants have embarked on courageous journeys into the unknown like many rebels and refugees who made their way to our shores. Protestants created America and defined its special brand of entrepreneurial diligence. Some turned to their bibles to justify bold acts of political opposition, others to spurn orthodoxies and insight on their God-given rights. Above all Protestants have fought for their beliefs, establishing a tradition of principled opposition and civil disobedience that is as alive today as it was 500 years ago. In this engrossing and magisterial work, Alec Ryrie makes the case that whether or not you are yourself a Protestant, you live in a world shaped by Protestants.