Protestants : the faith that made the modern world / Alec Ryrie.
Publisher: New York : Viking, [2017]Description: ix, 513 pages ; 25 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 0670026166 (hardcover)
- 9780670026166 (hardcover)
- 280/.409 23
- BX4805.3 .R97 2017
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Cherry Hill Public Library | Cherry Hill Public Library | Non-fiction | Non-Fiction Collection | 280.4 RYR (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 33407004377816 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
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.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 475-495) and index.
Central Europe in the mid-sixteenth century -- Introduction -- Part I. The Reformation Age. Luther and the fanatics -- Protectors and tyrants -- The failure of Calvinism -- Heretics, martyrs, and witches -- The British maelstrom -- From the waters of Babylon to a city on a hill -- Part II. The modern age. Enthusiasm and its enemies -- Slaves to Christ -- Protestantism's wild west -- The ordeals of liberalism -- Two kingdoms in the Third Reich -- Religious left and religious right -- Part III. The global age. Redeeming South Africa -- Korean in adversity and prosperity -- Chinese Protestantism's long march -- Pentecostalism : an old flame -- Epilogue : the Protestant future.
Five hundred years ago, an obscure monk challenged the authority of the pope with a radical new vision of what Christianity could be. The revolution he unwittingly set in motion has toppled governments, upended social norms, and transformed millions of people's understanding of their relationship with God. Ryrie makes the case that the world we live in was indelibly shaped by Protestants, and introduces us to the men and women who defined this quarrelsome faith.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Central Europe in the mid-Sixteenth Century (p. x)
- Introduction (p. 1)
- Part I The Reformation Age
- Chapter 1 Luther and the Fanatics (p. 15)
- The Call of Reform (p. 16)
- An Accidental Revolutionary (p. 19)
- "Captive to the Word of God" (p. 28)
- The Fanatics' Reformation (p. 35)
- Chapter 2 Protectors and Tyrants (p. 40)
- Taming the Reformation (p. 40)
- The Two Kingdoms (p. 47)
- Chaos and Order (p. 52)
- Revolutionary Saints (p. 56)
- Chapter 3 The Failure of Calvinism (p. 61)
- Parallel Reformations (p. 61)
- Calvin's Contribution (p. 65)
- Lutheranism in Search of Concord (p. 69)
- Dreams of Union (p. 72)
- The Unraveling of Calvinism (p. 78)
- Chapter 4 Heretics, Martyrs, and Witches (p. 84)
- Martyrdom and Heresy (p. 85)
- Turning the Tide (p. 90)
- The Luxury of Intolerance (p. 95)
- The Devil's Minions (p. 102)
- Chapter 5 The British Maelstrom (p. 107)
- An Unlikely War (p. 108)
- Winning the Peace (p. 113)
- Journeys into the Unknown (p. 120)
- Quakers and Anglicans (p. 127)
- Chapter 6 From the Waters of Babylon to a City on a Hill (p. 132)
- An Age of Exiles (p. 133)
- American Pilgrimages (p. 138)
- Preaching to the Nations (p. 143)
- Part II The Modern Age
- Chapter 7 Enthusiasm and Its Enemies (p. 155)
- The Pietist Adventure (p. 158)
- Moravian Riders (p. 168)
- Methodism: Pietism's English Stepchild (p. 171)
- The Revivals' New World (p. 176)
- Chapter 8 Slaves to Christ (p. 183)
- The Emergence of Protestant Slavery (p. 184)
- Living with Slavery (p. 188)
- The Road to Abolition (p. 195)
- The Gospel of Slavery (p. 200)
- Slavery's Lessons (p. 206)
- Chapter 9 Protestantism's Wild West (p. 209)
- Big-Tent Protestantism (p. 210)
- The Communitarian Alternative (p. 217)
- The Narrow Way (p. 221)
- Witnessing for Jehovah (p. 226)
- Latter-Day Protestants (p. 231)
- Chapter 10 The Ordeals of Liberalism (p. 238)
- The Liberal Project (p. 240)
- God's Successive Revelations (p. 246)
- The Book of Nature (p. 250)
- Liberalism in the Trenches (p. 255)
- Chapter 11 Two Kingdoms in the Third Reich (p. 265)
- Making Peace with Nazism (p. 268)
- De-Judaizing Christianity (p. 273)
- Shades of Opposition (p. 277)
- The Limits of the Possible (p. 284)
- Chapter 12 Religious Left and Religious Right (p. 291)
- Saving Civilization in the Age of World War II (p. 296)
- The Gospel of Civil Rights (p. 304)
- Prophetic Christianity in the 1960s (p. 309)
- The Crisis of the Religious Left (p. 316)
- Part III The Global Age
- Chapter 13 Redeeming South Africa (p. 327)
- Settlers and Missionaries (p. 328)
- Blood River (p. 333)
- "Separate Development" (p. 340)
- The Trek to Repentance (p. 352)
- The Independent Witness (p. 359)
- Chapter 14 Korea in Adversity and Prosperity (p. 362)
- Missionary Beginnings (p. 363)
- Revival and Nationalism (p. 368)
- South Korea's Journey (p. 375)
- Full Gospels (p. 380)
- Northern Fears and Hopes (p. 385)
- Chapter 15 Chinese Protestantism's Long March (p. 391)
- Dreams and Visions (p. 392)
- Protestants and imperialists (p. 399)
- Death and Resurrection in the People's Republic (p. 404)
- Believing in Modern China (p. 413)
- China's Protestant Future (p. 419)
- Chapter 16 Pentecostalism: An Old Flame (p. 425)
- A Tangle of Origins (p. 426)
- The Pentecostal Experience (p. 433)
- Becoming a Global Faith (p. 443)
- The Politics of Pentecostalism (p. 447)
- Epilogue: The Protestant Future (p. 455)
- Old Quarrels and New (p. 456)
- Protestants in the World (p. 464)
- Acknowledgments (p. 469)
- Glossary (p. 471)
- Notes (p. 475)
- Index (p. 497)
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Ryrie (history of Christianity, Durham Univ.; Being Protestant in Reformation Britain) effectively surveys 500 years of church history while illuminating the breadth and impact of the protestant faith. The first section traces the impact of the Protestant Reformation of the 1600s on Europe and America. The author also focuses on the transformation of global Protestantism during the 19th and 20th century by highlighting areas such as the millenarian movements, liberalism, slavery, and how the two World Wars affected and were impacted by the protestant churches. Later chapters cover the global nature of Protestantism by examining racial struggles in South Africa, the movement's influence in South Korea and China, and the global Pentecostal experience. Some of the unique themes and sections within this book are those that explain the pietism movement in England, the rise of Adventist movements including the Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science, the struggle over the slave trade, the German Church in World War I and II, South African apartheid, and Korean Christianity. VERDICT This multifaceted work will appeal to readers of both history and theology. Recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, 10/17/16.]-Ray -Arnett, -Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Publishers Weekly Review
This volume is an excellent addition to the publishing lists for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran reformation. Ryrie (Being Protestant in Reformation Britain), an expert on the Reformation and winner of the Society of Renaissance Studies' 2014 book prize, aims for a biography of Protestantism itself, rather than any particular Protestant figure or sect. In pursuit of this, Ryrie divides his work into three sections: reformation, the historical roots and early years of Protestantism; transformation, the philosophical development and geographic spread of the Reformation; and globalization, the most recent stages in the development and international adoption of Protestantism. The sections and chapters are thematic rather than strictly chronological; one chapter, for example, follows the fortunes of Protestantism in Nazi Germany. The next chapter then goes backward, chronologically speaking, to move the story to 19th-century America, the rise of evangelical fundamentalism, and the civil rights movement. Ryrie is careful to anchor the reader throughout; even non-specialists will never get lost in the tangle. He also provides a glossary of "types of Protestant" for easy reference as well as an excellent set of endnotes. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.CHOICE Review
Ryrie (Durham Univ., UK), a Reformation historian, narrates Protestant Christianity's story from the Reformation to today, arguing that a love affair with the felt experience of God underlies the diverse forms of Protestantism. This central conviction has allowed Protestantism to adapt to numerous social, geographic, and historical contexts in ways that have been both liberating and oppressive. Chapters cover everything from the birth of Protestantism with Martin Luther and later John Calvin to the spread of the movement to North America in several eras. Ryrie returns to look at Protestantism in Nazi Germany, and then the church's later 20th-century incarnations in Korea and China, and global Pentecostalism. The engaging narrative will allow general readers to see, in very broad outlines, the different ways in which Protestantism has changed, adapted, and shaped and been shaped by various cultures. Specialists will be frustrated by the author's broad sweep, which ignores theological and historiographic nuances. The story of Protestantism is about a lot of little stories as much as broad sweeps. Still, general readers will learn much from this volume, which might be a springboard to further discussions in lower-level general Christianity classes as well. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General, public, and undergraduate collections. --Aaron Wesley Klink, Duke UniversityBooklist Review
*Starred Review* Believers, not institutions, constitute Protestantism, and Protestants will argue . . . about almost anything. Over the course of centuries, Ryrie maintains in this engaging overview, such contention produced three great gifts for the modern world: free inquiry, democracy, and apoliticism. None were Protestant principles at first but emerged as the movement continued. Luther's stress on the authority of the individual conscience led to a permanent openness to new ideas. That openness licensed toleration, at first, and eventually, free speech and religious difference to every person. If those egalitarian principles led, as they did, to revolts against intolerant rulers, the development of a desire to be left alone tempered rebellion by insisting on limited government, which explains why some Protestants accept some tyranny. The book's three parts cover successive ages: The Reformation Age, from Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII to Pietism in Germany, Methodism in England, and revivalism in British North America; The Age of Transformation, on slavery under Protestantism, the proliferation of sects, religious liberalism, and the fracturings of Protestantism in Hitler's Germany and in the U.S. after WWII; and The Global Age, on massive Protestant growth and influence in South Africa, Korea, and China as well as around the world by means of modern Pentecostalism. Closing with cautious glimpses into futurity, this sweeping and thought-provoking book may prove a bible of the Protestant quincentenary.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2017 BooklistThere are no comments on this title.