The Reformation for Armchair Theologians

by Glenn S. Sunshine

Publisher:

Westminster John Knox

, 2005

Overview

This accessible narrative story of the Reformation is written for lay audiences. It is part of the popular Westminster John Knox Press Armchair series and is illustrated with memorable cartoons by Ron Hill. The chapters of the book are suitable for use in church adult education settings to provide a solid grounding in the history of the Reformation and its leading ideas. Questions for discussion and suggestions for further reading provided for each chapter make this book great for group study. Since the Reformation is such a formative event in the lives of churches, it is important to have an accessible resource to tell its story available for laypersons in all denominations.

In the Logos edition, this valuable volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Highlights the most important ideas and events in the Reformation period
• Offers knowledge from field experts in a simple and playful presentation
• Features witty illustrations by Ron Hill

Contents

Top Highlights

“In reality, grace comes through faith and faith comes from grace; they feed into each other, but together they lead to salvation.” (Page 40)

“Rhetoric without moral philosophy kills, and thus if you’re going to teach rhetoric, you must teach moral philosophy too.” (Pages 13–14)

“The fact is, the Catholic Church was rife with corruption and thus ripe for reform.” (Page 7)

“Luther argued that Scripture had just one meaning, generally the literal meaning in the New Testament and a figurative meaning in the Old. To find the meaning, you use the more clear passages of Scripture to interpret the less clear. And for Luther, the clearest teaching in Scripture was salvation through Christ, by grace through faith; this was therefore the lens Luther used to interpret the entire Bible.” (Page 45)

“A sacrament is ‘a visible sign of an invisible grace.’” (Page 47)

Product Details

• Title: The Reformation for Armchair Theologians
• Author: Glenn S. Sunshine
• Series: W. J. K. Armchair
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 256
• Resource Type: Introductions
• Topic: The Reformation

About Glenn S. Sunshine

Glenn S. Sunshine (PhD University of Wisconsin) is a professor of history at the Central Connecticut State University and a faculty member of the Centurions Program at Breakpoint, the worldview training ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Previously, he taught at Calvin College and was a visiting professor at the Universität der Bundeswehr-Hamburg (now Helmut Schmidt University) in Germany. He is the author of The Reformation for Armchair Theologians and Reforming French Protestantism, and contributor to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation and the Encyclopedia of Protestantism.