"One of the first great events in Christian history was the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, convened to organize Christian sects and beliefs into a unified doctrine. The great Christian clergymen who wrote before this famous event are referred to as the Ante-Nicenes and the Apostolic Fathers, and their writings are collected here in a ten-volume set. The Ante-Nicenes lived so close to the time of Christ that their interpretations of the New Testament are considered more authentic than modern voices. But they are also real and flawed men, who are more like their fellow Christians than they are like the Apostles, making their words echo in the ears of spiritual seekers. In Volume I of the 10-volume collected works of the Ante-Nicenes first published between 1885 and 1896, readers will find the writings of: Clement of Rome, the fourth pope, who was supposedly martyred by being tied to an anchor and tossed overboard Mathetes, an anonymous writer considered the first Christian apologist Polycarp, a Christian bishop who was stabbed to death after he failed to burn at the stake Ignatius, a student of John the Apostle, who was Bishop of Antioch before he was killed Barnabas, an anonymous writer given the name of Saint Barnabas Papias, author of Interpretations of the Sayings of the Lord, a textbook on quotes from Jesus Justin Martyr, a Christian apologist and accomplished philosopher, and Irenaeus, disciple of Polycarp, apologist, and bishop of Lugdunum."

Why is God's beauty often absent from our theology?

Rarely do theologians take up the theme of God's beauty-even more rarely do they consider how God's beauty should shape the task of theology itself. But the psalmist says that the heart of the believer's desire is to behold the beauty of the Lord.

In The Beauty of the Lord, Jonathan King restores aesthetics as not merely a valid lens for theological reflection, but an essential one. Jesus, our incarnate Redeemer, displays the Triune God's beauty in his actions and person, from creation to final consummation. How can and should theology better reflect this unveiled beauty?

The Beauty of the Lord is a renewal of a truly aesthetic theology and a properly theological aesthetics.

In this easy-to-read book, Peter Jeffery shows us just how tantalizingly enjoyable Bible teaching can be. With short but solid chapters on key subjects, he outlines the ABCs of the Christian faith.

Each of the chapters is bite sized. There is just enough to manage at one time, and you will find there is much to nourish the mind as well as to warm the heart and inspire the will. Quotations from other writers are also included, as is as a list of recommended books for additional reading. There is also a guide for reading the New Testament and Psalms through in a year.

This book develops the thesis that classical Christian theology seeks to help believers flourish by knowing and loving God. Ellen Charry argues this premise by example, offering a close reading of a number of classical texts, from the New Testament era to the Reformation, including works of Paul, Augustine, Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Anselm, and Calvin. She points out the pastoral and moral aims that shape the teachings of these theologians on a wide range of topics, including the Trinity; human beings as created in the image of God; the incorporation of Jews and Gentiles into the body of Christ in baptism; the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ; and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Charry explains that the very logic of their arguments is shaped by the author's concern for the goodness and happiness that should result from living into the doctrines. She further shows that although the spiritual and pastoral purposes of these writings are many and complex, they are invariably concerned to foster what modern people can, without difficulty, recognize as human dignity--what she calls "excellence"--in action, affection, and self-appraisal.