Books that Explain Protestantism

[LittleSoldier]

Wesley,
Thank you for this. I might add for the OP, though, that you will not learn about “Protestantism”, but instead Lutheranism. It does contain statements of a comparitive nature (usually condemnations) to other reformation era movements, Reformed, anabaptist, etc.

If you do pick up the Book of Concord, start with the Augsburg Confession and its apology, and Luther’s Small Catechism.
You can find it online here:
www.bookofconcord.org

Jon

I’ll keep the condemnations in mind. I guess that’s true of any book that focuses on any denomination and it’s good to know that I should look out for that.

Thanks for your suggestions. I’m glad it’s online. Thanks for the link.

 

[LittleSoldier]

Maybe you should try and find one of those “handbook of denominations” books? I saw one in half price books once. Of course, it will not have every Protestant denomination, as there are over 35,000, but it has all the “major” ones.

I heard the number 40,000. I think I’ll have to stick to the major ones, at least for now.

I’ll research this and see what I can find. Thank you!

 

[LittleSoldier]

Starting off by learning about Lutheranism would be very reasonable. You could then take a look at Calvin and the English Reformation. A good start might be “The Reformation” by Owen Chadwick. It is a good overview of the Reformation period from an historical perspective, it is balanced and fair, it’s been around for a while and is not too long.

The modern evangelical style groups are rather more recent, and you can’t understand them without looking at the Reformation first.

Thank you. I’m glad I asked first because without knowing all this I would have be lost almost immediately.

God bless!!

 

[LittleSoldier]

Was the other title MIRACLES?

GKC

Actually it’s The Problem of Pain. I have severe chronic pain and I thought this would be interesting and maybe even helpful. Lewis wrote about so many different subjects and from what I saw on Amazon all of his books have good reviews. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another author who wrote so much about so much.

 

[LittleSoldier]

It is confusing indeed.

Alister McGrath’s Christianity’s Dangerous Idea is a recent overview of Protestantism, and probably as good as any. I have huge problems with it–I find it too triumphalistic, though admittedly I’m only less than half way through it and shouldn’t judge too soon. (A panel of scholars at the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference a few years ago tore it to pieces, so I’m not alone.) But I think he does a good job of stating how Protestantism is distinctive, outlining its basic history with a focus on Anglo-American evangelicalism, and making a case for it without being too outrageously unfair to other Christians (Catholics and Orthodox).

In other words, I think my problems are less with McGrath (though I do have some specifically historical disagreements) and more with Protestantism itself–he’s a pretty good spokesman for a moderate but unabashed evangelical Protestantism.

I would also recommend:
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, as mentioned above, for a middle-of-the-road Anglican’s perspective on the core teachings of Christianity. (Lewis tried very hard to present an account that all Christians would agree on, but I think it’s fair to say that the result is clearly Protestant, although a much more Catholic Protestantism than most Protestants are used to!)
John Stott, Basic Christianity, which is often found on the shelves of evangelicals (particularly in Europe) alongside Lewis. Stott’s account is much more clearly evangelical and Protestant, and specifically Calvinist–for that very reason, it’s a good way of understanding what is arguably the main trunk of evangelical Protestant tradition.
Nathan Hatch, *The Democratization of American Christianity, *and George Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, for accessible accounts of the development of evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism in America.

Edwin

Wow. Thank you!

 

[LittleSoldier]

I think this is a reasonable, admittedly oversimplified, overview of the main Protestant branches, showing their origins and their positions on the major issues of Baptism, Communion, Predestination, and Church Government. Please do tell if I err anywhere.

From German Catholics:

Lutheran: Infant baptism, “Real Presence” (not transubstantiation) in Communion, “Single” (not “double”) predestination, varying views on government.

From English Catholics:

Anglican/Episcopal: Infant baptism, varying views on Communion, varying views on predestination, episcopal (obviously) government.

From Anglicans:

Methodist: Infant baptism, varying views on Communion, Free Will not predestination, varying views on government.

Presbyterian: Infant baptism, “Spiritual presence” in Communion, “Double” predestination, presbyterian (obviously) government.

Congregational: Infant baptism, “Spiritual presence” in Communion, varying views on predestination, congregational (obviously) government.

Baptist: Adult baptism, Communion only as memorial, varying views on predestination, congregational government.

From French, Dutch, German, and Swiss Catholics:

Reformed: Same doctrine as Presbyterians.

Thank you! I’ve copied this list and I’ll keep it handy. It does seem to cover the basics, especially baptism which I admit I have never been able to understand.

 

[LittleSoldier]

Little Soldier:

Try this one.

Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L.Shelley.

amazon.com/Church-History-Plain-Language-3rd/product-reviews/0718025539

This book was written by a Protestant. I have studied it side by side with Catholic versions of church history and have found no conflicts.

The book gives a very nice summary of Church history (which is Catholic Church history). It describes the Reformation, and then goes into a nice basic description of many of the sects of Protestantism.

It’s easy to read and interesting and very helpful. I hope you’ll give it a try and that find it useful.

Thank you, Cat. I appreciate your help very much. It looks like I’m going to be doing a lot of reading!

God bless!

 

[GKC]

No, it wasn’t. But if that’s a good book I’ll put that on my list, too.

Thanks!

It’s a good book.

GKC

 

[GKC]

Actually it’s The Problem of Pain. I have severe chronic pain and I thought this would be interesting and maybe even helpful. Lewis wrote about so many different subjects and from what I saw on Amazon all of his books have good reviews. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another author who wrote so much about so much.

Try G. K. Chesterton. I’ve been collecting both of them for many years.

GKC

 

[LittleSoldier]

Try G. K. Chesterton. I’ve been collecting both of them for many years.

GKC

Now that is some coincidence that your initials just happen to match those of G. K. Chesterson. What are the chances of that happening?

My sister introduced me to him a few years ago. I really like him as a person. I think his life is so interesting! If I could pick one person to spend a day talking to, it would be him. I’m starting off with his Common Sense 101. The problem is that I’m reading too many books at the same time. I’m also reading one of Peter Kreeft’s Socrates books. I don’t know the title because it’s on my Kindle and I’m downloading right now. It’s the one where Socrates speaks to students at “Desperate State” University. Then there’s the Bible. I’ve been stuck at Noah for a few months. Then there are the X-Files books and the horror anthologies that I love, plus Ralph Martin’s The Fulfillment of All Desire and, finally, St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle.

 

[GKC]

Now that is some coincidence that your initials just happen to match those of G. K. Chesterson. What are the chances of that happening?

My sister introduced me to him a few years ago. I really like him as a person. I think his life is so interesting! If I could pick one person to spend a day talking to, it would be him. I’m starting off with his Common Sense 101. The problem is that I’m reading too many books at the same time. I’m also reading one of Peter Kreeft’s Socrates books. I don’t know the title because it’s on my Kindle and I’m downloading right now. It’s the one where Socrates speaks to students at “Desperate State” University. Then there’s the Bible. I’ve been stuck at Noah for a few months. Then there are the X-Files books and the horror anthologies that I love, plus Ralph Martin’s The Fulfillment of All Desire and, finally, St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle.

The chances are excellent, considering I’ve been collecting him for around 45 years. Or, could be purely a coincidence

COMMON SENSE 101 is not a book of his, it’s an intro to him, by Dale Ahlquist. Good enough for the purpose. If you are interested in learning more about his life, the standard bio is by Masie Ward. Joseph Pearce’s WISDOM AND INNOCENCE is also good.

Chesterton is high on my list of folks I’d like to meet and share a bottle of wine with. But his friend Belloc actually tops my list.

Reading too many books at once is one of my problems, too. And I used to read a fair amount of horror-ish type stuff.

GKC

 

[LittleSoldier]

The chances are excellent, considering I’ve been collecting him for around 45 years. Or, could be purely a coincidence

COMMON SENSE 101 is not a book of his, it’s an intro to him, by Dale Ahlquist. Good enough for the purpose. If you are interested in learning more about his life, the standard bio is by Masie Ward. Joseph Pearce’s WISDOM AND INNOCENCE is also good.

Chesterton is high on my list of folks I’d like to meet and share a bottle of wine with. But his friend Belloc actually tops my list.

Reading too many books at once is one of my problems, too. And I used to read a fair amount of horror-ish type stuff.

GKC

Ooops! You are right! It must be that photo of Chesterton and his wife on the cover that threw me. I just purchased 29 of Chesterton’s books for my Kindle for $.99. Not a bad price. I looked at Belloc. Did he write children’s poetry? I’ve never heard of him, but that’s not a big surprise. Literature is not my forte, although I spend an awful lot of time reading. I went through a period where I read nothing but Dickens and every time I finished a book I was so disappointed that it was over. There are so many books and one good thing about a Kindle (among many bad things) is that most older books are free, including Dickens. Even books like Dracula are free. But there are so many authors and so many books!

I’m a big Stephen King fan. I read everything he writes. I’m glad he decided to start writing again. I have a whole bookcase full of horror books. I had more but I also have a bad cat that was spraying and she not only sprayed the books, she sprayed the bookcase and I had to throw two rows of books and the bookcase away. Now the books are in a room where no cats are allowed. And any new bookcases will have glass on the front. But it wasn’t her fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention to her and now that I am she has stopped her habit (I hope).

I love horror anthologies, although I’ve read that they don’t sell very well. It is so great when it’s raining here (and it rains here a lot) and I have a book of horror stories, especially the older ones.

I read horror for fun and the other books to improve my mind. But I always reach for the horror books first. I haven’t gotten into Chesterton yet. But I have a feeling that when I do I’m going to be spending a lot of time reading everything I can get my hands on.

 

[GKC]

29 Chesterton books for .99 is a great deal, even considering they are e-books. That’s roughly 1/3 of all books published under his name.

Belloc wrote a lot of poetry, including some humorous stuff collected in CAUTIONARY
TALES FOR CHILDREN, MORE CAUTIONARY TALES, A BAD CHILD’S BOOK OF BEASTS, MORE BEASTS FOR WORSE CHILDREN, and similar stuff. Not really children’s verse, but satire. He also, on the subject of the thread, wrote HOW THE REFORMATION HAPPENED, CHARACTERS OF THE REFORMATION and similar stuff. As an historian, which he considered himself, he has his flaws, but he is fun to read.

I quit reading King around TOMMYKNOCKERS. I am more fond of classic stuff, such as one finds in Arkham House titles.

That cat would have been tossed further than the ruined books.

Good luck with Chesterton. He has taken quite a lot of my time, and worth it.

GKC

Ooops! You are right! It must be that photo of Chesterton and his wife on the cover that threw me. I just purchased 29 of Chesterton’s books for my Kindle for $.99. Not a bad price. I looked at Belloc. Did he write children’s poetry? I’ve never heard of him, but that’s not a big surprise. Literature is not my forte, although I spend an awful lot of time reading. I went through a period where I read nothing but Dickens and every time I finished a book I was so disappointed that it was over. There are so many books and one good thing about a Kindle (among many bad things) is that most older books are free, including Dickens. Even books like Dracula are free. But there are so many authors and so many books!

I’m a big Stephen King fan. I read everything he writes. I’m glad he decided to start writing again. I have a whole bookcase full of horror books. I had more but I also have a bad cat that was spraying and she not only sprayed the books, she sprayed the bookcase and I had to throw two rows of books and the bookcase away. Now the books are in a room where no cats are allowed. And any new bookcases will have glass on the front. But it wasn’t her fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention to her and now that I am she has stopped her habit (I hope).

I love horror anthologies, although I’ve read that they don’t sell very well. It is so great when it’s raining here (and it rains here a lot) and I have a book of horror stories, especially the older ones.

I read horror for fun and the other books to improve my mind. But I always reach for the horror books first. I haven’t gotten into Chesterton yet. But I have a feeling that when I do I’m going to be spending a lot of time reading everything I can get my hands on.