• 
• 
• 
• 

 Books

• Irenaeus, Against Heresies (c. 175–185) [#21] Henry Chadwick, The Early Church (1993), also helpful for writers up through Cyril; CH 80

Order Christian History #116: Twenty-Five Writings that Changed the Church and the World in print.

Subscribe now to get future print issues in your mailbox (donation requested but not required).

 • Apostolic Tradition (c. 200?) On the Apostolic Tradition, ed. Alistair Stewart-Sykes (2015); Apostolic Tradition website (Hotlinks to all websites appear in the online version of this issue.)

 • Athanasius, On the Incarnation (c. 319) [#9]; Life of Antony (c. 356–362); Peter Leithart, Athanasius (2011); CH 64, 80; C. S. Lewis introduction to On the Incarnation reprinted online

• The Nicene Creed (325, revised 381) [#7] Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (3rd ed., 2012), which is also excellent on Benedict, Luther, and Wesley; CH 51, 85

• The Apostles’ Creed (390 or earlier) [#26] Alister McGrath, I Believe: Exploring the Apostles’ Creed (1998)

• Augustine, Confessions (c. 398) [#1]; City of God (413–426) [#4]; On Christian Teaching (397, 426) [#18]; On the Trinity (c. 400–428) [#19] Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo (1969); CH 12, 67; Augustine of Hippo website 

• Cyril, On the Unity of Christ (440) On the Unity of Christ, ed. John Anthony McGuckin (2015)

• Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy (524–525) John Marenbon, Boethius (2003)

• Benedict, Rule (c. 540s) [#11] Esther de Waal, with introduction by Kathleen Norris, Seeking God (2001); CH 93; Order of St. Benedict website

• Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great), Pastoral Rule (c. 591) [#24] R. A. Markus, Gregory the Great and His World (1997)

• Anselm, Why God Became Man (c. 1095–1098) [#17] R. W. Southern, Saint Anselm: A Portrait in a Landscape (1992)

• Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs (begun 1136) G. R. Evans, Bernard of Clairvaux (2000); CH 24

• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae (1265–1274) [#2] Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering, Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (2002); CH 73; Thomistica website

• Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1320) [#16] Rod Dreher, How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History’s Greatest Poem (2015); CH 70

• Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love (1395) Grace Jantzen, Julian of Norwich: Mystic and Theologian (2nd ed., 2000) 

• Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (c. 1418–1427) [#10] Paul Chilcote, The Imitation of Christ: Selections Annotated and Explained (2012)

• Martin Luther, 95 Theses (1517) [#5]; Freedom of a Christian (1520) [#14]; Lectures on Romans (c. 1515–16) [#25] Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1950); CH 34, 39, 115

• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559) [#3] Bernard Cottret, Calvin: A Biography (2000); CH 12; The Meeter Center for Calvin Studies website

• Book of Common Prayer (1549) [#12] The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer (2006); CH 48; The Book of Common Prayer website 

• John Foxe, Actes and Monuments (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs) (1563) J. F. Mozley, John Foxe and His Book (1940); The Acts and Monuments Online website 

• Teresa of Ávila, The Interior Castle (1577) Cathleen Medwick, Teresa of Ávila: The Progress of a Soul (1999)

• John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul (c. 1578) Richard Hardy, John of the Cross: Man and Mystic (2004)

• Westminster Confession (1646) [#20] Chad Van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith: A Readers’ Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith (2014)

• John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) [#6] Cambridge Companion to Bunyan, ed. Anne Dunan-Page (2010); CH 11; John Bunyan Society website

• Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections (1746) [#23] George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (2004); CH 8, 77; Jonathan Edwards Center website

• John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1777) [#22] Richard Heitzenrater, Wesley and the People Called Methodists (2013, 2nd ed.); CH 2, 69; Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition website

• Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) Joan Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life (1994);

CH 33; Harriet Beecher Stowe Center website

• Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul (1898) Guy Gaucher, The Story of a Life: St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1993); Society of the Little Flower website

• Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics (1932–1967) [#15] Eberhard Busch, Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts (English translation 1976); CH 65; Karl Barth Foundation website

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (1937) [#13] Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (2011); CH 32

• Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948) Michael Mott, The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton (1984); Thomas Merton Center website

• C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952) [#8] Justin Phillips, C. S. Lewis in a Time of War: The World War II Broadcasts that Riveted a Nation and Became the Classic Mere Christianity (2002); CH 7, 65, 88, 113; Wade Center website

• Catherine Marshall, Beyond Ourselves (1961) The Best of Catherine Marshall, ed. Leonard LeSourd (1993)

• Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) Stephen Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound:

The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1982); CH 65; King Center website

Vision Video has DVDs about

• The Apostles’ Creed (The Apostles’ Creed)

• Augustine (A Voice for All Generations; Restless Heart)

• Luther (Martin Luther, Here I Stand; Luther: His Life, His Path, His Legacy; This Changed Everything [releasing in late 2016])

• Calvin (Zwingli and Calvin; Johannes Calvin)

• Bunyan (Journey of a Pilgrim; Dangerous Journey; Pilgrim’s Progress [live-action and animated versions])

• Edwards (Great Awakening)

• Wesley (A Heart Transformed Can Change the World; Encounters with John Wesley)

• Stowe (Josiah Henson: The Real Uncle Tom)

• Thérèse of Lisieux (Thérèse)

• Bonhoeffer (Memories and Perspectives; Hanged on a Twisted Cross; Agent of Grace)

• Lewis (C. S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands; Affectionately Yours—Screwtape; The Shortest Way Home; Through a Lens Darkly; Life of C. S. Lewis)

• Marshall (Christy; A Man Called Peter)

Also, the Pioneers of the Spirit series discusses Augustine, Dante, Julian, and Teresa of Ávila; People of Faith treats Edwards, Stowe, and King; and the Torchlighters series for kids dramatizes the lives of Augustine, Luther (coming in 2016), Bunyan, and Wesley. C H

This article is from Christian History magazine #116 Twenty-Five Writings that Changed the Church and the World. Read it in context here!

By the editors

Show more