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Holliday Bickerstaff Kendall (1844-1919) was a Methodist minister and a social historian. Born into a family of Primitive Methodist ministers, Kendall himself served as a minister between 1864 and 1903. This volume, written during his retirement and first published in 1919, contains Kendall's history of the origins and development of the Primitive Methodist movement. The movement originated with Hugh Bourne (1772-1852) and William Clowes (1780-1851), who attempted to restore the mass evangelism they thought had been lost in the Wesleyan Church after 1810. Kendall explores the social and political context of this period, and discusses Bourne's and Clowes' influence on the origins of the movement. He then describes the growth and development of the movement in the nineteenth century, discussing the expansion of the church until 1918. This clear and concise volume is considered the definitive work on the history of the movement.

This volume was published in 1911 for the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the King James Bible. The Rev. Henry Barker, described in the preface as 'a late presbyter of this church' but about whom little is known, gives a full historical account of the manuscript origins of the Bible, the development of the biblical canon and the early efforts, made by reformers such as Wyclif in the fourteenth century and Tyndale in the sixteenth, to translate the Bible into the vernacular and thus make its content more accessible to the laity. Barker provides a clear and factual account not only of the evolution of the Bible in English but also of the background of social and political change that fostered the various early translations.

Hugh Bourne (1772-1852) was a Methodist preacher who is best known as the co-founder of the Primitive Methodist movement. After converting to Methodism in 1799, Bourne became influenced by the evangelical American Lorenzo Dow (1777-1834) and together with William Clowes held an open-air evangelical meeting in 1807. Such gatherings were prohibited by the Methodist Conference, and the two were expelled by the Methodist Society in 1808. They formed the Primitive Methodist Connexion in 1810, with Bourne assuming a leading role in the movement. This volume, first published in 1854 and written by Bourne's nephew John Walford, contains a detailed biography of Bourne. Using private papers inherited on Bourne's death, his childhood, conversion and the founding of the movement are described, with his leadership of the Connexion also discussed. This biography provides valuable information concerning Bourne's life and motivations during and after the founding of the movement.

Methodist missionary Thomas Birch Freeman (1809-1890) was one of the most successful missionaries of his day, founding churches in Nigeria and the Gold Coast. The son of an African father and English mother, he possessed great diplomatic skills in dealing with colonial administrators and native rulers, and Methodist churches spread rapidly using literate converts as lay preachers, particularly among freed and repatriated slaves. His resignation was caused by financial problems due to poor accounting. His Journal was serialised in a Methodist periodical between 1840 and 1843, published as a book in 1843, and revised the following year. His attempts to get the slave trade and the practice of human sacrifice abolished in Dahomey were frustrated, but he was much more successful in founding missions. The book is a fascinating picture of life in West Africa in the mid-nineteenth century.

George Augustus Selwyn (1809-1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, with Selwyn College, Cambridge later named in his honour. New Zealand was declared an independent British colony in 1841 and the Diocese of New Zealand was established in the same year. After graduating from St. John's College, Cambridge in 1831, Selwyn had been ordained priest in 1834 and consecrated as the first Bishop of New Zealand in 1841. This volume, first published in 1844, contains a series of journals and letters written by Selwyn during his first two years in New Zealand. He provides an intimate and detailed description of the organisation and society of the new colony and the growth of new settlements including Auckland and Wellington. He also describes the landscape and lives of the Maori in remote areas mostly untouched by colonisation, providing a fascinating account of the early history of colonial New Zealand.

St Paul's conversion to Christianity transformed a vicious persecutor of Christians into one of the most important and influential figures in the foundation of the early church. Paul's broad theological knowledge and his ambitious vision for the faith made him a major force in the development of Christianity from its origins as an obscure Jewish sect. W. L. Knox's 1925 biography examines what influenced Paul's theological ideas and how his desire to extend the church's reach to gentiles and the wider world put him in opposition with other early church figures like St Peter. Placing Paul's work in the social and religious context of Jerusalem following the death of Jesus, Knox evokes the atmosphere of persecution in Jerusalem and the inner social dynamics of the early Christian sect, evaluating Paul's impact on the growing church and the particular ideas and elements of doctrine that prevailed as a result of his involvement.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was an English priest and theologian, whose highly publicised and controversial conversion to Catholicism helped to dispel prejudice towards Catholics in Victorian society. After graduating from Trinity College, Oxford, Newman was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1824. He gradually became more conservative in his beliefs, becoming a member of the Oxford Movement before converting to Catholicism and being received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845; he was made a cardinal in 1879. This volume, first published in 1864, contains Newman's classic religious autobiography. Writing in response to a perceived attack on Catholicism by historian and novelist Charles Kingsley, Newman describes his changing religious beliefs between 1833 and 1845 and discusses his spiritual motivations for converting. Newman's emotional sensitivity and clear style ensured the popularity of this volume, which was extremely influential in establishing him as the leading exponent of Catholicism in Victorian England.

Rabi'a, a female Sufi saint, was born in 717 CE and released from slavery to lead a life in pursuit of purity and perfect union with God. Her teachings and the numerous miracles attributed to her have made her an influential and revered figure in Sufi theology. This authoritative 1928 biography of the saint was written by Margaret Smith, who mastered numerous eastern languages, travelled extensively, and published a number of translations of important Arabic texts. Smith's linguistic skill and her immersion in the culture she studied has produced a book still considered an important account of Rabi'a's life. Smith also includes an incisive discussion of the role of women in early Islamic mysticism and an examination of Sufi doctrine, and examines the issues of celibacy and sainthood in Islam. A biography of one exceptional woman written by another.

This account of the life of the missionary John Williams (1796-1839), first published in 1843, celebrates his character and his achievements in evangelizing the South Sea islands. Williams believed that the spread of Christianity, 'civilization', and commerce went hand-in-hand, and his work in and around Tahiti and Rarotonga from the time of his first posting there by the London Missionary Society in 1817 was largely well received. In 1830 he became the first person to introduce Christianity to Samoa and, after returning to England in 1834 to raise money and support for the cause, he returned to the Pacific as a celebrity. His final voyage was to Eromango in the New Hebrides, where he was killed and eaten. This violent death combined with the success of his earlier missions caused him to be regarded as a heroic figure and inspired much popular literature.

This memoir, compiled from the journals of Hannah Kilham, traces the life of this remarkable woman (1774-1832). It was prepared for publication in 1837 by her stepdaughter, Sarah Biller, who emphasises those aspects of her stepmother's life that support the representation of her as an independent and pioneering women in order to make further claims for women. In 1796 Hannah Kilham joined the Society of Methodists and became an advocate for the poor, for exploited children and for Irish immigrants. She voyaged to Sierra Leone wishing to bring Christianity to its inhabitants and on her third visit to the country she established a school there. Hannah Kilham fought for the rights of slaves and former slaves and against the practices of colonialism and colonial trade. She also produced textbooks for the study of African languages and established herself as a politically astute chronicler of missionary and educational activities.

James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), the founder of the large and respected China Inland Mission, wrote the pamphlet China's Spiritual Need and Claims in 1865. It was subsequently published as a book and reprinted in numerous editions. This volume contains the seventh edition, first published in 1887. The work is both a survey of Protestant missionary activity in China since the treaty of Tientsin in 1858 and a recruitment pamphlet that inspired many English men and women to travel to China as missionaries. It provides a wealth of demographic and cultural information about nineteenth-century China and about the western missionaries stationed there. As one of the most popular works on Protestant missions during the nineteenth century, it is an essential source for understanding the motivations of Victorian missionaries in general as well as Taylor's own beliefs. It is an indispensable source for researchers in mission history.

Reginald Heber (1783-1826), second bishop of Calcutta, was appointed to the role in 1823, and had for a long time been interested in the Church of England's overseas missions. His diocese in the subcontinent had been established less than a decade before, in 1814, and included India, southern Africa and Australia. Heber travelled extensively throughout, visiting remote Anglican communities and later publishing journals about his travels. In addition, he was well-known as a hymn-writer. Sermons Preached in India, however, was published posthumously in 1829, and edited by his widow, Amelia. This volume also illustrates Heber's zeal to carry out his work across his diocese, the location of his sermons range from Delhi to Dum Dum. Missionaries would have been a significant part of his diocese, and these homilies reflect many of the difficulties faced by Anglicans living in a place that had its own strong religious beliefs.

Medieval historian G. G. Coulton relinquished his own holy orders in 1885 but remained firmly engaged with Christianity. This 1919 collection of lectures is a radical and impassioned discussion of how Christianity must change to meet the needs of post-war society as soldiers return from the trenches. Drawing parallels between the lives of Jesus Christ and St Francis of Assisi, Coulton highlights how ambiguities in the surviving accounts of both men have diverted the original course of their ministry and, with it, the objectives and outlook of the church. The author also takes on the weaknesses in both Catholic and agnostic arguments and advocates a simplifying and democratisation of Christianity and the resolving of denominational differences. Included alongside the lectures is the author's comprehensive response to a number of questions raised by the original lecture series which provides a useful conclusion to the controversial anti-Catholic's plea for religious modernisation.

George Fox (1810-1886) compiled this memoir of his younger brother to inspire Rugby schoolboys to emulate this devout alumnus and become missionaries themselves. It was first published in 1850; the 1880 edition reissued here was the sixth printing and included a new preface and appendix recounting the successful establishment of the Rugby Fox Mastership at Masulipatam, India, where Fox had preached among the Telugu people of the British Madras Presidency. Containing an impressive quantity of personal letters and excerpts from his journal, the book provides insights into Fox's spiritual development and religious trials in the first half of the nineteenth-century. It includes unsympathetic accounts of the Telugu and India in general, but also recounts Fox's missionary strategies and goals, often reporting specific conversations or incidents. This content provides useful source material for scholars studying the British mission to India, the British empire, or nineteenth-century personal devotion.

Henry Martyn (1781-1812) was born in Cornwall and educated at Cambridge. After hearing about the success of William Carey's mission at Serampore, he abandoned his intended career as a barrister to become a missionary, and joined the East India Company as a chaplain. During six years spent mostly in India he produced Hindi, Urdu and Persian translations of the New Testament. He is best remembered for these and other scripture translations which remained popular in India until the end of the nineteenth century. This memoir draws on Martyn's personal letters and diary. It was first published in London in 1816, soon after Martyn's untimely death in Persia, and appeared in a second edition (reissued here) in 1819. Part 1 covers his early life, Part 2 begins with his arrival in India and describes his missionary work, and Part 3 recounts Martyn's exhausting journey to Persia and his death.

Two lectures given by the medical missionary and explorer David Livingstone after his return to England from his travels in Africa (1841-1856) form the core of this book, which was originally published in 1858, the year when Livingstone set off on the British Zambezi expedition. The book also contains a biography, a letter from Adam Sedgwick (then Professor of Geology at Cambridge), and a thorough appendix covering the scientific results of the journey, describing the geography, mineralogy, diseases, and the language and cultural aspects of the peoples Livingstone encountered. Finally, Livingstone reports on the needs and prospects for further missionary work in Africa. Although Livingstone himself felt his calling was now to pursue purely scientific exploration, he hoped that the lectures and their subsequent publication would encourage other missionaries to continue his work of evangelisation.

This work, published in 1864, is the 'popular edition' of John Clark Marshman's account of the missionaries William Carey, William Ward and Joshua Marshman (his father), originally published in 1859 in two volumes as The Life and Times of the Serampore Missionaries. It documents the lives of the three main Serampore Missionaries from their humble origins and conversions to the Baptist Church to their pioneering work in Western Bengal. This shorter edition nevertheless contains a wealth of detail on the administration and politics of colonial India, on the experiences of the missionaries and in particular their efforts in advancing education among the indigenous people. It covers the founding of schools and later the renowned Serampore College, the missionaries' Bible translations into various languages including Bengali (Bangla) and Chinese, and their efforts to promote literacy in indigenous languages. Ward's pioneering study of Hinduism is also reissued in this series.

In this book, first published in 1862, Edward Bean Underhill gives an engaging account of a journey to the West Indies on behalf of the Baptist Missionary Society. He visited Baptist churches in Trinidad, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas in order to evaluate the religious state of the many congregations that were established there after the Emancipation Act. Underhill emphasizes that the religious and social consequences of the Emancipation for the people of the West Indies cannot be viewed independently of one another. He finds that the islands, on their own terms, have made the best possible use of the freedom obtained. Underhill gives an elaborate and vivid description of his impression of the islands, but his main focus is on Jamaica, which he finds has benefited most of all.

Henry Barclay Swete (1835-1917) published An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek in 1900 as a manual to accompany his three-volume edition of the Septuagint (1887-1894) and to provide a guide through the vast corpus of Septuagint literature. Part 1 covers the textual history of the Septuagint, providing an in-depth analysis of its complex tradition, surveying the most important Greek witnesses and the earliest versions. Part 2 discusses the Alexandrian manuscript tradition, and covers the order and grouping of books, titles, comparison with the Hebrew Canon, and the textual divisions used in the manuscripts. Part 3 is concerned with the influence and use of the Septuagint in later works. An appendix contains the letter of pseudo-Aristeas with an introduction explaining the forgery. For over a century Swete's work has been an indispensable tool for every scholar and student of the Septuagint.

Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892) was a scholar of the Bible, Patristics and theology who served as Hulsean and Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. Among his scholarly contributions are the foundational critical edition of the Greek New Testament as well as portions of the magisterial The Ante-Nicene Fathers. This short book is a posthumous edition of Hort's lectures discussing the authorship, dating and introductory chapters of the Book of Revelation. While the 1908 publication represents, as the preface notes, 'scholarship in undress', it does so with skill. Positing an earlier date of authorship than traditionally held and asserting authorial unity with the rest of the Johannine corpus, this compact work is an important example of focused historical criticism. The commentary on the first three chapters of the Apocalypse further underscores the contribution of this notable scholar at the height of his prowess.

First published in 1898, this collection of sermons by the Irish-born Cambridge biblical scholar and theologian F. J. A. Hort distils over thirty years' work as a pastor. Compiled by the author's son six years after Hort's death, this book contains twenty-four sermons, organised to correspond with the Church calendar. Written for school children, Cambridge college chapels, and the congregation of Hort's own parish in Hertfordshire, many of the sermons in this collection were delivered on more than one occasion and have consequently been revised many times. As Hort's son points out, they appear here in their 'ultimate form', perfected over three decades. First preached over a century ago, Hort's lucid prose makes his work easily accessible. Written in deceptively simple language, the care and precision found in Hort's better-known academic work are also evident in his sermons, which are articulated with grace and clarity.

This is one of the best-known works of Fenton Hort (1828-1892), Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. Compiled in 1897, it is a posthumous record of a series of lectures delivered by Hort in 1888 and 1889, covering the origins and development of the early Church. Starting with a discussion on the meaning of 'ecclesia', Hort traces church history from the New Testament accounts of the Last Supper and the Resurrection to the problems Christianity faced in the second century. Hort conveys his meaning with absolute clarity, taking a scrupulous, almost scientific approach in his consideration of literary evidence. Four of his sermons are also included, and the book itself stands as a record of the last words spoken in public by Hort. The Christian Ecclesia provides a fascinating account of the beginnings of Christianity and is one of the most significant works by this prolific nineteenth-century theologian.

In these lectures published posthumously in 1894, the biblical scholar and theologian Fenton John Anthony Hort draws on his work on the early Christian Church and its transition from Judaism in the Apostolic period. Throughout his career, Hort devoted himself to the study of Christian history and to the joint editorship of a critical edition of the New Testament in Greek and, later, modern English. In his last years teaching at Cambridge University, his efforts centred on proving a first-century dating for the New Testament books, and researching the history and development of the church as described in them. The lectures in this volume respond to arguments of Hort's contemporaries, notably F. C. Baur and the Tubingen school, for a second-century dating. To support his case, Hort examines the relationship between Judaistic, Gentile and Pauline Christianity and analyses New Testament accounts of Christ's attitude to the Jewish faith.

This posthumous volume, published in 1895, contains two lectures delivered in the 1880s by the biblical scholar F. J. A. Hort, Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. In these lectures, Hort addresses the question of the dating of Romans and Ephesians, their purpose, and their original readership. He examines their context in the relationship of Judaism to Christianity in the Apostolic period and the difference between Gentile, Judaistic and Roman Christianity. By treating the Epistles as historical as well as religious artefacts and analysing their language and grammar as well as content, Hort argues for the authenticity of both texts and therefore for a first-century dating. The dating of the New Testament was a central concern of Hort toward the end of his career, and he argued against F. C. Baur and the Tubingen school, who placed it in the second century. These lectures present evidence to support his argument.

This annotated edition of The Acts of The Apostles was prepared for classroom use by Thomas Ethelbert Page, a schoolmaster at Charterhouse, and published in 1886. The text is taken directly from the critical edition of the New Testament in Greek published by Fenton Hort and Brooke Westcott in 1881, the most authoritative version then available. Page's extensive annotations (over two hundred pages to accompany seventy pages of text) aimed to provide an explanation of the Greek text free of doctrinal discussions and moral reflections, unlike most existing commentaries which Page found 'quite unadapted for practical work with boys'. Page endeavoured to make the translation process as straightforward as possible and his extensive commentary offers a clear and simple understanding of the text. His book is still a useful guide for those approaching the Greek text for the first time.

Published posthumously in 1893, Frederick Scrivener's Adversaria Critica Sacra remains a volume of key importance to biblical scholars today, representing Scrivener's remarkable accuracy in his study and collation of manuscripts. During an age when many manuscripts were being newly discovered, and New Testament textual criticism was a rapidly developing field, Scrivener's collations played an important role in highlighting and making available the many different readings in existence. The book presents sixty-three manuscripts containing all or part of the Greek New Testament, including twenty which contain the Gospels in whole or in part, fifteen Lectionaries (Greek Church Lesson-books), five copies of Acts and the Catholic Epistles, and ten which are collations of the earliest printed editions of the Greek New Testament. Scrivener provides an informative general account of each manuscript, and an estimate of their respective critical values.

The first major publication by the distinguished biblical scholar Frederick Henry Scrivener, this is a collation of twenty-three Greek manuscripts of the gospels. The Greek text is preceded by detailed introductory chapters in English, illustrating Scrivener's criteria for selecting the manuscripts, the methods he adopted to edit and collate the texts, and his critique of contemporary biblical scholarship. The introduction also provides comprehensive background information for each of the manuscripts, including details on location, condition and the likely date of origin, and offering valuable context for any study of the texts. First published in 1853, at a time when many ancient manuscripts were being rediscovered, this landmark book will fascinate all those interested in biblical textual studies and the history of the Greek Bible.

Frederick Henry Scrivener's 1861 introduction to the textual history of the New Testament marks a key moment in the history of biblical studies. The author, a renowned biblical scholar and textual critic of his time, focuses on the central areas of his research field. These include the Greek New Testament manuscripts and their general character, early printed and later critical editions, ancient versions of the New Testament in various languages and the linguistic features of New Testament Greek. In addition, he discusses editorial principles and practice and the differing approaches that had recently been adopted, and gives examples of their application to actual New Testament passages. Originally intended for readers with no previous knowledge of this subject, and carefully organised so as to be accessible to them, the book is still of interest to upper-level students and to historians of the discipline.

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1813-1875) was a Cornish-born Biblical scholar who travelled to major libraries all over Europe to study ancient manuscripts with the aim of publishing a more reliable Greek New Testament than had been available to Luther, Tyndale and their successors. The 1844 edition of the Book of Revelation reissued here was his first major publication, and announced his larger project. It contains the Greek text, an English translation, and a meticulous critical apparatus which provides a window into nineteenth-century textual criticism, a burgeoning field in which scholars including Lachmann and Tischendorf were also active. Tregelles gives a detailed history of the printed editions of Revelation and shows how he went beyond the received text, examining more than forty thousand variants to establish the most authoritative version. Tregelles' criteria for evaluating the reliability of manuscripts, described in his Introduction, remain of interest to Biblical scholars today.

Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892) gave the Cambridge Hulsean lectures in November and December of 1871. First published posthumously in 1893, with minor revisions, these lectures are built around a sustained meditation on John 14: 5-6. They represent Hort's defence of the continuing relevance of Christianity in an increasingly science-focused world where religion was no longer the sole arbitrator of 'truth'. These lectures are a direct response to the development of Historical Criticism and the aftermath of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859). Hort argues that confidence in the 'truth' of Christianity can only lead to a championship of science and other non-theological methods of inquiry for ultimately 'all knowledge ministers to the knowledge of the highest'. Hort's lectures are a key work of Anglican theology addressing the issue, still pressing over a century later, of religion's relationship with science.