Showing results by narrator "Matthew Coller" in All Categories

In Aristotle's Rhetoric, the philosopher identifies rhetoric as one of the three key elements of philosophy, along with logic and dialectic. According to Aristotle, logic is concerned with reasoning to reach scientific certainty while dialectic and rhetoric - because they are concerned with probability - are the branches of philosophy best suited to human affairs. Rhetoric is a tool for practical debate, a means for persuading a general audience to resolve practical issues using probable knowledge.

Aristotle’s Metaphysics examines what can be asserted about any being insofar as it is and not because of any special qualities that it may possess. Three questions lie at the core of the book: What is existence, and what sorts of things exist in the world? How can things continue to exist, and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world? And how can this world be understood? The book also deals with different kinds of causation, form and matter, the existence of mathematical objects, and God as a prime-mover.

The theologian Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) examines each chapter in The Book of Daniel and its meaning. It includes a chapter on the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s interpretation of it. Published in 1918, the book prophesied the re-establishment of the State of Israel.

How to Pray is a powerful treatise on prayer first published in 1900. The author, Reuben Archer Torrey (1856 - 1928), was an educator and evangelist who wrote more than 40 books. In How To Pray, he explains the essence of prayer, what it can achieve, and the proper occasion for prayer. Contending that many prayers are not answered because they are not intelligently offered, Torrey examines the moods, the methods, and the meanings of prayer.

D L Moody (1837-1899) was a prominent 19th century evangelist who founded the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and Moody Publishers. Moody defines prevailing prayer as a form of prayer that involves the whole of one’s being and affects one’s mind, will and emotions. The author identifies and explains those factors that will increase the likelihood of prayers being answered, and described some of the stumbling blocks to all-consuming prayer.

In his book Humility, first published in 1895, the South African pastor Andrew Murray points to the example of Jesus who made himself nothing by taking the nature of a servant. The author gives this as an example of true nobility and regards it as the distinguishing feature of discipleship. Murray calls on all Christians to turn from pride, study the character of Christ and empty themselves in order to be filled with God’s grace.

Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise on literary theory. The philosopher presents a treatise on what he defines as poetry, which includes verse drama, the satyr play, lyric poetry, and epic poetry.

The Table Talk of Doctor Martin Luther is a collection of Luther’s commentaries on Biblical books such as Galatians and Deuteronomy. Much of the collection is based on notes taken during Luther's talks with his students and colleagues. Luther's close associates Antony Lauterbach and John Aurifaber took note of these informal speeches in which he comments on subjects such as baptism, the holy spirit and discipleship. His wide-ranging subjects also include life, the church and Christianity in general, and scientific pursuits such as astronomy in relation to God.

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was a prominent English churchman and peacemaker who sought unity among Protestants. Baxter became well-known for his prolific writing, with more than 200 works to his name. His autobiography and his pastoral guide, The Reformed Pastor, are still popular today. The Saints' Everlasting Rest (1650) is one of the great classics of Christian devotion.

In His Steps is a popular work of religious fiction by Charles Monroe Sheldon which was first published in 1896, and has sold more than 50 million copies to date. This inspirational novel popularized the expression, “What Would Jesus Do?” The story begins with four small-town characters who resolve to undertake no action without first considering Christ's example. By their example, their lives, their congregation, and their community are transformed.

James Denney was a Scottish New Testament scholar, pastor, and theologian (1856 - 1917). The author was convinced that the death of Christ was not given the proper importance in the common Christian mind, measured against its centrality in the New Testament. The purpose of the evangelical and theological work The Death of Christ is thus to explain the place held by the death of Christ in the scriptures, and the interpretation put upon it by the apostolic writers.

The New Organon is the second part of Bacon's philosophical work, The Great Instauration on the renewal of the sciences, which was published in 1620. The title refers to Aristotle's work Organon - meaning “trumpeter” - a treatise on logic and syllogism. Bacon’s work offers a new method of investigating nature, named “the Interpretation of Nature”.

"The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp" was published in 1908 by the Welsh author W. H. Davies (1871-1940). Most of the narrative describes the way of life of the tramp in Britain and North America in the last decade of the 19th century. At the age of 22, Davies sailed to America, which was the first of more than a dozen Atlantic crossings. From 1893 to 1899 the author traveled the highways and railways, living day to day by riding trains, staying in prisons, and even managing to fund himself to repeatedly cross the ocean.

Clarence Larkin was an important scholar of prophecy. In The Spirit World", published in 1921, he discusses the inhabitants of the spiritual world according to the Bible. Explaining the qualities of angels, he makes a distinction between the “fallen angels” and Satan’s demons and the realms which they inhabit. Larkin’s treatment of Satan and the Underworld, in the form of hell, Gehenna and Tartarus is thorough and vivid, and he explains issues like the state of the soul in death and the principles of resurrection.

Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) was a pastor in Pennsylvania before he wrote books like The Spirit World and Dispensational Truth. Larkin explains and interprets every statement in the Book of Revelation with reference to earlier books of the Bible. He often refers to the Book of Daniel for the key to the meaning in Revelation.

Themes of abundance, expansion, growth, development, unlimited possibility, and enlargement occur throughout A.B. Simpson’s sermon collection A Larger Christian Life. Viewing Christ as saviour, sanctifier, healer, and coming king, Simpson placed strong emphasis on the subsequent experience of sanctification. The book is divided into sections titled The Possibilities of Faith, The Larger Life, More than Conquerors, Grace Abounding, God’s Measureless Measures, and Enlarged Work.

Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an evangelist and publisher connected with the Holiness Movement. He founded the Moody Church, Northfield School, and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, the Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers. Moody was associated with famous evangelists of his time, like the Scottish Reverend Andrew A. Bonar and the Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. This audiobook comprises sermons of his delivered in various cities in the US and the UK. The text discusses the love of God as the source of all gifts of grace.

This piece by Andrew Murray is an inspirational Christian classic. In it, he describes the benefits when one completely surrenders to God.

Andrew Murray wrote these meditations, subtitled Thoughts on the Blessed Life of Fellowship with the Son of God, to enrich the Christian life. Using the image of Jesus as the vine and believers as the branches, he explains that many Christians, although they trust the Lord, have not yet experienced the benefits of a day-by-day walk with God, and are, therefore, not experiencing the joy and the power that are gifts of the spirit.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a South African Christian pastor and an internationally known author of numerous Christian books. This enduring classic, published in 1896, was written to assist believers to pray in the right way. The book is based on the way that Christ taught his disciples to pray, and the style is simple and engaging. The chapters are titled, "The Model Prayer", "Pray to Thy Father in Secret", "In Spirit and in Truth or The True Worshippers", and "The Only Teacher".