Category
Christianity
Pierre Bayle
A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel, Luke 14.23, ‘Compel Them to Come In, That My House May Be Full’
In this defence of religious toleration, Bayle discusses the words attributed to Jesus Christ in Luke 14:23, “And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full.” Bayle contends that the word compel cannot mean “force.” From this perspective, he constructs his doctrine of toleration based on the singular importance of conscience.
Open the reader →Ambrose
On the Mysteries and the Treatise on the Sacraments
A volume with two of Ambrose's most influential writings: <i>On the Mysteries</i>, which are addresses given by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, to the newly-baptised in Easter week on the nature of the ceremonies and the doctrinal significance of baptism based upon the Old and New Testaments; and <i>Treatise on the Sacraments</i>, which are six sermons, also given during Easter week, on baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, the Lord's prayer, and prayer.
Open the reader →Desiderius Erasmus
The Manual of a Christian Knight
Erasmus’s very popular 16th century guide book on how to live a moral, Christian life while avoiding formal ritual and observances.
Open the reader →Samuel von Pufendorf
The Divine Feudal Law: Or, Covenants with Mankind, Represented
*The Divine Feudal Law* sets forth Pufendorf’s basis for the reunion of the Lutheran and Calvinist confessions. This attempt to seek a “conciliation” between the confessions complements the concept of toleration discussed in *Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion in Reference to Civil Society*. In both works Pufendorf examines the proper way to secure the peaceful coexistence of different confessions in a state.
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