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“In their correspondence, Lord Acton and Mary Gladstone frequently dis cussed what should constitute ‘the hundred best books.’ Acton eventually sent her his own list, which, in 1883. she recorded in her diary. The list was first published in July 1905 in Pall Mall Magazine (Volume XXXVI. No.147) with an introduction and critique by Clement Shorter. Here is the list as it appeared there.”
~ R. L. Schuettinger, Lord Acton: Historian of Liberty (LaSalle: Open Court, 1976), pp. 237-39.

1. Plato’s Laws—Steinhart’s Introduction.
2. Aristotle’s Politics—Susemihl’s Commentary.
3. Epictetus’ Encheiridion—Commentary of Simplicius.
4. St. Augustine’s Letters.
5. St. Vincent’s Commonitorium.
6. Hugo of S. Victor—De Sacramentis
7. S. Bonaventura—Breviloquium.
8. S. Thomas Aquinas—Summa contra Gentiles.
9. Dante—Divina Commedia.
10. Raymund of Sabunde—Theologia Naturalis.
11. Nicholas of Cusa—Concordantia Catholica.
12. La Bible de Reuss.
13. Pascal’s Pensées—Havet’s Edition.
14. Malebranche. De Ia Recherche de la Vérité.
15. Baarder—Spekulativ Dogmatik.
16. Molitor—Philosophie der Geschichte.
17. Astié—Esprit de Vinet.
18. Piinjer—Geschichte der Religions-philosophie.
19. Rothe—Theologische Ethik.
20. Martensen—Die Christliche Ethik.
21. Oettingen—Moralstatistik.
22. Hartmann—Phenomenologie des sittlichen Bewusstseyns.
23. Leibniz—Letters edited by Klopp.
24. Braniss—Geschichte der Philosophie.
25. Fisher—Franz Bacon.
26. Zeller—Neuere Deutsche Philosophie.
27. Bartholomess—Doctrines Religieuses de la Philosophie Moderne.
28. Guyon—Morale Anglaise.
29. Ritschl—Entstehung der Altkatholischen Kirche.
30. Loening—Geschichte des Kirchenrechts.
31. Baur—Vorlesungen über Dogmengeschichte.
32. Fénelon—Correspondence.
33. Newman’s Theory of Development.
34. Mozley’s University Sermons.
35. Schneckenburger—Vergleichende Darstellung.
36. Hundeshagen—Kirchenvorfassungsgeschichte.
37. Schweizer—Protestantische Centraldogmen.
38. Gass—Geschichte der Lutherischen Dogmatik.
39. Cart—Histoire do Mouvement Religleux dans le Canton de Vaud.
40. Blondel—De Ia Primenté.
41. Le Blanc de Beaulieu—Theses.
42. Thierach—Vorlesungen ilber Katholizismus.
43. M5hler—Neue Untersuchungen.
44. Scherer—Mélanges de Critique Religleuse.
45. Hooker—Ecclesiastical Polity.
46. Weingarten—Revolutionskirchen Englands.
47. Kliefoth—Acht Bücher von der Kirche.
48. Laurent—Etudes de l’Histoire de l’Humenité.
49. Ferrari—Révolutions de l’Italie.
50. Lange—Geschichte des Materialismus.
51. Guicciardini—Ricordi Politici.
52. Duperron—Ambassades.
53. Richelieu—Testament Politique.
54. Harringlon’s Writings.
55. Mignet—Négotiations de la Succession d’Espagne.
56. Rousseau—Considérations sur la Pologne.
57. Foncin—Ministère de Turgot.
58. Burke’s Correspondence.
59. Mémorial de Ste. Hélène.
60. Holtzendorf—Systematische Rechts-encyklopädie.
61. Thering—Ceist des Röcimischen Rechts.
62. Geib—Strafrecht.
63. Maine—Ancient Law.
64. Gierke—Genossenschaftsrecht.
65. Stahl—Philosophie des Rechts.
66. Gentz—Briefwechsel mit Adam Müller.
67. Vollgraff—Polignosie.
68. Frantz—Kritik aller Parteien.
69. De Maistre—Considérations sur Ia France.
70. Donoso Cortes—Ecrits Politiques.
71. Périn—De Ia Richesse dans les Sociétés Chrétiennes.
72. Le Play—La Reforme Sociale.
73. Riehl—Die Biirgerliche Sociale.
74. Sismondi—Etudes sur les Constitutions des Peuples Libres.
75. Rossi—Cours du Droit Constitutionnel.
76. Barante—Vie de Roger Collard.
77. Duvergier de Hauranne—Histoire du Gouvernement Parlementaire.
78. Madison—Debates of the Congress of Confederation.
79. Hamilton—The Federalist.
80. Calhoun—Essay on Government.
81. Dumont—Sophismes Anarchiques.
82. Quinet—La Révolution Française,
83. Stein—Sozialismus in Frankreich.
84. Lasselle—System der Erworbenen Rechte.
85. Thomissen—Le Socialisme depuis l’ Antiquité.
86. Considérant—Destinée Sociale.
87. Rosher—Nationalökonomik.
88. [missing]
89. Mill—System of Logic.
90. Coleridge—Aids to Reflection.
91. Radowitz Fragmente.
92. Gioberti—Pensieri.
93. Humboldt—Kosmos.
94. De Candolle—Histoire des Sciences et des Savants.
95. Darwin—Origin of Species.
96. Littré—Fragrnents de Philosophie.
97. Cournot—Enchaînements des Idées fondamentales.
98. Monatsschrift des wissenschaftlichen Vereins.
99. [missing]
100. [missing]

Tools of Dominion is a very interesting resource that gives an explanation of the Old Testament law in a way that accentuates its emphasis on justice in government. It is through this justice that God reveals His blessings and His judgments, and North holds that this justice should be held to in any government, Christian or secular, that wishes to avoid the judgment that God brings to those nations that turn their backs on His clear-cut requirements for justice.

Fascinating and controversial, Tools of Dominion takes a look at the issue of separation of church and state through the eyes of the Old Testament.

Church and State

Church and State, what a lovely concept of having a nation so deeply rooted in faith that it is directly tied together with the government. Imagine the possibilities of such a union. Full support from the government for missions and evangelism; prayer and scripture involved in every facet of government; what could be better? There was a shout of joy at the conversion of Constantine; a rejoice as Christianity was made the religion of the nation. Finally after years of persecution the government has seen the light! Finally the sufferings endured by centuries of brothers and sisters paid off. If ever there was a perfect time for spreading the good news, it is now. The weight of the pagan gods has been thrown off and the truth has been brought to the head of the government. Imagine the days to come. As the gospel spreads across the country like wild fire surely now the gospel will be taken to the uttermost ends of the earth. As every nation, tribe and tongue is reached we will surely see the coming of Christ and the glories of Heaven unfold. Oh what a glorious day indeed! Or so it may have seemed.

It could not have helped but seem an answer to prayer and a God ordained union to some. I cannot answer for sure how I would have felt about the subject had I lived in that time; in reality I wanted this to work. I was happy as I played out the image in my mind of having my faith so closely tied in with state. The thought of having an integrated faith and government should not be considered foreign or all wrong to us. In the perfection of Heaven we will see this take place as we see every knee bow down to our God and Father of our faith. But as is was for me it surely must have been for others. I failed to bring into account the one element that keeps us contained in this world, sin. If man before the fall could not keep complete check on himself in the Garden of Eden then he was surely destine to fail to keep check over the faith of others in his fallen state. While this may be an achievable goal, it will not be accomplished by man.

As the years unfolded on the pages of history the progressing nightmare was told. How did the Church go from Justin Martyr to the Dominican Order? From a people that endured torture for the name of Christ to a people that inflicted torture in the name of Christ, the Church was radically changed. I seem to have the feelings of a father trying to comprehend the addiction found in his daughter. How could this have happened? She was so innocent, such a beautiful light to others. What made her make these choices? Why couldn’t she see what was happening to her and how she was hurting herself and others?

So what is the answer? Do we abandon completely the idea of faith playing a role in government? Should the Church be completely divorced from the state? Should Christians isolate themselves from government and state offices? One possible answer: The presence of the Church should only be felt in government through the beliefs and moral convictions of those believers holding office in government and in no way should the leaders of the Church be directly tied to the state outside of being the spiritual leaders of the congregations in which the government officials reside. As in any situation and in a government chosen by the people the Church’s focus should be on the Great Commission. The change brought about by a relationship with Christ brings about a moral and spiritual cleansing. Through ongoing discipleship in the individual believer and an intentional approach to evangelism all with the guidance of the Holy Spirit the Church will grow. This change brought about on the population will in effect change the culture we live in. This change will be felt in all aspects including government. You cannot change the government to change people, you must change people to change the government. Are the problems we have today anything to do with a lack of the Church being involved in the state, or is it more likely a problem with the faith in the Church?

Christian Jihad

Christian Jihad is a very eye opening book. Having little study into the Crusades my perception of them was greatly weighed on by Hollywood. Take for example Robin Hood. As the story goes the Honorable King Richard was absent fulfilling his duty to England and God. In Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade the knight portrayed is one of most heroic and outstanding character having not abandoned his post for hundreds of years. To see what the view of the early Church was and then to see how warped the Church became in later years is really frightening. The view given of the Donatists and the Anabaptists and how they were treated by the organized Church is scary to say the least. How could a people who actually read the Bible be so far off as to think that torture and murder were bringing people to God? Where did Christ nail the Pharisees to a cross? What example or teaching was used?
Another part of the book I deeply enjoyed was learning the depth of the Just War criteria. While Augustine is not able to come to a fully complete acceptance of war I feel a sense of relation in that I am not always able to completely put all my eggs in one basket. Overall I feel confident that Christian Jihad will serve as an excellent challenge to traditional and cultural thinking and serve to open up the mind to a clearer view of our world and history.

Quote

I am not sure where I heard this but I believe it speaks volumes on the importance of the decisions we make.

“You make your choices and then your choices make you.”

Resource

As a resource I am recommending that if you don’t already have one that you get a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. Since we are attempting to look at the world from a Biblical view our first point of reference should be the Bible and having a Thompson Chain Reference has been very helpful to me.

This is the site of a company that works to save the authenticity of history. They have a lot of accurate historical information. It a Christian organization which can be very helpful if you need a historic resource. So I hope it helps someone out!

“The Cross of Christ” by John W. Stott,

for another class and I found it a very helpful book for every Christian. It is important to not only understand the cross right, but also to live accordingly. I highly recommend this book! Although it is not strongly connected to the topic of our class, it is definitely a book that you want to read at least once in your lifetime.

In Heroes of the Christian Faith,
Dr. R.C. Sproul gives biographical sketches of seven of history’s greatest men. Examining the significance of each “hero’s” faith, Dr. Sproul traces each man’s contribution in church history.
Polycarp, Athanasius, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Augustine, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards.

Very interesting on some of the greatest men in church history!

My recommendation is this:
Jesus Freaks, Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus: The Ultimate Jesus Freaks. By dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs.

It isn’t your typical text book but it is one of the most heart wrenching and inspiring books I’ve ever read. It is full of amazing stories about those who would not deny Christ. These stories go back to the first Martyr Steven, all the way to the present. I completely recommend you all to read this book. I promise, it will challenge and inspire you.

Unfortunately, from the mid to late 20th century up until today, this Reformed foundation has fallen on hard times. However, in recent years there has been a resurgence of Reformed commitments among younger evangelicals. Despite this Protestant Reformed resurgence, there are many misconceptions and mischaracterizations of basic Reformed principles and doctrines – principles and doctrines that are traced in Christian history even centuries before Wycliffe, Hus, Luther, or Calivn, but are found in the Apostles themselves.

The following resources are given to provide helpful and accurate information regarding the history and the doctrines of the Reformed tradition (within American Evangelicalism as well as the Southern Baptist Convention) without which you would have no Christian faith today in America.

Monergism.com – (as stated on their site) Equips Christians in the truth by making available the finest classic articles and resources of historical orthodoxy. This is done in the hope that the church will embrace, and recover the true Biblical doctrines of the historic faith.

Founders.org – (as stated on their site) is a ministry of teaching and encouragement promoting both doctrine and devotion expressed in the Doctrines of Grace and their experiential application to the local church, particularly in the areas of worship and witness. Founders Ministries takes as its theological framework the first recognized confession of faith that Southern Baptists produced, The Abstract of Principles. We desire to encourage the return to and promulgation of the biblical gospel that our Southern Baptist forefathers held dear.