5. Justice
Malcolm Gaskill
in Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
The early church did not execute witches, seeing them as reformable, but in the Middle Ages the campaign against heresy intensified. Reliance on secular power to kill diabolists was ...
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Introduction: defining paganism
Owen Davies
in Paganism: A Very Short Introduction
‘Introduction: defining paganism’ emphasizes that the notion of paganism, as generally understood today, was created by the early Christian Church. It was a label Christians applied to ...
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3. Politics, Law, and Religion in the Early Middle Ages
John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths
in Medieval Britain: A Very Short Introduction
Wales in the eleventh century was a group of small kingdoms without stable borders. They changed in accordance with law and politics. The English kings had done little to impose military ...
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6. The global communion
Mark Chapman
in Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Global Communion’ examines how overseas expansion raised challenges to central authority under the supremacy of the King of England. Even in the seventeenth century, the Scottish and ...
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2. Protestant Christendom
Mark A. Noll
in Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction
From early in the 16th century and into the 18th, most Protestants saw themselves as continuing the reform of European Christendom. They took for granted the norms of ‘Christendom’. Europe ...
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Calvinism: A Very Short Introduction
Jon Balserak
Calvinism: A Very Short Introduction explores major ideas associated with the Calvinist system of thought. Beginning during the Protestant Reformation in cities like Zurich, ...
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6. Rage
Malcolm Gaskill
in Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
In first half of the 17th century, Europe was especially prone to witch-panics fuelled by war, rebellion and economic crisis. Rather than allaying fears, witch-hunts spread them. ‘Rage’ ...
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7. Culture
Rab Houston
in Scotland: A Very Short Introduction
‘Culture’ examines the languages, festivals, art, architecture, literature, poetry, film, sport, and music of Scotland. What was the original language of Britain, when did Gaelic become the ...
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8. Culture
Malcolm Gaskill
in Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
Witches are archetypes, stored inside individuals but originating in shared cultural sources and activated by similar experiences and emotions. The stereotype of the historic and folkloric ...
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1. Origins of the Goths
Nick Groom
in The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction
‘Origins of the Goths’ charts the history of the Goths. There have been many theories on the development of the Gothic race, their influence in history, and their religious beliefs. The ...
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3. Pietists, the American colonies, evangelicals, and the Enlightenment
Mark A. Noll
in Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction
Between the mid-16th century and the rise of Napoleon (1790s), European Protestantism went through a period of upheaval. The Protestant willingness to challenge received traditions ...
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3. The iconoclasts
Nick Groom
in The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction
A significant moment in Gothic history comes with the Reformation. This left a developing sense of national uniqueness with a destructive attitude to the past. The puritanical zeal that had ...
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The Devil: A Very Short Introduction
Darren Oldridge
Focussing specifically on the Christian Devil, The Devil: A Very Short Introduction explores the many guises and roles he played in the Bible. He has fascinated writers and theologians ...
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1. Introduction
Darren Oldridge
in The Devil: A Very Short Introduction
The ‘Introduction’ explores the Devil's identity. Is he the evil in all of us? Or a metaphor for pain and destruction? In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, he is a living being who ...
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2. Puritan experiments
Francis J. Bremer
in Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction
‘Puritan experiments’ explains how during the first decade of Charles I's reign the rift between the puritans and the church hierarchy grew. The king's attempts to roll back puritan ...
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4. Church
Jon Balserak
in Calvinism: A Very Short Introduction
Calvinists believe Adam and Eve were the first church, established by God following their fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. Since that beginning, God has always maintained his church, ...
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8. God and hell
Jon Balserak
in Calvinism: A Very Short Introduction
According to Calvinists, hell is part of God’s design. In fact, the doctrine of hell has recently been defended quite vigorously by Calvinists. It reminds us that there is a deep sense of ...
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3. Malice
Malcolm Gaskill
in Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
‘Malice’ argues that, while the Scientific Revolution is credited with ending belief in witchcraft, the Industrial Revolution was equally significant, delivering a liberating prosperity. A ...
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4. Truth
Malcolm Gaskill
in Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
The history of witchcraft shows that knowledge was determined by institutions and ideologies. ‘Truth’ explains that knowledge was political, and so therefore was witchcraft. Even among the ...
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5. Fundamentalism and nationalism I
Malise Ruthven
in Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction
Theoretically, fundamentalism and nationalism are ideological opponents. In much of the formal discourse, religion stands at the opposite side to nationalism, which states that nationalism ...
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