Ever since Richard Foster wrote Celebration of Discipline in 1978, evangelicals have hungered for a deeper and more historic spirituality. Many have come to discover the wealth of spiritual insight available in the Desert Fathers, the medieval mystics, German Pietism and other traditions. While these classics have been a source of life-changing renewal for many, still others are wary of these texts and the foreign theological traditions from which they come.

The essays in this volume provide a guide for evangelicals to read the Christian spiritual classics. The contributions fall into four sections. The first three answer the big questions: why should we read the spiritual classics, what are these classics and how should we read them? The last section brings these questions together into a brief reading guide for each of the major traditions. Each essay not only explores the historical and theological context, but also expounds the appropriate hermeneutical framework and the significance for the church today.

Together these essays provide a comprehensive and charitable introduction to the spiritual classics, suitable for both those who already embrace them and those who remain concerned and cautious. Whether you are a newcomer to historic spirituality or a seasoned reader looking to go deeper, you will find this volume to be a reliable resource for years to come.

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Provides a guide for evangelicals to read the Christian spiritual classics.
Explores the historical and theological contex.
Expounds the appropriate hermeneutical framework and the significance for the church today.

Collections of essays around a common theme can be a grab bag and too often uneven in quality--both in terms of content and writing style. Happily, the writings found in Reading the Christian Spiritual Classics are uniformly excellent: informative, thorough, well written. This will be a valued collection for evangelicals just encountering the spiritual classics for the first time and a helpful and insightful resource for those already familiar with these rich treasures of the church.

--Christopher Hall, Eastern University, associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

Here you have an absolutely unrivaled mapping by experts of the whole church's rich, smorgasbord heritage of Christ-centered, sanctification-focused devotional writing, most of which will be unknown to most of us. What to do with it? Take it as your tour guide and start reading its recommended texts. You will be glad you did, I promise you. Wealth awaits.

--J. I. Packer, professor of theology, Regent College

The vistas of the Christian tradition open up wide in this volume on the Christian classics, with rich rewards for those searching for insight, reading for wisdom and aiming at the glory of God. This introduction to the writings of Christian spirituality is a gem, as it combines solid evangelical grounding with genuine generosity of spirit.

--Hans Boersma, Regent College, Vancouver

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