Penguin Books Australia

The creation of the Christian Church is one of the most important stories in the development of the world's history, but also one of the most enigmatic and little understood, shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.  

One of the best-loved books of Christianity after the Bible, The Imitation of Christ is a passionate celebration of God and His love, mercy and holiness, which has inspired conversion and stimulated religious devotion for over five hundred years. With great personal conviction, Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) demonstrates the individual's reliance on God and on the words of Christ, and the futility...

Written between the mid-fourth and late sixth centuries to commemorate and glorify the achievements of early Christian saints, these six biographies depict men who devoted themselves to solitude, poverty and prayer. Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew...

One of the key foundation books of the English Reformation, The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528) makes a radical challenge to the established order of the all-powerful Church of its time. Himself a priest, Tyndale boldly claims that there is just one social structure created by God to which all must be obedient, without the intervention of the rule of the Pope.