Known for his prowess as a writer of fantasy and fiction, Charles Kingsley (1824-1905) also served as a minister to the Trinity Congregational Church in Arundel, Scotland. This volume contains a library of twenty-two of his many written sermons, organized in the sequence of their scripture passage references from the New Testament Books of Matthew and Mark. Reading his sermons not only gives one a window into the mind of this master of the theological arts, but also into the culture of nineteenth-century Scotland, the circumstances of the times, and the position of the church in response to those circumstances.
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.
Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence."
Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.
MacDonald grew up influenced by his Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of Calvinism. But MacDonald never felt comfortable with some aspects of Calvinist doctrine; indeed, legend has it that when the doctrine of predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as Robert Falconer and Lilith, show a distaste for the idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others.
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