Here are some works from Pilgrim Press of interest regarding the Reformation Roots of the United Church of Christ. All are available through Amazon.com. Purchases made through these links defray the costs associated with this site through nominal referral fees.
Note: These links lead to pages outside ReformationUCC.org and we are not responsible for their content. Please use them at your own discretion.
The Geneva Bible: The New Testament, 1602 Edition
The Geneva Bible New Testament. This is a reprint of the Geneva Bible New Testament for 1602. The Geneva Bible was the favorite of the Puritans, Pilgrims, and even Lancelot Andrewes the Anglican Divine. King James, however, considered the translation seditious largely because the notes that inspired Bible readers to question the King’s unilateral authority.
One Amazon.com customer commenting on another edition most likely had this to say:
I bought a copy of this Bible to check it out and see what the famous Geneva Bible was like. I thought I’d resell it after I’d looked at it because, after all, I already owned many versions of the Bible and I didn’t want to spend the money for this one. But after I got it in the mail, I began to read it. The more I read it, the more I couldn’t put it down. The translation and commentary are so rich, powerful, and insightful! It deepened my understanding and gave me the Genevans’ understanding of the Word of God.
The Geneva Bible is not easy to read at first because of its antiquated grammar and typeset, but I found that as I continued to read through it, the task became increasingly easier. I discovered that the Geneva Bible is fascinating as a work of both history and theology. I strongly recommend that you check it out! If you do, you’ll find out what I mean about being unable to put it down!
The Heidelberg Catechism. At the time of this listing and subject to change, this item was available at the rate of 4 for the price of 3. Good to stock up! This translation is reliable and the texts of scripture are derived from the NEB and RSV. It is the 400th anniversary translation of the catechism.
The Scripture texts quoted rarely exceed a few verses. Larger citations are referenced though not printed. For full scripture citations in a modern text, the NIV, along with a more recent translation of the catechism students or teachers of the catechism may want to add another volume to their library, the Heidelberg Catechism with Scripture References from the Christian Reformed Church.
The text of the catechism is sturdy and nicely printed in a readable font that is not too large for confirmands nor too small for the teachers!
The Evangelical Catechism. The Evangelical Catechism - also available at the time of writing at the rate of 4 for the price of 3 is the catechism developed by the Evangelical Synod of North America and represents how the Reformation faith was mediated across the years to the United Church of Christ. The text of the catechism was designed to reflect the union of Evangelical (Confessional Lutheran) and Reformed churches as one unified church in theology and pietistic zeal. As such it combines the relative brevity of the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s answers while echoing some of the wonderful themes of Luther’s Shorter Catechism. It retains the historic elements of catechisms in the Roman and Reformation tradition by including the threefold exposition of the faith through the means of the Apostle’s Creed, Ten Commandments, and Lord’s Prayer and proceeds to a discussion of the Sacraments. It’s teaching contains some oddities to modern reformed thinkers at one or two points, yet their presence explains the source of some points of theology in the teaching of Rev. Dr. Donald Bloesch, the most prominent and prolific United Church of Christ theologian of recent memory. They were perhaps traceable to the faith of his youth.
