Austin Farrer: The Essential Sermons

by Austin Farrer, Leslie Houlden (Editor)

An insightful collection of sermons from Austin Farrer, Warden of Keble College, Oxford from 1960 until his death in 1968.

Genres: Christianity, Theology, Religion

211 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Austin Marsden Farrer was a theologian and philosopher whom many consider to be an outstanding figure of 20th century Anglicanism. He served as Fellow and Chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford, 1935–1960.

He was the progenitor of the eponymous "Farrer hypothesis" suggesting that the Gospel of Mark was written prior to, and influenced, those of Matthew and Luke, in contradistinction to the "Q" theory of textual analysis more widely held outside Britain.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Austin Farrer was the first person whose sermons I've gone out of my way to read. They tend to be very heavily theological, but to the point of inducing suffering. He tend's not to stray from the fundamental question of "we have this faith, her traditions, and her theologies; what are we to do with it?" Also at 3-5 pages each, they're a nice way to start the day.

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shed no tear reading these, unlike John Wesley's "The Almost Christian". But these selected sermons invariably touched my heart. They are eminently cultured and theologically substantive. I kept adding paragraphs of it to my commonplace book. Sermons that speak the truth in both the head and heart are to be treasured.

There are 52 sermons included, with none longer than four pages. Farrer's The Essential Sermons would make a for nice devotional reader.

[Tynan Brooks]

Really strong sermons. Of a more academic bent, which is fitting given Farrer's position, but I love his straightforward, Thomistic-influenced Anglican theology. Definitely interested in digging up more of his work.

[Kate]

This was on Shirley Mullen's recommended reading list under the category of "theology." She recommended "Love Almighty and Ills Unlimited," but I couldn't find it.

[James Eckblad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully thoughtful sermons...some more homiletically impressive than others.