Elizabeth Barrett Browning died on this day, June 29, in 1861. She was the most famous female poet of the Victorian age, easily outpacing other luminaries like Christina Rossetti and Jean Ingelow (who?). During her lifetime, the rumor was that she only missed the post of poet laureate because that Tennyson fellow was an unstoppable candidate.
Barrett Browning's greatest hits...
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I am in Nairobi, Kenya, right now, and I have been in this country for a little over a week. This is my first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa, and I am here to do ministry, to do research for an Intercultural Studies class I’m teaching this Fall, and to plan a potential Torrey Kenya trip in the future. It’s mostly been good, with some frustrations thrown in. We have had the p...
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June 27 is the day Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) is remembered in the Western churches. For many years, he wasn't widely remembered in the Western churches at all, at least in English-language theological circles. For example, in the 48-volume set of patristic writings of the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene periods issued in the nineteenth century, there is no Cyril volume....
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Michael Jackson just died, so I was listening to some of his songs in memory of him. Despite his weirdness, he was the consummate performer—his dance moves and songs still dazzle. When I heard the song, “Black or White” (and I know that he got mocked a lot for not knowing himself whether he wanted to be black or white!) I reflected on the fact that the lyrics “It don...
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Philip Doddridge (born this day, June 26, 1702; died 1751) is remembered today, if at all, for his book The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. This book was very famous in its time, and was translated into seven languages. William Wilberforce pointed to it as the book that made him take Christianity seriously enough to investigate its truth and relevance. C. H. Spurgeon...
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Tim Challies hosts a "Reading Classics Together" blog event, and the book he's working through now is The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, by Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646). This week's reading is the second and third sermons in the book.
In Philippians 4, Paul says "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content," and goes on to add that this is because "I have...
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June 25 is the day, according to tradition, that Bernard (1090-1153) founded a new Cistercian monastery in Clairvaux in the year 1115. The monastery was such a success, and he was so linked with it, that "of Clairvaux" is now his last name. He was not the first Cistercian, but he was the perfect one. A few facts on Bernard:
*He is known as "the honey-sweet doctor," Doctor Me...
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Featured Essay
I think one of the great delights in life is to travel. (Not to mention, my academic discipline is missiology, and how much credibility would I have if I haven’t seen the world?) The great travesty is that the majority of Americans don’t have passports! One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many ...
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Theology fans are getting ready for Calvin's 500th birthday on July 10. But let us not overlook the birthday of Theodore Beza, born this day, June 24, 1519. Sure, a 490th anniversary isn't as festive as a 500th, and Beza's not Calvin. But since it's his day, consider Beza for a moment.
Beza carried out what John Calvin started in the city of Geneva, taking over as head pasto...
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According to the Christian History Institute, June 23 was the very day in 1863 when French philosopher Ernest Renan (1823-1892) published his Vie de Jesus. Renan's book was not the first attempt at a critical biography of Jesus, but it was the first best-seller in the genre. It is written in purple prose that nineteenth-century audiences found intoxicating (apparently the origi...
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Q: I want to believe in every word taught or inspired by the Holy Spirit, but I am simply staggered when I read statements of I Kings 20:30 and I Samuel 6:19. Can you give me any relief? If the figures are incorrectly translated why did not the revisers make the necessary alterations?
A: The doctrine of “Verbal Inspiration” is not that the Scriptures as translated in our...
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June 22 is the anniversary of Jonathan Edwards' dismissal from his pastorate in 1750. The great awakening had gone through his town a few years before, but once it was over, plenty of people wanted to go back to sleep. Edwards had tried to raise the standards for church membership and communion in his town, and discovered that his town didn't really intend to act like revival h...
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