The Scriptorium Daily

Author: Fred Sanders

  • The Trinitarianism of the Fundamentals

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    One of the most important ventures in religious publishing and theological education in the twentieth century was The Fundamentals, an interdenominational publication that marked the conservative evangelical revolt against modernism in the early years of the century. Published serially in twelve volumes over the course of five years, they were sent free of charge to…

  • Cyrus! “Slap into the Bible”

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Who was God’s anointed one more than 500 years before the coming of Christ? Who was the Lord’s own shepherd, the conquering servant who carried out God’s plan to bring his chosen people back into the land of promise? Who took a giant leap forward in international religious liberty by letting conquered people worship their…

  • Martyrdom of Latimer and Ridley

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Today (October 16) is the day when Hugh Latimer (born 1487) and Nicholas Ridley (born around 1500) were burned at the stake in 1555. These Cambridge-trained men are called, with Cranmer, “The Oxford Martyrs,” because they were killed in Oxford under Queen Mary as she undertook to turn England back to Roman Catholicism. The English…

  • "Me First!" Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Here is a little two-minute video presentation of the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16). The team at my church’s media ministry put it together, and it features drawings by my kids, accompanying narration by our friend Anna. This video features a child’s voice and children’s drawings, but it’s not…

  • Aimee Semple McPherson's Penchant for System

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Today (Oct. 9) is the birthday of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), the bombastic and showy Pentecostal evangelist who made her mark on Los Angeles in the early decades of the twentieth century. At various times in my life, I’ve lived in the shadow of McPherson without knowing it: I grew up in a Foursquare church,…

  • Literally, Plato

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    “This is intended to be a literal translation,” says Allan Bloom in the preface to his 1968 edition of Plato’s Republic. And it is, famously, or infamously, literal. Bloom puts his head down and digs out as word-for-word a translation as he can. What drove him to do so? He explains his motivation in the…

  • Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Martyrs

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Today is the feast day of Sergius and Bacchus. When it comes to saints, I try not to underbelieve or overbelieve. And it’s a hard balance, sometimes. What do you with the story of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love? It’s entirely possible that these four women, supposedly martyrs in the…

  • Gospel-Driven, Rightly Dividing, and Buzzard

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    Three more reviews of The Deep Things of God in recent days that are worth pointing out: Pastor Mark Lauterbach at GospelDrivenLife is starting a series of posts, blogging about the Trinity and the gospel in dialogue with the book. He calls my work “utterly unoriginal.” How dare he! Oh wait, that’s a compliment. Okay,…

  • Happy Birthday, Jonathan Edwards!

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Today (October 5) is the birthday of America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Here are some major events from Edwards’ life, as chronicled here at Scriptorium in the last few years. Before 1723: He wrote a treatise on spiders: “Of all Insects no one is more wonderful than the Spider especially with Respect to their…

  • Happy Birthday Homer Rodeheaver

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    Homer Rodeheaver (1880-1955) was born today, October 4. He started out as the songleader for William Biederwolf, but rose to fame when he accompanied Billy Sunday on preaching tours. The role of song-leader for a big-name evangelist was well-defined by the time “Rodie” stepped into it: Moody had his Sankey, Torrey had his Charles Alexander,…

  • Robert Barclay

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    If you want a theological introduction and orientation to the Quaker tradition, then Robert Barclay (1648 – 1690) is your man. Barclay (who died on this day, October 3) was born in Scotland, educated in Paris, and governed a colony in America before returning to his native Aberdeenshire. When he opted for Quakerism in 1667,…

  • Allen Chatfield Translates Some Really Old Hymns

    —

    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    Slow day for church history? Yes indeed. The most interesting thing I could find that happened on October 2 is the birth of Allen W. Chatfield (1808-1896), the 19th-century Anglican vicar and translator of Greek hymns. Chatfield studied classics at Cambridge and then got ordained, so he was the man for the job of bringing…