Category: Theology
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Today the First English Prayerbook Was Mandated (1549)
On January 21, 1549, the House of Commons agreed with the previous decision of the House of Lords in passing an act that declared the brand new Book of Common Prayer to be the only legal form for worship in England. This was the first of several Acts of Uniformity. Check out the whole 1549…
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The Keys of the Kingdom
Q: Please explain Matt. 16:19, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” A: It was the custom when our Lord was here upon earth to…
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Today is Susanna Wesley’s Birthday
Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) would not be famous if she weren’t the mother of John and Charles. But since two of her boys grew up and shook the world, Susanna has come to our attention, and it’s a good thing. She was a remarkable 18th century evangelical woman. She had a lively, disciplined intellect, had read…
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Today is the Heidelberg Catechism’s Birthday
The first edition of the Heidelberg Catechism was published on January 19, 1563. If you know this little book well, then this reminder is enough to make you call to mind some of the best passages. If you know it less well, let this reminder move you to pull it from the shelf and refresh…
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Today is Tischendorf’s Birthday (1815)
How cool could anybody be whose full name is Lobegott Friedrich Constantin von Tischendorf? Pretty cool. Tischendorf is a major figure in the early history of modern textual criticism, that subtle and demanding field of biblical scholarship that collates all existing manuscripts of the Bible, compares them, and makes judgments about the original form of…
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Today is Antony of Egypt's Day
Antony of Egypt (c. 251-356) is the most important figure in the founding of Christian monasticism. He heard the gospel call to unworldliness and took it both seriously and literally. Six months after his parents died, Antony was in church listening to the call to discipleship: Leave what you have and follow me. So he…
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Today is MLK’s Actual Birthday
As a Federal holiday, MLK Day falls on the third Monday of January, which is a different date every year. But today, January 15, is the actual anniversary of his birth. “I Have A Dream” is overwhelmingly his most famous speech, just as the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is his most famous writing. The…
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Notes from Schmemann’s Journals
Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) was an Eastern Orthodox theologian with a long teaching ministry at St. Vladimir’s seminary in New York. He lived a fascinating life: born to Russian parents in Estonia and educated in Paris before living much of his life in America. His Russian-language sermons were broadcast for decades on Radio Liberty (aka Radio…
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Today Juan de Valdés Published His First Book
No, not the character from the Colombian coffee ads; Juan de Valdés (c. 1509-1541), the 16th-century Spanish-born religious writer who worked in Italy. According to the Christian History Institute, Valdés published this little book on January 14, 1529, at age 18. You can see a few sample pages of it here. Valdés was part of…
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When a Preacher Teaches Error
Dr. Torrey, What attitude ought one who believes in the Bible as the infallible Word of God to take toward a pastor who does not thus believe in the Bible and who is undermining the faith of the young people in his church, and some others, by teaching that the Bible has many errors in…
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Today is Philipp Jakob Spener’s Birthday
Today in 1635, the Lutheran pastor who came to be known as Father of Pietism was born. Spener’s reputation and influence are all bound up in his most important book, the brief and readable Pia Desideria, which has one of those classic 17th-century sub-titles that are fully explanatory and nearly as long as a chapter:…
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Today Aelred of Rievaulx Died
On January 12, 1167, Aelred died. He was the abbot of the Cistercian convent in Rievaulx in the north of England. He once met the famous Bernard of Clairvaux, who asked him to write a book on love. Aelred wrote the Mirror of Love and also a treatise on Spiritual Friendship. These are well worth…