Category: Theology

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) is remembered for one devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, which was published, like all but one of his 30 books, posthumously by his widow Biddie. Biddie was a stenographer who captured Oswald’s spoken ministry and, after his death, turned her notes into volumes of publishable writing. In 1935 she published…

It was on July 22, 1668, that Madame Guyon (Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, 1648-1717) had the most important spiritual experience in a life that was all about spiritual experiences. She was blown away, lost in God, plunged into the depths of the divine love. At least that’s how she talked about this…

Q: How do you explain I Tim 2:12: But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence?” Should women in church teach? A: The Revised Version gives the meaning more plainly: “But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over…

Today (July 21) is the day that Col. Robert G. Ingersoll died in 1899. Ingersoll was the most popular promoter of agnosticism in the late nineteenth century, though his favored way of characterizing his beliefs was “Free Thought.” He not only drew large crowds when he came to town, but he also commanded large sums…

Heinrich Bullinger was born today (July 18) in 1504. Bullinger took over the office of chief minister in Zurich when Zwingli died on the battlefield in 1531, and stayed at that post until his own death 44 years later. So many things make Bullinger an attractive figure in the history of theology. Though he was…

Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here, under the watchful eye of God, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. We have assembled here today every thing that it takes to make a marriage. •We have the honor of an invited gathering of loved ones: •close friends who will hear James…

In a recent issue of the International Journal of Systematic Theology, Gijsbert van den Brink and Stephan Van Erp lament the lack of any contribution from 20th-century Dutch theologians to the rediscovery of trinitarian theology. In their article, “Ignoring God Triune? The Doctrine of the Trinity in Dutch Theology,” they say that “Apart from some…

Isaac Watts, born this day (July 17) in 1674, is one of the greatest hymn writers in the English language. Growing up a Dissenter (his father was imprisoned twice for not being Anglican), Watts was not allowed to attend the best colleges. But he received a good education, and turned his considerable skills to pastoring,…

Q: Why was the Jewish Sabbath, fixed by the law of God, changed to the day which the heathen emperor Constantine fixed, and was the change in accordance with the law of God who says that not one jot or tittle of the law should pass away until all be fulfilled? A: The Jewish Sabbath…

Rembrandt van Rijn was born this day, July 15, in 1606. He is one of those artists whose work seems too good to be true. Seeing a Rembrandt painting in person is always a revelation that even the best photos in books didn’t prepare you for. He could paint the surface of the human face…

July 14, 1833, was the day when John Keble (1792-1866) preached his sermon with the title National Apostasy in St. Mary’s, Oxford. Though it was not recognized as a major event at the time, the sermon was published and distributed, and the events of the next decade would cause historians (following the testimony of John…