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February February 1 523 – The traditional date of the death of Bridget, the female saint of Ireland.
1763 – Birth of Thomas Campbell, who along with his son Alexander, became founder of the Disciples of Christ Denomination that is later known as the Church of Christ. His principle was, “Where the scriptures speak, we Speak, where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.” His doctrine would emphasize the study and application of the Bible. Unfortunately, his teaching on salvation would include the requirement of immersion in water (that is baptism) to be saved.
1877 – A decree from the Chinese government granting equal rights to Chinese Christians.
1963 – The Lutheran Free church merged with the American Lutheran Church.
1970 – Pope Paul 6th said priestly celibacy was a fundamental principle of Roman Catholicism. Usually the scripture that is quoted in support of clerical celibacy is Matthew 19:10-12 and I Corinthians 7:7-8. While these verses do express the call of God in one’s life to remain unmarried and dedicated to the gospel ministry, it is certainly NOT the same a magisterium or teaching authority requiring celibacy in order to be ordained as a priest and carry out sacramental responsibilities. In fact, Paul warns about this false form of spirituality that denied marriage in I Timothy 4:l-3 that had its source in doctrines of devils.
February 2
Understand that this is Feast of Candlemass – a day to commemorate the purification or presentation of Mary as a virgin. Catholic literature ties it to the presentation of Jesus in the Temple in Luke 2.
1745 – Birth of Hannah Moore in Bristol, England, a Christian writer.
1831 – Beginning of the rule of Pope Gregory 16th - who held to medieval ways and opposed the separation of church and state.
1862 – The first publishing of Julia Ward Howe’s, BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC.
1882 – Organization of the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut.
1986 – The Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhist met Pope John Paul 2nd in New Delhi.
February 3
865 – Death of Ansgar (or Anskar), often referred to as the “apostle of the North” for his evangelistic efforts among the Danes and later among the Swedes. While he did not have widespread converts, his influence was notable in later efforts.
1683 – Death of John Myles, a British Baptist who established Baptist churches in Wales. After the ACT OF UNIFORMITY was passed in England, he migrated to the colonies, where in 1667 he was fined 5 pounds by the General Court of Plymouth for setting up a public meeting that was not approved by the colony. He then moved and established a church in Swansea, Massachusetts. The first Baptist church formed in the Massachusetts colony.
1786 – Birth of Wilhelm Gensenius in Germany. He pioneered a valuable Hebrew grammar. It would become the basis of the popular Hebrew lexicon of Brown, Driver and Briggs.
1809 – Birth of Felix Mendelssohn, famous music composer. He had a famous grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, noted Jewish philosopher. His father along with other family members became Christians. Felix would give us such great compositions as MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, FINGAL’S CAVE OVERTURE, ELIJAH, ST PAUL and others. He was particularly attracted to J. S. Bach. Felix’s faith is seen in his sensitivity to the Psalms.
1842 – Birth of Sidney Lanier, famous southern poet born in Macon, Georgia. He also wrote words to several Presbyterian Hymns.
1888 – A translation of the Bible into Japanese was completed.
1943 – Four chaplains aboard the ship, DORCHESTER, gave up their life jackets and drowned. Their names were Alexander Goode, John Washington, George Fox and Clark Poling.
February 4
1529 – Death of Ludwig Haetzer, a Swiss reformer and theologian. He was a vocal opponent of using religious images in worship as was common in pre-Reformation European churches. In 1526 he met an Anabaptist leader, Hans Denck who collaborated with Haetzer in translating the Hebrew prophets (1527) five years before Luther’s translation.
1555 – Death of John Rogers, by burning at the stake under the order of Mary, Queen of England. He was responsible for printing of the so-called “Matthew’s Bible” or Great Bible, a translation from Tyndale’s English Bible. He was minister of several churches in London before Mary Tudor came to power. Her attempts to eliminate Protestant leadership gave her the name, BLOODY MARY.
179 – Birth of John Bachman, a Lutheran theologian and naturalist in New York State. He founded the Lutheran Synod of So. Carolina. He collaborated with John Audubon in a book on quarupeds of North America.
1810 – The first presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian church was organized by Finis Ewing and others.
1850 – Birth of David L. Anderson, in Summerhill, South Carolina. Became a missionary to China and founded Soochow University in 1901.
1873 – Birth of George Bennard, in Ohio. He was a Salvation Army officer and evangelist, remembered for his hymn THE OLD RUGGEC CROSS.
1906 – Birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Germany. A Lutheran theologian and opposer of Nazism. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and hanged in April, 1945. Authored COST OF DISCIPLESHIP and LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON. February 5
1597 – A man called Peter Baptist (probably a psuedonom) and 25 other Japanese believers were martyred for their faith by Emperor Tagosama of Japan.
1631 – Roger Williams arrived at the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1634 he was banished from the colony for his insistence on the rights of the American native Indians to their property and that civil authorities had no power to interfere with religious matters in the colony. In the spring of 1636, he bought land from the Narragansett Indians and founded the town of Providence and the Colony of Rhode Island. He has often been called the “apostle of religious freedom”.
1703 – The birth of Gilbert Tennent, one of the leaders of the Great Awakening in the l740’s in the colonies. Tennent was influenced by a Dutch Reformed minister named Theodore Frelinghuysen.
1705 – Death of Philip Spener, whose influence shaped what would be called “Pietism”. Spenser pastured a church in Frankfort, Germany and began gathering with a small group to read scripture and discuss spiritual growth. He moved his people away from Creeds, to study the scripture for themselves. He thought that the changed ife was the best testimony for genuine Christianity.
1723 – Birth of John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian pastor who signed the Declaration of Independence.
1837 – Birth of Dwight Lyman Moody or D. L. – one of the most dynamic and powerful evangelists of the 19th century, and founder of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. A gifted speaker although not polished, he held huge public meetings and called on men and women to response immediately to the gospel of Christ. His work would reach the British Isles as well.
1881 – Death of Thomas Carlyle, a British essayist and historian. He wrote works on the French Revolution and on Oliver Cromwell & Frederick the Great. He is quoted as describing Martin Luther’s stand on his conscience and the word of God as “the greatest moment in modern history of man”.
1893 – Birth of Ford Porter, author of the gospel tract, GOD’S SIMPLE PLAN OF SALVATION. Hundreds of millions have been published including at least once in the READER’S DIGEST.
February 6
1754 – Birth of Andrew Fuller, in Cambridge, England. Converted to Christ as a teenager, he would become the first secretary to the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. His influence thru his writings was extensive. His position on the unlimited atonement of Christ moved many Baptists away from the hyper-Calvinist rigidity of limited atonement.
1812 – Date of the ordination of Adoniram Judson, famous missionary to Burma. Quotes from Courtney Anderson, TO THE GOLDEN SHORE, pages 106, 304.
February 7
1478 – Birth of Thomas More, in London. He was a champion of the King of England against the reforms of Luther (1523) and became Lord Chancellor in 1525 where he sought a rational theology and church reform, but he refused to comply with Henry 8th Act of Supremacy which made the king both civil and religious head of England. He was beheaded in July 1535.
1779 – Death of William Boyce, an English composer and organist.
1812 – Birth of Charles Dickens, regarded as the greatest English novelist. He brought us OLIVER TWIST, NICKOLAS NICKLEBY, DAVID COPPERFIELD and A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
1824 – Birth of Robert Maclay, Methodist missionary to China.
1867 – Birth of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of a series of books describing a child growing up on the prairie, developed in the TV series, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRIAIRIE.
1872 – Birth of Henry W. Robinson, an English Baptist theologian and Old Testament scholar..
1885 – Birth of Sinclair Lewis, a novelist and social critic whose satire punctured American complacency. In 1927 he wrote ELMER GANTRY, an attack on predatory Protestant evangelists. This would be made into a movie starring Burt Lancaster.
1938 – Date of beginning of the trial of Pastor Martin Niemoller, charged by the Nazi’s in Germany with subversion, convicted, he was sent to a concentration camp.
2001 – Death of Dale Evans Rogers, a singer and star of movies with her husband Roy Rogers. A devout Christian she also authored several books, including ANGEL UNAWARES.
February 8
1577 – Birth of Robert Burton, English clergy and author of “ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY’ – causes/cures of depression.
1718 – Birth of Jean Joseph Amiot, Jesuit missionary to China for almost a half century. His writings aided European knowledge of East Asia. 1844 – Birth of Samuel Barnett, in Bristol, England. A Clergyman who contributed to the reform of education.
1847 – Birth of Hugh Hughes, a Methodist leader and first president of the National Free Church Council.
1878 – Birth of Martin Buber, a Jewish religious philosopher who worked for the development of Hasidim, professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem from 1938-65.
2001 – Death of Dr. R. John Rushdoony, a Reformed theologian, sometimes called the Father of Christian Reconstructionism.
February 9
1414 – Death of Thomas Arundel, once bishop of Ely, England and later Lord Chancellor under King Richard 2nd. He was a determined opponent of the Lollards. Lollards were followers of John Wyclif – opposing many aspects of Catholic teaching and were promoters of the Bible being available to everyone. He also opposed attempts to remove state support of churches.
1555 – Death of John Hooper, an Englishman, by order of Queen Mary of England by burning at the stake. He was a graduate of Oxford University and was converted to Protestantism while reading some of their publications. He fled England in 1546 traveling to Antwerp and on to Zurich. Returning to England in 1549, he became Bishop in Glouchester and Worcester, but was arrested when Mary came to power. He was well known as a kind, hard-working Pastor who sought to persuade his congregation to read the Bible.
1831 – The elders of the Mormon Church were directed by a supposed revelation from God that they were to go by 2’s to evangelize.
February 10
1751 –Date that John Wesley, in his mid-40s suffered a fall on the ice of a bridge in London. He was carried to the home of Mary Vazeille. They were married in a week. However, they were not compatible and Mary was given to fits of rage and abuse of Wesley. They spent little time together as a couple.
1791 – Birth of Henry Milman in Edinburgh. Clergyman and professor he taught Biblical criticism at University o Aberdeen in 1860. He also served as moderator of Church of Scotland and was part of a committee formed in 1870 for the revision of the New Testament. He was liberal in theology.
1824 – Birth of Thomas K. Beecher in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was the 6th son of Lyman Beecher. Thomas was a leader in the institutional church movement – which emphasized that churches provide a variety of social services for their community. He pastured the Independent Congregational Church of Elmira, New York for 46 years.
1829 – Birth of Richard Willis, a music editor and composer in the northeast United States. He wrote the music for IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR.
1859 – Birth of Jonathan Goforth, in Ontario, Canada. By 15 years, his father put him in charge of a farm near his home. He was converted at 18 and reading Robert M. McCheyne led him to believer he was called into ministry. Goforth attended Knox College where he became deeply committed to evangelism. Influenced by Hudson Taylor’s writings of his experience as a missionary to China, God called Goforth to that field. He would go on to have a powerful outreach in China.
1928 – The Polish government signed a concordat with the Vatican.
February 11
1524 – Several astrologers believed that when Jupiter and Saturn joined the constellation of Pisces, there would be a second world-wide flood like that of Noah. In Toulouse, France there was an attempt to build an ark, similar to Noah’s and some families stored food high upon the mountains. They should have read II Peter 3:5-7.
1600 – Death of Jose de Acosta, Spanish Jesuit missionary, to the New World, author of history of the West Indies.
1649 – Birth of William Carstares (or Carstairs) – near Aberdeen, Scotland. Presbyterian and leaser of the Scottish Church at the time of the revolution. Chaplain to William of Orange.
1729 – Death of Solomon Stoddard, a Congregational clergyman. First Librarian at Harvard University (1667-74), Pastor at Northampton, Massachusetts church of more than 50 years.
1836 – Birth of Washington Gladden, near Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania. Called the father of American social gospel. Authored hymn, O MASTER, LET ME WALK WITH THEE.
1858 – Visions of Bernadette Soubirous began at Lourdes, France, continued thru July 16 during which she claimed Mary, the Mother of Jesus appeared unto her.
1929 – Three documents were signed by Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri recreating the Papal State under the name STATE OF VATICAN CITY.
February 12
1502 – date of a Spanish Royal decree, instigated by Cardinal Ximenes, that all Moslems in Catile and Leon had to choose between becoming Catholic and exile.
1663 – Birth of Cotton Mather, son of Increase Mather and grandson of Robert Mather, a separtist minister from England. Cotton Mather became a Puritan leader and authored more than 450 books. He participated in the Salem Witch trials but warned against evidence that had only the appearance of truth. He supported inoculation against smallpox which incurred opposition from the general population.
1679 – Birth of Joseph Greaton in London, a Jesuit missionary, and leader in building St. Joseph’s Church in Philadelphia.
1806 – Birth of Abraham Lincoln, born to an evangelical couple that made him highly literate in biblical phrases. Served as the 16th President of the United States, preserved the Union in the face of the Civil War and emancipated the slaves.
1915 – Death of Fanny Cosby, tho sightless, she became a gifted hymn writer. Her works include: TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS, PASS ME NOT, JESUS IS CALLING, BLESSED ASSURANCE, HE HIDETH MY SOUL, ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME, SAVIOR, MORE THAN LIFE TO ME, NEAR THE CROSS, VICTORY THRU GRACE, RESCUE THE PERSHING, PRAISE HIM, TO GOD BE THE GLORY, REDEEMED, MY SAVIOR FIRST OF ALL, SAVED BY GRACE. February 13
1480 – Birth of Girolamo Aleandro, near Venice, Italy. He headed up the papal representatives who condemned the German reformer, Martin Luther at the famous Diet or Council of Worms, Germany in 1521. He is said to be one of the most learned men of his era. He would go on to oppose Lutheranism including the death by burning at the stake of two monks in Brussels in 1523.
1602 – Death of Alexander Newell, English clergyman who was Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. He incurred royal disfavor with his bold preaching.
1760 – Death of Christian Schwartz, often called the “apostle to India” – he was born in Prussia and attended University of Halle which was a center of Pietist teaching where he met a Benjamin Schultz, a former missionary in India. From this friendship, Schwartz felt called to serve in India arriving in 1750. Due to his character and integrity, he would be appointed as guardian of the heir to the throne of Trajore, India.
1880 – birth of John Lafarge in Newport, Rhode Island, a Jesuit priest who fought racism, editor of AMERICA newspaper.
1926 – Mexican government ordered exportation of all foreign priests and nuns. February 14
869 – The accepted date of the death of Cyril, a Greek who was called the apostle to the Slavs – devised a Slavic alphabet giving them their first written language.
1439 – Date of the burning alive of Jews in Strasburg, Germany after rumors circulated that the Jews were responsible for the horrible Black Death that stalked Europe.
1760 – Birth of Richard Allen, the first Black Methodist clergy. He became the founder and bishop of the African American Episcopal Church.
1792 – Birth of William Godell, a Congregational missionary to the Near East for 42 years, translated the Bible into Armeno-Turkish.
1816 – Birth of James Morison in Bathgate, Scotland and educated at Edinburgh. Though licensed to preach by the United Secession Church in 1839, he adopted the view of an unlimited atonement that caused him to be suspended. He founded the Evangelical Union in 1843 with his gifts as a preacher drawing large crowds while pasturing in Glasgow. Although regarded earlier as a heretic, he came to be one of the most trusted and outstanding theologians of his time receiving a Doctor of Divinity degree from Glasgow University in 1883. In visiting America, he was warmly received by the Cumberland Presbyterians due to his opposition to strict Calvinism.
1830 – Birth of Richard Lipsius – a German Protestant who founded the Evangelical Protestant Union. As a translator, he worked on early apocryphal literature.
1913 – Birth of James Pike, onetime Episcopalian Clergyman – he renounced his church and formed the Foundation for religious Transition, reported to have said the doctrine of the Trinity was mythical. See II Peter 1:16-19.
1931 – Death of Shabbetai Benjamin Rohold, a convert to Christ from Judaism. He was born in Palestine in 1836 and came to hear of Christ through an aged Christian missionary near his home. Rohold publicly professed Christ as Savior at 23 years old while living in London. Entering Christian ministry, he labored in Glasgow and Canada before returning to Palestine in 1921 where he established a strong witness for Christ to both Jew and Arab.
February 15
1145 – Eugene 3rd elected Pope – had been a pupil of Bernard of Clairvaux and sought to reform the priesthood, but was expelled from Rome.
1497 – Birth of Philip Melanchthon, a German scholar who assisted Martin Luther in the cause of the Reformation. In 1530, he refined the articles of the Augsburg Confession which reflected a mild and conciliatory attitude. It attempted to show the Lutherans were not in conflict with the teachings of the real Catholic church – yet it did reject invocation of saints, the Mass, monastic vows and other items.
1662 – Birth of James Renwick, a Scottish Covenanter. He often preached in the open fields to whoever might listen. He was later condemned and executed in 1688.
1730 – Death of Thomas Bray, an English clergy who founded the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (1698) and established over 80 church libraries in the American colonies.
1772 – Birth of Robert Finley, a Presbyterian clergy and educator he organized a society to plan a colony in Africa for American blacks as a solution for the slavery issue.
1782 – Birth of William Miller in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He predicted the 2nd Coming of Christ to occur in 1843 or 1844. His writing led to the Adventist Church.
1822 – Birth of William Whipple in Adams, New York. He became the Episcopal bishop of Minnesota and campaigned against the injustice and cruelty of the United States government against native American Indians. February 16
310 – Thought to be the date of the death by beheading of Pamphilius, a teacher in Caesaria. He spent much of his time copying Biblical manuscripts, including what is called the Hexapla edition of the Septuagint. He was arrested under Emperor Maximus and held in prison 15 months before his martyrdom.
1516 – Birth of Gaspard de Coligny, a French admiral associated with the French Protestant group called Huguenots. He was killed in the infamous St. Bartholemew day massacre in 1572.
1806 – A public profession of faith in Christ was made by Augustus Neander, along with baptism in Hamburg, Germany. He had been born Jewish and he went on to be a university professor and historian.
1844 – Date that missionary to Africa, David Livingstone recorded he was attacked by a lion near Mabotsa. After hearing reports that a lion had taken several sheep, he recklessly took a rifle and went after the lion alone. Firing both barrels, Livingstone managed only to wound the beast which attacked him and caught him by the arm shaking him like a terrier does a rat. Livingstone was only saved when a native convert, Mebalwe, fired at the lion distracting him. Mebalwe and another native were then attacked by the bleeding lion which finally dropped dead of blood loss.
1852 – Birth of Charles T. Russell in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is credited with the founding of the Jehovah Witness organization and the WATCHTOWER magazine distributed by the Jehovah Witnesses. They deny the Biblical doctrine of the Holy Trinity, that salvation is by faith alone and the full deity of Jesus Christ. February 17
661 – Death of Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne in north England. He was intensely missionary in his outlook seeking to reach the people of Northumbria with a Celtic Christianity, nor Roman.
1708 – Death of William Rittenhouse, a Mennonite Clergyman and industrialist. He served as the first pastor of the Germantown Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania and built the first American paper mill in 1690.
1865 – Birth of Ernst Troeltsch near Augsburg, Germany. He denied that dogmatic theology could give access to absolute truth. He taught a relativism of religions and became increasingly liberal in theology. He was a product of the rise of skepticism and liberalism in Germany. We, believers. Were warned by Paul in II Timothy 4:3-4 of such spiritual decay in leadership.
1921 – Death of Dr. B. B. Warfield, an American Presbyterian scholar. He became professor of theology at Princeton Seminary following the death of A. A. Hodge. He firmly pressed for the inerrancy of Holy Scripture. He authored numerous books supporting the primacy of the Word of God against growing liberalism.
2000 – Death of Richard Wurmbrand, a Rumanian Lutheran Pastor who suffered terrible torture and imprisonment in the late 1940’s through the early 60’s. His experiences are recorded in several books describing not only his sufferings at the hands of the Communist officials, but his increasing awareness of the presence of Christ, who said that he would never leave us or forsake us. He was a light for Christ in a literal and moral prison. February 18
1546 – Death of Martin Luther, the converted monk who shook the world in what is now called the Reformation. He was a man of unusual abilities, sometimes marred by intemperate words. He ranks among the most influential men in history. His body was buried back at Wittenburg, Germany where it is said he nailed his 95 Theses on the church door.
1678 – Date of the publishing of PILGRIM’ PROGRESS, written by John Bunyan. It describes the ravel of Pilgrim from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, with the people he encounters along the way.
1688 – The earliest known protest against slavery was issued by the Germantown, Pennsylvania Mennonites in a monthly meeting.
1781 – Birth of Henry Martyn, missionary to India. He translated the New Testament into Urdu and Persian.
1869 – The Chicago Protest of the Episcopal Church was launched by Charles Cheney, who helped organize and headed the Reformed Episcopal Church.
1915 – Birth in Munich, Germany of Matthias Defregger who became auxiliary bishop of Munich. Became the center of controversy over his army service when he refused to carry out an order to kill Italian villagers. February 19
1152 – Birth of Melcher Klesi, a Roman Catholic cardinal and statesman, born in Vienna. He sought to promote a religious toleration policy for the counter-Reformation.
1621 – Election of Gregory 15th as Pope – he established the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and secret elections of the Popes by 2/3 votes of cardinals.
1672 – Death of Charles Chauncy, a non-conformist Puritan.
1793 – Birth of Sidney Riddon, a Baptist who became associated with John Smith in the formative years of the Mormon church – he opposed polygamy and was later excommunicated by the Mormons.
1802 – Birth of Leonard Bacon in Detroit, pastor of the First Congregational church of New Haven, Connecticut and leader in the Anti-slavery movement.
Notes on Black History Month: 1 – Slavery is a destructive, evil practice – men are not to be owned as they are made in the “image of God”. 2 – United States would have been a better nation without it – possibly not had the Civil War and assassination of Lincoln and years of reconstructionism in the south. 3 – Under grace, we see the dignity and value of individuals, II Cor. 5:16 – racism, prejudice is NOT Christian.
February 20 1469 – Birth of Cajetan, general of the Dominican order who sought unsuccessfully to get Martin Luther to recant. He along with 19 other cardinals rejected England’s King Henry 8th request for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
1719 – Birth of Joseph Bellamy in Connecticut. He was a Puritan clergy and created a divinity school in his home where New England clergy were trained – called an architect of the “new divinity”. This primarily New England theology helped move doctrine toward universalism.
1822 – Birth of Henry Durant, a lawyer and clergy. As a successful lawyer, he began to conduct revival meetings. Founded Wellesley College in 1870.
1888 – Birth of George Beranos, a Catholic writer – known for his “Diary of a Country Priest”
1907 – United States Senate confirmed election of Reed Smoot of Utah – it defeated a proposal to unseat him due to his Mormon Church membership. February 21
1801 – Birth of John Newman, Anglican leader of the Oxford Movement, sometimes called the Anglo-Catholic movement. It called for a return to many Catholic practices and beliefs, especially that of Apostolic Succession.
1881 – Birth of Marc Boegner, a French Protestant, later President of the World Council of Churches (1948-50).
1838 – Author Margaret Sangster born. Wrote “O Christ, forget not them who stand, Thy vanguard in the distant land. In flood, in flame, in dark, in dread, sustain we pray each lifted head. Thine is the work they strive to do, their foes so many, they so few. Be with Thine own, Thy loved, who stand Christ’s vanguard in the storm-swept land.”
1848 – Birth of James Stalker, in Scotland. A minister and professor he authored several books on Christ.
1918 – Birth of Robert Evans, founder of Greater European Mission.
1988 – Reverand Jimmy Swaggert, Televangelist in Baton Rouge, confessed to sins before his church. February 22
1281 – Martin 4th elected Pope – he excommunicated the Greek Emperor destroying the union of Eastern and Western Orthodox churches at the Council of Lyons in 1274.
1455 – Birth of Johann Reuchlin in Germany – he was a humanist and educator. He prevented the destruction of Jewish books and became one of Europe’s most able Greek and Hebrew scholars. While he was not a Protestant, he supported the intent to reform the church.
1758 – Death of Jonathan Edwards.
1805 – Birth of Sarah F. Adams, an English poet who wrote the words to “Nearer My God to Thee”.
1896 – The Christian Catholic Apostolic Church was founded in Chicago by John A. Dowie – he later identified himself as the messenger of the covenant and later as Elijah. February 23
155 – This is the traditional date of the death of Polycarp, who was bishop of Smyrna in the 2nd century. You may recall Smyrna was one of the 7 churches mentioned by the apostle John in Revelation 2. Polycarp was a friend to John, the apostle and died as a martyr under Emperor Antoninus by being burned at the stake.
1685 – Date of birth of George Fredrich Handel in Halle, Germany. Tho German by birth, he was English by adoption and is considered one of the greatest composers of the late Baroque era. In 1741, he produced THE MESSIAH, one of the most moving and beautiful of portions of music ever produced.
1798 – Birth of Thomas Evans, a Quaker clergyman and historian.
1832 – Birth of John Vincent, born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was ordained in 1857 in the Methodist Episcopal Church and served pastorates in Illinois, pioneering uniform Sunday school material. He, along with Lewis Miller, started the Chautauqua conferences in 1874 in western New York State. The Chautauqua movement emphasized popular education through home reading.
1902 – Ellen Stone, a missionary captured by the Turks, was released upon the payment of $72,000 ransom. In recent years we have read of missionaries in South America and the Phillippine Islands being held for ransom, sometimes with tragic results. We must pray for our brothers/sisters in the faith that face such difficulties. February 24
1527 – Date that Hans Denck, a German Baptist presided over the Anabaptist Council in Schlatt, convened for the purpose of unifying several groups. This council adopted seven articles of faith – one of which was water baptism for believers only. It also asserted that the church was made up of local associations of regenerated and baptized individuals, united by common observance of the Lord’s Table. Each congregation was to choose its own officers and be responsible for church discipline. These concepts would influence Baptists, Quakers and Congregationalists in the years to come.
1528 – Birth in Spain of Comingo Banez (sometimes pronounced Vanez) – he was a staunch defender of the doctrines of Thomas Aquinas. As a Dominican, he served as professor at the University of Salamanca where he was involved in controversy with the Jesuits over doctrines of Christ’s death, predestination and justification.
1811 – Birth of Daniel Payne in Charleston, South Carolina. His parents were devout Methodist and named him after Daniel, the Old Testament prophet. After his parents death, he was converted at 18 and began a strenuous effort of self-education. He so loved learning that he opened a school in 1829. After the Nat Turner slave-rebellion in 1831, Payne moved north where he would have more freedom to teach blacks. By 1841, he had joined the African Methodist Episcopalian church in Philadelphia. He began to be a voice for abolition of the slave trade in the United States and helped found Wilberforce University in Ohio.
1902 – Birth of Gladys Aylward in Edmonton, England. She would serve a single missionary to China and her life would be presented in the film, INN OF 7TH HAPPINESS.
1988 – The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously that public figures.who are victims of satirical attack (even pornographic) may NOT sue for damages; the decision rejected a $200,000 judgment won by Rev. Jerry Falwell against HUSTLER magazine. February 25
1296 – Pope Boniface 8th issued a papal order to protect the priests of England and France from paying ecclesiastical revenues to magistrates without the approval of Rome. The source of this conflict was a tax that King Philip of France has placed upon clerics to raise money for his war with King Edward 1st of England. Boniface was a proud and arrogant man who refused to allow the state to place taxes on his priest. He would ;later issue the famous or infamous Unam Sanctum declaring that submission to the Roman Pontiff was essential to salvation for every creature. It was an attempt to exalt Papal power over secular power.
1536 – Date of the burning of Jacob Hutter, an Austrian Anabaptist, in Innsbruck. He and his wife had been arrested; he faced months of torture before his execution. Although pregnant, his wife was drowned as her punishment. Their sin was belief in adult baptism, rather than infant baptism. His followers spread throughout Europe, the United States and Canada.
1570 – Pope Pius 5th issued a bull of excommunication against Elizabeth, Queen of England. His experience as part of the Inquisition reflected his intense hatred of any called “heretic” – those who refused to acknowledge Papal supremacy of pay taxes to him February 26
1527 – Hans Denck, a leader of the Anabaptists in Germany presided over the Anabaptist Council in Shlatt, Germany. It’s purpose was to unify the Swiss and German Anabaptists. The council adopted several articles of faith including: That the church is composed of baptized believers united as the body of Christ by observance of the Lord’s Supper, rejection of the formalism of Catholic, Lutheran & Zwinglian churches. Each church is to choose its own officers. Civil authority is to be recognized by believers, but not to bear arms, use coercion or take oaths. It was in these beliefs that many Baptists, Quakers, and Congregationalists would later express themselves.
1732 – St. Joseph’s Catholic Church of Philadelphia is completed – it is the first public Catholic church in the colonies.
1846 – Birth of George Stebbins – hymn writer in E. Carlton, New York – wrote TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY, JESUS IS TENDERLY CALLING, and I’VE FOUND A FRIEND, worked with evangelist D. L. Moody.
1857 – Birth of Charles Sheldon, in Wellsville, New York – Congregational clergyman, author of novel, IN HIS STEPS – 23 million sold in 23 languages.
1981 – The committee of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod recommended breaking ties with the American Lutheran Church due to its liberalism in interpreting the Bible. February 27
1717 – Birth in Halle, Germany of Johann D. Michaelis, a Biblical scholar, pioneered the use of the historical-critical study of hermeneutics. Under this the human element in the Bible was stressed while denying the verbal inspiration and infallibility of scripture.
1720 – Death of Samuel Parris; he started the Salem witch trials when he supported accusations against his West Indian slave – he later admitted accepting “spectral” evidence.
1746 – Birth of Samuel Spring in Northbridge, Massachusetts – he was a Calvinist theologian and Congregational pastor. Founded the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
1767 – Royal decree in Spain expelled Jesuits from the Western Hemisphere. This was due to many reasons, among them the fact that Jesuits had engaged in colonial trade even though their constitutions forbade the same, their political influence was notorious and they opposed the rising rationalism of the 18th century.
1773 – Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia was completed at the cost of $4070. George Washington purchased a pew.
1826 – Birth of Howard Crosby in New York City, a Presbyterian clergy who served the 4th Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City – founded the Society for the Prevention of Crime in 1877. February 28
1551 – Death of Martin Butzer, A German who promoted Reformation. Sought to mediate between Zwingli and Luther; he influenced John Calvin and lead the Swiss Reformation after Zwingli’s death.
1574 – The first burning of heretics as part of the Mexican Inquisition. Five were burned.
1638 – National Covenant was signed giving rise to formation of the Covenanters (Scotland). These were Scottish Presbyterian dissenters who fought to maintain their freedom from the edicts of British Parliament which interfered with their worship.
1799 – Birth of Johann J. Dollinger – a church historian from Germany. He was a Roman Catholic who refused to accept the Papal decree of infallibility of 1871, He was excommunicated from Rome.
1823 – Birth of Ernest Renan, Frenchman who prepared for the Catholic priesthood but left after a crisis of faith. He became interested in the origins of the Christian faith. He traveled to the Holy Land in search of the historical roots of the life of Jesus. He later became a rationalist and said the Christian faith was the result of popular imagination.
1857 – Birth of Alfred Loisy, a Catholic theologian and founder of moderism in France, excommunicated in 1908.
1807 – Date of sailing of Scottish missionary, Robert Morrison born in 1782m from Britain to become one of the earliest modern missionaries to China. There he faced great difficulties such that he did not have a public convert until seven years of labor. |