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July July 1 1523 - Date of the martyrdom of Henry Voes and Johann Eck at Brussels at the order of Emperor Charles 5th. Both of them were Augustinian monks who were proposing Lutheran doctrine. 1555 - Death of John Bradford, an Englishman who was burned at the stake under Queen Mary of England. 1633 - Birth of Johann H. Heidegger, born in Switzerland. He was a Reformed clergyman who sought to unite all the Swiss Reformed churches. 1750 - Jonathan Edwards preached his final sermon to the congregation of Northampton Church in Massachusetts. The church had dismissed him after 2l years of service over his desire for stricter admissions to church membership. Edwards called for genuine conversion and public profession of faith in order to be admitted to the Lord's Table. 1824 - Ordination of Charles Finney, a lawyer-converted to Christ in 1821, he delivered sermons as though he was convincing a jury. His revivals brought many to know Christ in the upper part of New York state as well as major cities in the northeast. 1899 - The Christian Commercial Men's Association was formed by traveling salesmen in Wisconsin. Renamed the GIDEON'S- they began distributing Bibles to hotel rooms. 1978 - The founder of the World-Wide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong excommunicated his son, Garner Ted Armstrong from the church for actions seeking to become the designated heir. The World-Wide Church of God is a cult claiming the British Isles are the lost tribes of Israel. July 2 1489 - Birthday of Thomas Cranmer, first archbishop of Canterbury of the reformed Church of England. He aided King Henry 8th in his case of a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. He promoted a translation of the Bible into the English vernacular and helped produce the ENGLISH BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. Upon the ascension of Mary, Queen of Scots to the English throne he was condemned for acquiescing in the plot to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne and was burned at the stake in 1556. 1505 - Martin Luther while returning from a visit to his parents was overtaken by a fearsome thunderstorm and cried out, "Help St. Anne, and I'll become a monk." Which he did 2 weeks later. 1724 - Birthday of Friedrich G. Klopstock, a great German religious poet. Wrote the religious epic, THE MESSIAH. It is considered an important reaction to the German rationalism that had dominated much German poetry of that period. 1752 - The first English Bible was published in America, came off the press in Boston. 1883 - Birth of Henry Butler, English educator and hymnist. Known for his hymn, LIFT UP YOUR HEATS! WE LIFT THEM, LORD. 1906 - Bishop James H. Black was consecrated as Archbishop of New Orleans. July 3 529 - Synod of Orange in Arles, southwest France upheld the doctrines of Augustine related to irristible grace and free-will. It also stated that Grace is so bound up in baptism and good works that baptism took on a sacramental quality. This would set the mark for later Catholic teaching on baptism as a sacrament. 1570 - Atonio Paleario, Italian humanist was condemned by the Roman Church for his objection to the doctrine of purgatory. He was then burned at the stake. 1644 - The Royal army of King Charles of England was defeated in a battle near York, England during the revolution. The leader of the troops of Parliament was a little known man named, Oliver Cromwell. 1956 - President Eisenhower approved a bill authorizing a payment of over $964 thousand to the Vatican as damages for the accidental bombing of the summer residence of the Pope by US planes during WW2. 1960 - Death of Alfred H. Ackley, noted hymn writer of such songs as HE LIVE, GOD'S TOMORROW, and JESUS IS THE JOY OF LIVING. July 4 1187 - Saladin defeated the armies of the 3rd Crusade in northern Palestine. This would lead to the capture of Jerusalem in October of the same year. He was the most formidable adversary of armies of Europe. 1533 - Death of John Frith, Englishman who denied purgatory and transubstantiation. Helped Tyndale translate scripture and was burned at the stake in London. 1797 - Birth of John Breckenridge, noted Presbyterian clergyman in Lexington, Kentucky, secretary of Presbyterian Board of Education (1831-36), secretary of Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (1838-1841). 1836 - The first women of Caucasian birth to cross the Rocky Mountain into Oregon Territory. Their names were Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding and they were wives of missionaries. 1870 - Birth of James Moffatt in Glasgow, Scotland. Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary and made a translation of the New Testament which is named after him. Oddly, in Luke 23:45 he attributes the darkness around the Crucifixion to be an eclipse of the sun---something without scientific or manuscript evidence. 1870 - Birth of Lee Scarborough, noted Southern Baptist pastor and educator. President of Southwestern Baptist Seminary from 1914-45 and architect of the Co-operative Program. 1895 - Words to AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL were published in the Congrationalist magazine. They were a poem by Dr. Katherine Bates, then President of Wellesley College. July 5 1803 - Birth of George Barrow, who became a gypsy or tinkerer. After being assaulted by thieves, he was found unconscious by some Welsh itinerant evangelist. They took care of him and gave him a copy of scripture. This led to his conversion and with a gift for languages, George became a translator and minister with the British and Foreign Bible Society with numerous hair-raising adventures in Europe. 1818 - Birth of Thomas Lynch, English Congregationalist, wrote hymns, including GRACIOUS SPIRIT, DWELL WITH ME. 1865 - First meeting of the Christian Mission in England, led by William Both. Later the name Salvation Army would be adopted. July 6 1415 - Death of John Hus, noted Eastern Europe reformer. He was convicted of heresy by the Council of Constance and sentenced to death for his refusal to recant his teaching. He had been influenced by the writings of John Wycliff and anticipated Luther's teaching before Luther. He refused to acknowledge the Pope as head of the church, insisting that Christ alone held such a place. He called for the New Testament to be the rule of the church, not man-made traditions. He went to his death with great courage and became a national hero of what was called Bohemia at that time. 1535 - Death of Thomas More, English statesman and martyr. 1583 - Death of Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury (1575-83). He was suspended by Queen Elizabeth I for his laxiety with the Quakers and for not suppressing preaching by itinerant ministers. He was a vigorous opponent of Roman Catholicism. 1757 - Birth of William McKendree, first American-born Methodist bishop and one time associate of Francis Asbury. 1900 - During these days of July that Jonathan Goforth and his associates went through a frightening ordeal of escape from angry crowds in China that were killing most foreigners. Goforth was a dedicated missionary to the Chinese and his wife describes one incident in his biography - GOFORTH OF CHINA, PAGE 134-35 "THE ESCAPE" Jumping
down from our cart, my husband rushed forward shouting, "Take
everything, but don't kill!" At once he became the target
for the fiercest onslaught. (Can anyone read the following without
in his heart believing in an Almighty God's over-ruling hand?) July 7 1274 - Pope Gregory 10th issued an order establishing the conclave method of selecting the Pope. This conclave is the private assembly of the cardinals to choose a pope ;by vote. He became the Roman Pontiff after the longest period of the Catholic church without a Pope - 33 months. He said, "If the sacred chair [the pope] is vacant, the empire lacks the dispenser of salvation; if the throne is empty, the church[Roman] is defenceless before her persecutors. It is the duty of the Church's ruler to maintain kings in their office, and of kings to protect the rights of the church." 1647 - Death of Thomas Hooker, noted Puritan pastor who fled England in 1630 and became pastor in Newtown of Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1634. In 1638, he was the primary figure in creating the Frame of Government for communities around Hartford, Connecticut. His views on the autonomy of the church were more congregational, than the hierarchical model of Presbyterianism. The Encyclopedia Britannica reports Hooker has been called the "Father of American Democracy" due to his influence in the Frame of Government document. 1713 - Death of Henry Compton, an Anglican clergyman who served as Bishop of Oxford and later Bishop of London. He was a leading advocate of tolerance toward Protestant non-conformist in England. When William of Orange came to the English throne, Compton officiated at his coronation. He also served as private counsel to Queen Anne and wrote a number of theological books. 1873 - Date that Lottie Moon, a well-known Southern Baptist missionary sailed for China. July 8 1115- Death of Peter the Hermit, a French preacher and monk who was instrumental in the leadership of the First Crusade to recover the land of Israel from the Moslem Turks. Pope Urban 2nd promised indulgences of sin to all who participated. Thousands of peasants joined this mob with widespread reports of Jews being slaughtered along the way. While the crusades may have had economic advantages for Europe, it demonstrated the cruelty and anti-Semitism of Roman Catholics. 1530 - On this date Martin Luther, the German reformer wrote a letter to the clerk of the city of Nuremberg explaining his coat of arms with its roses. The following is from Erich Sauer's IN THE ARENA OF FAITH, page 27 By means of this rose Luther wished to express the main principles of his own faith and of his personal experience of salvation. It is the "symbol of my theology," he once said. In the center is a black cross in the midst of a red heart, and the whole is surrounded by a white rose on a blue background, surrounded by a golden ring. With this form of seal Luther wished to express symbolically in form and colour what he once wrote in a letter to Lazarus Spengler, the clerk of the city of Nuremberg. It was written on the 8th of July, l530, during his stay in the castle of Coburg, at the time of the Augsburg Diet: "The first must be a cross, black in the heart, so that I remind myself that faith in the Crucified One saves me. For if we believe in our hearts, we are justified. Even though it is a black cross and mortifies and hurts, yet it leaves the heart in its natural colour (red). It does not destroy our natural personality. It does not kill, but it rather allows us to live. For the just lives by faith. This hart must be set in the midst of a white, gay rose, in order to show that faith produces happiness, comfort, and peace, and not as the world gives. For this reason the rose must be white and not red. For white is the colour of the spirits and all angels. This rose is set in the center of an azure background in order to show that the joy is the beginning of a future heavenly joy. And this background is set in a golden ring in order to show that this blessedness in heaven is everlasting and will never end, and is more precious than all joy and earthly possessions, just as gold is the most precious of all metals."
July 9 381 - Birth of Nestorius in Turkey and later patriarch of Constantinople for three years. Preached a doctrine that Christ was a divine and human person, but not in a single person. His teaching was labeled heresy by the Council of Ephesus in 431/ 1228 - Death of Stephen Langton, once Archbishop of Canterbury and is credited with the present division of the Bible into chapters. 1763 - The Jesuits were expelled from Louisiana. 1838 - Birth of Philip P. Bliss in Clearfield County in Pennsylvania. He had a beautiful voice used of God in evangelistic meetings and wrote numerous gospel songs. 1838 - Death of Sir Robert Grant, governor of Bombay, India and author of the hymn, O WORSHIP THE KING, ALL GLORIOUS ABOVE. 1916 - Birth of James B. Williams in Chattanooga, Tennessee, missionary to west Africa from 1946-52 and translator of scripture into the Bariba dialect. Late a speaker for Baptist Mid-Missions for mission conferences and fund raiser. 1925 - The Scopes Monkey trail began in Tennessee. Received national attention as Wm. J. Bryan and Clarence Darrow locked legal horns in the court room. July 10 1509 - Birth of John Calvin in Picardy, France, noted French theologian and reformer. His position of power in Geneva gave him a base to exert great influence over Europe for the cause of Protestantism. He wrote the Institute of Christian Religion which was a body of systematic doctrine of Protestantism, emphasizing the authority of scripture and salvation by faith in Christ and by grace alone. 1588 - Death of Edwin Sandys, at the age of 72 One time archbishop of York with the Anglican church and assisted in the preparation of the Bishop's Bible, published in 1568. 1773 - Birth of Finis Ewing in Brevard Co, Virginia, and principal founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1810 which was a separatist group who disagreed with the main Presbyterian body on issues of ordination requirements, predestination and ecclesiology. 1863 - Death of Clement C. Moore who established the General Theological Seminary in 1819 where he taught Greek & Hebrew for 28 years. You might best rember him for his poem, 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFOE CHRISTMAS.." It was published at Christmas, 1823. 1888 - Birth of Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese evangelist and reformer. Influencial in the democratization of Japan. 1908 - Death at 69 years of Phoebe Knapp, a philanthropist and hymn writer and wife of the founder of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Best remembered for the hymn , BLESSED ASSURANCE. July 11 1533 - Pope Clement 7th (who was a Medici by birth) excommunicated English King Henry 8th for his unauthorized remarriage after divorce. It was part of the conflict of the period that only years earlier Henry had been named Defender of the Faith by Pope Leo l0th. The excommunication of Henry 8th would lead to the SUPREMACY ACT of the English Parliament in 1534 declaring the King of England as the only supreme head of the Church of England with full power to redress heresies. 1681 - Martyrdom of Oliver Plunkett, once archbishop of Armagh and primate of Ireland. He would be the first Irish Catholic martyr to be beatified and was canonized in 1975. 1819 - Birth of Susan Warner on Long Island, New York. She was an author of several novels as her sister, Anna, was also a novelist and poet. Some credit Susan and others credit Anna with writing the words to the well-known hymn, JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW IN 1860. 1886 - First baptism of a Korean believer, Mr. Toh Sa No by missionary Horace Underwood. The baptism was done in secret. 1955 - U. S. Congress orders the words, IN GOD WE TRUST to be placed on all U.S. currency. July 12 1153 - Anastasius 4th is crowned Pope and serves a short time. He is credited with setting the controversy of selecting Frederick Barbarossa of Germany as Emperor and issuing an interdict against Arnold of Brescia. Arnold was a French priest who called for poverty for all clergymen and opposed the wealth of the Roman churches leadership. 1588 - The great Spanish Naval Armada sailed from Spain to attack the English Navy attempting to establish supremacy by Spain. The skill of the British Gunners and the smaller vessels of England helped defeat the larger and more cumbersome vessels from Spain. A storm struck the Armada as it tried to return to Spain and finished what the English had begun. It marked the fall of Spain as an European power as well as the rise of England. 1536 - Death of Desiderius Erasmus, humanist writer. He was instrumental in producing the Greed edition of the New Testament. 1790 - The French legislature adopted the "Constitution Civile du Clerge" declaring the French church independent of the papacy except in strict doctrinal matters. 1803 - Birth of Thomas Guthrie in Scotland. A clergyman and philanthropist who preached in Edinburgh. Sometime called the apostle of the ragged schools due to his interest in educating the destitute children. July 13 1205 - Death of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury. He accompanied King Richard of England on the 3rd crusade and governed England in Richard's absence and raised funds for his ransom. 1635 - Birth of Jacques Bruyas, a French Jesuit missionary to the Iroquois Indians. 1769 - Birth in Ireland of Thomas Kelly, a dissenting preacher and hymn writer. Wrote hymns, LOOK YE SAINTS, HIS SIGHT IS GLORIOUS, COME, SEE THE PLACE WHERE JESUS LAY. 1771 - Birth of Anthony Kohlman, in Germany a Jesuit priest. Won the lawsuit that sought to compel him to reveal source of information obtained in a confessional. This led to later legislation to protect confessions. 1886 - Birth of Edward Flanagan in Ireland. Founder of Boys Town near Omaha, Nebraska in 1922. July 14 1575 - Death of Richard Taverner, English Bible Scholar who worked on revision of Matthew's Bible (1539). The Trinitarian Bible Society credits Taverner with the AV reading in Hebrew 1:3 "express image of his person". When Elizabeth became Queen of England, Taverner was Offered a knighthood which he politely declined. 1634 - Birth of Pasquier Quesnel, a French theologian. He became a supporter of Nansenism (named after a Cornelius O. Jansen, a Catholic leader in reform). Jansenism opposed certain tendencies of leaders in the Counter-Reformation concerning divine grace and human responsibility. Quesnel's writings were condemned by Pope Clement 11th in 1713. 1800 - Birth of Matthew Bridges, English Anglican hymn writer including CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS. 1850 - Death of Johann August Wilhelm Neander, born a German Jew, but converted to Christ at l7 years old. Much of his ministry was as Professor of Church History at University of Berlin. He taught during a time of the rise of religious liberalism in Germany, but he did not compromise his evangelical convictions and warmly defended them. July 15 1099 - The city of Jerusalem fell to the forces of the European crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon. Thousands of its inhabitants were killed by these zealots. There would follow a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th crusade. As prophesied by Jesus in Luke 21:24 - Jerusalem would be trodden down by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 1381 - Death of John Ball, a former priest at York, England. He was a leader in the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. He called for the murder of English lords and clergy. He was tried and hanged at St. Albans. 1606 - Birth of Rembrandt, one of the most influential and creative artists of the 17th century. His work has delighted millions. He did a number of paintings of a Biblical nature including "Christ at Emmaus, Presentation of Christ at the Temple, The Risen Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene, The Reconciliation of David and Absalom, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, and The Return of the Prodigal. 1631 - Birth in London of Richard Cumberland, an Anglican clergy and philosopher. He was a leader the discussions on ethical theory, and opposed Thomas Hobbes. Cumberland is sometimes called the Father of English Utilitarianism. 1704 - Birth of August Spangenberg, a Moravian leader who gave leadership to the German pietist after the death of its founder, Nicholas Von Zinzindorf. Spangenberg met John Wesley in the colony of Georgia in 1736 and asked Wesley "Do you know Jesus Christ?" Wesley answered, "I know he is the Savior of the World." Spangenberg then said, "True, but do you know He has saved you?" Wesley would return to England disappointed and searching, but still unconverted. It would be 2 yeas after the encounter with Spangenberg that Wesley would be converted. 1779 - Birth of Clement C. Moore, Hebrew scholar and author of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. 1802 - Death of Robert Aitken, printed the first complete English Bible in America, July 16 1546 - Death of Anne Askew, a English protestant, who is burned alive for her refusal to recant her opinions against Transubstantiation. 1821 - Birth of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As an invalid as a child she sought mystical healing. Met Phineas Quimby in 1862 and became a follower of his teaching. By 1875 she had finished writing SCIENCE AND HEALTH which was considered a divine revelation. 2002 - Death of Dr. Richard Dehann, the voice of the well-known Radio Bible Class out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the son of the founder of Radio Bible Class M.R. Dehann, a physician-turned-minister. Richard Dehann spent nearly 35 years sharing the grace of God over radio. Under his leadership, RBC expanded to TV and many publications. 1931
- Death of missionary C. T. Studd. He had been born to wealthy
parents in north England and grew up to love racing horses.
Then he was converted at a D.L. Moody evangelistic meeting in
1875 at the age of 15. He went on to become one of England's
most outstanding cricket players by the time he was 22 years
old. But God called him to foreign missionary work and he would
spend the rest of his life as such, first in China and later
in India. He has been credited with a motto that I have on the
wall of my office. It goes: Some would live within the sound
of July 17 1505 - martin Luther entered the Augustinian Hermits monastery at Erfurt, Germany to study for the priesthood. He would come under the influence of an Augustinian named Johan Staupitz who represented the best of the monastic life. He would assist Luther in his struggle with an overly sensitive conscious. He would be ordained to the priesthood in 1507. 1674 - Birth of Isaac Watts in Sothampton, England. He would become a Nonconformist and a major influence in hymn writing. He would produce such as WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS, O GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST, AND JOY TO THE WORLD. 1766 - Death of Samuel Finley, Presbyterian educator and clergyman. He was active in the Great Awakening of his day as a bold preacher. He was president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) the last 5 years of his life. 1794 - Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church opened in Philadelphia the first A.M.E. church. It was dedicated by Francis Asbury. 1926 - A wealthy Texas lumberman named D. E. Chipps entered the study of Pastor J. Frank Norris at the office of First Baptist Church of Fort Worth. Chipps threatened Norris and Norris believing his life was in danger, drew a pistol and killed Chipps. Norris was charged with murder but acquitted on the first ballot by the jury. Norris had a reputation as a bold and controversial preacher, but this incident caused some of his fundamentalist brethren to shy away from him. Norris would go on to pastor First Baptist in Fort Worth and Temple Baptist in Detroit simultaneously with a combined church membership of 25,000 people. July 18 1323 - Thomas Aquinas was named a saint by Pope John 22. Aquinas was a Dominican priest who wrote extensively on many theological subjects, but his views reflect that of the Roman Catholic tradition. For instance, while he supported the authority of scripture, he at the same time claimed that scripture could be interpreted only by the councils and the official church teaching. He attempted to harmonize secular philosophy and divine revelation while ignoring the Apostle Paul's warning in Col. 2:8. 1504 - Birth of Heinrich Bullinger, a Swiss reformer and associate and successor to Zwingli. He was involved with J. Calvin in preparing a Helvetic confession. 1823 - Birth of Archibald A. Hodge in Princeton, New Jersey. Son of Charles Hodge. A. A. Hodge was a professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was one of the most orthodox teachers and a sound expositor of scripture. 1870 - The First Vatican Council after considerable debate agreed on the doctrine of Papal Infallibility. This claims the pope is without error when he speaks from the office/seat of St. Peter. Such a teaching is without scriptural basis and is framed around the rules/orders of the Roman church. It is but another attempt to remove the authority of scripture by placing authority in the hands of men. 1925 - Adolf Hitler's book, MEIN KAMPF was published. It was Hitler's political minifesto presenting his theory of Germans as the master race and his hatred of the Jews as the major obstacle to German leadership. Unfortunately, Hitler borrowed phrases from M. Luther's invective against the Jews from during the Medieval Period. All Bible believers reject such nonsense and understand the correct place of Israel in the Divine Plan. July 19 1598 - Birth of Gilbert Sheldon, an English clergyman and one time Bishop of London and archbishop of Canterbury. He was severe against the English dissenters of his day. 1876 - Birth of Joseph F. Smith, president of the Mormon Church (1970-72) and President of the council of 12 from 1951-69. Let me suggest that the next time Mormon missionaries stop at your door ask them to read from the Mormon bible at the book of Almah, chapter 7 verse 10 where it speaks of Jesus to be born of Mary at Jerusalem. The point cut the obvious point that Jesus cannot be born at Bethlehem and Jerusalem both! They will respond with pointing out the Mormon text says "at Jerusalem" which they say means in the vicinity of --- You then say that it is clear that any book that cannot get the prophetic birth of the Messiah right is a book inferior to the Holy Scriptures which prophesied His birth 700 years earlier. 1938 - Death of evangelist & pastor, Paul Radar - was at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago from 1914-21 and later founded the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle. It was out of that church there came Lance Latham, who would found the AWANA ministry that is now world-wide. 2003 - Death of Bill Bright at the age of 8l, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. Along with his friend, Rev. Billy Graham, Bright helped energize America's evangelical Protestant movement after World War II, starting Campus Crusade as a small effort to preach the gospel and spread Christianity to students at UCLA, but the organization quickly prospered and spread to other campuses. Campus Crusade celebrated its 50th anniversary in 200l.
July 20 1591 Date of baptism of Anne Hutchinson in Alford, England. She proclaimed salvation by individual intuition of God without regard for church membership. Was banished from Massachusetts Colony and went to Rhode Island where she was killed by Indians. 1838 - Death of Welsh Baptist preacher named Christmas Evans. His name came from his birth at Christmas and he was instrumental in the spread of the gospel and revival in Wales. 1843 - The first Baptist church of Melbourne, Australia was formed by 15 persons under the pastorship of Rev. John Ham, who had arrived recently from England. 1866 - Birth of Charles R. Erdman in Fayetteville, New York a Presbyterian pastor. Erdman Publishers comes from his family. 1888
- Birth in England of Alwyn Williams, chairman of the committee
which prepared the New English Bible: New Testament from 1950-61,
the NEW is not seen often here in the United States and has
all but passed from public attention - here are some of its
phrasing. July 21 1515 - Birth of Philip Neri in Florence, Italy. Considered an outstanding figure of the Roman Catholic counter-Reformation. He is the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory. The Oratory is a place for church services, especially the Mass, often in connection with certain designated persons. As a priest, he sought to emphasize integrity and love instead of austerity as many other mission priests had done. 1681
- Date of the baptism by immersion of William Screven and his
wife, Bridget, at a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was a prosperous merchant, but also a man who sought protection
to worship according to his conscience. Because he was living
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony he was subject to their laws
that forbid teaching against infant baptism as well as requiring
attendance at the Puritan churches. 1773 - Date Pope Clement l4th issued orders suppressing the Jesuits for the controversies they had incurred. July 22 1209 - Date of the massacre of the Albignesians of southern France by Pope Innocent 3rd. The Abigensians were a group of purist Catholics who had their own translation of scripture and view the Bishop of Rome as the Antichrist. Innocent was determined to eliminate them and found a willing leader in Armald-Amalric, head of the Cisterians of France. The entire town of Beziers was murdered and sacked. Reportedly over 7000 women, children and elderly were killed in St. Mary Magdalene's church alone. Historian H. C. Lea said it was "a massacre almost without parallel in European history". 1581 - Death of Richard Cox, Bishop of Ely, England. An active promoter of the Protestant Cause in England. Helped compile the first English Book of Common Prayer. 1620 - Date of the sailing of the Separatist Puritan congregation from Scrooby, England to America. This would be the group called, the Pilgrim Fathers. 1680 - Date of the death of Richard Cameron, a Scottish Covenanter and leader in the nonconformist Presbyterian Movement in Scotland. 1763 - Birth of Calvin Chapin, in Massachusetts. He helped found the American Board of Foreign Missions. 1822 - Birth of Gregor Mendel, in Austria. He is best known for his research into the laws of inheritance through his breeding experiments with peas as a Augustinian monk. 1960 - Three major Lutheran groups met in convention to form the American Lutheran Church. July 23 1532 - Lutherans and Catholics signed the Peace of Nurenberg pledging united aid to Ferdinand, the Archduke of the Roman empire. This treaty also pledged mutual religious toleration until a council could be convened. Ferdinand was eager for this agreement as the Moslem leader, Suleiman was planning an attack upon Vienna. The massive numbers of these Protestant and Catholics discouraged Suleiman and he withdrew. 1870 - Death of Maria Taylor, wife and fellow-missionary with Hudson Taylor. Maria was living in China when she met Hudson and was one of the most skilled at speaking Chinese. She was at first put off by his strange behavior as he was the first Western missionary to adopt native Chinese dress and hairstyle. The other missionaries thought him a bit odd. Their courtship reflected the values and mores of Victorian England. They were married in 1858 with children to follow in the years ahead. In 1870, Maria was suffering from the effects of tuberculosis, and while pregnant, was the victim of a chill, following a bath. On July 20, a chubby little boy, named Noel, born thirteen days earlier died. Maria was weakened and developed a high fever. She went to be with her Lord and Savior about 7:30 the morning of July 23. Hudson Taylor would go on to remarry and live another 35 years, dying in June of 1905. July 24 1725 - Birth of John Newton in London. His life is one of amazing excitement and amazing grace. He became a sailor and as he plunged into a life of alcohol, he became involved in the lucrative African slave trade. But his degredation brought him to sell himself for liquor. God intervened and he became a believer and returned to England a new man. He would then work at ministry and write hymns, including perhaps the best known of all Christian hymns, AMAZING GRACE. 1921 - Death of Cyrus I. Scofield. Scofield served in the Confederate Army of the South and became a lawyer, following the American Civil War. God reached his heart with the gospel and he was converted. He became involved with a group of believers that sought to understand god's plan for the church and for Israel. This led him to study prophecy and out of that came the Scofield Study Reference Bible. July 25 1798 - Birth of Alfred Knapp in Germany. Compiled a collection of religious poetry. 1805 - Thousands attended the first Methodist camp meeting in Symrna, Delaware. 1823 - Birth of Benjamin T. Roberts in Gowanda, New York. He was expelled from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1858 due to his criticism of church practices. He founded the Free Methodist church in 1860. 1925 - Death of William J. Bryan, famed orator and statesman. He acted as prosecutor at the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. 1926 - Due to anti-church decrees by the government, the Mexican Catholic church announced suspension of all church rites in protest. July 26 1030 - Birth of Stanislaus, later first bishop of Cracow, Poland. He was murdered by King Boleslaw 2nd in 1079 for his denunciation of Boleslaw's excesses. 1566 - Birth of James Melville, near Montrose, Scotland. He was a Scottish reformer and leader who was nephew of Andrew Melville, who had succeeded John Knox as leader of the Scottish Reformed Church. James Melville's importance lies in his meticulous diaries and preservation of documents of that period. 1833 - A bill to abolish slavery in England passed the House of Commons. 1856 - Birth of George Bernard Shaw, British playwright and literary and social critic. He made fun of much of British society, including the hypocrisy in religious circles. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. He died in 1950. 1869 - The Irish parliament passed a bill creating the Irish Catholic Church. July 27 - john Allen, Archbishop of Dublin was murdered during the rebellion of Lord Thomas Fitzgerald. 1681 - Donald Cargill, a Scottish Covenanter leader was beheaded. He had been excommunicated after the insurrection against King Charles II of England. The Covenanters were Scots opposed to changing their forms of worship and who entered into covenants or compacts to resist such change by King Charles I in l637. The result was civil war and afterward more persecution for the Covenanters in 1666. 1669. 1685. 1865 - The government of Chile provided for freedom of religious worship for non-Catholics and allowed them to establish private schools. 1870
- Birth of Hilarie Belloc in Paris. A noted British Catholic
writer including a four 1891 - Birth of Douglas Horton in Brooklyn, New York and head of the Congregational Church from 1938-1955. He negotiated the merger of the Congregational Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed church in 1957. July 28 195 - Death of Irenaeus - bishop of Lyons, France -said that "the church is the depository of Christian teaching" - that would then lead to more emphatic statements of the power of the church, instead of the power of the Word of God. 1245 - Pope Innocent 4th convened the Council of Lyons to deal with what he called the "Five Wounds of Christ" - they were the corruption of the clergy, danger of the Saracen invaders, the schism between the Greek and Roman churches, the invasion of Hungary and the division between the Roman Catholic Church and Emperor Frederick 2nd. 1750 - Death of Johann Sebastian Bach - he was a gifted Lutheran composer who produced St. Matthew's Passion and St. John's Passion. 1804 - Birth of Ludwig Feuerbach born in Munich. After abandoning his theological studies, Feuerbach embarked upon a philosophical presentation that was anti-Christian. He influenced both David Strauss and Karl Marx with denial of God and the historicity of the Christian faith. He claimed God was an illusion and merely the projection of man's consciousness of the infinite. Men such as Feuerbach are described in detail in II Peter Chapter 2. 1881 - Birth of John G. Machen in Baltimore. He would become a strong leader in the Presbyterian denomination and often assailed liberalism and defended the orthodox Christian faith. He was educated at John Hopkins and Princeton and assisted in the founding of Westminster Theological Seminary. His book, NEW TESTAMENT GREEK FOR BEGINNERS, was my textbook in Bible College. July 29 1794 - Richard Allen, a converted slave, forms the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia after arriving there in 1786. His master had been converted but could only release Allen after he paid his master for freedom. Francis Asbury would ordain Allen 5 years later and his ministry would grow enormously. 1798 - Date of the death of John Barclaay, a Scottish Presbyterian who seceded from Presbyterian to form church groups called 'BEREANS'. He claimed the hallmark of Christianity was assurance of salvation. A number of churches were formed in England/Scotland. 1833 - Date of the death of William Wilberforce, noted British abolitionist. Wilberforce, who was influenced by John Milner, an Evangelical Anglican, worked with a number of others to eliminate slavery in the English domain. He was friends with John Newton, author of the hymn, AMAZING GRACE. Wilberforce's death occurred only three days after Parliament abolished slavery. 1968 - Pope Paul 6th issued an encyclical on the birth control issue, which reasserted the Catholic Church's position against the use of artificial means of birth control. July 30 1233 - Assassination of Konrad Marburg, a German priest. He was an inquisitor for German monasteries (1227) and was censured for his fanatical and limitless persecution. 1540 - Death of Robert Barnes, an English Protestant martyer who with two Lutherans was burned as a heretic. He was a friend of Martin Luther. 1809 - Birth of Charles Chiniquy, born in Canada who served as a Roman Catholic priest in Illinois for 25 years. But a childhood exposure to the Bible left him with a thirst for God's word. This would result in his conversion to faith in Christ instead of faith in the Roman Church. But his outspoken testimony of the failures of Catholicism brought persecution to him and when unjustly charged with rape he was defended by none other than a young Illinois lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. 1812 - Birth of Osmon C. Baker, a Methodist theologian in Marlow, New Hampshire, organized the Newbury Theological Seminary (in Vermont). Wrote administrative guide for Methodist Clergy. 1831
- Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born in Russia. Considered to
be the founder of the Theosophical Movement. The theosophical
movement is one of a religious philosophy with definite mystical
concerns. It had a revival in the 19th and 20th century. Blavatosky
proposed 3 elements to this religious philosophy - 1) An Omnipresent,
Eternal Principle - Not a personal God as scripture reveals,
2) the Eternity of the universe - not a created universe as
in the scripture, 3) identity of all souls with the universal
soul - not as individuals accountable to God as in scripture. July 31 448 - Death of Germain, Bishop of Auxerre at about 68 years old, helped establish clerical schools in Britain and opposed Pelagianism which deried that men received original sin from Adam. Pelagianism taught men were free from Adam's sin and could choose not to sin. Their doctorine was in conflict with much scripture on human depravity and God's unmerited grace. The Council of Carthage condemned Pelagianism in 418. 1396 - Death of William Courtenay, once Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a strong supporter of Papal authority. Especially worth noting is that Courtenay opposed John Wyclif, the famous English Reformer. In 1382, he led the Blackfriars Council that condemned much that Wyclif taught. It is sometimes called the Earthquake Council because an earthquake occurred at its meeting. Courtenay interpreted the earthquake to be vindication by God; Wyclif said it was expression of God's displeasure. 1556 - Death of Ignatius Loyola, Spanish co-founder of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits in 1541. His organization would be leaders in education, but their unwanted influence in politics would cause them to be banned at various times from countries around the world. Even the Papal hierarchy would clash with the Jesuits at times. 1765 - The ordination of John Fawcett, British Baptist who would write the hymn, BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS. 1874
- The first party of the Mennonites from Russia arrived to settle
in Manitoba, Canada. |