As historians look at history, they seek to discern the forces or people that have shaped the past. My own historical convictions have led me to focus on people as the main actors on the stage of history, not economic forces or ideologies per se. Yet there is definitely a place to evaluate the…
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The searing image of five screaming children fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam in June 1972 was one of the iconic photographs of the twentieth century. Kim Phuc, the central child in the photo, suffered life-changing burns. She was left with physical and psychological scars, and a burden of anger and bitterness. When Kim…
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During the 250th anniversary of George Whitefield’s birth (1714), Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones described Whitefield as the ‘greatest evangelist England has ever produced’, but also as the ‘most neglected man in church history’. Were ‘the Doctor’ with us today, would he think Whitefield as neglected on the 250th anniversary of his death (30 September 1770)?…
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This month – September – marks the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower. In popular perceptions the ‘pilgrims’ are Puritans who left England in 1620 seeking religious freedom. But how well do we know them? 1. Many don’t class them as Puritans The Puritans aimed to complete the reformation of the Church…
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As a leap year, February in 2020 had 29 days. So did 1640, and on 29 February 1640, in the remote Buckinghamshire parish of Stoke Hammond, Benjamin Keach was born to John and Joyce Keach. He became a prominent preacher in London after 1668. He was the most prolific writer among the Particular Baptists…
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Mincaye Enquedi (90) passed away peacefully at home in the tiny village of Tzapino on 28 April 2020. Very few people will know the name, and fewer still will mourn his passing. While he was largely unknown on earth, he is now, by God’s grace, well known in heaven. Mincaye, meaning wasp, was born…
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Our third article of excerpts from SASRA in the Second World War concern the end of the war and continuing need of Christian witness to the Army and RAF. An account from a SASRA Rest Room on the first VE day: VE-DAY found us prepared — The Union Jack fluttered from our top window…
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Our second excerpts from the book, SASRA in the Second World War, follow some of the Scripture Readers who accompanied the Army and RAF overseas. Twelve went to France in 1940 with the British Expeditionary Force: There is no doubt as to the responsiveness of the men as there is equally no doubt concerning…
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Often described as the greatest Scotsman of his age, Thomas Chalmers was something of a polymath. He became a colossus for evangelical historic Calvinism in Scotland in his day and arguably the most influential instrument used by the Lord in his Church in Scotland since John Knox. It wasn’t like that initially though, for,…
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On 8 May this year, Britain will commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the end of the Second World War in Europe. SASRA (Soldiers’ & Airmen’s Scripture Readers Association) is marking this anniversary with the ‘peace2020’ initiative. This includes: a daily devotional (‘40 Days to Peace’); a pack to help churches organise…
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Often described as the greatest Scotsman of his age, Thomas Chalmers was something of a polymath. He became a colossus for evangelical historic Calvinism in Scotland in his day and arguably the most influential instrument used by the Lord in His Church in Scotland since John Knox.                 It wasn’t like that initially, though, for,…
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‘[She] was born a Catholic and became a convinced and zealous Puritan; she was born to a sheltered and secure life and, by her own honesty and outspokenness, she courted persecution and lived in danger. She was a woman of wit and beauty and charm, and of great integrity… Many whose thinking and writing…
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