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This week in Christian History

After this post I did a little reading on it. The Gutenburg Bible is suppose to be the most expensive book in the world although none have been sold since 1978. Took several years to print and is a copy of the Latin Vulgate. This was the beginning of what we would now call "mass production" of Bibles lowering the cost tremendously and making them more available to the common man. Until the printing press Bibles often took years to complete and cost the equivalent of several years salary.

As a side note, "what is your favorite Bible version"? I have several but love the Revised Standard Version.
 
That is an interesting question to raise. I don't really have a favorite, but like the New American Standard Bible (NASB) for its reputed textual accuracy. I find it is a little less "stiff" reading than the KJV. I do not enjoy the blandness of the NIV - as one person said, "It is neither fish nor fowl".

I find that using both a NASB and a copy of Eugene Peterson's "The Message" provides a combination of the solidity of accurate translation and practical, modern-day relevance.

But no translation lends itself to memorization and poetic form like the King James Version, IMO.

For doing study and research for speaking prep, I like the online NET bible because it gives a lot of in-text references to original language nuances, which is huge, in my experience. It's a great study resource.

Here is the link to a good study tool -

http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm
 
http://www.biblegateway.com/

i use this link alot to study.it has all the versions,and u can just type in any word in the Bible and it will reference that word in bold letters.
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

February 8, 356 - Athanasius is exiled for the third time for speaking against Arianism, a doctrine which taught that Jesus was not equal to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Some people suffered much in their efforts in preserving sound church doctrine for future generations.

This week, in 1535, some Anabaptists needed reigning in, :oops: which, it appears, they received.

February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded . . .

"February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffers a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge . . ." and immediately got married - an acrimonious relationship which bore strong testimony to the adage "marry in haste, repent at leisure." Hmmmm, a timely lesson here for someone? :)

"February 12, 1915: Blind hymnwriter Fanny Crosby dies at age 95 after writing more than 8,000 texts."

Abe is born this week, a young woman sees visions, Christians are brutally martyred for their faith . . .
 
burnt said:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

February 8, 356 - Athanasius is exiled for the third time for speaking against Arianism, a doctrine which taught that Jesus was not equal to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Some people suffered much in their efforts in preserving sound church doctrine for future generations.

This week, in 1535, some Anabaptists needed reigning in, :oops: which, it appears, they received.

February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded . . .

"February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffers a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge . . ." and immediately got married - an acrimonious relationship which bore strong testimony to the adage "marry in haste, repent at leisure." Hmmmm, a timely lesson here for someone? :)

"February 12, 1915: Blind hymnwriter Fanny Crosby dies at age 95 after writing more than 8,000 texts."

Abe is born this week, a young woman sees visions, Christians are brutally martyred for their faith . . .
Click to expand...

Burnt...who is "Abe" and what was the date?
 
burnt said:
Whoa, a Canuck telling an American his own history?? :oops: :oops: :oops: :wink:
Click to expand...

Oh shoot....how was I to know you were changing the subject on me? I was thinking about the Bible and History of Christianity and wondered "how does Burnt know when Abraham waas born". :lol2:
 
TexasBred said:
burnt said:
Whoa, a Canuck telling an American his own history?? :oops: :oops: :oops: :wink:
Click to expand...

Oh shoot....how was I to know you were changing the subject on me? I was thinking about the Bible and History of Christianity and wondered "how does Burnt know when Abraham waas born". :lol2:
Click to expand...


OOOOOOkay, I guess I can buy that! :D
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

On this date in 1633, Galileo faced the Inquisition for his belief that the earth revolved around the sun. Everyone KNEW that the sun revolved around the earth . . .

"February 17, 1889: Former White Stockings baseball player Billy Sunday preaches his first evangelistic sermon in Chicago. . . " Billy went on to preach for many years and was widely known for his "energetic" delivery and very strong prohibition message. Watching video or reading clips of his preaching leaves doubt that he meant what he said.

"February 18, 1546: German reformer Martin Luther dies . . ."

"February 18, 1564: Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian Renaissance artist whose works include the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, dies."

This week in 1678 "Pilgrim's Progress" is published. In it, John Bunyan allegorically describes his coming to faith. Almost 350 years later, it is still a captivating read.
 
I don't know where the writer of the article on Wycliff got his information, but the church's problem with Wycliff was about his alternate teaching about the Eucharist and a rejection of church authority.
"Sale of indulgences" was something more in Luther's time, as when the pope called for help to rebuild St. Peter's cathedral some poorly educated priests wrongly sold indulgences. Some history books have claimed that the pope authorized such sales, but not so.
"Worship of saints" is also a mystery, as the Catholic church has never worshiped saints.

Also on the Galileo story, it wasn't really the teaching that the earth revolves around the sun.
Many other things came into play here: Galileo wanted to change the bible to match his findings, and with the protestant churches against anything like that, the pope not wanting to further separate them, forbid Galileo to teach that. Also it seems some other misunderstandings between Galileo and the pope.
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

"February 21, 1109: Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury recognized as the "founder of Scholasticism," dies. One of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages, his treatise Why Did God Become Man was the greatest medieval treatise on the atonement. He is also known for his ontological argument for the existence of God". . . . . . in our day of aggressive atheism, when fewer people than ever believe in God, how would you speak to them of your experience with Him? Scholasticism - the system of learning that emphasized "rigorous conceptual analysis" and highly functional debating methods.

"February 23, 155 (traditional date): Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, is martyred. Reportedly a disciple of the Apostle John, at age 86 he was taken to be burned at the stake. "You try to frighten me with fire that burns for an hour and forget the fire of hell that never burns out," he said . . ." (more) What makes for such a strong faith?

"February 23, 1685: George Frederick Handel, composer of the oratorio "Messiah," is born. He died in 1741, having spent the last six years of his life in total blindness." 326 years later his music is performed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE , at a mall about 2 1/2 hrs from our home!

"February 24, 1208: Francis of Assisi experiences a vision in the church of Portunicula, Italy. Though not his first vision, it convinced him to begin . . ."

February 24, 1582: Gregory XIII . . . changes calenders!

"February 25, 1536: Anabaptist Jakob Hutter is tortured, whipped, and immersed in freezing water (to mock baptismal practices), then doused with brandy and burned. King Ferdinand had ordered the persecution. . ." nasty treatment for a Christian . . .

February 26, 1857: Charles Sheldon is born. He wrote "In His Steps", a book that has held a profound influence on the lives of many.

And much more . . .
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

"February 27, 280: Constantine, the first Roman emperor converted to Christianity, is born. Though some scholars question the authenticity of Constantine's conversion (which came after he saw a vision on the battlefield), the emperor did seek to settle church controversies by calling the Council of Nicea in 325 . . . "

-The significance of Constantine lies in the major change in how those of Christian faith were accepted into society. Constantine ended the horrific persecution of Christians that his predecessor, Diocletian, had poured out on believers. Constantine built churches, repressed paganism and was baptized shortly before he died.
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

On this date in 1475 Michelangelo Buonarotti is born. Seems he got pretty handy with a paint brush and a hammer and chisel!

"March 7, 203: Perpetua, a Christian about 22 years old, her slave, Felicitas, and several others are martyred at the arena in Carthage. . . ."

Perpetua was a woman of nobility who accepted the Christian faith in a time when such an act was forbidden by Emperor Septimius Severus.

The worst terror her imprisonment was the separation from her unweaned child. Two deacons from the church bribed the guards and thus her mother brought the infant son to Perpetua to be nursed and kept. (WIKI)

A significant and little known part of her legacy is that the account she wrote of her sufferings and visions while in prison is believed to be the earliest Christian writing left to us by a woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetua_and_Felicity

"March 8, 1915: The U.S. Supreme Court finds religious education in the public schools in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution."

"March 9, 1831: Evangelist Charles Finney concludes a six-month series of meetings in Rochester, New York. The meetings, which have been called "the world's greatest single revival campaign," led to the closing of the town's theater and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions (see issue 20: Charles Finney)." Maybe it's time for another Finney to make his appearance . . .

As early as 1685 there were those like George Berkeley who saw the folly of separating science from faith . . .

And much, much more . . .
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

"March 13, 1456 (traditional date): Johann Gutenberg first publishes the Bible on his printing press with movable type."

This week in Christian History shows how Martin Luther received the impetus to write his famed 95 Theses.

A ruler is "excommunicated for making peace instead of war" . . .

"March 19, 1813: Missionary-explorer David Livingstone is born in Blantyre, Scotland . . ." Livingstone grew up knowing the reality and value of hard work from his employment (beginning at the age of 10) in a cotton mill where he spent 12 hour days tying broken pieces of cotton thread together as they fed into a spinning machine. That grueling experience was highly formative in his humanitarian views.

His dedicated Christian father tried to steer the inquisitive David toward strictly theological books, fearing the "subversive" influence of books of science. Yet David, driven by his innate desire for discovery, learned how science and faith were highly complementary rather than mutually exclusive.

When he began his education, he hoped to go to China as a missionary, but circumstances led him toward working in Africa.

Livingstone's unique, non-threatening approach to exploring the land and presenting the Gospel message resulted in him making far greater advancements in the opening of the Dark Continent than any other who made the attempt before him.

His story makes for tremendously enjoyable reading and presents many examples of how a mission, any mission, can become more successful by proper adaptation of the culture which we hope to learn from or influence.
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

"March 21, 1685: German organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach is born in Eisenach, Germany. Though largely unrecognized in his day and forgotten for years after his death, he has since become recognized as one of history's unequalled musical masters. But music was never just music to Bach. Nearly three-fourths of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship. Between his musical genius, his devotion to Christ, and the effect of his music, he has gained recognition in many circles as the "Fifth Evangelist." "

"March 21, 1747: Slave trading sea captain John Newton dramatically converts to Christianity during a violent storm. He is best known for penning the hymn "Amazing Grace" "

March 21, 1788 is the day that we lost one of history's most prolific hymn writers, John Wesley. Do you know how many hymns he wrote, and some of their titles?

But then 32 years later "March 24, 1820: Blind hymnwriter Fanny Crosby, author of more than 9,000 hymns, is born. Her works include "Blessed Assurance," . . . "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross."

Well, for some reason, the week's selections from the list show a decidedly musical bent - perhaps a reflection of the more spring-like conditions that we have enjoyed here in Southern Ontario recently! So, for the broader view of what happened on this week in Christian history, just click on the link and see for yourself! As you might guess, our history is not all about music and good times, but also has a large portion of darkness and suffering. But believers understand that the best is yet to come!
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thisweekinchristianhistory/

"March 27, 1667: English poet John Milton publishes Paradise Lost, an epic of humankind's creation and fall."

In 1661, Scotland saw Presbyterianism quashed in favor of Episcopalianism. But less than 30 years later, the Presbyterian church once again became the "Church of Scotland" . . .

March 28, 1937: Billy Graham, on very short notice, delivers his first sermons(s) - what a beginning to a profoundly influential career!

March 30, 1858: Episcopal minister Dudley Tyne loses his arm in a bizarre circumstance, resulting in the song "Stand up, stand up for Jesus" . . .

"March 31, 1732: Franz Joseph Haydn, mentor to both Beethoven and Mozart, is born in Austria. His greatest contribution to church music is probably his 1798 oratorio The Creation."

"April 1, 1745: David Brainerd begins his missionary work among the Native Americans of New Jersey . . ."

April 2, 1986 - Some very special people were born on this date, right BMr and Tam? :wink:

And much more!

Has anyone discovered how to access past issues of "This Week in Christian History"? Clicking on the link from former postings only brings up the current week's listings.
 
There is a past issues link on the left, click on it and then at the bottom click on page 1 for issues 1-25.
 

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