Topic Archives: History & Biography

Dr Ralph Davis is the Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He is to give three addresses at the annual Banner of Truth ministers’ conference in Leicester at the beginning of April. His coming is eagerly awaited. His commentaries on the OT historical books Joshua, Judges and I & […]

When I reflect on my spiritual pilgrimage, Reformed thinkers come to mind who became my mentors. The Dutch theologian Dr Herman Bavinck heads the list. I was introduced to his theology through his magisterial work, the four-volume Gereformeerde Dogmatiek (1906-1911) [Reformed Dogmatics], a gift from a generous host at whose place I stayed for a weekend […]

A Faith Worth Sharing: A Lifetime of Conversations about Christ, by C. John Miller (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian & Reformed. 1999) This book, written by one of the more noteworthy Presbyterian evangelists of the twentieth century, was edited posthumously by Dr. Miller’s daughters, Barbara and Roseann. In an introductory note, they write: ‘These are the […]

‘I need not tell you of this who knew him, that it was his great Design to promote Holiness in the Life and Exercise of it among you: But it was his great Complaint, that its Power declined among Professors. It was his Care and Endeavor to prevent or cure spiritual Decays in his own […]

This testimony of the new American President’s journey of faith been has widely circulated on the Internet. We long that his faith grow and he become a courageous and wise leader of the greatest nation in the world. * * * Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted by the Reverend Billy Graham. […]

How few are the followers of the Lord Jesus with whom we are personally acquainted. Then one day a window is opened upon another life and we are permitted a view of transforming and sustaining grace. So it was when the Times published an obituary of Dr Leigh Ashton (Tuesday, December 19, 2000): ‘A Life […]

Just before Thanksgiving I had flown to Greenville, South Carolina, to visit my stepmother and to help my father make some adjustments to living alone after she had moved into a nursing home. When my visit was over I left his house with enough time to drive by some of the places where I grew […]

Former President Jimmy Carter’s ‘resignation’ from the Southern Baptist Convention was intended to draw public attention—and it did. After all, it isn’t every day that one of the world’s most famous citizens denounces his denomination. The Tie No Longer Binds Mr Carter, now 76, has been America’s most active former president. His efforts at peace-making, […]

The Forest of Dean is a good base from which to visit sites connected with George Whitefield in Gloucestershire. I took some photographs of the old Bell Inn, the inside and outside of St Mary de Crypt, Rodborough Tabernacle (with Whitefield’s walking stick and chair), Whitfield’s Tump (spelt without the middle ‘e’) on Minchinhampton Common […]

In 1985 the Banner of Truth published the 6 volume Works of John Newton. The most valuable volumes are those that contain the famous letters of Newton and the Olney Hymns. Volume IV consists of fifty sermons by Newton on the texts used by Handel in his oratorio ‘Messiah.’ Newton had an uncertain relationship with […]

On September 2 Dr Joel Beeke, Minister of the Netherlands Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, gave three addresses to the Salisbury Conference at Emmanuel Church, Salisbury, England, on the theme, ‘Calvinism: Doctrinal, Practical, Experimental.’ The Conference as chaired by the pastor of the Emmanuel Church, Malcolm Watts. The following report was published in the English […]

Bishop J. C. Ryle was The Puritan Bishop, that is the Puritan Bishop par excellence, said Dr James I. Packer, Professor of Theology at Regent College, Vancouver, speaking in Liverpool on 9 September at a meeting chaired by the present Bishop of that city. His subject was ‘J. C. Ryle, the Puritan Bishop.’ Dr. Packer […]

Chris Harmse of South Africa is a hammer thrower. He holds the record on the African continent for that event. A big man in every way he had qualified for the South African team during a pre-Olympic event in Croatia on July 15. Then he discovered that the final of the hammer throw took place […]

In the extraordinary opening ceremony to mark the opening of the Olympic Games one of the climaxes of the evening was to see that one word that hung suspended from the giant arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The word was ‘ETERNITY’. It had also been hanging there on January 1 to greet the dawning […]

I would like to briefly mention some aspects of life in Turkey as a follower of Jesus Christ. From a spiritual viewpoint Turkey’s soil is hard, and life as a Christian is certainly not easy. For example, perpetrators of various crimes often seem to go unpunished, but anyone who becomes a follower of Christ (or […]