Sunday, August 25, 2013

Bio of Augustine of Hippo - This Week in Christian History for the week of August 25-31


Augustine of Hippo was born in Thagaste Africa as a Roman citizen on November 13, 354. At age 11 he went to school and became familiar with philosophy and other Latin literature. His mother raised him a Christian, but he became a Manichaeist, a popular religion at the time. Augustine moved to Carthage to continue his education. He sought relationships with women and it was at this time he said his prayer, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.”

He began an affair with a woman in Carthage and was with her for 13 years, and had a son with her. Augustine began to teach at Carthage, but was disturbed by the behavior of the students there and moved to Rome. After being disappointment by the students there he secured a position as a professor of rhetoric at the imperial court. He began to drift towards Christianity, and his mother arraigned a marriage for him, although the girl was only 11 at the time. He broke off the engagement before the girl became of age.

Augustine heard a childlike voice which told him to read a passage from Romans and became saved. He and his son were baptized and he moved back to his family estate in Africa. His mother passed away on the trip and his son joined her soon after. Augustine sold all of the estate and gave the money to the poor. He kept the house where he started a monastery for a group of friends.

Augustine became a priest and then a bishop. He spent all of his time trying to convert the people of Hippo, especially those who had adopted the Manichaeism.  Augustine died on August 25th 430 during a siege of Hippo by the Vandals. The Vandals would eventually burn the town, except for Augustine’s cathedral and library.

Augustine is most remembered for his books, which were important in shaping Western philosophy. His “City of God” and “Confessions” are still popular today. His views on original sin and just war shaped views for centuries. Even Protestants view him as being theologically important due to his teachings on grace and salvation.

My new book, would you do what they did great Christian leaders from our past is now available to order from Amazon.com here is the link: Would You Do What They Did? - Great Christian Leaders From Our Past
It is also currently available at Barnes and nobles and should be available to order now or shortly from anywhere that sells books. The book is about Thomas Becket, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Francis of Assisi and is written in creative nonfiction style, I have excepts of the book here on my website williamdeanhamilton.net
Thank you for reading.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Bio of Francis Asbury - This Week in Christian History for the week of August 18-24

On August 20 or 21 1745 Francis Asbury was born in Hamstead Bridge England. His mother read the Bible to him for an hour every day as he was growing up. When he was 12 he dropped out of school to become a blacksmith’s apprentice. At age 16 he converted to Methodism and started to preach at 18. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, appointed him to be a travelling preacher. He volunteered to go to America in 1771. When the war broke out he had to hide for a while, otherwise he would have been forced to enter the war, but he remained neutral. He was the only English born preacher to remain until the end of the war.  

Asbury quickly became the American head of the Methodist Church, eventually getting the title of Bishop, although John Wesley was against this title. He travelled tirelessly through the new nation, preaching with great zeal. He organized districts to pastor to people in small town which were tended by riding circuit preachers. He pushed to spread the circuits to towns farther to the west, although they faced illness and Native American attacks.

He rose every morning at five to read the Bible. Asbury opened five schools and promoted Sunday school. He preached wherever he could, even if it was in the opened air. When he had started to preach in America there had been about 600 Methodists, but when he was done they numbered 200,000. While this was certainly not all his own doing, John Wesley himself preached along with about 4,000 other ministers. Asbury traveled about 6,000 miles a year on horseback.
He was also responsible for ordaining the first black minister in the United States. He was strongly opposed to slavery and petitioned George Washington to end it. He was saddened by the fact that some Methodist sold slaves and publicly stated so despite this not being popular at the time.

My new book, would you do what they did great Christian leaders from our past is now available to order from Amazon.com here is the link: Would You Do What They Did? - Great Christian Leaders From Our Past
It is also currently available at Barnes and nobles and should be available to order now or shortly from anywhere that sells books. The book is about Thomas Becket, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Francis of Assisi and is written in creative nonfiction style, I have excepts of the book here on my website williamdeanhamilton.net
Thank you for reading.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

The Jesuits - This Week in Christian History for the week of August 11-17


Ignatius of Loyola and six other students founded a group they called “The Company of Jesus” at Paris University on August 15th 1534.  Ignatius had gone to the university because he had tried to preach on his own, but had come under scrutiny by the Inquisition. The only fault they found in him was his lack of education. It might have been this lesson that helped to make education a central focus of their later work.

They went to Pope Paul II to gain approval, which they received. The group eventually became “The Society of Jesus,” or as it is known, the Jesuits. They wanted to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but were prevented from doing so by war. They concentrated on preaching and helping the poor. The group became an official order and Ignatius, as the head of the order, sent them throughout Europe to found schools. They also sent missionaries around the globe to preach the Gospel to those who had not heard it.

After a few years they added to their mission to try and stop the wave of Protestantism that had sprung up. The Jesuits saw the need to reform the Catholic Church, but saw the individual as key to achieving that end. They were vigilant against corruption, and this had made their popularity with pope and others vary considerably. These efforts helped to win back converts to Catholicism, especially in Poland and Lithuania. Jesuits became important members of Royal courts and most Catholic kings had a Jesuit confessor.

The school network was a resounding success. They had a reputation as being some of the best colleges for the time. They offered an education that was wider in scope than most of the other colleges. Today there are Jesuit schools in over a hundred countries.

Jesuits have been controversial at times. They have been accused of having too much power, especially when they were confessors to kings, and have even been outlawed by the pope for a few years. The Jesuits have survived and have had a positive influence on the Catholic Church overall.

My new book, would you do what they did great Christian leaders from our past is now available to order from Amazon.com here is the link: Would You Do What They Did? - Great Christian Leaders From Our Past
It is also currently available at Barnes and nobles and should be available to order now or shortly from anywhere that sells books. The book is about Thomas Becket, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Francis of Assisi and is written in creative nonfiction style, I have excepts of the book here on my website williamdeanhamilton.net
Thank you for reading.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Bio of Adoniram Judson - This Week in Christian History for the week of August 4-10


On August 9th 1788 Adoniram Judson was born to a congregational minister in Massachusetts. Judson enrolled in the college now known as Brown University at age 16, and graduated as Valedictorian at age 19. While there he befriended Jacob Eames who was a deist. Judson adopted the deist philosophy, which rejects miraculous events, but believes there is a god. It was the death of Eames that shocked Judson back into the Christian faith.

Judson joined a group of students known as “the Brethren” who were interested in missionary work. He went to London, but his ship was captured by pirates and he ended up in France. He crossed the channel to England and visited the missionary seminary before returning to New York. He was commissioned to do missionary work and was married. The couple arrived in India, but the local authorities and the English did not want them to evangelize Hindus and they were thrown out of the country.

Judson ended up in Burma, there had been a few missionaries who had come before him, but none had stayed there for long. It took Judson three years to learn Burmese. It was a year after that when he made his first public speech. Soon after he made his first convert, but the work was slow and any convert faced the possibility of the death penalty for converting.

Judson wrote a book about Burmese grammar and translated the Gospel of Matthew into Burmese. A printing press aided him and after ten years his congregation numbered 18. Brittan got into a war with Burma, and since he spoke English he was not trusted and accused of being a spy. Judson was imprisoned for almost two years in dreadful conditions. Soon after his release his wife died.

Judson fell into depression over the death of his wife, but after British war there was a change in the limitations that had been put on the missionaries. Judson and fellow missionaries contacted the Karen, people who are scattered throughout the jungles of Burma. They were much more receptive to the Gospel, and once converted willing to help spread it. Judson eventually got over the passing of his wife and remarried. He finished translating the Bible into Burmese. His wife died going back to America and Judson married yet again. His legacy still continues to this day as there are still large numbers of Christians in the region.

My new book, would you do what they did great Christian leaders from our past is now available to order from Amazon.com here is the link: Would You Do What They Did? - Great Christian Leaders From Our Past
It is also currently available at Barnes and nobles and should be available to order now or shortly from anywhere that sells books. The book is about Thomas Becket, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Francis of Assisi and is written in creative nonfiction style, I have excepts of the book here on my website williamdeanhamilton.net

Thank you for reading.