In AD 367, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria compiled a definitive list of New Testament books, establishing the canon that would shape Christian Scripture for centuries to come. His groundbreaking Easter letter, written on January 7, 367, marked a turning point in the church’s understanding of Scripture and its authority. When you open a Bible, you…
1921 HT: Dan Graves On this day, January 6, 1921, Alexander Whyte died quietly in his sleep. The eighty-five-year-old Scotsman had risen from poverty and illegitimacy to become one of the most prominent pastors in Scotland. His faith began when he was young. Sunday mornings, his hardworking mother, Janet Thomson, took him to the Free…
1743 HT: Dan Graves Muscle-builders and pregnant women know that anyone who grows too fast is liable to get stretch marks. Organizations that grow too rapidly can get stretch marks, too. That was the case with the Welsh Methodists in the early 1740s. Converts were coming in so fast that revival leaders were unsure how…
1934 HT Dan Graves After Hitler came to power, he confronted Christians in Germany with uncomfortable choices. At first, few pastors seemed to recognize where Hitler was taking the church. He sought to co-opt both Lutheran and Reformed churches to support his National Socialist Party. Many church people supported him. Sick of the decadence that had…