The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Church history anniversaries 2018


It's always good to think about what anniversaries might be coming up. These I am aware of for next year. 

Synod of Dort 1618-19 (400)
Nehemiah Wallington born 1618 (400)
William Bradshaw died 1618 (400)

Joseph Alleine died 1668 (350)
Thomas Coram born 1668 (350)

David Brainerd born 1718 (300)
John Cennick born 1718 (300) [I think this is right - not 1717]

Joseph Hart died 1768 (250)
Zachary Macaulay born 1768 (250)
Joseph Grigg died 1768 (250)

William Chalmers Burns died 1868 (150)

1 comment:

Gary Brady said...

A friend added these
Death of Dan Taylor 1738–1816. He worked in a Yorkshire mine from boyhood, was converted by the Methodists and began to study Greek, Latin and Hebrew in his spare time. In 1762 he left the mines to become minister of a local church in Lancashire, which left the Methodists and became Baptist, forming links with the surviving Arminian Baptists which led to the New Connexion of General Baptists in 1770. Taylor remained a leader of the New Connexion, moving to a London church in 1785. He believed in education for the ministry, and founded the Midlands Baptist College in 1797. His Methodist background and its emphasis on revival equipped him to be a vital force for evangelism.
Birth of Martin Rinkart 1568 at Eilenburg, Saxony. A German clergyman, Latin scholar and chorister, he wrote "Now Thank We All Our God." He served his church in Eilenburg during the horrors of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), and since more than 8000 died in his city Rinkart officiated at as many as forty funerals a day, including one for his own wife. However, this gifted poet, dramatist and musician demonstrated strong faith in these difficult times.
Birth of Elizabeth Payson Prentiss (1818-1878)Congregational Church school teacher and poet, many of whose poems have become hymns. After some years of school teaching, she married a Congregational minister in 1845. One of her poems has become the hymn "More Love to Thee," which was written out of a broken heart upon losing a child.
Birth of William "Billy" Franklin Graham 1918 William Franklin "Billy" Graham was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Educated at Bob Jones University, Florida Bible Seminar, and Wheaton College, he was ordained into the Baptist ministry in 1940. In 1943, he became the first evangelist of the newly formed Youth for Christ organisation, and it was his 1949 crusade in Los Angeles which catapulted him to fame.
Birth of William Law (1686–1761) ‘Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life’ (1728). The Wesleys, George Whitefield, and a host of other evangelists were his legacy. What he taught was the way to live a practical holy life. As his thought developed in the 1730’s towards mysticism, his young students parted ways with him. This vigorous champion of spirituality took on all comers in defence of Christianity. He feared no opponent. His last 20 years were spent in tireless devotions, study and charity.

1418: Thomas à Kempis writes The Imitation of Chris