10 Good men not made bishops

1. John Knox c1514-1572 (... Dudley, who saw Knox as a useful political tool, offered him the bishopric of Rochester. Knox refused, and he returned to Newcastle ....)

2. Bernard Gilpin 1517-1583 (... When the Roman Catholic bishop was deprived in 1560 he was offered the see of Carlisle; but he declined this honour ....)

3. Thomas Sampson c 1517-1589 (... he wrote again, signifying that a bishopric had been offered him, but he had refused to accept it; for which, he desired Peter Martyr not to censure him, till he became acquainted with the whole matter. He rejoiced that Parkhurst was made Bishop of Norwich. And Norwich, it seems, was the bishopric offered to him. This illustrious divine, therefore, refused the offered preferment, because he was thoroughly dissatisfied with the episcopal office, the popish habits, and the superstitious ceremonies .... see here)
4. John Rainolds 1549-1607 (... So contented was Rainolds himself with his position, and so ‘temperate,’ according to Wood, ‘were his affections,’ that he declined a bishopric which was offered to him by Queen Elizabeth .... see here)

5. Daniel Cawdry 1588-1664 (... At the Restoration he was recommended to Lord Clarendon for a bishopric. Instead he refused to submit to the Acts of Uniformity 1662, and was ejected ...)
6. Edmund Calamy 1600-1666 (... He was assiduous in promoting the return of Charles II, travelling to the Netherlands as one of the negotiators. After the Restoration in 1660 he was offered the bishopric of Coventry and Lichfield, but declined it ....)

7. Robert Baillie 1602-1662 (... He was, by Lauderdale’s interest, made Principal of the College of Glasgow, upon the removal of Mr Patrick Gillespie. About which time, it is commonly said that he had a bishopric offered him, but that he refused it ... see here)

8. Richard Baxter 1615-1691 ( ... He had been made a king's chaplain, and was offered the Bishopric of Hereford, but he could not accept the offer without assenting to things as they were. After his refusal, he was not allowed, even before the passing of the Act of Uniformity, to be a curate in Kidderminster ...)

9. Joseph Hill 1625–1707 (do not confuse with Joseph Hill 1667-1739 ... In London he went to Charles, who rewarded him for his pamphlet with a sinecure, and tried the offer of a bishopric if he conformed ....)

10. John Stott (... There was talk of his becoming Bishop of Manchester, but the Dean and Chapter took fright and nothing came of it ... see here)
Quotations from Wikipedia where not otherwise indicated)

10 Good Bishops or Archbishops

1. Ambrose of Milan 339-397

2. Augustine of Hippo 354-430

3. Anselm of Canterbury 1033-1109

4. Hugh Latimer of Worcester 1487-1555

5. Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury 1489-1556

6. John Hooper of Gloucester and Worcester c 1495-1555

7. James Ussher of Armagh 1581-1656

8. Daniel Wilson of Calcutta 1778-1858

9. J C Ryle of Liverpool 1816-1900

10. Marcus Loane of Sydney 1911-2009

(Other possibles: Nicholas Ridley of London 1500-1555, Edward Reynolds of Norwich 1599-1676, Reginald Heber of Calcutta 1783-1826 and Handley Moule of Durham 1841-1920)

Christians who XL

You may have seen the articles that for some reason caught my eye today reporting a study that suggests religious people in Britain tend, on average to be, how shall we put it, on the larger side. See here for example.

Basically, researchers from the University of Coventry have concluded that people of faith are more overweight than godless heathens, with Christians likely to be most overweight of all.

In research by Dr Deborah Lycett looking at the Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 7,000 people, it was discovered that people belonging to a religious group were on average almost a point higher than atheists.

Similar studies have already been conducted in the US, where one found the more dedicatedly religious someone is, the greater their chances of being overweight. The study looked at those who rarely prayed and those who attended worship every week.

Lycett’s study found that while Christians were the portliest, Sikh men came in at a close second, with a significantly higher waist-to-hip ratio … seen in Christian and Sikh men.”

There are plenty of reasons why this might be the case I guess. Perhaps religious people concentrate more on their souls than their bodies. If that is the case, then wrong theology is creeping in somewhere.

10 Biographies of Christian Women

We've been doing some book shifting and for convenience I've put all the biographies of Christian women we have in one place. There are quite a few, which is good. I thought I'd try a list of just 10 here, most of which we have. You could add to it in the comments if you wish.


1. Susanna (Wesley) Arnold Dallimore
2. This Is My Story This Is My Song the autobiography of Fanny Crosby
3. By searching Isobel Kuhn
4. The hiding place (Corrie ten Boom) John and Elizabeth Sherrill
5. Joni Eareckson Tada Her Story an autobiography
6. Idelette ie Idelette de Bure wife of Calvin, Edna Gerstner
7. Selina: Countess of Huntingdon Faith Cook
8. Mrs C H Spurgeon Charles Ray
9. Anne Bradstreet Faith Cook
10. Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love To Thee Sharon L James


There are also Luther and his Katie by Donna MacCuish and Jonathan and Sarah an uncommon union by Edna Gerstner.