history

Updating Foxe: The New Book of Christian Martyrs

Updating Foxe: The New Book of Christian Martyrs

In 1563, historian John Foxe told many of the earliest stories in a book that would become one of the most widely read works in the English language. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs chronicles hundreds of Christians who gave their lives or were persecuted for their faith from the New Testament all the way to his day. Through generations of expansions and editions, it became an indispensable classic.  

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was written from a Protestant perspective and, almost 50 years older than the King James Bible, is a challenging read. Recently, a pair of daring authors took up Foxe’s mantle to tell the stories of the martyrs afresh for modern readers. In The New Book of Christian Martyrs, Johnnie Moore and Dr. Jerry Pattengale of Indiana Wesleyan University offer accounts of heroes of the faith from the first to the 21st centuries. 

Why Caring for Children Has Always Been a Priority of the Church

Why Caring for Children Has Always Been a Priority of the Church

Nineteenth century India was a particularly brutal place for girls. Women were considered inferior to men and were not allowed to be educated or employed. Child marriage was a fairly common practice. Though the practice of sati (burning widows on their husband’s funeral pyres) had been abolished, the treatment of widows remained harsh. They were considered cursed and often subjected to terrible abuse at the hands of their husband’s family.

Biblical City of Sodom Has Been Found, Archaeologist Says: 'Wiped Out in the Blink of an Eye'

Biblical City of Sodom Has Been Found, Archaeologist Says: 'Wiped Out in the Blink of an Eye'

An archaeologist who claims to have located the city of Sodom says the location matches the biblical description and that the on-site physical evidence – includeing “glazed” pottery – supports his case.

How to Use Our Freedom to Serve Our Nation

How to Use Our Freedom to Serve Our Nation

On this July 3, I am grateful to live in a nation that honors my freedom of religion, but I know that America’s hope does not lie with America’s laws. If God’s people will choose to declare and defend biblical truth, wherever we are and whatever the consequences, God’s Spirit will use God’s word to change hearts and transform nations.

Evangelicals Flock to Saudi Arabia to See Biblical Sites, Search for Mt. Sinai

Evangelicals Flock to Saudi Arabia to See Biblical Sites, Search for Mt. Sinai

Saudi Arabia’s decision in 2019 to open its borders to tourists has led to a surprising number of evangelical Christians entering the country in search of biblical sites, according to a New York Times report.

Archeology Continues to Confirm Biblical Record

Archeology Continues to Confirm Biblical Record

New evidence reports Nathan Steinmeyer of the Biblical Archaeology Society is confirming the biblical description of the kingdom of Judah as it existed in King David’s time. This is significant, according to Steinmeyer, because “[d]espite King David’s prominence in the Hebrew Bible, little archaeological evidence has been directly linked to the early years of the Kingdom of Judah.” Because of this apparent discrepancy between the archeological record and the biblical description of the region during the 10th century B.C., “some scholars have argued that Judah only became a developed polity in the ninth or even eighth-century B.C.E.”

'Our Country’s Second Independence Day': Three Steps Toward Racial Justice and 'Enormous Joy'

'Our Country’s Second Independence Day': Three Steps Toward Racial Justice and 'Enormous Joy'

According to the Smithsonian Institution, “Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day.” On this day in 1865, some two thousand Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, where they announced that the more than two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. The day became known as “Juneteenth” by the newly freed people in Texas and eventually became a federal holiday.

Author of 'Onward, Christian Soldiers' Made History-Changing Contributions in Multiple Fields

Author of 'Onward, Christian Soldiers' Made History-Changing Contributions in Multiple Fields

On June 5, 1865, Anglican priest and polymath Sabine Baring-Gould wrote the processional hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers." The hymn was originally written for children walking to Horbury St. Peter’s Church near Wakefield in Yorkshire, England. Far from the cultural stereotype that the hymn earned Baring-Gould— that of a militant, narrow-minded clergyman fearful of and fighting against new knowledge— he actually led an impressive life, remaining keenly inquisitive about the world God has made.

Setting the Facts Straight about Constantine

Setting the Facts Straight about Constantine

On this day in A.D. 337, Emperor Constantine died. Many Christians think that Constantine was perhaps the worst thing to happen to the Church. They believe he made Christianity the imperial religion, thus leading the Church to compromise with pagan culture, marrying it to state power, and derailing the spread of the Gospel. The Church, they argue, was better off as a persecuted minority. After all, didn’t the Church father Tertullian tell us that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church?