Historical Cycles: The Post-Napoleonic Context of Adolphe Monod, Reveil, and Some Contemporary Analogies (IV)

The story of Monod is in some ways inspiring – in other respects he is something of a disappointment. The men of Reveil are closer to our times and thus they lack the mystique that some further back in history are able to generate. That said, Monod's story is worth considering and reflecting on. But his context has to be understood and it always strikes me how there are both parallels and huge differences with the American and British context. Indeed in many ways it's a key moment where the three cultural and ecclesiastical sections sharply diverge – America and the Continent being the most extreme in terms of difference with Britain moving along its own track that today has brought it to the same place as the Continent. For Americans this should serve as a stark warning – perhaps a harbinger of what is to come.

Historical Cycles: The Post-Napoleonic Context of Adolphe Monod, Reveil, and Some Contemporary Analogies (I)

I recently finished Constance Walker's small biography on Adolphe Monod (1802-1856) which I would recommend to anyone interested in nineteenth century conservative Protestantism on the European continent – of which there is not a great deal. This is why figures like Monod stand out.

A Final Appeal: The First Reformation Applied to the Contemporary Context (Part 1)

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XVII)

The time is now.

These essays have attempted to survey Church history and re-cast it in a narrative frame at odds with the often tight, packaged, and frankly sometimes disingenuous renderings provided by denominational partisans and the advocates of Christendom – or the fiction that is often referred to as Judeo-Christian civilisation. This revisiting and questioning of common Protestant and Evangelical narratives of Church History is essential if one is to understand and navigate the present context.

Christian Nonviolence and Pacifism: Some Badly Needed Clarifications (Part 4/Conclusion)

Apart from the Scriptural evidence that supports the nonviolent and pacifist position, there is a significant testimony to be found in Church History.

The Razor's Edge: Covenant Faithfulness and Apostasy Part III

When you break with a group like the Brethren you have taken a wholly different path and it's no surprise that some who have done this end up working out the implications.

For many years I've often thought about someone like Garrison Keillor, host of the radio show 'A Prairie Home Companion'. He's retiring this year and has recently been making the news. Many people mistake him for being a Lutheran as his show based on a fictional town in Minnesota often pokes fun at Upper-Midwestern Christian and thus Lutheran culture. But Keillor was raised Plymouth Brethren and he's mentioned it many times in the show and done pieces about how his family didn't celebrate Christmas etc...