Blogging the Reformers: John Calvin

John Calvin was born on July 10th, 1509 in a humble family. He began by studying for the priesthood, but his father later transferred him to the study of law. When he was at the University of Orleans God saved him when he was about 23 years old through the study of the scriptures. When he was saved he would study the Bible at night after studying law during the day. In 1533 he returned to Paris, and continued teaching those around him. The same year he was forced to flee because of a bold sermon he wrote for his friend Nicholas Cop, a Protestant who was rector of the university. He moved on to Switzerland, where he published the first edition of his great work, Institutes of the Christian Religion in March, 1535. In it he gave a systematic theology of the Christian religion. He continued to revise it throughout his life. He then went to Italy, and after a time was captured by the Catholics. He was rescued by some friendly soldiers, and then he traveled north again. On his was he stopped by Geneva for the night. Geneva had been recently reformed through the work of William Feral and others. Feral asked him to stay in Geneva instead of going on to Strasbourg to study. He said, “Ought the servants of Jesus Christ to be so delicate as to be frightened at warfare? ... May God curse your repose ! may God curse your studies, if in such a great necessity as ours you withdraw and refuse to give us help and support!”1 Calvin agreed, and he became a pastor at Geneva. He helped continue to work for the reform in Geneva. At that time he also helped defend true doctrine in other churches. He was an able debater against heretics. In 1538 he was banished from Geneva for three years by the enemies of the reformation, but after that time he returned. While he was banished he married Idelette de Bure. When he returned to Geneva he continued to teach and preach. He had a great effect on other reformers from other nations, and Geneva sent out hundreds of missionaries to places as far as Brazil.2 He was the most able defender of the Reformed faith from all its enemies. He died in 1564. He was one of the most prominent reformers, and he has had a great effect on many people through his writings, even to this day.

1 J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 2000) volume 3, book ix, p. 460-461

2 Ray Van Neste John Calvin on Evangelism and Missions. Web. http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue04/calvin.htm Accessed December 22nd, 2009

Sufficiency of Scripture Conference Pictures

I helped take pictures at the Sufficiency of Scripture conference a few weeks ago. Here are a few that I took:

Mr. Phillips

Scott Brown

Conference Attendees

Blogging the Reformers: Mathurin Cordier

Mathurin Cordier was born in 1540. He was a French teacher. He did not just teach because of ambition, he desired for his students to actually learn. He was one of the best teachers in France. He taught John Calvin when he was fourteen. Calvin later said, “O Master Mathurin, O man gifted with learning and great fear of God! When my father sent me to Paris, while still a child ... it was God's will that I should have you for my teacher, in order that I might be directed in the true path and right mode of learning; and having first commenced the course of study under your guidance, I advanced so far that I can now in some degree profit the Church of God.”1 Though neither of them were saved at the time, Cordier later was saved and fled to Geneva where Calvin was the preacher. The professor then studied under his former pupil. He died in Geneva in 1564, the same year as Calvin.

Sufficiency of Scripture: Day 2

The first keynote on the second day was by Voddie Baucham on "The Sufficiency of Scripture for Manhood and Womanhood." The next message was by Doug Phillips on "The Sufficiency of Scripture and the Heart of NCFIC." The next five messages were break-outs. I ran sound in one of the breakout sessions, which was "Scripture is Sufficient for Women’s Ministry Part 1: Teachers of Good Things." The next breakout, "The Sufficiency of Scripture and Personal Evangelism" by Paul Washer was in my room. It was a very good talk. The last breakout for the day in my room was, "Scripture is Sufficient for Women’s Ministry Part 2: Keepers at Home," by Jeff Pollard. The next message was the keynote,"Is the Sufficiency of Scripture a Bible Doctrine?" by Dr. Joe Morecraft, which I was not able to hear. Then there was another keynote, "Scripture is Sufficient for Ministry to Youth" by Scott Brown. The last keynote was, "The Sufficiency of Scripture and the Gospel," by Paul Washer. I was able to hear most of it and it was a very good message. It made people really question whether or not they are saved, and if they really love Jesus.

Tyranny Eve

Tomorrow morning a group of men will gather on the steps of the Capital building to protest the Health care bill. I may be going. To learn more, view the video below and visit TyrannyEve.com.

A Snowman

Here is a snowman that we made today:

Sufficiency of Scripture: Day 1

We arrived in Covington, Kentucky around 2:30 am for the Sufficiency of Scripture Conference. After we ate breakfast at our hotel, we went to the Ohio Book Store. We could not stay very long because Daddy had to go to a leadership luncheon. After we ate lunch, Joshua and I took a box of our book, Sanctified by God, to the NCFIC book table. We stayed over there until the first keynote. The first keynote was by Scott Brown called "Do Not Learn the Ways of the Gentiles." After that Doug Phillips gave a message on "The Defining Battles in the War Against the Sufficiency of Scripture." The final message for the night was by Ken Ham on "Our Declining Church and Culture: the Genisis Connection and How to Continue a Godly Heritage." Joshua and I did not hear the last two because we were helping with recording. We will be posting some pictures later.

Snow in North Carolina!

Right now it is snowing in North Carolina! There is less than an inch on the ground now, but it is supposed to snow all night. My mother said she only remembered it snowing before Christmas once before in the 36 years she has lived here. We are at my father's office building in Durham right now, and here are a few pictures. We will try to post again tomorrow.

Snowflakes falling

Blogging the Reformers: Queen Joanna

Joanna was born to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in 1479. Her parents were Catholics and persecuted the Christians in their kingdom. Her parents married her to Phillip, Archduke of Burgundy. Around this point in her life she began to move toward the Christian religion that her parents persecuted. She refused to participate in the Roman Catholic services. In 1500 she had a son, who would later be Emperor Charles V. He would be one of the great persecutors of the Christians. In 1504 her mother Isabella died, leaving Joanna as the next heir to the throne. But since she was a Christian, her husband and father conspired to keep her from taking the throne by claiming that she was insane. She was kept in a cruel prison until her death in 1555, at the age of 76. As she was dying she refused the Roman rites, and her last words were, “Jesus Christ crucified, be with me.”1

She was buried at Granda, Spain. We visited that castle on our trip to Europe this spring. Here are a few pictures.



1 J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin(Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 2000) volume 4, book XIV, p. 139

Blogging the Reformers: Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex

Thomas Cromwell was the servant of Henry VIII, king of England. He was born in lowly estate in 1485, and was raised by the king to be one of the principle men of the kingdom. He was a Protestant, and worked to establish the true religion in England. He was the king's chief minister for eight years, and served him faithfully. His main mistake was to be to faithful to Henry even when he turned against the gospel. Henry was very inconsistent and variable throughout his reign. At one point Henry would incline towards the Protestants, and at another toward the Catholics. In 1540 the Catholics convinced him to arrest Cromwell because he was one of the best proponents of the gospel. The charges presented against him were clearly falsehoods, so the Catholics decided to proceed without trial. Even though Cromwell had always been faithful to him, Henry ordered him to be beheaded. As his hour of death drew near, Cromwell wrote, “Lord! Into thy hands I commend my soul; Lord Jesu! Receive my Spirit! Amen.”1 He was beheaded on July 28th, 1540. Henry later realized that he had executed his most faithful servant, and regretted it until his death.

1 J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 2000) volume 4, book XV, p. 224

Hilton Head - Day 2

The next day, November 29th, we drove down to Savanah, Georgia. The first place we stopped was Fort Pulaski. Fort Pulaski was a Civil War fort named after a Polish general in the revolutionary war who was wounded near Savanah and died shortly after. Fort Pulaski was captured near the beginning of the Civil War. It was designed by Robert E. Lee while he was an engineer in the army before the war. The Confederate commander surrendered the fort even though he could of held it for much longer. After that, we drove down to the river walk and ate lunch at a shrimp restaurant. We stopped by some candy places on the way back to the car and ate samples. Then we went to the visitors center, and bought a driving tour CD. It was very interesting, but all of the squares in Savanah got kind of boring. We could not take many pictures because our camera battery was almost dead. Here are some pictures that we did take:

One the fort's cannons

One of the walls of the fort

Another one of the cannons

The drawbridge of the fort

A mural of General Pulaski on the side of a monument to him in Savanah

Hilton Head - Day 1

On November 27th, we drove down to Hilton Head, SC to spend the weekend with our Grandparents. On November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, Grandma, Grandpa, Rachel and I went on the beach to take a walk, and to fly a kite which they gave us. It was fun. Daddy, Joshua and Mommy had to stay back to work on the book, Sancitified by God. It was too cold to go swimming in the ocean. When we came back, we started preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. We ate at about 2:00 pm. After that, we all went for a walk on the beach. Here are some pictures:

Our kite

My Grandmother

The ocean

The Sunset

Daddy flying the kite

From Left to Right, Grandma, Mommy and Rachel

Sanctified By God

We recently finished my father's first book, Sanctified By God: A Call to Keep the Christian Sabbath. It is currently at the printers, and will be available this weekend at the Sufficiency of Scripture conference.

We are commanded by God to "Be holy for I am holy." But the first time God declares something holy, it is not a person but a day. By setting that day apart, He set a pattern for all men everywhere to follow, and those who do not do so are rebelling against God. We are to treat the Sabbath holy as a sign that God has set us apart to Himself. This book is a call for Christians to return to keeping the Sabbath and walking as a people sanctified by God.

If you will not be at the Sufficiency of Scripture conference, you can preorder it online now. It is on our new website, ReformingToScripture.com, which is currently under construction.

Fort Branch Reenactment

On November 7th we went to a Reenactment at Fort Branch, NC. I enjoyed it. We filmed some, and also took a lot of pictures. It was good, and I would like to go to another one. At Fort Branch there are some original breastworks that the Confederates made. You can go to their website here. There was not really a battle here during the Civil War because the Confederates retreated before the Federals' advance, but they have a reenactment anyway. Here are some pictures:

A Calvary Skirmish

The Union Advance

The Confederate Battle line

A Confederate Cannon Firing

Military Mistakes of World War I – Part 1

Mistakes of World War 1

1. Part 1
2. Part 2

by Joshua Horn
based on The Great War by Winston Churchill

World War I began in 1914. It quickly spread throughout all of Europe, and much of Africa and the Middle East. It was one of the bloodiest wars of human history, with 37 million casualties. In Great Britain alone there were over 1 million dead, one third of the British male population were casualties. Until World War II it was called the Great War and the War to End All Wars. The war had a great lasting effect. In England and France the people believed that after that war there would be nothing worth fighting for again. This greatly contributed to World War II. There were many mistakes made on the Central Powers' side which caused the war to be lost and on the Allied side caused it to be greatly prolonged. Today we will look at three of the mistakes: the German navy's failure to attack, the Allies’ destructive frontal assaults and the battle of the Dardanelles.

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