Biography

George Trosse and His Mental Struggles The vulnerable honesty of some Puritan diaries can be startling at a time when we tend to guard our words. Yet it is through this honesty that we understand the depths of human struggles and, in the case of the Puritans, the tenacious confidence in the...

Hannah Allen – Rescued from Serious Mental Struggles One of the most moving, honest, and encouraging stories of a battle with mental disturbances comes from a 17 th -century English Puritan, Hannah Allen, born around 1638 to pious parents. Her father, John Archer, a merchant, died when she was...

Leonor de Cisneros and Other Women of the Spanish Reformation When we think of the Protestant Reformation, countries like Italy and Spain rarely come to mind. And yet, they were deeply affected by it, even though its influence was quickly suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Inquisition in...

Katharina Schütz Zell – Church Mother of the Reformation Often described as “Church Mother,” Katharina Zell was one of the pillars of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most prolific women writers of her time. Unlike other well-known writers such as Katherine Parr, Marguerite of Navarre,...

To the Judicious and Impartial Reader James Renihan is back on the podcast to discuss his latest book with James and Jonathan, To the Judicious and Impartial Reader , an exposition of what is popularly known as the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. Dr. Renihan shines welcomed light on this...

Ian Shaw, Professor Emeritus at the School for Business and Society of the University of York, UK, has just done the church a great service by writing a well-researched book on the life of Leslie Land, a rather forgotten pastor in mid-20 th -century England who influenced his generation and the...

Francis Turretin and His Love for Biblical Truth Francis, the third of the seven children of Benedetto and Louise Turretin [1] , was born on October 17, 1623 and named after his paternal grandfather. Recognizing the boy’s exceptional intelligence, Benedetto encouraged his studies. But Benedetto...

Francis Turretin’s Italian Family The seventeenth-century Christian scholar Francis Turretin is well-known in Reformed circles. Little has been written about his life, probably under the assumption that the lives of scholars are generally uneventful. Since 2023 marks the 400 th anniversary of his...

Lactantius – An Original Writer Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius was born around the year 255 in North Africa. Quickly earning a reputation for his intellectual prowess, in 290 he was invited by Emperor Diocletian to serve as professor of Latin and rhetoric in Nicomedia of Bithynia (today’s...

Sybil Mosely Bingham and the Challenges of Missionary Life in Hawaii Sybil’s admission to the mission field reminds me of a scene of a movie. She was asking for directions to her accommodations when a young man offered to take her there. The man, Hiram Bingham, was preparing to leave as a...