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Church History
"Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jer. 6:16).
"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set" (Prov. 22:28).
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The following is recommended reading on the subject of Church History. Why? The authors endeavored to find and compile true accounts of the, all too often, unheard of faithful remnant which has existed down through the centuries of the Church age. Indeed! With unbiased minds and open hearts these men present an honest and accurate account of the lives of saints who did more than just believe in their heart, they lived out Christ through their lives. The accounts include a multitude of stories of men and women willing to pay practically any price for not only finding God, but also, walking in His will.
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Foxe's Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, Harold J. Chadwick.
This is a book that will never die - one of the great Christian classics describing the heroism and martyrdom of countless believers, beginning with the Early Church. Written with passion and tenderness, it tells the dramatic, true stories of men, women, and children who, in the face of indescribable persecution, gave their lives for the sake of Christ.
Covering the broad sweep of church history from the early church to the beginning of American foreign missions in the early 1800s, Fox's Book of Martyrs continues to inspire and strengthen countless Christians with a vision of faith that, both in life and in death, commits itself utterly to the Lord of Life. This book brings to life days when "a noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid . . . climbed the steep ascent of heaven amid peril, toil, and pain."
Although Fox primarily intended this manuscript to inspire protestant Christians, his writings serve as a testimony that overrides "religious" political agendas, remaining focused on the record of the persecution and sacrifices of those faithful only to Christ.
"After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification."
James Miller Dodds, English Prose.
"When one recollects that until the appearance of the Pilgrim's Progress the common people had almost no other reading matter except the Bible and Fox's Book of Martyrs, we can understand the deep impression that this book produced; and how it served to mold the national character. Those who could read for themselves learned the full details of all the atrocities performed on the Protestant reformers; the illiterate could see the rude illustrations of the various instruments of torture, the rack, the gridiron, the boiling oil, and then the holy ones breathing out their souls amid the flames. Take a people just awakening to a new intellectual and religious life; let several generations of them, from childhood to old age, pore over such a book, and its stories become traditions as individual and almost as potent as songs and customs on a nation's life."
Douglas Campbell, "The Puritan in Holland, England, and America."
"If we divest the book of its accidental character of feud between churches, it yet stands, in the first years of Elizabeth's reign, a monument that marks the growing strength of a desire for spiritual freedom, defiance of those forms that seek to stifle conscience and fetter thought."
Henry Morley, "English Writers"
The Pilgrim Church by E. H. Broadbent.
Even the casual observer does not have to do much investigating to see that the real story of the church is not the one recorded in secular history. But E. H. Broadbent’s classic work, THE PILGRIM CHURCH, demonstrates the truth of this amazing drama as not even recorded in church history books.
This is the saga of those intrepid believers, “of whom the world was not worthy.” Those who were not only persecuted by the civil authorities, but were also denounced, defamed, and decimated by the professing church. Theirs was a heritage of suffering, rather than submit to the man-made traditions they believed contradicted faith and the Word of God. Known over the centuries by names such as Waldensians, Lollards, Stundists, Brethren, and Anabaptists, though they claimed only the name of Christ, these are just a sampling of the labels given to them by their enemies.
Unfolding story after story of these unknown heroes of the faith, with an engaging style, the author captivates the reader with convictions the world cannot conceive and little understands. It will spur you on in greater devotion to the Lord Jesus, and create a deeper concern for those of His people suffering in many of the countries of the world today.
You might save a few dollars purchasing this book through Dave Hunt's ministry at The Berean Call.
The Torch of the Testimony by James Kennedy.
Originally published in India in 1964, this book is not that well known in the western world. Never the less, it is one which should be of interest to those who would learn more about saints of the past who sought to honor the Lord they believed in. Beginning in the first century and continuing on down through the Church Age, John Kennedy traces the history of Christian groups who remained outside formalized religion and the Protestant-Catholic tradition. Sometimes stirring, other times passionate, and sometimes heart-rending, you’ll become acquainted with story after story of those who suffered for the walk they believed in, holding the centrality of Christ as the core of their beliefs.
The author points out, “Man’s well intentioned desire to protect the truth by making it captive to his own limited understanding of it within some human organization is doomed to failure. Truth cannot be held in captivity. . . . . even after nearly twenty centuries of Christianity we have not yet fully learned that the only adequate defense of the truth is the practice of the truth. Wherever there are those who live lives of subservience to Christ, the Spirit can be trusted to protect the faith and the Word without the need of any human organization.” p73.
The Christian Testimony Through The Ages, by T. W. Carron.
"The testimony of the Christ" is an apt definition of Christianity. Sustained by a power no less than that of the Spirit of God, this testimony has continued down through the ages. The world has not received it, or the world would not be what it is today. Strongest when most opposed and weakest when smiled on by the world, it has continued in spite of all obstacles, because, while the testimony comes through frail human vessels, its light is divine and its power is of God. (Available through the title link at Bible Truth Publishers).
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