November 14, 1739

 

George Whitefield

English revivalist George Whitefield explained in his journal: “We can preach the Gospel of Christ no further than we have experienced the power of it in our lives.”

November 12, 1556

 

Menno Simons

 

Dutch Anabaptist (re-baptizer) leader, Menno Simons, explained in a letter: “I can neither teach nor live by the faith of others.  I must live by my own faith as the Spirit of the Lord has taught me through His Word.”

November 4, 1646

The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law making it a capital offense to deny that the Bible was the Word of God.  Any person convicted of the offense was liable to the death penalty.

October 21, 1532

 

Martin Luther

 

 

German reformer Martin Luther declared: “For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year.  If you picture the Bible to be a might tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.

October 17, 1910

Death of Julia Ward Howe (b. 1819), American writer and social reformer. Prior to the War Between the States, she helped edit an abolitionist newspaper. During the U.S. Civil War, she wrote the hymn that became the theme song of the Union armies: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.