The Very First Christmas Songs
Christmas is indeed a wonderful time of the year. For many folks, Christmas music is an especially enjoyable part of the season. In order to meet this demand, some radio…
The Ultimate Power Struggle
We learned in last week's blog that Christmas is all about the confluence of religion and politics. Christmas is of course religious in that it's a part of the unfolding…
The Rising of the Sun
In 1807 there was a surge in political support for the abolition of the British slave trade. The danger posed by the violent chaos of the French Revolution was in…
Tip of the Spear
On October 28, 1787, William Wilberforce famously wrote in his diary, "God Almighty has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of…
Confronting the Darkness
In the last blog, we learned how William Wilberforce had given his allegiance to Jesus the King. Heeding the wise advice of his friend John Newton, Wilberforce resolved to honor…
Arrested by Jesus
At the precocious age of 21, William Wilberforce was elected to Parliament in 1780. Over the next several years, his meteoritic rise would only continue. Wilberforce's close friend William Pitt…
Seeds of Faith Sprouting, Then Smothered
In last week's blog, we began the story of William Wilberforce. Following the death of his father and sister, Wilberforce's mother became incapacitated by grief as well as her own…
The Puzzle of Pentecost
Of all the Jewish holidays, by far the most familiar to Christians is the Passover. The Passover (Hebrew Pesach) is also known as as the "Feast of Unleavened Bread." At…
The Most Misquoted Verse in the Bible
Alas, misinformation is one of the great themes of our time. Hardly a day goes by without hearing some accusation of "fake news" or "disinformation." It sure must be tough…
What is Faith?
We're in a blog series entitled "faith and works." We've covered a lot of ground, and we shall very soon be in a position to address the key New Testament…