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<channel><title><![CDATA[ReformationSA.org - History Articles]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles]]></link><description><![CDATA[History Articles]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:39:18 -0700</pubDate><generator>Weebly</generator><item><title><![CDATA[St. Patrick - Missionary to Ireland (389 – 461)]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-389-461]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-389-461#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Missions]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-389-461</guid><description><![CDATA[Patrick was only 16 years old when he saw a fleet of 50 longboats heading for the shore. As the Roman Legions had long since departed Britain, Patrick’s home town was vulnerable to attack. As the Irish raiders leapt from their boats onto the pebbled beach, sounding their war-horns, the population fled in terror. The attackers looted and burned the village and carried away captives, including young Patrick.&nbsp;EnslavedThe year was AD 405. Patrick’s name in Latin was&nbsp;Patricius, meaning  [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:351px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-1_orig.png' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-1.png?1647512201" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick was only 16 years old when he saw a fleet of 50 longboats heading for the shore. As the Roman Legions had long since departed Britain, Patrick&rsquo;s home town was vulnerable to attack. As the Irish raiders leapt from their boats onto the pebbled beach, sounding their war-horns, the population fled in terror. The attackers looted and burned the village and carried away captives, including young Patrick.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Enslaved</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The year was AD 405. Patrick&rsquo;s name in Latin was&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patricius</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">, meaning &ldquo;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Noble</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&rdquo;. He was the son of a Civil Magistrate, but now he had become a slave in Ireland. Patrick was sold to a cruel warrior chief whose stockade in Northern Ireland was surrounded by sharp poles with the heads of his opponents impaled on them. Patrick was put to work as shepherd to care for his master&rsquo;s pigs and sheep. He lived a lonely existence in the nearby hills, enduring long bouts of hunger and thirst, isolated from human company for months at a time. Patrick witnessed the superstitions of the druid priests who sacrificed prisoners of war to their war gods and newborns to the harvest gods. Skulls were used as drinking bowls; heads of decapitated enemies were used as footballs.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><div><div id="629656895833598744" align="center" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><iframe tabindex="-1" width="100%" height="150" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/318221216157451/" style="min-width: 150px;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div><div><!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none" style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;text-align:center"><a href='https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/victorious_christians' target='_blank'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/screenshot-2025-03-17-101842_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%"></a><div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="text-align:center;"><strong>BOOKS OF INTEREST:</strong><br><a href="https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/1859_revival_the" target="_blank">1859 Revival by Ian Paisley</a><br><a href="https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/life_and_legacy_of_saint_patrick" target="_blank">Life and Legacy of St. Patrick by Michael J. McHugh</a><br><a href="https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/saint_patrick" target="_blank">Saint Patrick by Jonothan Rodgers</a></div><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:278px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-2.jpg?1647512221" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Conversion</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In this strange place at &ldquo;the ends of the earth&rdquo; amongst these fierce people, Patrick remembered the faith of his father and grandfather, and the prayers of his mother and turned to Christ. Kneeling on the slopes of the Slemish Mountain, near what is now the town of Ballymena, Patrick prayed, sometimes a hundred times a day.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Escape</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After six years of slavery, Patrick was led of the Lord to escape and run nearly 200 miles to a coastal port where he was able to persuade a captain to take him along with a shipment of Irish wolfhounds. A storm blew them off course to land on the coast of Gaul (France). Attacks by Vandals had devastated the area and there was no food to be found in the once fertile area. Here Patrick was able to repay the kindness of the ship&rsquo;s captain by praying for the Lord&rsquo;s provision and seeing a herd of pigs appear.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick received a Macedonian call. In a vision, an Irishman named Victoricius presented him with letters entitled&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;The Voice of the Irish&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us again.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Patrick was&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;pierced to my very heart&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;and he returned to the land where he had suffered as a slave many years before.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><div><div id="947042946851637926" align="center" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><iframe width="100%" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4W40TzqMaow?si=t453bgDuVSbadx9u" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:271px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-3.jpg?1647512240" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Opposition</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick was over 40 years old when he arrived as a missionary to Ireland in AD 432. He faced fierce opposition from the Druids. Patrick survived numerous attempts on his life and confronted the idolatry, immorality, slavery and human sacrifices of the savage tribes.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Daily I expect murder, fraud or captivity, but I fear none of these things because of the promises of Heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of God Almighty who rules everywhere.&rdquo;</em><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick delighted in taking risks for the Gospel.&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I must take this decision disregarding risks involved and make known the gifts of God and His everlasting consolation. Neither must I fear any such risk in faithfully preaching God&rsquo;s Name boldly in every place, so that even after my death, a spiritual legacy may be left for my brethren and my children.&rdquo;</em></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:287px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-4.jpg?1647512258" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Confrontation</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At Tara, Patrick challenged the Druids to a contest. The Druids invoked demons and brought a dark fog over the land. Patrick prayed and suddenly the fog cleared and the sun shone brightly. The king ordered 27 chariots to go and seize Patrick. He prayed aloud:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;May God come up to scatter His enemies and may those who hate Him flee from His face.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;The charioteers fell dead.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick rebuked the king:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;If you do not believe now, you will die on the spot, for the wrath of God descends on your head.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;The king fell on his knees before the missionary and pledged his realm to Christ. Many turned to Christ on that day.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">One of Patrick&rsquo;s writings was a letter excommunicating a tyrant Coroticus who had carried off some of Patrick&rsquo;s converts into slavery. Within his lifetime Patrick ended the slave trade in Ireland. The legend that Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland has to do with his spiritual warfare in driving the demons from the land.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The famous&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Lorica</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;&ldquo;Patrick&rsquo;s Breastplate&rdquo; prayer of protection expresses Patrick&rsquo;s confidence in God to protect him from&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;every fierce, merciless force that may come upon my body and soul, incantations of false prophets, black laws of paganism, deceit of idolatry, spells of druids&hellip;&rdquo;</em></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:388px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-5.jpg?1647512277" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Mission Strategy</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick was one of the first great missionaries who brought the Gospel beyond the boundaries of the old Roman civilisation. Patrick&rsquo;s missionary strategy was to concentrate on converting the tribal kings. As the kings converted, they gave their sons to Patrick to be trained as missionaries. From kingdom to kingdom, Patrick converted pagans, built churches, trained disciples, ordained deacons and ministers and built mission stations. Patrick provided pastors with written doctrinal standards with which to teach their people.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Faithful and Fruitful</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">For 30 years Patrick evangelised Ireland, converting many chiefs and kings, establishing over 300 congregations and baptising 120,000 people.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Inspiring Example</strong><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Patrick became an inspiring example for Celtic Christians. His life of continuous prayer, his love for the Scriptures, his love of God&rsquo;s Creation and his missionary vision inspired many hundreds of Celts to take the Gospel to Scotland, England and throughout the continent of Europe.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:349px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/st-patrick-missionary-to-ireland-6.jpg?1647512293" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>Saint</strong><br>Although Patrick is commonly called Saint, he described himself as a sinner. Although Patrick is the Patron Saint of the Irish, he was not actually born in Ireland, but in Britain. It may also surprise people to know that Patrick was never canonized by the Roman Catholic church, but has been considered the Patron Saint of Ireland as a result of popular devotion and long-standing tradition.<br>&nbsp;<br>On the last Sunday of every July, up to 30,000 pilgrims pass Saint Patrick&rsquo;s statue and climb to the top of Croagh Patrick, commemorating Patrick&rsquo;s 40 day fast on that 2,710 foot summit.&nbsp; 17 March is celebrated as St. Patrick&rsquo;s Day worldwide.<br>&nbsp;<br>The greatest legacy of Patrick was the tremendous spiritual movement he launched in Ireland and his followers who sent out missionaries to evangelise not only the rest of the British Isles, but much of the continent of Europe.<br>&nbsp;<br><strong><em>&ldquo;In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, &hellip;I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.&nbsp; And so I have made it my aim to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man&rsquo;s foundation.&rdquo;</em></strong> Romans 15:19 &ndash; 20<br>&nbsp;<br>Dr. Peter Hammond<br>The Reformation Society<br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:mission@frontline.org.za">mission@frontline.org.za</a><br>Website: <a href="http://www.reformationsa.org/">www.ReformationSA.org</a><br>&#8203;</div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;">]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Florence Nightingale The Lady with the Lamp]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 11 May 2023 08:43:16 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Victorious Christians]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp</guid><description><![CDATA[ To listen to this presentation Click&nbsp;hereTo view this presentation Click&nbsp;here12 May is International Nurses Day.It is also the birthday of the most famous and influential nurse, Florence Nightingale.Few people realise the enormous debt which the whole world owes to Florence Nightingale. This courageous Reformer transformed hospitals and pioneered the modern nursing profession. No other person in history has done more to alleviate suffering and establish so high a standing of health ca [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:324px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/edited/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-1.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-1.jpg?1683795715" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To listen to this presentation Click&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32522134029856">here</a><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To view this presentation Click&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-251426661">here</a><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">12 May is International Nurses Day.</strong><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">It is also the birthday of the most famous and influential nurse, Florence Nightingale.</strong><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Few people realise the enormous debt which the whole world owes to Florence Nightingale. This courageous Reformer transformed hospitals and pioneered the modern nursing profession. No other person in history has done more to alleviate suffering and establish so high a standing of health care for the sick.&nbsp;<br /><br />The Degraded State</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Before Florence Nightingale the condition of hospitals and the nursing profession was in a degraded state. Hospitals were dirty and over-crowded. Antiseptics were unknown. Scarcely any facilities for the training of nurses existed, and their pay was less than that for a common labourer in the field. Nurses were drawn from the&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;undesirable sections&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">of society and were commonly regarded as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;vulgar&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;uneducated&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;unclean&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;and were notorious for their drunkenness and immorality.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:367px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-2.jpg?1683795731" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence Nightingale was named after the town in Italy where she was born on 12 May 1820. Until that time, Florence was always understood to be a man&rsquo;s name, but through her parent&rsquo;s tendency to name their children after their town of birth, Florence has become an honoured woman&rsquo;s name.&nbsp;<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Home Education</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence&rsquo;s parents were wealthy and well-connected. Florence was highly educated. A governess taught her music and art, and her father, William, taught her Greek, Latin, German, French, Italian, grammar, history, mathematics and philosophy. Florence loved books and immersed herself in her studies. She felt alienated from those around her and was profoundly dissatisfied with&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;the emptiness&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;of her existence. She was distressed at the pettiness of social life. She developed a passion for neatness and accuracy. Visitors described her as:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Stubborn&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Strong willed&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;very intelligent,&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;and</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;&ldquo;Extraordinary!&rdquo;</em>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:271px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-3.jpg?1683795749" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Called</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">On 7 February 1837, just before she turned 17 years old, Florence wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;God spoke to me and called me to His service.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Florence travelled widely throughout Europe and even to Egypt. She was well aware of the misery of the poor. She became convinced that God had called her to reform the nursing profession and devote her life to the alleviation of suffering for the sick. Her parents were horrified and expressly forbade her to pursue such a degrading occupation. So Florence carried on her investigations, studies and correspondence concerning Hygiene, Sanitation and Nursing in secret.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Intelligence and Intergrity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In her 20&rsquo;s, Florence was described as:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Tall, slender, elegant and very straight, her hair of a rich brown, her complexion delicate, her grey eyes pensive, yet ready to light into mirth with a smile the sweetest and most winning.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Her personal charm, intelligence, wide reading and sincerity attracted many friendships and marriage prospects - which she spurned.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Seeking First God&rsquo;s Kingdom</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At the age of 30, Florence wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I am 30, the age at which Christ began His mission. Now, no more childish things, no more vain things, no more love, no more marriage. Now Lord, let me think only of Thy Will.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>&#8203;&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:282px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-4.jpg?1683795764" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Training in Germany</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence travelled to Germany to enroll at a college for Deaconesses. She was a star student at the Lutheran Deaconess Training Institute at Kaiserswerth on the Rhine in Germany.&nbsp; She lived a spartan life in this college, rising at dawn, doing all the menial services, sharing the frugal meals of the sisterhood and attending lectures on nursing. On her return to England she set up a Sanatorium for Sick Governesses run by a Committee of Fine Ladies. This establishment for gentlewomen in Harley Street, London was used to test her innovative ideas on health care. At first there was conflict with the Committee, but in time all the members came to respect her innovations and skill in management.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Hygiene and Fresh Air</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In the treatment of the sick, her first principles were cleanliness and fresh air. Contrary to all the tenets that then held sway, Florence began by insisting upon large and open windows for all hospital wards.&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Thoroughness, initiative and hygiene&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;characterised the routines established by her. She produced the most detailed study into the state of health care in Europe<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Crimean War</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence was just about to assume the superintendence of Kings&rsquo; College Hospital when the Crimean War broke out. After the Battle of Alma, in September 1854,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Times</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;correspondent wrote on the shameful lack of proper provision for the care of the wounded after their heroic victory.&nbsp;</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:359px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-5.jpg?1683795774" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><em>Disaster and Disgrace</em></strong><br /><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;There were not sufficient surgeons; no dressings and no nurses; no linen for bandages &ndash; and yet, no one was to blame!&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;This was the first war in which the telegraph was used to wire dispatches back home, so for the first time up-to-date reports kept the people in England informed on the course of the war and the horrors of having no proper medical care for the wounded.<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To Care for the War Wounded</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As an outcry of indignation arose throughout the country, the Secretary for War, Sir Sydney Herbert, wrote to Florence asking if she would go to organise the care of the wounded in the Crimea. Within two days of receiving the letter of appointment from the War Office, Florence Nightingale set out (21 October 1854) for Turkey. She was accompanied by 38 hand-picked volunteers, whose abilities she had proved. Her sister wrote that Florence&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;was as calm and composed in this furious haste&hellip;as if she were going out for a walk.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Controversy</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">With the announcement of her government appointment, Florence Nightingale came under national attention and became the target of much controversy. It was only after Queen Victoria gave Florence her personal support that most of the accusations against her subsided. Many high officials objected to a woman taking charge of what was essentially&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;a man&rsquo;s job.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Others were astounded that a rich, popular, young and attractive gentlewoman was prepared to abandon her life of ease and luxury in England to face dangers, horror and fearsome toil on the battlefield.&nbsp;</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:348px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-6.jpg?1683795798" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Scutari</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Apparently Florence took no notice of her critics. She reached Scutari on 4 November, just in time to receive a flood of wounded from the Battle of Balaclava. While struggling to cope with the Herculean task of tending these casualties, a further 600 wounded arrived from the Battle of Inkerman. She endured the prejudice and opposition of military surgeons, endured unimaginable squalor, a devastating cholera epidemic and battled against bureaucratic bungling from the start.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Colossal Calamities</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">She reported that:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Far more soldiers had died of disease than on the battlefield.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;She described the hospitals as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;colossal calamities.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;There was no furniture, and no cooking utensils. Toilets were blocked and overflowing. Rats were everywhere. The filth and stench of rotting wounds were overwhelming in the overcrowded, rat, cockroach and lice invested corridors and wards.<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Decisive Action</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">When informed that essential items that she needed would take weeks of delay, authorisation from England, and that she needed to await official reaction to the Commission of Enquiry, Florence Nightingale used her own funds to set up a house in Scutari as a laundry, and requisitioned a consignment of 27,000 shirts, which had not yet been released by the Board of Survey. Florence ordered that the bales be opened at once, and the materials delivered to the hospital:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Red tape or no red tape.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Many officials were incensed:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Is this the way to manage the finances of a great nation!&nbsp; Miss Nightingale coolly draws a cheque!&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;In fact, Florence paid for many of the supplies out of her own funds.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:288px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-7.jpg?1683795813" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Overcoming Obstructionism</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Apparently unconcerned by the controversies and furore surrounding her, Florence continued her work of cleaning up the shambles she had found. Those of her helpers who would not submit to the strict discipline, or endure the necessary privations, were promptly sent home. Official obstructionism impeded her efforts at every step, but she overcame all opposition with her persistence and determination. As Florence wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I have no compassion for men who would rather see hundreds of lives lost than waive one scruple of the official rules.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Organisation</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">She organised staff, oversaw purchases, set up housekeeping, ordered furniture, supplied clothing, supervised daily routines, working an average of 20 hours every day, performing the duties of cook, housekeeper, washerwoman, general dealer and storekeeper along with scavenger and nurse. Florence began and ended each hospital day routine with prayers. She also provided reading rooms and library books for the patients.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Personal Care</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">It was her custom before retiring to make a last tour of the wards. Her tall slender figure in nurse&rsquo;s uniform, rich brown hair covered by a white cap, passing, lamp in hand, down the long isles between the rows of beds, bestowing comfort on the wounded seemed like an angel to the hundreds of wounded and sick soldiers.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:307px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-8.jpg?1683795834" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Battlefront Reforms</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence visited the battlefront to set in place further reforms. Hospital mortality (the death rate of patients) before she took over the care of war-wounded in the Crimea was as high as 42%. Soon Florence brought hospital mortality down to only 2%,</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Saving Lives</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As Dr. Benjamin Jarved of Oxford declared:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Nobody knows how many lives are saved by your nurses in hospitals, how many thousands of soldiers who would have fallen victim to bad air, bad drainage, and ventilation are alive owing to your forethought and diligence.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Fever</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Towards the end of the war, Florence succumbed to a severe fever, which could have easily taken her life. She recovered, but her health was so damaged that she would never be the same again.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-9_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-9.jpg?1683795845" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Steadfast</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In spite of her sickness and weakened condition, Florence refused to leave her post of duty until the British army evacuated Turkey at the end of the war in July 1856.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Avoiding Publicity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Travelling under a false name, as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Miss Smith&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">, she avoided the enthusiastic receptions that had been arranged for her, but was received by Queen Victoria, whom she persuaded to support hospital reform. Prince Albert described Florence as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;extremely modest.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Nurses Training</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence&rsquo;s work in the Crimea was, to her, only a beginning. She founded the Nightingale Home for Training Nurses at St. Thomas&rsquo;s Hospital and published an 800 page report entitled:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;This formed the basis of a Royal Commission to reform medical care in the military. The Army Medical Corp was transformed as a result of her efforts.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:396px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-10_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-10.jpg?1683795863" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">India</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence took a deep interest in the sanitary and health measures adopted in India and was in constant communication with the Secretary of State for India to reform sanitation and health in that vast country.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Health Care Reform</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence launched the most significant campaigns to improve health care and prevent patients dying from causes which could have been prevented. She strove to learn from the past in order to save lives in the future. It was her goal to ensure that those who had suffered in Crimea had not suffered in vain. She changed forever the status of the nurse and the fate of the soldier.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Transforming Hospitals</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Her&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Notes on Hospitals&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">revealed that civilian hospitals were as bad, if not worse, than military hospitals. She worked late into the night establishing effective training for nurses, setting new standards for sanitation and drainage. Her research reports dramatically improved working conditions for the poor and health care for the sick. Her requirements for nursing included that they must be:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Sober, honest, truthful, trustworthy, punctual, quiet and orderly, clean and neat.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:348px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-11_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-11.jpg?1683795874" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In Spite of Ill Health</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Struggling against ill health herself, and surrounded by a colony of cats, Florence Nightingale continued her crusade to save lives and provide efficient, effective health care for the infirm.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Notes on Nursing</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Florence Nightingale Museum records that she wrote 200 publications and 13,000 letters. Her most famous book:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Notes on Nursing&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;has been translated into many languages including German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Finnish. It remains a classic resource and textbook for nurses, managers and health planners to this day. It dealt with all aspects of health care, including hygiene, bedding and diet. It emphasised the two most important principles of nursing: observation (such as the pulse, appetite and breathing of a patient) and sensitivity to a patient&rsquo;s needs and comforts.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Spiritual Health</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Florence incorporated Bible studies and prayer meetings as part of her trainee nurse&rsquo;s routines and appointed chaplains for the hospitals.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-12_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-lamp-12_orig.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>Worldwide Impact</strong><br />Florence Nightingale&rsquo;s writings on hospital planning and organisation had a profound impact on health care worldwide. Her far-sighted reforms saved innumerable lives and established nursing as a respectable profession.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>A Most Productive Life</strong><br />After a most productive life, at age 90, Florence Nightingale died on 13 August 1910. Over 1,000 nurses and many veterans of the Crimean War attended her funeral service at St. Paul&rsquo;s in London. Lord Stanley delivered this eulogy: <em>&ldquo;I know of no person besides Miss Nightingale who, within the past 100 years&hellip;has voluntarily encountered dangers so imminent, and undertaken offices so repulsive, working for a large and worthy object, in a pure spirit of duty towards God and compassion for man.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong><em>&ldquo;Then the King will say to those on His right hand, &lsquo;Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.... Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.&rsquo;&rdquo;</em></strong> Matthew 25: 34-40<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter Hammond<br />Frontline Fellowship<br />PO Box 74 |&nbsp;Newlands&nbsp;|&nbsp;7725&nbsp;|&nbsp;Cape Town&nbsp;|&nbsp;South Africa&nbsp;<br />Tel: +27 21 689 4480<br />&nbsp;<br /><u><a href="http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/victorious_christians"><strong><em>Victorious Christians - Who Changed the World</em></strong></a></u><strong><em>,</em></strong> will inspire a new generation of dedicated Christians with the incredible examples of excellence provided by 32 of the most courageous and effective Christians in history and includes: 32 Character studies with 250 pictures. The 380-page book includes: 10 Reformers, 6 Martyrs, 6 Missionaries, 4 Evangelists, 4 Professors, 3 Soldiers, 2 Musicians, 2 Kings, an Artist, an Inventor, a Historian and a Queen. This book provides fascinating insights to virtually every age of Church history by focusing on Christian characters, their courage and convictions in times of crisis. Lavishly illustrated, this book can be used for recreational reading by those who enjoy reading Biographies, or as a treasure trove of illustrations and examples for pastors, teachers and homeschoolers. An audio CD of this message and the book <u><a href="http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/victorious_christians"><strong><em>Victorious Christians &ndash; Who Changed the World</em></strong></a></u> are available from Christian Liberty Books: P.O. Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, email: <a href="mailto:admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za">admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za</a> and website: <a href="http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za">www.christianlibertybooks.co.za</a>.<br />To view our Frontline PRIORITY PROJECTS for PRAYER and ACTION with pictures, click <a href="https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/priority-projects.html">here</a><br /><a href="https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/donate-to-frontline-fellowship---south-africa.html"><em>https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/donate-to-frontline-fellowship---south-africa.html</em></a><br />&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[PHILIPP MELANCHTHON – THE TEACHER OF GERMANY]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2023 08:17:57 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reformation in Germany]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany</guid><description><![CDATA[ When Philipp Melanchthon delivered his first lecture at the University of Wittenberg, in 1518, Dr. Martin Luther was impressed.&nbsp; &#8203;Melanchthon was the new Professor of Greek, and although he stuttered during his presentation, his call for theologians to go &ldquo;back to the sources, back to the Holy Scriptures&rdquo; echoed the convictions of Luther's heart.        Melanchthon became an invaluable support to Luther's Reformation work.&nbsp; He accompanied Luther to the Leipzig debate [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-1.jpg?1676536894" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="ssPicture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">When Philipp Melanchthon delivered his first lecture at the University of Wittenberg, in 1518, Dr. Martin Luther was impressed.&nbsp; <br /><br />&#8203;Melanchthon was the new Professor of Greek, and although he stuttered during his presentation, his call for theologians to go <em>&ldquo;back to the sources, back to the Holy Scriptures&rdquo;</em> echoed the convictions of Luther's heart.</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:339px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-2.jpg?1676536930" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Melanchthon became an invaluable support to Luther's Reformation work.&nbsp; He accompanied Luther to the Leipzig debate in 1519.&nbsp; In 1521, Melanchthon published&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Loci Communes</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">.&nbsp; This was the first structured presentation of Reformation doctrine and it became a standard textbook for Lutheran theology for over a century.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;&#8203;</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:184px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-3.jpg?1676536946" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Melanchthon was the leading theological figure at the Diet of Augsburg, 1530.&nbsp;<br /><br />&#8203;Melanchthon wrote and read out the&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Augsburg Confession</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;before the Emperor Charles V.<br /><br />&#8203;Luther stated that without Melanchthon's methodological skills, much of his own work would have been lost.</span><br /></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:318px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/philipp-melanchthon-the-teacher-of-germany-4.jpg?1676536970" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Melanchthon's extensive efforts to reform, establish and develop schools and colleges earned him the title:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;The Teacher of Germany.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[​GEORG SCHMIDT and THE MORAVIAN MISSION in GENADENDAL]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 13:57:34 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reformation in South Africa]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal</guid><description><![CDATA[ To see a video of this presentation, click:&nbsp;https://vimeo.com/795590529To see a video of this PowerPoint presentation, click: &nbsp;https://vimeo.com/795567068To listen to an audio of this message, click:&nbsp;https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23231234483609&nbsp;Georg Schmidt was the first Missionary to South Africa. He was sent out during the longest prayer chain ever launched and he established the first Mission station in Southern Africa, Genadendal, in 1737.        Reviva [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:216px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-1.jpg?1675865697" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To see a video of this presentation, click:&nbsp;</span><a href="https://vimeo.com/795590529">https://vimeo.com/795590529</a><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To see a video of this PowerPoint presentation, click: &nbsp;</span><a href="https://vimeo.com/795567068">https://vimeo.com/795567068</a><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To listen to an audio of this message, click:&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23231234483609">https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23231234483609</a><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Georg Schmidt was the first Missionary to South Africa. He was sent out during the longest prayer chain ever launched and he established the first Mission station in Southern Africa, Genadendal, in 1737.</strong></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-2.jpg?1675865711" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Revival Fires in Herrnhut</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Georg Schmidt was born 30 September 1709, in Kunewalde, in Saxony. At age 16 he left home to walk through the winter snow to join the Christian community at Herrnhut. Founded by Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf, the Moravian community at Herrnhut was a site of Spiritual Revival.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Count von Zinzendorf launched the longest prayer meeting in history: it actually lasted 150 years! During this 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, prayer chain, over 2,500 Missionaries were sent out from their small Moravian community to the uttermost parts of the earth. This included Missionaries to the Caribbean, to Greenland, to India and the Pacific Islands and to the Cape of Good Hope.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf declared:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">"I have one passion &ndash; it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world, and henceforth that country shall be my home, where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ."</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:386px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-3.jpg?1675865730" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Prisoner for Christ</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The young Georg Schmidt began to preach the Gospel in the neighbouring town of Zittau and this resulted in him being jailed for 10 days. This experience only strengthened his Evangelical fervour and, in 1728, Schmidt left on an even more ambitious Evangelistic Mission &ndash; to Salzburg in Catholic Austria. It was not long before he and his co-worker Melchior Nitschmann, were arrested and imprisoned in Schildberg. Within a year Nitschmann had died in prison. Georg Schmidt endured 6 long, torturous years digging trenches and building fortifications as a prisoner of the Catholics. He was only released and able to return to Herrnhut in 1734.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:351px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-4.jpg?1675865744" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Called to Africa</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Other Evangelistic outreaches continued, including to Bavaria and Switzerland. When news reached Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf of the terrible depravity and degradation of the Khoi-Khoi tribespeople in the Cape, Georg Schmidt was chosen to take the Gospel to these despised people. In 1736, in response to requests for Missionaries to be sent to the southern tip of Africa, Georg Schmidt was commissioned to go to Amsterdam and arrange passage to Cape Town.</span><br /></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:291px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-5.jpg?1675865770" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After strenuous examination by the Dutch Reformed Church Council and by the Dutch East India Company, Schmidt was finally granted permission for the voyage. He boarded a ship for Cape Town, which set sail 11 March 1737 (almost a year after arriving in Holland!).</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Georg was shocked by the sinful and careless behaviour of the sailors on board ship and often sought to challenge the captain and sailors about the state of their souls. His 4 months of persevering witness on board led to 3 men surrendering their lives to Christ.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:397px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-6.jpg?1675865790" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Cape of Good Hope</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Four months later, Georg Schmidt finally arrived in Cape Town. When Georg Schmidt landed in Table Bay, 9 July 1737, he was 26 years old and although he was ridiculed by the citizens of Cape Town as on a fool's errand, his arrival was an historic event. He was the first Missionary to the Hottentots, as the Khoi-Khoi were called at that time.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In his journal Schmidt wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">"Every evening I visited the Hottentots; sat down among them. I told them that, moved by sincere love, I had come to them to make them acquainted with their Saviour and to assist them to work."</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-7.jpg?1675865812" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Genadendal Mission</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">He established his Mission base in Baviaanskloof, later renamed Genadendal (Valley of Mercy). Schmidt's Moravian Mission station on the Sonderend River beyond Caledon, was the first Protestant Mission station in Southern Africa.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Schmidt instructed the Hottentots (Khoi-Khoi) in the doctrines of the Christian Faith and taught them practical skills in planting and cultivating. Schmidt built his simple house, baked his own bread, made his own candles and bedding, washed and mended his own clothing.</span><br /></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:308px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-8.jpg?1675865873" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">For 7 years Schmidt worked amongst the Khoi-Khoi, teaching them to read and write and preaching and teaching the doctrines of the Scriptures to these neglected people. Schmidt wrote that he saw it as of first importance that he teach his people to love the Lord, before they could sing of His glory.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;First Fruit</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Georg Schmidt's diligence and perseverance led to 5 committing their lives to Christ, and following a period of intense discipleship, baptised them, by immersion, in 1742. However, the Council of Policy by the Dutch East India Company forbade baptism by any other than an ordained minister of a Dutch Reformed Church.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-9_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-9.jpg?1675865880" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Opposition</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">This created great offence to some people who claimed that only an ordained clergyman was allowed to baptise and immersion was not their way. His ordination was questioned. Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf sent a letter of ordination, but this was not considered acceptable to the Governor of the Cape in 1743 and Schmidt was instructed to return to Holland to seek ordination from the state church there.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:293px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-10_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-10.jpg?1675865913" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>Missionary Endeavours in Europe</strong><br />After much frustration, and failure to obtain the authorisation of the Dutch Reformed Church, Schmidt ministered throughout Moravia, Silecia and Bohemia. He died on his knees in prayer, in 1785, at the age of 76, after a most productive life of energetic Evangelism.</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-11_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-11.jpg?1675865933" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Fruit That Endured</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In 1792, 48 years after Schmidt had been forced to leave the Cape, 3 Moravian Missionaries were again allowed to enter South Africa. They repaired the ruined house of Georg Schmidt and restored his vegetable garden and orchard. They found a flourishing pear tree that he had planted.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:339px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-12_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/georg-schmidt-and-the-moravian-mission-in-genadendal-12.jpg?1675865986" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">When they asked the Hottentots if they remembered the Missionary, they were taken to an old woman who, at baptism, had taken the name Magdalena. She produced a Dutch New Testament that Schmidt had given her. When asked if she could read it, she introduced them to her daughter and granddaughter, whom she had taught to read. As the Moravian Missionaries heard the granddaughter, of one of the first converts, reading from Matthew's Gospel, they rejoiced that the seed sown so many years before had born such marvellous fruit. Georg Schmidt became known as the Apostle to the Hottentots.&nbsp;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><em>"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."&nbsp;</em></strong><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Psalm 126:5-6</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">This is adapted from a chapter in&nbsp;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Sketches from South African History&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">(&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/sketches_from_south_african_history">https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/sketches_from_south_african_history</a><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;)</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Failure of Atheism and Triumph of Faith in Russia]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/the-failure-of-atheism-and-triumph-of-faith-in-russia]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/the-failure-of-atheism-and-triumph-of-faith-in-russia#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:47:17 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Reformation in Russia]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/the-failure-of-atheism-and-triumph-of-faith-in-russia</guid><description><![CDATA[ To listen to an audio presentation on this article, Click Here&#8203;Atheism was the official doctrine of the Soviet Union. Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, Communist authorities vigorously enforced the ideology of Marxism/Leninism and violently persecuted Christianity.&nbsp;The Gulag ArchipelagoOver 49,000 churches were destroyed and over 66 million people died in the massacres, man-made famines and in the over 1,800 communist concentration camps, which Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn descri [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:346px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-1.jpg?1673857539" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">To listen to an audio presentation on this article, <a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12215529390" target="_blank">Click Here</a><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;Atheism was the official doctrine of the Soviet Union. Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, Communist authorities vigorously enforced the ideology of Marxism/Leninism and violently persecuted Christianity.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Gulag Archipelago</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Over 49,000 churches were destroyed and over 66 million people died in the massacres, man-made famines and in the over 1,800 communist concentration camps, which Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described as the Gulag Archipelago.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Aggressive Atheism</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Soviet Union was committed to the complete annihilation of all religious institutions and ideas. Militant atheism was central to the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The state established atheism as their only "scientific truth". Any criticism of atheism, or of the state's anti-religious policies, was forbidden and could lead to forced retirement, arrest and imprisonment.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:340px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-2.jpg?1673857238" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Annihilation of Christianity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Lenin declared that religion is an obstacle to the construction of a communist society and therefore the annihilation of all religion, and replacement with atheism, was the most important ideological goal of the state.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Solovetski Island</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In 1922, at the first prototype Russian concentration camp, in the former Orthodox monastery of Solovetski, established on the Solovetski Island in the White Sea, 8 metropolitans, 20 archbishops and 47 bishops of the Orthodox Church were killed. 95,000 believers were executed by firing squad on Solovetski Island.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:279px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-3.jpg?1673857535" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Murdering Ministers</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In the first 5 years of the Bolshevik Revolution, 28 bishops and 1,215 priests were executed. In 1922, another 8,000 priests were killed. All of this was carried out under Vladimir Lenin, before the accession to power of Joseph Stalin. During the purges of 1937 to 1938, 168,300 Russian Orthodox clergy were arrested. Of these ministers, over 100,000 were shot by the KGB, in less than two years.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;Replacing Churches with Houses of Atheism</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The League of the Militant Godless (LMG) failed to receive widespread support from the public despite vast state resources to promote it. In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev closed 12,000 churches in a new wave of communist persecution. The communist attempt to establish a state church with Houses of scientific Atheism in Russian cities proved a dismal failure. By the end of the Khrushchev era, it was estimated that another 50,000 clergy had been executed by the KGB in the Soviet Union.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:331px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-4.jpg?1673857266" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Eradicating Christianity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, 1917, there were 50,000 Orthodox parishes, 1,000 monasteries and 60 Theological colleges in the Russian Empire. By 1941, less than 200 congregations remained in the Soviet Union and not one single monastery, or seminary, remained.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Resurgence of Faith</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Yet today, the Orthodox Church in Russia has over 30,000 parishes, 8,000 monasteries and 100 Theological seminaries. This is not even counting the other denominations in the Russian Federation. (Operation World identifies 74 Protestant denominations in Russia with almost two million affiliates, 13 Independent denominations, 22 Orthodox denominations, as well as Anglicans and Catholics.)</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:341px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-5.jpg?1673857531" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Christ the Saviour Cathedral</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Symbolic of the failure of atheism and the triumph of faith in Russia is Christ the Saviour Cathedral. This cathedral was destroyed in 1931 by the order of Communist dictator, Joseph Stalin. The cathedral of Christ the Saviour, on the Northern bank of the Moskva River, in Moscow, was built during the 19th century. It took more than 40 years to construct. In 1931 it was demolished by order of the communist dictator Joseph Stalin. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets that was never built.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Commemorating 1812</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The original church was the scene of the 1882 world premiere of the world famous 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. Christ the Saviour Cathedral had been constructed on the initiative of Tsar Alexander I upon the Russian victory over Napoleon Bonaparte when he retreated from Moscow, 25 December 1812. The Tsar declared: "To signify our gratitude to Divine providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed her..." the cathedral was to be constructed as a memorial and a testimony to God's saving grace and answer to prayer. The church was modelled on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The cathedral was consecrated 26 May 1883, the day before Alexander III was crowned.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:347px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-6.jpg?1673857294" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Gates of Hell Will Not Prevail</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Joseph Stalin determined to demolish this iconic church. On 5 December 1931 the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was dynamited and reduced to rubble. It took more than a year to clear the debris from the site. Joseph Stalin determined to erect a Palace of the Soviets in modernistic buttressed tiers on the site, supporting a gigantic statue of Lenin perched on top of the dome with his arm defiantly raised in the air. Lack of funds, problems with flooding from the nearby Moscow River, and the outbreak of war in 1941, prevented this project from succeeding. Under Nikita Khrushcev it was transformed into the world's largest open air swimming pool.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Reconstruction</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In February 1990, the Russian Orthodox Church received permission from Boris Yeltsin's government to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Donations were collected from one million Russian citizens and the cathedral was consecrated on 19 August 2000. In 2000, the cathedral was the venue for the canonization of the Romanovs when the murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his family were recognised as saints.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-7_orig.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">From Atheism to Orthodox Christianity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Orthodox Church is now Russia's largest and most important non-governmental organisation. Church symbols, rituals, moral values and teachings are playing a leading role in shaping national society. Up to 80% of Russians claim to be Orthodox members and to have been baptized. The Russian Orthodox Church is building 200 new churches in Moscow alone.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Sretensky Monastery</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Another example of the failure of atheism and the triumph of faith in Russia is the Sretensky Monastery, in Moscow, founded in 1397 to commemorate the miraculous deliverance of Russia from Tamerlane and the Mongol invasion. It was closed by the Soviets in 1925 and used by the Secret Police for imprisonment and executions. Today Sretensky Monastery has been re-opened and its outstanding choir is world famous, having sung at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:239px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/the-failure-of-atheism-and-truimph-of-faith-in-russia-8.jpg?1673857545" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>Everyday Saints Bestseller</strong><br />The Archimandrite Tikhom, head of Sretensky Monastery, is the author of Everyday Saints, a 600-page book which gives the testimony of his journey from Marxist atheism to Christianity. Over 1.5 million copies of this book have been sold in Russia and millions more in other languages worldwide. Tikhom is a man that President Vladimir Putin turns to for counsel.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>Family Conference</strong><br />With the Russian government hosting an International Conference on Family and Christian values, appointing chaplains in the military, printing Bibles for hotels and attending services in the cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the failure of the atheist experiment in Russia is complete. 70 Years of atheist propaganda and violent communist persecution failed to exterminate the vibrant Christian Faith of the Russian people.<br />&nbsp;<br />"On this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter Hammond<br />Frontline Fellowship<br />P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725<br />Cape Town South Africa<br />Tel: 021-689-4480<br />Fax: 086-494-8070<br />Email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mission@frontline.org.za">mission@frontline.org.za</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/">www.frontlinemissionsa.org</a><br />&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Century of Repression, Revolt and Reformation]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/a-century-of-repression-revolt-and-reformation]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/a-century-of-repression-revolt-and-reformation#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 10:37:41 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Reformation]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/a-century-of-repression-revolt-and-reformation</guid><description><![CDATA[ Shortly after Martin Luther was born, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Grenada, fell, and the liberation of the Iberian Peninsula was complete.&nbsp; Then Christopher Columbus, sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered the Americas, the New World.&nbsp; While South Western Europe was celebrating its freedom after 8 centuries of oppression and occupation under Islam, South Eastern Europe was facing the relentless onslaughts of invasion by the Turks.&nbsp; Since the fall of the great [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:370px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/a-century-of-repression-revolt-and-reformation-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/a-century-of-repression-revolt-and-reformation-1.jpg?1662634363" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Shortly after Martin Luther was born, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Grenada, fell, and the liberation of the Iberian Peninsula was complete.&nbsp; Then Christopher Columbus, sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered the Americas, the New World.&nbsp; While South Western Europe was celebrating its freedom after 8 centuries of oppression and occupation under Islam, South Eastern Europe was facing the relentless onslaughts of invasion by the Turks.&nbsp; Since the fall of the greatest city in the world at that time, Constantinople, to the Turks, in 1453,with the massacre of all the Christians in that city, the Turks had been an ever-present threat to Christendom, as Europe was then known.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">THE RENAISSANCE</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;Threatened from the East by a relentless Islamic Jihad, Europe was suffering from the internal corruption of the Renaissance.&nbsp; The Renaissance was a time of material advance and spiritual decline.&nbsp; It led to the rise of absolutism and the loss of the individual rights and representative governments which Christian principles had developed throughout the Middle Ages.&nbsp; Renaissance rulers, eptomised by Machiavelli, rationalized despotism.&nbsp; Machiavelli advised rulers to be careful to maintain public relations through patronage of the arts and conspicuous charities, in order to create popularity, and to mask their hold on power.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div class="paragraph"><strong>A RETURN TO PAGANISM</strong><br />Although Ancient Rome had practiced human sacrifices, slavery, infanticide, persecuted Christians and fed martyrs to wild beasts, Renaissance scholars began to hail the pagans as wiser and their times as superior to the Christian.&nbsp; This Renaissance trend to turn towards the graves of Rome and Greece was not progress but a regression to a pagan past, a rejection of the Christian faith.&nbsp;<br /><br />While Renaissance Italians revived the pagan writings and customs of Ancient Greece and Rome, and unearthed their statues, paintings and plays, immorality flourished and degeneracy accelerated.&nbsp; Along with the physical and intellectual exhumations, the ancient intellectual and spiritual diseases that had led both Rome and Greece to self-destruction came to infect life in Europe.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Literature became shallow and imitative.&nbsp; Absurd ancient theories about <em>&ldquo;Humors&rdquo;</em> were resuscitated at the expense of medical research.&nbsp; Everyone&rsquo;s municipal freedoms and individual rights were lost as Humanists extolled the tyrannical Roman laws, which tyrants were quick to adopt.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />The impact of glorifying a licentious past was absolutely devastating upon the morals and behaviour of Southern Europe.&nbsp; The despairing conclusion of Renaissance Humanism was that life is meaningless.&nbsp; To escape from this intellectual cul-de-sac, many began to plunge into the blind fortune of astrology and magic.&nbsp; Many people who had lost their belief in sin, and in rejecting the idea of eternal life, desperately sought for earthly fame and fortune.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Paganism deepened as the Renaissance extended.&nbsp; From the 14th to the 16th Centuries, many cities in Southern Europe appointed official astrologers.&nbsp; Universities had official stargazers.&nbsp; Even Popes relied on Horoscopes.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>CORRUPTION CHALLENGED</strong><br />With almost any position in the Catholic church open to the highest bidder, church positions became dominated by corrupt, money-grabbing Humanists who ruthlessly persecuted genuine believers.&nbsp;<br />Martin Luther, a brilliant lawyer and theologian visited Rome in 1510.&nbsp; Luther was shocked at the corruption and degeneracy of Rome: <em>&ldquo;Everything is permitted in Rome, except to be an honest man.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br />To finance the Pope&rsquo;s extravagant living and the construction of St. Peter&rsquo;s Cathedral, the Catholic church was selling <em>&ldquo;dispensations&rdquo;</em> that allowed purchasers to break Church rules, to eat meat on fast days, to marry a close relative, to commit adultery and so on.&nbsp; In addition, the Catholic church sold <em>&ldquo;indulgences&rdquo;</em>, which could only be cashed in Heaven - to which they claimed to hold the keys.&nbsp; These Heavenly credits could be balanced against one&rsquo;s sins committed on earth.<br />&nbsp;<br />These earthly and spiritual pardons were being sold by a Dominican monk, John Tetzel, in Saxony, when Dr. Martin Luther, now a professor at Wittenburg University, wrote 95 Theses in protest.&nbsp; Luther argued that only God could forgive sins, it was better to help the poor than to buy indulgences, and truly repentant people do not desire to avoid punishment, but rather seek it.<br />&nbsp;<br />Luther&rsquo;s challenge was in Latin, but some enterprising printer translated it into German and began to print and sell copies of it.&nbsp; Soon the 95 Theses were available in French, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and Italian.&nbsp; Soon Luther&rsquo;s dramatic challenge against the unBiblical corruption of indulgences was being read in the market places and palaces of Europe.&nbsp; Even the Pope was handed a copy to read.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>LUTHER TAKES ON THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE</strong><br />Between 1517 and 1520, 300,000 copies of Luther&rsquo;s writings were sold throughout Europe.&nbsp; It was the first time in history that a revolutionary idea had impacted a continent through a mass medium.&nbsp; Translators, printers, journalists and itinerant salesmen worked together to challenge the entire social and ecclesiastical system of the Catholic church and the Holy Roman Empire.&nbsp;<br /><br />At about the same time that Cortez was entering Mexico, and encountering Montezuma and the bloodthirsty Aztec Empire, Luther was challenging the Holy Roman Empire in Europe.<br />&nbsp;<br />In 1520, the Pope issued Luther with a Bull &ndash; an ultimatum to submit and recant or be excommunicated.&nbsp; Luther&rsquo;s response was to burn the Papal bull in public, and then to write three booklets challenging foundational teachings of the Pope.&nbsp; Luther&rsquo;s booklets: <em>&ldquo;An Appeal To the Christian Nobility&rdquo;;</em> <em>&ldquo;The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,&rdquo; </em>and <em>&ldquo;The Freedom of a Christian&rdquo;</em> created a sensation.&nbsp; Printing presses ran around the clock, turning out new editions.&nbsp; Luther rejected the right of the Vatican to interfere with the princes.&nbsp; He also recommended a national church and the expulsion of all papal representatives.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />He taught that faith alone, and not good works, makes man righteous.&nbsp; Good works follow from faith. <em>&ldquo;The tree bears fruit, the fruit does not bear the tree.&rdquo;&nbsp; </em>Luther taught that we could not only receive forgiveness for our sins, but victory over the power of sin, over our own carnal nature, by God&rsquo;s grace alone.&nbsp; By the end of 1520, Luther was proclaiming the Pope <em>&ldquo;Anti-Christ&rdquo;</em>.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Excommunicated by the Pope, all that stood between Luther and death at the hands of the Emperor was the protection of the Elector of Saxony.&nbsp; Prince Fredrick was reported to have said: <em>&ldquo;There is much in the Bible about Christ, but not much about Rome.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Prince Fredrick of Saxony was one of the most senior and influential electors in Germany.&nbsp; He had been a serious contender for the position of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.&nbsp; Charles V was Emperor of Germany, King of Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Netherlands.&nbsp; His ships were sailing around the globe, his vast armies dominated all of Europe.&nbsp; However, Charles V, could not ignore the authority of Prince Fredrick, because Germany was still largely feudal and the Emperor&rsquo;s power was not absolute.&nbsp; The German people still enjoyed many of the rights and powers, which the Renaissance had elsewhere swept away.&nbsp; Only recently crowned Emperor, and just 21 years old, Charles V had to be seen to respect the authority of the Electors who had only just crowned him.&nbsp; Prince Fredrick extracted a guarantee of safe conduct for Luther from the Emperor.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>CAPTIVE TO THE WORD OF GOD</strong><br />Summoned to Worms, on 18 April 1521, Martin Luther stood firm before the Emperor, 6 Princes, 24 Dukes, 30 Archbishops and Bishops and 7 Ambassadors.&nbsp; The young Emperor sat on a raised dais, surrounded by men in gleaming armour, mitered Archbishops and splendidly dressed nobles.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Luther was denied any opportunity to debate or defend his doctrines.&nbsp; He was asked two questions, First: to confirm that the publications on the table were his, and the second: whether he would recant, admit that his writings were all heretical, and reject them.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Confirming that the books, booklets and leaflets were his writings, Luther pointed out that they were of different types, including basic Christian doctrine, which were accepted Christian truths &ndash; he could not recant Scriptural truth.&nbsp; Other of his works exposed the corrupt living, scandalous abuses and evils of the popes.&nbsp; If he were to reject these writings he would be as a <em>&ldquo;cloak that covers evil.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp; At this, the Emperor leaned forward and shouted: <em>&ldquo;No!&rdquo;</em> Luther continued that other of his works were against private individuals who had attacked his work and attempted to defend popery.&nbsp; He confessed that, in these, he had written too harshly.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />The court demanded that Luther recant all his writings.&nbsp; Pressed again, in Latin, if he would recant, Luther answered in German: <em>&ldquo;Unless I am convinced by Scripture or clear reasoning that I am in error &ndash; for Popes and Councils have often erred and contradicted themselves &ndash; I cannot recant, for I am subject to the Scriptures I have quoted;<strong> my conscience is captive to the Word of God</strong>.&nbsp; It is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against one&rsquo;s conscience.&nbsp; Here I stand.&nbsp; I cannot do otherwise.&nbsp; So help me God.&nbsp; Amen.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br />Luther&rsquo;s courageous and historic speech before the assembled might and authority of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic church shook the world.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>OUTLAW</strong><br />Furious, Charles V wanted Luther burned as a heretic.&nbsp; Prince Fredrick insisted that he honour his guarantee of safe conduct.&nbsp; Luther was allowed to leave, but the Emperor, and four Electors, signed a statement declaring Luther an outlaw.&nbsp; Prince Fredrick of Saxony, and the Elector of the Palatinate, refused to sign.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>KIDNAPPED</strong><br />While frantic efforts were made to arrest Luther, Prince Fredrick secretly arranged for his kidnapping and spiriting away to be hidden as <em>Jonker Jorg </em>(Knight George) in the Wartburg Castle.&nbsp;<br /><br />There, in disguise, in seclusion, Luther began a Bible translation <em>Blitzkrieg</em> and by the next year, 1522, the German New Testament was on sale for only a week&rsquo;s wages.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>REVOLUTION</strong><br />Back in Wittenburg, Luther&rsquo;s colleagues, Philipp Melancthon (a 21 year old professor of Greek) and Andreas Bodenstein Carlstadt (a 30 year old professor of Philosophy and Theology) continued the work of Reformation in Luther&rsquo;s absence.&nbsp; Carlstadt took Luther&rsquo;s intellectual rebellion and turned it into a religious revolution.&nbsp; He whipped up the crowds to destroy statues, shrines and all religious artifacts as idols that needed to be destroyed.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />When Luther heard of this, he was shocked.&nbsp; Luther taught that people should not take the law into their own hands.&nbsp; Everything should be done decently and in order.&nbsp; And eliminating idolatry in our hearts comes before eradicating images in the churches.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE PROBLEM WITH IMAGES</strong><br />Images were a central means of communicating basic Gospel truths in the Middle Ages.&nbsp; As very few of the population could read and write, Bible stories were depicted through stain glass windows, statues and pictures.&nbsp; During the Middle Ages, it began to be accepted that Christians would not only learn the faith through these visual representations, but should also express the faith through reverencing these.&nbsp; An entire devotional system was developed, and an industry involving carpenters, painters, goldsmiths, silversmiths and other artisans built their livelihoods around providing images for the church.&nbsp; The Reformation, with its rejection of such idolatry, posed an economic threat to many of these people.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>THE REFORMATION SPREADS</strong><br />Luther was far and away the most popular author in Europe.&nbsp; His writings outsold all others in Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, England and Germany.<br />&nbsp;<br />Priests and nuns poured from the church and rushed towards marriage.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Princes were converted to the Reformation.&nbsp; The new Pope, Adrian VI, elected in 1521 upon the death of Leo X, demanded Luther&rsquo;s arrest.&nbsp; The Prince of Saxony refused to co-operate.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE PESANTS&nbsp; REVOLT</strong><br />Radical opportunists, such as Thomas Munzer, used this intellectual and spiritual upheaval to try to launch a political revolution.&nbsp; By the end of 1524, 30,000 armed pesants had risen up and began looting castles and monasteries, pillaging churches, kidnapping nobles, demanding ransoms and committing widespread arson and mass murder.&nbsp;<br /><br />Horrified, Luther issued a pamphlet in 1524: <em>&ldquo;Against The Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Pesants.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp; He not only disassociated from these bandits and revolutionaries, but he applied Biblical principles as to the duty of the princes to use the sword to protect the law abiding, and to punish the lawbreakers.&nbsp; The princes responded decisively against this anarchy and lawlessness.&nbsp; Munzer and 5,000 of his followers were wiped out by the knights.&nbsp; Another 20,000 rebellious pesants were killed in Alsace.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />The greatest loss of life during this pesant&rsquo;s rebellion occurred in Austria.&nbsp; Charles V&rsquo;s younger brother, Ferdinand, crushed the rebellion - with 130,000 pesants being killed in battle, or by execution.&nbsp; The pesant&rsquo;s revolt had been disastrous.&nbsp; Hundreds of castles and monasteries had been ruined.&nbsp; Hundreds of towns were depopulated and impoverished.&nbsp; Over 50,000 homeless wandered across the countryside, or hid in the forests.&nbsp; There were many widows and orphans.&nbsp; Because many of the rebels had destroyed the charters that recorded the municipal rights and feudal dues, new charters, many far more demanding, were drawn up.&nbsp;&nbsp; Censorship laws were enforced all over Europe.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>TURKISH INVASION</strong><br />Then, in 1526, the Muslim Turks attacked Hungary.&nbsp; Suleiman, the Magnificent, overwhelmed the small Hungarian army of 30,000 with his 300,000 invading Turks.&nbsp; King Louis II of Hungary was killed and the capital, Buda (what is today Budapest) was captured and looted by the Turks.&nbsp; The Turkish invaders drove off over 200,000 Hungarian Christians into Islamic slavery.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>ROME IS SACKED</strong><br />The next year, 1527, Emperor Charles V led his army to capture Rome, the richest city in Europe.&nbsp; The corruption and meddling of the Pope had outraged even ardent Catholic Charles V.&nbsp; Now his army sacked Rome itself.&nbsp; The Pope was held for an immense ransom.&nbsp; Throughout Europe this was seen as the Judgment of God upon a debauched city and a corrupt church.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>REPRESSION IN THE NETHERLANDS</strong><br />The Catholic Inquisition in the Netherlands demanded that all hold to and believe the doctrines of the Holy Roman Catholic church. <em>&ldquo;Men and women who disobey this command shall be punished as disturbers of public order.&nbsp; Women who have fallen into heresy shall be burned alive.&nbsp; Men, if they recant, shall lose their heads.&nbsp; If they continue obstinate, they shall be burned at the stake.</em> <em>The Inquisition is to enquire into the private opinions of every person, of whatever degree.&nbsp; Law officers of all kinds shall assist the Inquisition at their peril.&nbsp; Those who know where heretics are concealed, shall denounce them, or they shall suffer as heretics themselves.&rdquo;</em> Under this edict, in the Netherlands alone, over 50,000 Protestants were killed.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>ZWINGLI&rsquo;S REFORMATION</strong><br />In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli had launched a parallel Reformation starting with the expository preaching of the Gospel of Matthew, 1 January 1519, in <em>Grossmunster</em> in Zurich.&nbsp; The City Council supported Zwingli&rsquo;s Reforms.&nbsp; All Zurich clergymen were ordered to preach only from the Scripture.&nbsp; The Bible became the basis for all law.&nbsp; The Council abolished the mass.&nbsp; All religious images, statues, relics and ornaments were removed from churches.&nbsp; Monks, nuns and priests were permitted to marry.&nbsp; Soon other&nbsp; Swiss cantons were embracing the Reformation.&nbsp;<br /><br />In 1529, a Protestant missionary from Zurich was burned at the stake for preaching the Gospel in the Catholic canton of Schwyz.&nbsp; Zurich stopped all trade with Schwyz in protest.&nbsp; The Catholic Cantons declared war.&nbsp; At the Battle of Kappel, October 1531, 8,000 Catholic soldiers overwhelmed the 1,500 Protestants.&nbsp; Zurich Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli, died in this battle and was killed by a Catholic captain when he refused to call upon the Virgin Mary.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>REPRESSION IN FRANCE</strong><br />At the beginning of the 16th Century, France was the largest and richest nation in Europe.&nbsp; France had a population of 16 million at a time when Spain had 7 million and England had 3 million.&nbsp; Paris was the largest city in Europe with a population of 300,000.&nbsp;<br /><br />Luther&rsquo;s books poured into France.&nbsp; French Reformer, Jacques le Fevre, published a French translation of the New Testament in 1523, and the next year of the Psalms.&nbsp; He was denounced as a <em>&ldquo;heretic.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br />King Francis I ordered vigorous persecution to stamp out the Protestant Faith in his realm.&nbsp; Protestants were branded, their hands and noses amputated, red-hot irons were applied to the head.&nbsp; Many were burned alive.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />At the same time as Francis I was ordering mutilations and tortures on Protestants, his sister, Marguerite, was herself praying with Reformer Farel, and protecting Protestants.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE OUTLAW JOHN CALVIN</strong><br />Brilliant young law student, John Calvin, was converted to the Protestant Faith, and started to call for a purified Christianity, stressing salvation through grace.&nbsp; He wrote a treatise on life after death, and another on Christian Doctrine.&nbsp; Calvin was arrested twice, and after a number of life-threatening escapes, Calvin was declared an outlaw and he was on the run from the authorities.&nbsp;<br />&#8203;<br />By 1536, he had produced <em>&ldquo;The Institutes of the Christian Religion&rdquo;</em> a theological masterpiece, systematically expounding the Biblical Faith, conduct and devotion of the Protestant Faith.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>FAREL WINS GENEVA TO THE REFORMATION</strong><br />When French Protestant preacher, Guillaume Farel, first came to Geneva it was a very immoral city.&nbsp; Geneva had a prostitutes quarter, priests living with concubines, and a corrupt bishop.&nbsp; Farel first came to Geneva in October 1532.&nbsp; Farel was a missionary from Bern, the strongest Protestant canton in Switzerland.&nbsp; Farel had played a leading role in bringing about the triumph of the Reformation in Bern, Neuchatel, and several other towns.&nbsp; He had also won over the Waldenses to embrace the principles of the Reformation.&nbsp; Farel&rsquo;s fiery preaching and unbeatable logic in debate with the Catholics won the city.&nbsp; As hundreds of Genevans were won to Christ, Farel seized the Cathedral of St. Peter and on 21 May 1536, the General Assembly of citizens voted in favour of the Reformation and made the Protestant Faith the official religion of Geneva.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>CALVIN&rsquo;S CALL TO GENEVA</strong><br />With Geneva in revolt against its bishop and against the Duke of Savoy, Farel knew that his eloquence and evangelistic zeal was not sufficient to disciple this distracted city.&nbsp; It was at that opportune time that a local war compelled Calvin to divert through Geneva.&nbsp; He had planned to spend only one night in Geneva.&nbsp; When Farel heard that this famous French scholar and author was passing through, he hurried to recruit him.&nbsp; Calvin&rsquo;s mind was set on his studies, but Farel would have none of that.&nbsp; He threatened that God would curse his studies if he refused to aid the church in Geneva at this critical time.&nbsp; Visibly shaken, and struck with terror, Calvin reluctantly agreed to serve in Geneva.&nbsp; Calvin began his ministry in the Church of St. Peter by preaching through the Epistles of St. Paul.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>TURBULENT TIMES</strong><br />King Francis I of France shocked all of Christendom by making an alliance with the Turks in his war against Charles V.&nbsp; His political and military gamble failed, he was defeated and died bankrupt and disgraced, in 1547.&nbsp; The deaths of both France I and Henry VIII in the same year, 1547, emphasized the turbulence of that time when Luther, Zwingli, Farel and Tyndale had contended with the Popes and Charles V, Henry VIII and Francis I for the heart, mind and soul of Christendom.&nbsp;<br /><br />The Protestant Faith swept across Europe flourishing in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, England and Scotland.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>SCOTLAND</strong><br />Scottish Reformer, George Wishart, was burned at the stake in Scotland.&nbsp; The Archbishop responsible for his execution, Cardinal David Beaton, was brutally assassinated in revenge.&nbsp; Protestants captured the Castle of St. Andrews.&nbsp; They were joined by John Knox, besieged by a French fleet, captured and condemned to the galleys.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>REFORMATION IN ENGLAND</strong><br />When King Henry VIII of England died, his 9 year old son, a dedicated Protestant, Edward VI, became king.&nbsp; Archbishop Thomas Cranmer initiated sweeping Reforms.&nbsp; All paintings and images were removed from churches.&nbsp; The mass was abolished and replaced with communion.&nbsp; The English language replaced Latin in worship services.&nbsp; The English <em>&ldquo;Book of Common Prayer&rdquo;</em> was introduced.&nbsp; Priests received permission to marry.&nbsp; Stone altars were demolished and replaced by tables.&nbsp; Protestant books and pamphlets flooded England.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>CALVIN&rsquo;S GENEVA</strong><br />Guided by John Calvin&rsquo;s Biblical preaching and systematic teaching, Geneva became the hub of the Reformation.&nbsp; Refugees fleeing persecution found sanctuary in Geneva.&nbsp; Calvin&rsquo;s writings produced the greatest concentration of printers and publishing firms in the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />Calvin established an Academy that taught Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Theology.&nbsp; Graduates of Geneva&rsquo;s Academy carried the Reformed teachings into France, Holland, England and Scotland.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>EDWARD VI</strong><br />King Edward VI of England intervened to secure the release of the Protestants of St. Andrews, including John Knox, from the galleys of France, in a prisoner exchange.&nbsp; Knox was appointed a royal chaplain and helped Archbishop Cranmer in producing <em>&ldquo;The Book of Common Prayer.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;<br /><br />Then the young Protestant King Edward became seriously ill, suffering from measles, small pox and tuberculosis.&nbsp; Rumors that he had been poisoned by a Catholic assassin abounded.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>LADY JANE GREY</strong><br />Fears for the future of the Reformation in England at the imminent death of King Edward VI caused the Regent, the Duke of Northumberland, to persuade the King to alter the Laws of Succession to bypass his Catholic sister, Mary, and crown Lady Jane Grey as Queen. In the end Edward&rsquo;s death came swiftly, as the Catholic forces mustered to place Mary Tudor on the throne of England. Jane was Queen for only 9 days when the forces of Mary arrested and imprisoned her in the Tower of London.&nbsp; Pressured by her cousin, Mary, to renounce her Protestant Faith and embrace Catholicism, 16 year old Lady Jane courageously&nbsp; remained steadfast, and was beheaded as a result.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>BLOODY MARY</strong><br />Queen Mary married the heir to the Holy Roman Empire, Prince Philip of Spain.&nbsp; Philip arrived with a huge fleet of ships and a vast Spanish entourage to dominate the English court.&nbsp; Cardinal Reginald Pole was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.&nbsp; England was formally returned to Catholicism, and the most prominent Protestant bishops, including Hooper, Ridley, Latimer and (the previous Archbishop) Cranmer, were burned at the stake, followed by hundreds of other prominent Protestant leaders.&nbsp; With every execution resistance to Catholicism spread and commitment to the Reformation doctrines deepened.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>THE END OF CHARLES V</strong><br />As Charles V abdicated in 1556, Mary&rsquo;s husband Philip became King Philip II.&nbsp; Soon English troops and calvary were being sent to the Netherlands to help crush the widespread Protestant revolt.<br />&nbsp;<br />From the perspective of the Holy Roman Empire, the year 1558 was disastrous.&nbsp; Charles V, (the Emperor who Martin Luther had defied with his <em>&ldquo;my conscience is captive to the Word of God&hellip;Here I stand&hellip;&rdquo;</em> speech), died in agony, 21 September 1558.&nbsp; Charles V had condemned over 30,000 Protestants to torturous executions during his reign.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>REVERSAL OF FORTUNES</strong><br />Shortly after that, on 17 November 1558, <em>&ldquo;Blood Mary&rdquo;</em> died of fever.&nbsp; Twelve hours later her Cardinal Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury, died of the same fever in Lambeth Palace.<br />&nbsp;<br />1559 began with the Protestants on the march, and with the Catholic cause in defeat and retreat.&nbsp; Emperor Charles V was now dead.&nbsp; His sister, Mary, the former Regent of the Netherlands had also died.&nbsp; Mary of Lorraine, Regent of Scotland, was out of power, and on the run.&nbsp; <em>&ldquo;Bloody Mary&rsquo;s&rdquo;</em> Counter Reformation in England had been counterproductive, instead of returning England to Catholicism, she had only succeeded in entrenching the vast majority of Englishmen in their commitment to the Reformation.&nbsp; On 15 January 1559, Protestant Elizabeth Tudor was crowned Queen of England.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>KNOX TAKES SCOTLAND BY STORM</strong><br />On 2 May 1559, John Knox returned from exile to Scotland.&nbsp; His fiery sermon against idolatry galvanized the Scottish into immediate action.&nbsp; Altars were demolished.&nbsp; Images, statutes and crucifixes were removed from churches.&nbsp; The Scottish Lords of the Congregation worked together with the English to force all French troops to leave Scottish soil.&nbsp; The Scottish Parliament instructed Knox to draw up a Confession of Faith, which was adopted into law.<br />&nbsp;<br />In 1560, the Geneva Bible was published.&nbsp; Before it was replaced by the King James Version (1611) over 140 editions of the Geneva Bible were published.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS</strong><br />The attempt to return Scotland to Catholicism by the return of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, in 1561, put the Reformation in jeopardy.&nbsp; Mary Stuart was heir to England&rsquo;s throne if Elizabeth died.&nbsp; Numerous Catholic assassination attempts and intrigues to replace Elizabeth I with Mary Queen of Scots underlined the peril to the cause of Reformation and freedom in England itself.<br />&nbsp;<br />Mary Queen of Scots&rsquo; immorality and intrigues outraged the population of Scotland.&nbsp; John Knox&rsquo;s courageous confrontations of Mary and the scandal caused by her complicity in the murder of her husband, and marrying of his murderer, finally led to her being forced to abdicate in 1567.&nbsp; Her infant son was crowned James VI of Scotland (he later became James I of England).&nbsp; Knox preached at James VI&rsquo;s coronation.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>CATHOLIC CRUELTY IN HOLLAND</strong><br />Meanwhile, while the Reformation was triumphing in Britain, it was under relentless attack on the continent of Europe. Charles V&rsquo;s son, Philip II, was determined to crush the flourishing Protestant Faith in Holland.&nbsp; In 1566, Philip issued a proclamation requiring all his subjects to accept the decrees made by the Council of Trent.&nbsp; All who would not comply with these demands were to be delivered to the Inquisitors.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />In 1567, Philip sent in his Spanish troops, led by the cruel Duke of Alva.&nbsp; Alva set up the Council of Blood which had 8,000 Dutch Protestants executed.&nbsp; Another 30,000 had their property confiscated.&nbsp; In 1568, the Inquisition condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands &ndash; 3 million men, women and children &ndash; to death as <em>&ldquo;heretics.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>WILLIAM PRINCE OF ORANGE</strong><br />William the Silent, Prince of Orange, became the leader of the persecuted Dutch Protestants.&nbsp; William and his Dutch soldiers fought valiantly, despite overwhelming odds.&nbsp; Their greatest strength was their skilled navy, which, although they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the Spanish, triumphed over the Spanish time and again.<br />&nbsp;<br />In 1579, the 7 northern provinces joined to form the United Provinces of the Netherlands.&nbsp; In 1581, the United Provinces declared the Netherlands to be independent of Spain.&nbsp; In 1584, the Dutch suffered a severe blow when a Spanish agent assassinated Prince William &ndash; the Father of Dutch Liberties.&nbsp; The Dutch Protestants continued to fight for their freedom until 1648 when their independence from Spain was finally secured.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE MUSLIM THREAT</strong><br />It was not as though Europe&rsquo;s only threat was from treacherous tyrants, just the year before the St. Bartholomew&rsquo;s Day Massacre in France, Europe faced a most desperate attack from the Muslim Turks.&nbsp; In 1571, the Turkish Empire stretched from the Ukraine to Hungary to Egypt and Persia, from North Africa to the Caspian Sea.&nbsp; Turkish warships attacked Christian shipping from all along North Africa.&nbsp; Turkish pirates pillaged and looted the coasts of Europe capturing Christians as slaves as far afield as England and Ireland.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE FALL OF CYPRUS</strong><br />In 1571, Cyprus fell to the Turks.&nbsp; 5,000 Greek and Italian Christians killed 30,000 Turkish attackers in their fierce resistance.&nbsp; Only after all supplies were exhausted and guarantees of safe conduct were offered, did the garrison finally surrender.&nbsp; But the Turks treacherously had all the Venetian prisoners executed, and the rest of the Christians shipped to Constantinople as slaves.&nbsp; The courageous Christian General, Bragadino, had his nose and ears cut off, his teeth broken and was whipped daily until 17 August, when he was flayed alive in the city square.&nbsp; The Turks laid waste to the island of Corfu and massed their fleets to attack Europe.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO</strong><br />The European forces were led by Don John of Austria, half brother of Philip II.&nbsp; The Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571 was one of the most critical naval battles in history.&nbsp; The Christian forces, with 208 warships were outnumbered by the larger Turkish fleet of 230.&nbsp; The Christian forces closed in for the fight in hand to hand combat with the enemy.&nbsp; Spanish infantry flowed onto the Turkish vessels and, in ferocious hand-to-hand combat, overwhelmed the Turks.&nbsp; The Turkish losses were estimated at over 30,000 dead and wounded and 15,000 prisoners.&nbsp; On their side, the Christians had lost 10 galleys, 8,000 men killed and 21,000 wounded.<br />&nbsp;<br />Lepanto was one of the great turning points in history.&nbsp; It ended the fear of the Turks that had threatened to overwhelm all of Europe.&nbsp; It stopped the Turkish advance.&nbsp; Church bells tolled throughout Europe as many prayers of thanksgiving were offered by millions of grateful Europeans.&nbsp; As historian, Otto Scott, observed:&nbsp; <em>&ldquo;Only God could have saved so divided a Europe against so determined and savage, rich and heavily armed a foe.&nbsp; After Lepanto the Turk remained a menace, but not an unconquerable one.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>MASSACRES IN FRANCE</strong><br />The St. Bartholomew&rsquo;s Day Massacre horrified Protestants worldwide and entrenched the conviction that the Catholic church was treacherous and that any guarantees given by them or treaties signed would not be honoured.&nbsp; Up to 30,000 Protestants were massacred throughout France, including the leader of the French Huguenots, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny.&nbsp; The massacre was ordered by King Charles IX under the influence of his mother Catherine de Medici.<br /><br /><strong>THE ST. BARTHOLEMEW&rsquo;S DAY MASSACRE</strong><br />The St. Bartholemew&rsquo;s Day Massacre, 24 August 1572, began at 3 in the morning.&nbsp; The first to be murdered was the aristocratic Admiral Coligny.&nbsp; Henry of Guise supervised the attack.&nbsp; His men burst into Coligny&rsquo;s home, stabbed the Admiral and threw him out of the window.&nbsp; As Coligny landed at Guise&rsquo;s feet, Henry of Guise spat on the body, and then told his men to spread the word that the king commanded the death of all Huguenots: <em>&ldquo;Kill them all! Kill them all!&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br />Horrible slaughter and mutilations followed.&nbsp; Approximately 5,000 Protestants were murdered in Paris alone.&nbsp; The Spanish Ambassador wrote: <em>&ldquo;As I write, they are killing them all, they are stripping them naked&hellip;sparing not even the children.&nbsp; Blessed be God!&rdquo;</em>&nbsp; Similar massacres occurred in Lyon, Dijon, Tours, Rouen, Troyes, and Toulouse.&nbsp; A total of 30,000 Protestants were murdered on St. Bartholomew&rsquo;s Day throughout France.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />When the news reached Rome, the Cardinal of Lorraine gave the bearer of this news a thousands crowns.&nbsp; Gregory XIII and his Cardinals attended a solemn high mass of thanksgiving.&nbsp; The Pope ordered a special medal to be struck commemorating the massacre with the words <em>&ldquo;Pontifex Colbni Necent Probat&rdquo;</em> (The Pope approves the killing of Coligny).&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>RESISTANCE STIFFENS</strong><br />The St. Bartholomew&rsquo;s Day Massacre permanently altered Protestant thinking.&nbsp; Calvinists turned from previously accepting the divine right of kings to questioning the entire institution of the monarchy.&nbsp; The Catholic cause, already stained by <em>&ldquo;Bloody Mary&rsquo;s&rdquo;</em> persecutions in England, and the Duke of Alva&rsquo;s slaughter in the Netherlands, was now indelibly identified with the most bestial persecutions, tyranny and treachery.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Two months later, the Calvinists launched an offensive that lasted nearly a year.&nbsp; At its conclusion, Charles IX was forced to sign another treaty guaranteeing freedom of worship in France.&nbsp; English gold and practical support boosted the Protestant resistance in the Netherlands and Scotland.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Jesuit assassins and conspirators arrived in England to arrange for the overthrow of Elizabeth I, and her replacement with Mary Stuart.&nbsp; An army bearing papal banners invaded Ireland.&nbsp; In 1583, a Catholic plot involving English noblemen and a Spanish plan for invasion was uncovered.&nbsp; The Spanish Ambassador was expelled from England.&nbsp; As long as Mary Stuart remained alive she presented a clear and present danger to the life of Elizabeth, and the survival of the Protestant Faith and freedom in England.&nbsp; Mary Stuart represented Spain, the vast Catholic international and the Guises of France.&nbsp; Parliament placed Mary Stuart on trial at Fotheringay Castle.&nbsp; Despite attempts by Elizabeth to stop the proceedings, Mary Stuart was sentenced to death and executed 12 May 1587.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE SPANISH ARMADA</strong><br />Philip II, who had recently conquered Portugal, now began to prepare for an invasion of England.&nbsp; This was while France was torn by civil war with three armies in the field, one led by the giggling transvestite with a whitened face, Henry III, the other by Henry Duke of Guise, and the third by Henry of Navarre, a Protestant.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />King Philip of Spain then launched what the Spaniards called, the <em>&ldquo;Invincible Armada.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp; The world had never before seen such a powerful fleet.&nbsp; Having recently defeated the Turkish fleet, the tiny English navy was not perceived to be any significant obstacle to the Spanish invasion and conquest of England.&nbsp; Philip looked forward to the destruction of the Protestants and the restoration of Catholicism in England.&nbsp; With the English support severed, it would be easy for him to finally crush the rebellion in the Netherlands.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />However, while churches throughout England held extraordinary prayer meetings, a storm wrecked the Spanish plans. The Duke of Parma&rsquo;s invasion barges from Holland were not able to be used, and the English tactics of setting fireships amongst the huge Spanish galleons, created confusion.&nbsp; Courageous action by English seamen and continuing storms decimated and broke up the Spanish Armada.&nbsp; Dutch support also helped the English defeat the Spanish Armada.&nbsp; Most of what was left of Philip&rsquo;s fleet was devastated by more storms on the coast of Scotland and Ireland.&nbsp; Only a miserable remnant of the once proud Armada limped back into the ports of Spain.&nbsp; 51 Spanish ships and 20,000 men had been lost.&nbsp; The English navy had not even lost one ship!&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />The greatest superpower of Europe at that time had suffered a crippling blow.&nbsp; The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 marked a great watershed in history.&nbsp; It signaled the decline of Spain and the rise of England.&nbsp; Commemorative medals were struck with the inscriptions: <em>&ldquo;God blew and they were scattered!&rdquo; </em>and <em>&ldquo;Man proposes, God disposes.&rdquo;</em><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE RISE OF PROTESTANT NAVAL POWERS</strong><br />Before 1588, the world powers were Spain and Portugal.&nbsp; These Roman Catholic empires dominated the seas and the overseas possessions of Europe.&nbsp; Only after the English defeated the Spanish Armada did the possibility arise of Protestant missionaries crossing the seas.&nbsp; As the Dutch and British grew in military and naval strength, they were able to challenge the Catholic dominance of the seas and the new continents.&nbsp; Foreign missions now became a distinct possibility.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>THE DEFEAT OF SPAIN AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE REFORMATION</strong><br />Had the Armada succeeded, recent history would be unrecognizable.&nbsp; In the 16th Century, Spain led the Catholic cause; England the Protestant.&nbsp; All of Europe feared Spain.&nbsp; It had defeated all its adversaries, even the Turk.&nbsp; The Catholic nations of Europe had every expectation that Spain would succeed in crushing Protestantism by conquering England and Holland.&nbsp; When the Armada failed, the mystique of Spanish invincibility was destroyed.&nbsp; With the defeat of Catholic Spain the Vatican cause floundered.&nbsp; If <em>&ldquo;Bloody Mary&rdquo;</em> had undermined the Catholic credibility, the defeat of the Spanish Armada eradicated every hope that the Reformation in England could be reversed.<br />&nbsp;<br />The extraordinary energies that had been released by the rediscovery of the Bible in the common tongue, had led to the most extraordinary spiritual revival in history, freed the Christians of Northern Europe from the decadence of the Renaissance paganism and led to the greatest birth of freedom and scientific discoveries in history.<br />&nbsp;<br />The 16th Century was the Greatest Century of Reformation.<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter Hammond<br />Frontline Fellowship<br />PO Box 74<br />Newlands, Cape Town<br />South Africa<br />E-mail: <a href="mailto:admin@frontline.org.za">admin@frontline.org.za</a><br />Web: <a href="https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/" target="_blank">www.frontlinemissionsa.org&nbsp;</a><br />&#8203;</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[HEINRICH BULLINGER  – CONSOLIDATING THE REFORMATION]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2022 11:28:58 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Reformation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reformation in Germany]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation</guid><description><![CDATA[ To view a Video presentation on this article, Click HereTo listen to an audio presentation on this article, Click HereBullinger was Zwingli&rsquo;s successor. For 44 years he pastored Grossmunster in Zurich. Considering the important role he played, and the prodigious quantity of his writings, it is remarkable that Bullinger is one of the least known of the Reformers.&nbsp;&nbsp;CONVERSION&#8203;Born 18 July 1504, the fifth son of the priest, Henry Bullinger, Heinrich was sent to study at the p [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:307px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-1.jpg?1658144224" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">To view a Video presentation on this article, <a href="https://vimeo.com/557524881" target="_blank">Click Here<br /></a>To listen to an audio presentation on this article, <a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6121101068174" target="_blank">Click Here</a><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Bullinger was Zwingli&rsquo;s successor. For 44 years he pastored Grossmunster in Zurich. Considering the important role he played, and the prodigious quantity of his writings, it is remarkable that Bullinger is one of the least known of the Reformers.&nbsp;</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">CONVERSION<br />&#8203;</strong><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Born 18 July 1504, the fifth son of the priest, Henry Bullinger, Heinrich was sent to study at the prestigious Emmerich Seminary on the Rhine, at aged 12.&nbsp; At 15 years old, he enrolled at the University in Cologne, earning his Bachelor of Arts the next year.&nbsp; It was at this time that he was converted to the Reformed faith through studying the Latin and Greek fathers of the Church.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:217px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-2.jpg?1658144239" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">&#8203;<strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">MARRIAGE</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In 1523, Bullinger was called to teach at the Cistercian Monastery of Kappel, near Zurich.&nbsp; Here he taught on the Epistles of Paul and proposed to Anna Adlischweiler, a nun, who remained in a de-consecrated convent.&nbsp; Bullinger&rsquo;s proposal in writing is still preserved:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Do you want to share with me sorrow and joy and, under my protection, live in love according to God&rsquo;s Order?&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Her&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Yes&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;was uttered at Grossmunster, where Ulrich Zwingli was the pastor.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:355px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-3.jpg?1658144252" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">CALL</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After the death of Reformer Ulrich Zwingli at the Battle of Kappel in 1531, Bullinger was chosen to become his successor as Pastor of Grossmunster.&nbsp; Appointed the First Minister (the equivalent of a Reformed Bishop) Bullinger and his family moved into the house of Zwingli, and he took responsibility for caring for the widow and two dependant children of the Reformer who had been killed in battle.&nbsp; Heinrich Bullinger&rsquo;s marriage to Anna was long and loving and produced 11 children.&nbsp; All of their sons became Protestant ministers.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:316px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-4.jpg?1658144265" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">CONSOLIDATION</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">For the next 44 years, Bullinger presided over the destinies of the church in Zurich, consolidating the Reformation begun by Zwingli.&nbsp; Bullinger was a prolific writer and his widely published work included&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Decades of Sermons</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;(50 sermons on Christian doctrine),&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The History of The Reformation,&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">and</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;The Diary</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">.&nbsp; Because of his growing authority as a respected theologian, his concilatory spirit and his diplomatic gifts, he became the friend of Calvin and Beza, and the recognised head of the Reformed churches of Switzerland.&nbsp;</span><br /></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:349px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-5.jpg?1658144276" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">CORRESPONDENCE</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">He maintained an important correspondence with political and religious leaders throughout the whole of Europe (more than 12,000 of his letters are preserved at the Zentral Bibliotek in Zurich.&nbsp; Through his sermons and publications, including Bible commentaries, he exercised a lasting influence on the Reformed movement worldwide.&nbsp; His&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Decades</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;were many times republished and translated into French and English.&nbsp; Bullinger&rsquo;s correspondents included Henry VIII and Edward VI of England.&nbsp; When, in 1570, Queen Elizabeth needed to prepare a response to the Papacy, she turned to Bullinger to draft her reply.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:380px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-6.jpg?1658144289" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">&#8203;<strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">CONFESSIONS</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Bullinger&rsquo;s contributions to systematizing the doctrine of Zwingli and organising the churches of Reformed Switzerland, were decisive.&nbsp; In 1537, he wrote&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The First Helvetic Confession</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">, which was adopted by the churches of Zurich, Berne, Basle, Shaffhusen, Saint-Gall, Muhlhause and Bienna.&nbsp; In 1549, he, along with John Calvin, wrote The Zurich Agreement (</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Consensus Tigurinus</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">) on the Lord&rsquo;s Supper.&nbsp; In 1566, Bullinger&rsquo;s&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Brief Exposition of The Faith&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">became the basis for&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Second Helvetic Confession</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">, which remained for centuries the basis for the Reformed Churches of the Swiss Confederation.&nbsp; The Helvetic Confessions were widely known and respected amongst the Reformed communities of France, England, Scotland, Poland, Hungary and Bohemia.&nbsp;&nbsp; They also left an imprint on the Presbyterian Churches in the USA.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">One historian commented about The Helvetic Confession&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;This Confession is the most natural and simplest of all&hellip;it says in the clearest way what it means.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-7_orig.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">&#8203;<strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">THE STUDENT</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Zwingli wrote concerning Bullinger:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;This young man is very learned&hellip; he compares everything, he reconciles everything.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">John Calvin praised Bullinger in these words:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;After Melancthon came Bullinger, who has rightly earned great praise: because with doctrine he had an ease which made him most easy to read.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:401px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-8.jpg?1658144314" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;">&#8203;<strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">THE PREACHER</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Berthold Haller of Berne wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;God gave you the gift of explaining simply, of lifting the bushel and letting the light of the Holy Word shine.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Conrad Pellician of Basle wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;A Bishop in his youth, pious, loyal, educated, true and devoted, an incomparable preacher, the words of whom act within as the pen of Christendom&hellip;a man of God.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1586, instructed ministers that they should read a chapter of the Bible each day and one of Bullinger&rsquo;s sermons each week.&nbsp; The Foreword to the English translation of&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Decades</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;stated:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;These sermons are comparable to a gold mine, the deeper you delve, the richer they are.&nbsp; They abstruseness of Calvin is here replaced with an extraordinary clarity of expression.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The successor of Calvin, Theodore Beza, had been won to the Reformed faith at the age of 16, by a tract written by Bullinger.&nbsp; Beza wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;We are used to being strengthened by you&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Beza referred to Bullinger as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;our rudder&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">and as his</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&rdquo; father&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">in the faith.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-9_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-9_orig.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">THE PASTOR</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Bullinger was a devoted pastor whose home was constantly open to the hungry, the lost, the persecuted and the spiritual seeker.&nbsp; Although his salary was meager, he gave many gifts, giving of his own small income to hospitals and institutions of mercy.&nbsp; Bullinger&rsquo;s preaching was powerful and his pen seldom rested.&nbsp; For 44 years, he maintained an average of preaching 7 times a week.&nbsp; His pastoral heart produced one of the first Protestant books on comforting the sick and the dying.&nbsp;</span>&#8203;</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:363px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-10_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation-10.jpg?1658144338" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>THE REFORMER</strong><br />Bullinger built upon the solid foundations laid by Ulrich Zwingli and provided an ecclesiastical and theological order that was thoroughly Reformed.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong><em>&ldquo;Therefore, My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.&rdquo; </em></strong>1 Corinthians 15:58<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter HammondThe Reformation Society<br />P.O. Box 74<br /><strong>Newlands</strong><br /><strong>7725 Cape Town</strong><br /><strong>South Africa</strong><br /><strong>Email: <a href="mailto:info@reformationsa.org">info@reformationsa.org</a> </strong><br />Web: <a href="http://www.reformationsa.org/">www.reformationsa.org</a></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Martin Luther - Captive to the Word of God]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2022 08:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Reformation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reformation in Germany]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god</guid><description><![CDATA[The ControversialLuther has been alternatively described as the brilliant scholar who rediscovered the central message of the Bible, a prophet like Elijah and John the Baptist to reform God’s people, the liberator who arose to free his people from the oppression of Rome, the last medieval man, and the first modern man. Zwingli described him as:&nbsp;“the Hercules who defeated the tyranny of Rome.”&nbsp;Pope Leo X called Luther:&nbsp;“A wild boar, ravaging his vineyard.”&nbsp;Emperor Ch [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:304px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-1.jpg?1603896319" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The Controversial</strong></span><br><span>Luther has been alternatively described as the brilliant scholar who rediscovered the central message of the Bible, a prophet like Elijah and John the Baptist to reform God&rsquo;s people, the liberator who arose to free his people from the oppression of Rome, the last medieval man, and the first modern man. Zwingli described him as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;the Hercules who defeated the tyranny of Rome.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Pope Leo X called Luther:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;A wild boar, ravaging his vineyard.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Emperor Charles V described him as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;A demon in the habit of a monk!&rdquo;</em></span><br><br><span><strong>The Son</strong></span><br><span>Martin Luther was born 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony. His father, Hans Luder, had worked hard to climb the&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;social ladder&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;from his humble peasant origins to become a successful copper mining entrepreneur. Hans married Margaretha Lindemann, the daughter of a prosperous and gifted family that included doctors, lawyers, university professors and politicians. Hans Luder owned several mines and smelters and he became a member of the City Council in Mansfield, where Martin was raised, under the strict discipline typical of that time.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><div><div id="156853132580349456" align="left" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><iframe tabindex="-1" width="100%" height="60" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/31617757397/?dark=true&amp;mini=true" style="min-width: 150px;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div><div><!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div><div><div id="861286488938356347" align="center" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><iframe src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/6uYXZjKkITJPZX" width="100%" height="350" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div><div><div id="243966069186185093" align="left" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><div style="padding:56.66% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/227875118?title=0&amp;byline=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:263px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-2.jpg?1603896327" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The Student</strong><br></span><span>From age 7, Martin began studying Latin at school. Hans intended his son to become a lawyer, so he was sent on to the University of Erfurt before his 14th&nbsp;birthday. Martin proved to be extraordinarily intelligent and he earned his BA and MA degrees in the shortest time allowed by the statutes of the University. Martin proved so effective in debating, that he earned the nickname:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;the philosopher.&rdquo;<br></em></span><br><span><strong>The Storm</strong><br>&#8203;</span><span>As Martin excelled in his studies, he began to be concerned about the state of his soul and the suitability of the career his father had set before him. While travelling on foot, near the town of Stotternhein, a violent thunderstorm brought Martin to his knees. With lightning striking all around him, Luther cried out for protection to the patron saint of miners:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;St. Anne, help me, I will become a monk!&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;The storm around him matched the conflict raging within his soul.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-3.jpg?1603896349" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The Monk</strong><br>&#8203;</span><span>Although his parents were pious people, they were shocked when he abandoned his legal studies at Erfurt and entered the Augustinian monastery. Martin was 21 years old when, in July 1505, he gave away all his possessions &ndash; including his lute, his many books and clothing &ndash; and entered the Black Cloister of the Augustinians.</span><br><br><span>Luther quickly adapted to monastic life, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the manual labour, spiritual disciplines and studies required. He went way beyond the fasts, prayers and ascetic practices required and forced himself to sleep on the cold stone floor without a blanket, whipped himself, and seriously damaged his health. He was described as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;devout, earnest, relentlessly self-disciplined, unsparingly self-critical, intelligent&hellip;&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;impeccable.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Luther rigorously pursued the monastic ideal and devoted himself to study, prayer and the sacraments. He wearied his priest with his confessions and with his punishments of himself with fasting, sleepless nights, and flagellation.</span><br><br><span><strong>The Professor</strong></span><br><span>Luther&rsquo;s wise and godly superior, Johannes von Staupitz, recognised Martin&rsquo;s great intellectual talents, and to channel his energies away from excessive introspection ordered him to undertake further studies, including Hebrew, Greek and the Scriptures, to become a university lecturer for the order.</span><br><br><span>Luther was ordained a priest in 1507 and studied and taught at the Universities of Wittenberg and Erfurt (1508 &ndash; 1511). In 1512, Martin Luther received his doctoral degree and took the traditional vow on becoming a professor at Wittenberg University to teach and defend the Scriptures faithfully. This vow would be a tremendous source of encouragement to him later. Luther never viewed himself as a rebel, but rather as a theologian seeking to be faithful to the vow required of him to teach and defend Holy Scripture. Luther committed most of the New Testament, much of the Old Testament and all of the Psalms to memory.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-4.jpg?1603896372" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>Wittenberg</strong></span><br><span>The University of Wittenberg had been founded by Prince Frederick of Saxony in 1502. Luther&rsquo;s friend from his university days in Erfurt, George Spalatin, was now chaplain and secretary to the Prince, and closely involved in the Prince&rsquo;s pet project of his new university. Wittenberg at this time was a small river town with only about 2,000 residents. Prince Frederick wanted to build it up into his new capital of Saxony.</span><br><br><span><strong>Studies That Shook the World</strong><br>&#8203;</span><span>From 1513 to 1517, Luther lectured at the University on the Psalms, Romans and Galatians. Being a university professor would have been a full-time job; however, Luther had other responsibilities as well. He was the supervisor for 11 Augustinian monasteries, including the one at Wittenberg. Luther was also responsible for preaching regularly at the monastery chapel, the town church and the castle church. It was a combination of Luther&rsquo;s theological and pastoral concerns that led him to take the actions that sparked the Reformation.</span><br><br><span>Luther had long been troubled spiritually with the righteousness of God. God demanded absolute righteousness:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><em>&ldquo;Be holy, as I am Holy.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;We are obligated to love God whole-heartedly, and our neighbours as ourselves.<br><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">It was because of his great concern for his eternal salvation that Luther had sought to flee the world. In spite of the bitter grief and anger of his father, he had buried himself in the cloister and devoted himself to a life of the strictest asceticism. Yet, despite devoting himself to earning salvation by good works, cheerfully performing the humblest tasks, praying, fasting, chastising himself even beyond the strictest monastic rules, he was still oppressed with a terrible sense of his utter sinfulness and lost condition.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:298px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-5.jpg?1603896402" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>&ldquo;The Just Shall Live By Faith&rdquo;</strong><br><span>Then Luther found some comfort in the devotional writings of Bernard of Clairvoux, who stressed the free grace of Christ for salvation. The writings of Augustine provided further light. Then, as he begun to study the Scriptures, in the original Hebrew and Greek, joy unspeakable flooded his heart. It was 1512, as he began to study Paul&rsquo;s Epistle to the Romans, that the verse&nbsp;<br><br><strong><em>&ldquo;For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: the righteous will live by faith&rdquo;</em></strong>&nbsp;<br>&#8203;Romans 1:17</span><br><br><span>Luther later testified that as he began to understand that this righteousness of God is a free gift by God&rsquo;s grace through which we may live by faith,&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;I felt entirely born again and was led through open gates into Paradise itself. Suddenly the whole of Scripture had a different appearance for me. I recounted the passages which I had memorised and realised that other passages, too, showed that the work of God is what God works in us&hellip; thus St. Paul&rsquo;s words that&nbsp;<strong>the just shall live by faith</strong>, did indeed become to me the gateway to Paradise.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;The burden of his sin rolled away. Up until then, Luther had tried to earn salvation by his good works, although he never felt that he had been able to do enough. Now, God had spoken to him through the Scripture. Man is not saved by works, but by faith alone.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-6.jpg?1603896425" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>A Turning Point</strong></span><br><span>As a doctor, Luther had taken an oath to serve the Church faithfully by the study and teaching of Holy Scripture. At the university, he was responsible to prepare pastors. Now, having experienced God&rsquo;s grace in Christ, studying God&rsquo;s Word, Luther began to see the emptiness, self-absorption, pious pretence and superstitious unbelief of his previous religious devotion. Nor could Luther fail to recognise the same pious fraud and pharisaic futility all around him.</span><br><br><span>In 1510, before being made a professor at Wittenberg, Luther had been sent to Rome for his monastic order. What he had seen there had shocked and disillusioned him. Rome was the pre-eminent symbol of ancient civilisation and&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;the residence of Christ&rsquo;s Vicar on earth&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>the pope. Luther was horrified by the blatant immorality and degeneracy prevalent in Rome at that time.</span><br><br><span><strong>Understanding Catholicism</strong></span><br><span>The centre of medieval Roman Catholic church life was the Mass, the Sacrament of the altar. The Roman Catholic institution placed much emphasis on the punishment of sin in Purgatory, as a place of cleansing by fire before the faithful were deemed fit to enter Heaven. They taught that there were four sacraments that dealt with the forgiveness, and the removal of sin, and the cancellation of its punishment: Baptism, The Mass, Penance and Extreme Unction. The heart of Penance was the priestly act of Absolution whereby the priest pardoned the sins and released the penitent from eternal punishment. Upon the words of Absolution, pronounced by the priest, the penitent sinner received the forgiveness of sins, release from eternal punishment and restoration to a state of grace. This would require the sinner making some satisfaction, by saying a prescribed number of prayers, by fasting, by giving alms, by going on a pilgrimage, or by taking part in a crusade.</span><br><br><span><strong>Indulgences</strong></span><br><span>In time, the medieval church had come to allow the penitent to substitute the payment of a sum of money for other forms of penalty or satisfaction. The priest could then issue an official statement, an indulgence, declaring the release from other penalties through the payment of money. In time, the Catholic church came to allow indulgences to be bought, not only for oneself, but also for relatives and friends who had died and passed into Purgatory. They claimed that these indulgences would shorten the time that would otherwise have to be spent suffering in Purgatory. This practice of granting indulgences was based upon the Catholic doctrine of&nbsp;<em>Works of Supererogation.&nbsp;</em>This unbiblical doctrine claimed that works done beyond the demands of God&rsquo;s Law earned a reward. As Christ and the saints had perfected Holiness and laid up a rich treasury of merits in Heaven, the Roman church claimed that it could draw upon this treasury of&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;extra merits&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;to provide satisfaction for those who paid a specified sum to the church.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-7.jpg?1603896449" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The Indulgence Industry</strong></span><br><span>This system of indulgences was very popular with the masses of people who preferred to pay a sum of money to saying many prayers and partaking in many masses to shorten the suffering in Purgatory of either themselves or a loved one. The industry of indulgences had also become a tremendous source of income for the Papacy.</span><br><br><span>In order to fund the building of the magnificent St. Peter&rsquo;s Cathedral in Rome, Pope Leo X had authorised a plenary, or total indulgence. And so it was on this papal fundraising campaign to complete the construction of St. Peters&nbsp;<em>Basilica</em>&nbsp;that the Dominican monk and indulgence salesman extraordinary, John Tetzel, arrived in Saxony. The shameless and scandalous manner in which Tetzel hawked the indulgences outraged Martin Luther. Sales jingles such as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;As soon as the coin clinks in the chest, a soul flies up to Heavenly rest&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;were deceiving gullible people about their eternal souls.</span><br><br><span>Luther&rsquo;s study of the Scripture had convinced him that salvation came by the grace of God alone, based upon the atonement of Christ on the cross alone, received by faith alone. Indulgences could not remove any guilt, and could only induce a false sense of security. People were being deceived for eternity.</span><br></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-8.jpg?1603896479" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span></span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>The 95 Theses</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Concerns that had been growing since his visit to Rome in 1510 led Luther now to make a formal objection to the abuses of indulgences. On All Saint&rsquo;s Day (1 November), people would be coming from far and wide in order to view the more than 5,000 relics exhibited in the&nbsp;<em>Schlosskirche</em>, which had been built specifically for the purpose of housing this massive collection. So, on 31 October 1517, Martin Luther nailed his&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html" target="_blank">95 Theses</a></em>&nbsp;against indulgences on to the door of the castle church. He also posted a copy to the Archbishop of Mainz.</span><span><br><br>These Theses created such a sensation that within 2 weeks, they had been printed and read throughout Germany. Within the month, translations were being printed and sold all over Europe.</span><br><br><span>The 95 Theses begin with the words:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Since our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ says: &lsquo;Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near&rsquo; (Matthew 4:17), He wants the whole life of a believer to be a life of Repentance.&rdquo;</em></span><br><br><span>Luther maintained that no sacrament can take away our responsibility to respond to Christ&rsquo;s command by an inner repentance evidenced by an outward change, a transformation and renewal of our entire life. Luther emphasised that it is God alone who can forgive sins and that indulgences are a fraud. It would be far better to give to the poor, than to waste one&rsquo;s money on indulgences. If the Pope really had power over the souls suffering in Purgatory, why would he not release them out of pure Christian charity?</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:406px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-9_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-9.jpg?1603972918" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The Empire Strikes Back</strong></span><br><span>Luther&rsquo;s 95 Theses radically undermined Tetzel&rsquo;s business, almost bringing the sale of indulgences to a standstill. Tetzel, Mazzolini, and John Eck published attacks on Luther, defending the sale of indulgences. When none of Luther&rsquo;s friends rose to his defence, Luther felt deserted. Many of his closest friends believed that he had been too rash in his criticism of this established church practice. With the pope&rsquo;s power challenged and papal profits eroded, church officials mobilised their forces to bring this rebellious professor into line. First the Augustinians at their regular meeting in Heidelberg sought to silence Luther. Then he underwent three excruciating interviews with Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg. Then in June 1519, John Eck debated Luther in Leipzig.</span><br><br><span>Some close friends of Luther tried to persuade him to settle things peacefully by giving in, but to Luther this was now a matter of principle. Scriptural truth and eternal souls were at stake.</span><br><br><span>In preparation of the Leipzig debate, Luther had plunged into the study of church history and canon law. His studies convinced Luther that many of the decretals, such as the donation of Constantine, were forgeries.</span><br><br><span><strong>The Leipzig Debate</strong></span><br><span>On 4 July 1519, Eck and Luther faced one another in Leipzig. The issue being debated was the supremacy of the Pope. Luther pointed out that the Eastern Greek Church was part of the Church of Christ, even though it had never acknowledged the supremacy of the Bishop in Rome. The great Church Councils of Nicea, Chalcedon and Ephesus knew nothing of papal supremacy. But Eck maneuvered Luther into a corner and provoked him to defend some of the teachings of (condemned heretic) John Hus. By making Luther openly take a stand on the side of a man official condemned by the church as a heretic, Eck was convinced that he had won the debate. However, Luther greatly strengthened his cause amongst his followers, winning many new supporters, including Martin Bucer, (who became a crucial leader of the Reformation, even helping to disciple John Calvin).</span><br><br><span>Luther published an account of the Leipzig debate and followed this up with an abundance of teaching pamphlets.&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;On Good Works&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;had a far-reaching effect teaching that man is saved by faith alone.&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;The noblest of all good works is to believe in Jesus Christ.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>Luther maintained: that shoemakers, housekeepers, farmers and businessmen, if they do their work to the glory of God, are more pleasing to God than monks and nuns.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:333px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-10_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-10.jpg?1603960278" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>Excommunication</strong></span><br><span>On 15 June 1520, Pope Leo X signed the Bull excommunicating Luther. Describing Luther&rsquo;s teaching as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;heretical,&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><em>&ldquo;scandalous,&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><em>&ldquo;false,&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><em>&ldquo;offensive&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;seducing,&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;the Bull called upon all Christians to burn Luther&rsquo;s books and forbid Luther to preach. All towns or districts that sheltered him would be placed under an interdict.</span><br><br><span>In response, Luther wrote:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Against the Execrable Bull of AntiChrist.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;On 10 December 1520, surrounded by a large crowd of students and lecturers, he burned the Papal bull, along with books of canon law, outside the walls of Wittenberg.</span><br><br><span>Having exhausted all ecclesiastical means to bring Luther to heel, Pope Leo now appealed to the Emperor to deal with Luther.<br><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Summoned to Worms</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Previously, in 1518, when the Pope had summoned Luther to Rome, Prince Frederick had brought all his influence to have this Papal summons cancelled. When Luther had been summoned to Augsburg and Leipzig, Prince Fredrick had arranged for safe conduct guarantees. But now that the Emperor Maximilian had died, Charles V of Spain had been elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Prince Frederick himself had been a serious contender for this position and still held tremendous influence. So he prevailed upon Charles V to guarantee safe conduct for Luther as he was summoned to Worms for a Council of German rulers.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:343px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-11_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-11.jpg?1603896774" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>The State</strong></span><br><span>In the year before his summons to the Diet of Worms, Luther published some of his most powerful and influential treatises. In the&nbsp;<em>Address to the German Nobility&nbsp;</em>(August 1520) he called on the Princes to correct the abuses within the church and to free the German church from the exploitation of Rome.</span><br><br><span><strong>The Church</strong></span><br><span>In&nbsp;<em>The Babylonian Captivity of the Church&nbsp;</em>(October 1520), Luther argued that Rome&rsquo;s sacramental system held Christians captive. He attacked the papacy for depriving individual Christians of their freedom to approach God directly by faith &ndash; without the mediation of unbiblical priests and sacraments. To be valid, a sacrament had to be instituted by Christ and be exclusively Christian. By these tests, he could find no justification for five of the Roman Catholic sacraments. Luther retained only Baptism and The Lord&rsquo;s Supper and placed these within the community of believers, rather than in the hands of a church hierarchy. Indeed, Luther dismissed the traditional view of the church as the sacred hierarchy headed by the Pope and presented the Biblical view of the Church as a community of the regenerate in which all believers are priests, having direct access to God through Christ.</span><br></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:272px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-12_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-12.jpg?1603896804" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>The Christian Life</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In&nbsp;<em>The Liberty of a Christian Man&nbsp;</em>(November 1520), Luther presented the essentials of Christian belief and behaviour. Luther removed the necessity of monasticism by stressing that the essence of Christian living lies in serving God in our calling, whether secular or ecclesiastical. In promoting this Protestant Work Ethic, Luther laid the foundation for free enterprise and the tremendous productivity it has inspired. He taught that good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works. Fruit does not produce a tree, but a tree does produce fruit. We are not saved by doing good works, but by grace alone. However, once saved, we should expect good works to flow as the fruit of true faith.<br><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Facing Certain Death</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Summoned to Worms, Luther believed that he was going to his death. He insisted that his co-worker, Philip Melanchthon, remain in Wittenberg.&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;My dear brother, if I do not come back, if my enemies put me to death, you will go on teaching and standing fast in the truth; if you live, my death will matter little.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Luther at Worms was 37 years old. He had been excommunicated by the Pope. Luther would have remembered that the Martyr, John Hus, a century before had travelled to Constance with an imperial safe conduct, which was not honoured. Luther declared:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Though Hus was burned, the truth was not burned, and Christ still lives&hellip; I shall go to Worms, though there be as many devils there as tiles on the roofs.&rdquo;</em></span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Luther&rsquo;s journey to Worms was like a victory parade. Crowds lined the roads cheering the man who had dared to stand up for Germany against the Pope.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:410px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-13_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-13.jpg?1603896826" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>Before the Emperor</strong></span><br><span>At 4 o&rsquo; clock on Wednesday 17 April, Luther stood before the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled all the Austrian domains, Spain, Netherlands, a large part of Italy and the Americas. At 21 years old, Charles V ruled over a territory larger than any man since Charlemagne.</span><br><br><span>Amidst the pomp and splendour of this imperial gathering stood the throne of the Emperor on a raised platform. It was flanked by Spanish knights in gleaming armour, 6 Princes, 24 Dukes, 30 Archbishops and Bishops, and 7 Ambassadors.</span><br><br><span>Luther was asked to identify whether the books on the table were his writings. Upon Luther&rsquo;s confirmation that they were, an official asked Luther:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Do you wish to retract them, or do you adhere to them and continue to assert them?&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Luther had come expecting an opportunity to debate the issues, but it was made clear to him that no debate was to be tolerated. The Imperial Diet was ordering him to recant all his writings. Luther requested more time, so that he might answer the question without injury to the Word of God and without peril to his soul. The Emperor granted him 24 hours.<br><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Confrontation</strong><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The next day, Thursday 18 April, as the sun was setting and torches were being lit, Luther was ushered into the august assembly. He was asked again whether he would recant what he had written. Luther responded that some of his books taught established Christian doctrine on faith and good works. He could not deny accepted Christian doctrines. Other of his books attacked the papacy and to retract these would be to encourage tyranny and cover up evil. In the third category of books, he had responded to individuals who were defending popery and in these Luther admitted he had written too harshly.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The examiner was not satisfied:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;You must give a simple, clear and proper answer&hellip; will you recant or not?&rdquo;</em></span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:399px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-14_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-14.jpg?1603896849" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>&ldquo;Here I Stand&rdquo;</strong></span><br><span>Luther&rsquo;s response, first given in Latin and then repeated in German, shook the world:&nbsp;<strong><em>&ldquo;Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by clear reasoning that I am in error &ndash; for popes and councils have often erred and contradicted themselves &ndash; I cannot recant, for I am subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. It is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against one&rsquo;s conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. So help me God. Amen.&rdquo;</em></strong></span><br><br><span>After the shocked silence, cheers rang out for this courageous man who had stood up to the Emperor and the Pope. Luther turned and left the tribunal. Numerous German nobles formed a circle around Luther and escorted him safely back to his lodgings.</span><br><br><span><strong>Condemned</strong></span><br><span>The Emperor was furious. However, Prince Frederick insisted that Charles V honour the guarantee of safe conduct for Luther. Charles V raged against&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;this devil in the habit of a monk&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;and issued the edict of Worms, which declared Luther an outlaw, ordering his arrest and death as a&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;heretic.&rdquo;</em></span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:312px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-15_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-15.jpg?1603960292" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span><strong>Kidnapped</strong></span><br><span>As Luther travelled back to Wittenberg, preaching at towns along the route, armed horsemen plunged out of the forest, snatched Luther from his wagon and dragged him off to Wartburg Castle. This kidnapping had been arranged by Prince Frederick amidst great secrecy in order to preserve Luther&rsquo;s life. Despite the Emperor&rsquo;s decree that anyone helping Luther was subject to the loss of life and property, Frederick risked his throne and life to protect his pastor and professor.<br>&#8203;</span><br><span><strong>Wartburg Castle</strong></span><br><span>For the 10 months that Luther was hidden at Wartburg Castle, as Knight George (<em>Junker Jorg),</em>&nbsp;he translated The New Testament into German and wrote such booklets as:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;On Confession Whether the Pope Has the Authority to Require It; On the Abolition of Private Masses&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Monastic Vows.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;By 1522, The New Testament in German was on sale for but a week&rsquo;s wages.</span><br><br><span><strong>Revolution Rebuked</strong></span><br><span>In Luther&rsquo;s absence, Professor Andreas Karlstadt instituted revolutionary changes, which led to growing social unrest. In March 1522, Luther returned to Wittenberg, and in 8 days of intensive preaching, renounced many of Karlstadt&rsquo;s innovations, declaring that he was placing too much emphasis on external reforms and introducing a new legalism that threatened to overshadow justification by faith and the spirituality of the Gospel. Luther feared that the new legalism being introduced would undermine the Reformed movement from within.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-16_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-16.jpg?1603896879" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>The Peasants&rsquo; Revolt</strong><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">When the peasants&rsquo; revolt erupted, Luther was horrified at the anarchy, chaos and bloodshed. He repudiated the revolutionaries and wrote&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;Aghast at the devastation and massacres caused by the peasants&rsquo; revolt, Luther taught that the princes had the duty to restore social order and crush the insurrection.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Marriage</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Also in 1525, on 13 June, Luther married Katherine von Bora, a former nun from a noble family. Luther called home life:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;the school of character&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;and he stressed the importance of the family as the basic building block of society. Luther and Katie were blessed with 6 children.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>The Bondage of the Will</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Also in 1525, Luther wrote one of his most important books:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;On the Bondage of the Will.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;This was in response to Desiderius Erasmus&rsquo;s book on&nbsp;<em>The Freedom of The Will</em>, published in 1524. Luther responded scathingly to Erasmus&rsquo;s theories on free will, arguing that man&rsquo;s will is so utterly in bondage to sin, that only God&rsquo;s action could save. Luther articulated the Augustinian view of predestination and declared that he much preferred that his salvation be in God&rsquo;s Hands, rather than in his own.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As a result of the exchange between Luther and Erasmus, many Renaissance Humanist scholars ceased to support Luther.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:360px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-17_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-17.jpg?1603896901" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>A Time of Change</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Reformation not only brought about sweeping changes in the church, but dramatic changes in all of society. First of all the Reformation focused on bringing doctrines, forms of church government, and of worship and daily life into conformity with the Word of God. This, of course, had tremendous implications for political, economic, social and cultural life as well.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>God&rsquo;s Word Above All Things</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Luther revised the Latin liturgy and translated it into German. Now the laity received the Communion in both bread and wine, as the Hussites had taught a Century earlier. The whole emphasis in church services changed from the sacramental celebration of the Mass as a sacrifice to the preaching and teaching of God&rsquo;s Word. Luther maintained that every person has the right and duty to read and study the Bible in his own language. This became the foundation of the Reformation: a careful study of the Bible as the source of all truth and as the only legitimate authority, for all questions of faith and conduct.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>&#8203;The True Church</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Church is a community of believers, not a hierarchy of officials. The Church is an organism rather than an organisation, a living body of which each believer is a member.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Luther stressed the priesthood of all believers. We do not gain salvation through the church, but we become members of the Church when we become believers.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Reformation Basic Principles</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Luther dealt with many primary issues, including:</span><ol style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><li><strong>Authority</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; the Bible alone is our authority and not the councils or leaders of the Church.&nbsp;<em>The Bible is above tradition.</em></li><li><strong>Salvation&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; is by the grace of God alone, accomplished by the atonement of Christ alone, received by faith alone.&nbsp;<em>Grace comes before sacraments.</em></li><li><strong>The Church&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; the true Church is composed of the elect, those regenerated by God&rsquo;s Holy Spirit.&nbsp;<em>Regenerate Church membership</em>.</li><li><strong>The Priesthood</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; consists of all true believers.&nbsp;<em>The priesthood of all believers.</em>&#8203;</li></ol></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-18_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-18.jpg?1603896926" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Battle Cries of The Reformation</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Protestant Reformation mobilised by Luther rallied around these great battle cries:</span><ul><li><span><strong><em>&#8203;Sola Christus</em></strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Christ alone is the Head of the Church.</span></li><li><span><strong><em>Sola Scriptura</em></strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Scripture alone is our ultimate authority.</span></li><li><span><strong><em>Sola Gratia</em></strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Salvation is by the grace of God alone.</span></li><li><span><strong><em>Sola Fide</em></strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Justification is received by faith alone.</span></li><li><span><strong><em>Soli Deo Gloria</em></strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Everything is to be done for the glory of God alone.</span></li></ul><br><span><strong>Surviving as an Outlaw</strong></span><br><span>Despite Luther being declared an outlaw by the Emperor, he survived to minister and write for 25 more years, and died of natural causes, 18 February 1546.</span><br><br><span><strong>Translator, Author and Musician</strong></span><br><span>In spite of many illnesses, Luther remained very active and productive as an advisor to princes, theologians and pastors, publishing major commentaries, and producing great quantities of books and pamphlets. He completed the translation of the Old Testament into German by 1534. Luther continued preaching and teaching to the end of his life. He frequently entertained students and guests in his home, and he produced beautiful poems and hymns, including one hymn that will live forever: &ldquo;<em>Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;(A Mighty Fortress Is Our God).</span><br><br><span><strong>Teacher</strong></span><br><span>Luther also did a great deal to promote education. He laboured tirelessly for the establishment of schools everywhere. Luther wrote his&nbsp;<em>Shorter Catechism</em>&nbsp;in order to train up children in the essential doctrines of the faith.</span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:372px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-19_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/martin-luther-captive-to-the-word-of-god-19.jpg?1603896948" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>An Exceptional Professor</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">It has been common to portray Luther as a simple and obscure monk, who challenged the pope and emperor. Actually Luther was anything but simple or obscure. He was learned, experienced and accomplished far beyond most men of his age. He had lived in Magdeburg and Eisenach and was one of the most distinguished graduates of the University of Erfurt. Luther travelled to Cologne, to Leipzig, and he had crossed the Alps and travelled to Rome. Luther was a great student, with a tremendous breadth of reading, who had excelled in his studies, and achieved a Master of Arts and Doctorate in Theology in record time. He was an accomplished bestselling author, one of the greatest preachers of all time, a highly respected Theological professor, and one of the first professors to lecture in the German language, instead of in Latin.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Productive and Influential</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Far from being a simple monk, Luther was the Prior of his monastery and the district vicar over 11 other monasteries. Luther was a monk, a priest, a preacher, a professor, a writer, and a Reformer. He was one of most courageous and influential people in all of history. The Lutheran Faith was adopted not only in Northern Germany, but also throughout Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong>Luther Changed the World</strong></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Luther was a controversial figure in his day and has continued to be considered controversial to this very day. There is no doubt that Luther&rsquo;s search for peace with God changed the whole course of human history. He challenged the power of Rome over the Christian Church, smashed the chains of superstition and tyranny and restored the Christian liberty to worship God in spirit and in truth.</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><strong><em>&ldquo;For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes &hellip;For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em></strong>Romans 1:16-23</span><br>&#8203;</div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:222px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/greatest_century_of_reformation_updated_and_expanded' target='_blank'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/gcr-3d.png?1603972927" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image"></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">This article is adapted from a chapter of&nbsp;<strong><em><a href="http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/greatest_century_of_reformation_updated_and_expanded">The Greatest Century of Reformation</a></em></strong>,<br>by Dr. Peter Hammond.<br>&#8203;<br>It is available from Christian Liberty Books,<br>PO Box 358,<br>Howard Place 7450,<br>Cape Town,<br>South Africa,<br>tel: 021-689-7478,<br>email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za">admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za</a>&nbsp;and<br>&#8203;website:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/">www.christianlibertybooks.co.za</a>.<br><br>&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Reformation Society</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Cape Town South Africa</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Tel: 021-689-4480</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Email:&nbsp;<a>&nbsp;</a><a href="mailto:mission@frontline.org.za">mission@frontline.org.za</a></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@reformationsa.org">info@reformationsa.org</a></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Website:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reformationsa.org/">www.ReformationSA.org</a></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Website:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reform500.org/">www.Reform500.org</a>&nbsp;</span><br><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">See also:</span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="https://www.reformationsa.org/index.php/reformation/115-the-reformation-roots-of-western-civilisation">The Reformation Roots of Western Civilisation</a></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="https://www.reformationsa.org/index.php/reformation-today/258-a-bold-new-initiative-for-reformation-today">A Bold New Initiative for Reformation Today</a></span><br><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="http://frontline.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=1530:reformation-fire-for-africa&amp;catid=25:reformation-revival-cat&amp;Itemid=202">Reformation FIRE for Africa</a></span></div><hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none" style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:100px;margin-right:100px;text-align:center"><a href='https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/greatest_century_of_reformation_updated_and_expanded' target='_blank'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/gcr-with-ebook-email-banner-2021_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%"></a><div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Henry Morton Stanley]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/henry-morton-stanley]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/henry-morton-stanley#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2021 09:04:22 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Character Studies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Missions]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/henry-morton-stanley</guid><description><![CDATA[ To see Part 1 of a video presentation on this article&nbsp;Click HereTo see Part 2 of a video presentation on this article&nbsp;Click HereTo listen Part 1 of an audio presentation on this article&nbsp;Click HereTo listen Part 2 of an audio presentation on this article&nbsp;Click HereExplorer Extraordinaire&#8203;Henry Morton Stanley was one of the greatest explorers of all time.Throughout his incredible life, which was packed with adventure and conflict,he served as a soldier, a sailor, a journ [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:252px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-1_orig.jpeg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-1.jpeg?1636635893" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><font color="#000000">To see Part 1 of a video presentation on this article&nbsp;</font><span style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><em><a href="https://vimeo.com/267884750">Click Here</a></em></span><br /><font color="#000000">To see Part 2 of a video presentation on this article&nbsp;</font><em style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span><a href="https://vimeo.com/269166154">Click Here</a></span></em><br /><font color="#000000">To listen Part 1 of an audio presentation on this article&nbsp;</font><em style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span><a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=53181633550">Click Here</a></span></em><br /><font color="#000000">To listen Part 2 of an audio presentation on this article&nbsp;</font><em style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span><a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51118640512">Click Here</a></span></em><br /><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Explorer Extraordinaire&#8203;</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Henry Morton Stanley was one of the greatest explorers of all time.<br />Throughout his incredible life, which was packed with adventure and conflict,<br />he served as a soldier, a sailor, a journalist, an explorer, an empire builder,<br />a statesman, author, politician, and lecturer and finally,<br />&#8203;he was even knighted by Queen Victoria.<br /><br />&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">&ldquo;Dr. Livingstone I Presume?&rdquo;<br />&#8203;</strong><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley is most famous for having found missionary explorer, Dr. David Livingstone after he had been out of contact with the outside world for many years. His calm and most understated of comments, after having crossed half the continent:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;Dr. Livingstone I presume?&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;must be one of the most famous statements in popular memory worldwide.<br />&#8203;</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Triumph After Tribulation</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Throughout his life, Henry Morton Stanley experienced brutality, cruelty, starvation, disease, poverty, affliction, treachery, betrayal and ultimately great honour, success and wealth. Of all the great explorers of Africa, David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley stand head and shoulders above all others. Stanley and Livingstone were very different men, but both of them made spectacular contributions to the development of Africa.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Against All Odds</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley stands out as the only journalist who founded an Empire. Although his primary occupation was meant to be recording history, he is most famous for having made history. Stanley stands out as extraordinarily tough and persistent, a model of perseverance. Yet, before his 24 th birthday, Stanley had a long track record of frustration and failure, defeat and desertion. No one could have predicted how this extraordinary man would develop and rise above all others in his achievements, especially in bringing civilisation to the Dark Continent.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:404px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-2.jpg?1636635912" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Unpromising Beginnings</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The life of Henry Morton Stanley is full of surprises. The first surprise is that he wasn&rsquo;t born with the name Henry Morton Stanley, but was baptised John Rowlands. That was believed to be the name of his father. Stanley was born in disgrace, the illegitimate child of Miss Elizabeth Parry. Shortly after his birth, 28 January 1841, his mother abandoned him in the hands of her father, Moses Parry, and ran off to London. Economic disaster had reduced this old gentleman to living with his sons in a small cottage and working in a butchery.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Abandoned in an Orphanage</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">When John was just 4 years old his grandfather died. His two uncles were unwilling to care for this illegitimate nephew, so he was taken by the hand and walked to a huge stone building surrounded by massive iron fence. At the door John was astonished to be seized and dragged inside. The door slammed and he soon learned that he was now an inmate of St. Asaph Union Workhouse &ndash; an orphanage to confine unwanted children. This work house was to be John Rowland&rsquo;s home for over 9 years. No time was wasted for sympathy for the homeless and unwanted. The life in St. Asaph was hard and grim. It was described as&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;charity with a vengeance.&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Harsh Upbringing</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The rigid routine began at 6am each morning and continued until 8pm in the evening, when they were locked in their spartan dormitories. In between there was work. The boys swept the grounds, scrubbed the floors, and worked the fields, shivering in thin, inadequate clothes. The meagre meals consisted of bread, gruel, rice and potatoes, in small rationed portions. Saturdays they were scrubbed and Sundays provided the only relief with two services and no work. The school master was an ex-miner, James Francis, who having lost his hand in a mining accident, had developed&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;a vicious temper and a callous heart.&rdquo;</em></span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:363px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-7_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-7.jpg?1636635927" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Traumatic Instruction</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">James Francis apparently took savage pleasure in punching, caning, kicking, whipping and beating the children entrusted to his care. John Rowlands received his first flogging for failing to pronounce a word correctly. The institution averaged 30 boys at a time, averaging from 5 to 15 years. The curriculum was described as&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;primitive&rdquo;</em>. John vividly remembered the day when a young 11 year old boy, Willie Roberts, strikingly handsome, with curly hair and a delicate face, was beaten to death. It was rumoured that he was the illegitimate child of a nobleman. John saw his corpse in the&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;dead house&rdquo;</em>. Willie was covered with dark bruises and deep gashes. All were convinced that James Francis had murdered Willie Roberts.<br /><br />&#8203;<strong>Distinguishing Achievements</strong></span><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">John recalled that he never missed his mother. In fact he was 12 years old before he even learnt that every boy had a mother. Yet, even in this unforgiving and depressing environment, John managed to distinguish himself with his drawings, mostly of cathedrals which, when presented to the bishop, earned him commendation and a Bible. John was selected to lead the Work House Boys Choir and, because of his exceptionally good memory, he was pronounced the most advanced pupil in St. Asaph by the school inspector. One man who later remembered him described John Rowlands as&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;stubborn, self willed&hellip; uncompromising&hellip; unusually sensitive&hellip; particularly strong&hellip;&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Crisis of Decision</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">When John was 15 years old, an event occurred that changed the whole direction of his life. Recalling it later, he observed:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;But for the stupid and brutal scene that brought about, I might have eventually been an apprentice at some trade or another, and would have mildewed in Wales.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>The sadistic tyrant, James Francis, demanded to know who had scratched a certain table. When no one confessed, he seized a cane and announced that he would beat the entire school. As they were commanded to strip, John refused to obey. Francis erupted in a rage:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;How is this? Not ready yet? Strip, sir, this minute; I mean to stop this abominable and bare faced lying.&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><em>&ldquo;I did not lie, sir, I know nothing of it.&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><em>&ldquo;Silence, sir. Down with your clothes!&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><em>&ldquo;Never again!&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;John was determined. At that Francis assailed and beat him mercilessly, lifting him up and throwing him against a bench with such force that he feared his spine had shattered. As Francis lay into him, John aimed a kick into the schoolmaster&rsquo;s face, breaking his glasses and knocking him unconscious as he fell backwards onto the stone floor.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:307px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-3.jpg?1636635942" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">A Fugitive</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">As horror swept over the school, John fled over the fence to his paternal grandfather, a prosperous Welsh farmer. After hearing his story he ordered his grandson to leave and never come back. His uncles were also hard-hearted. His cousin, Moses Owen, a school master in Brynford, gave him some board and lodging, but his aunt Mary berated the cousin for taking John in. Moses Owen inspired John with his love for books and learning, but the other boys at school were merciless in teasing and bullying him as an outcast. After 9 months of schooling, he was taken to Liverpool and placed under the care of another aunt, Mary Morris. There he was given a job as a storeman in a Haberdashery.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Across the Ocean</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">After two months, he was fired and wandered the streets looking for opportunities of employment. One of these jobs led him to carry provisions to a Captain David Harding of the Windermere ship. The captain spoke kindly to him and offered him a job as a seaman. Once on board and sea sick, he learned that the captain&rsquo;s promise of him serving as a cabin boy was only a scheme to obtain cheap deck hands. He experienced further abuse on board the ship and at the first opportunity in New Orleans, he jumped ship. As the sights and sounds of America fascinated John, he met a kind looking gentleman in front of a store.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">A New Life in America</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><em>&ldquo;Do you want a boy, sir?&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;The man was startled by the question. The businessman was Henry Stanley, cultured, intelligent, prosperous, happily married, but childless. Although John Rowlands was asking for work, the gentleman began to question him closely. He determined to adopt John Rowlands. Mr. Stanley took him off for breakfast, followed by a haircut, kitted him out with decent clothes and employed him as an apprentice to Mr James Speak, merchant. For the first time in his life, John was free. He had money in his pocket, room and board, a good job and he began to add books to the bishops&rsquo; Bible that had been his only possession up till then. He started to construct bookcases in his room out of old packing boxes. He spent all his free time reading books.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:339px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-4.jpg?1636636955" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">First Friends</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The beatings and rejection that he had experienced throughout his upbringing had made him something of a social outcast, hypersensitive and uncertain how to behave in any social context. The first friendship he developed was with Alice Heaton, a runaway girl of 16 years old from Liverpool, who had managed to maintain her disguise as a sailor boy, long enough to reach America, as well as Stanley. When Mrs Stanley fell ill, John left his job at the store and devoted every minute to the care of his patroness, the only woman who had shown him any affection. As Mr. Stanley was out of town on business, John was the only person beside her as she died.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Detour up the Mississippi</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Feeling dejected, John obtained temporary employment as an attendant for a sick sea captain and then went up the Mississippi to find Henry Stanley in St. Louis. However, he had already departed. John worked on a flat boat back to New Orleans, which was an adventure, avoiding sand bars, steam boats, storms, dangerous currents and whirlpools.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Reunited</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In New Orleans John was reunited with Mr Stanley and in the first tender action he had ever experienced, was embraced by Mr Stanley. The next day Mr. Stanley declared:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;As you are wholly unclaimed, without a parent, relation or sponsor, I promise to take you for my son and to fit you for a mercantile carrier. In future you are to bear my name, Henry Stanley.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;This was the beginning of what Stanley later described as&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;The golden period of my life.&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Mentored</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">For the next two years, the Welsh boy was educated and mentored by this kind gentleman. He was provided with his first toothbrush, his first nightshirt and his first suits. He was taught table manners, frequent baths and intelligent conversation. The young Henry Stanley was expected to read constantly, often aloud and to discuss what he had read with his father. His father lectured him on morality, faith, work, culture and customs. He taught his son how to think clearly and to live uprightly. He taught him to be alert and observant. He would propose hypothetical problems and challenge Henry to suggest the correct solution.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:363px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-5_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-5.jpg?1636636024" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Decisive Action</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Henry Stanley proved to have a phenomenal memory and soaked up all the teaching offered him. One night in 1860, as they were travelling down the Mississippi River on a steam boat, Henry was on deck when he saw a man enter his father&rsquo;s cabin and threaten him with a knife. Henry leapt at the man and grappled with him, putting the, would be, robber and murderer to flight, suffering only a gash in his coat.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Separation</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Business required Mr Stanley to travel to Cuba. His last words to Henry were to hold fast to Christian principles and to be&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;fearless in all manly things.&rdquo;</em>Working in Arkansas, the young Henry was laid low with malaria and fever. At about this time the War between the States was erupting and he received a parcel addressed by a feminine hand containing a petticoat. Stunned by the implication of cowardice, he took immediate action by joining the Confederate Army to resist the coming Yankee invasion.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Life as an Infantryman</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In July 1861, Stanley joined other confederate volunteers in Arkansas as they were issued flintlock muskets and embarked on a steamboat bound for Little Rock. During his time in Little Rock, he bought a colt revolver and a bowie knife. When the day came to march out, with the bands playing and the women cheering, Stanley was exuberant and eagerly looked forward to battle. Soon, with aching shoulders, blistered feet and sweat-soaked body, he began to discard half the contents of his pack and learned the elementary rule of the infantryman, to carry only what is absolutely essential. For the first nine months of his military service, Stanley&rsquo;s regiment marched across Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. In April 1862, after marching for days in the rain, they arrived at what was to become the bloodiest battlefield of the American War between the states: Shiloh. Confederate generals Johnston and Beauregard were about to throw 40,000 exhausted troops against 50,000 fresh Union soldiers under General Grant. Most of the Southerners were armed with old flintlock muskets, whereas the Northerners had modern breach-loading rifles with cartridges.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:350px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-6_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-6.jpg?1636636970" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Into Battle</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Soon Stanley&rsquo;s regiment, the 6 th Arkansas Regiment, was ordered to march straight towards the centre of the Union lines. The sound of musketry increased in volume and intensity and artillery shells were soon flying overhead bringing down branches and debris on their heads. Soon they could see nothing in front of them but the enemy. The order was given:&nbsp;<strong><em>&ldquo;Fix bayonets! On the double quick!&rdquo;</em></strong>&nbsp;The men in grey gave a great battle cry and surged forward. As the blue figures began to flee before them, Stanley experienced the exhilaration of victory. He thought the battle won. Actually it had only begun. Soon they encountered even more Yankees. Volleys of deadly fire tore through the grey ranks. The ground seemed to erupt beneath him. The roar of gunfire was so intense he could barely make out any of the orders being shouted. The air was filled with flying metal. The sound of ricochets was all around. It did not seem possible that anyone could survive in the face of such a deadly barrage of lead. The command to dive for cover was given and Stanley saw many of the men around him mangled and mutilated by the bullets and bombs. Then the officers ordered the men to stand and charge. The Confederates leapt to their feet and with a great battle cry surged forward. Although pounded by artillery and decimated by rifle fire, the men in grey charged on, sweeping through a second Union regiment.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Prisoner of War</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Then Stanley was knocked to the ground. When he had recovered his breath, he discovered that his belt buckle was bent and cracked. It had stopped a Union bullet, but he was not injured. Many more charges were ordered and time and again the Arkansas volunteers sent the Yankees reeling back in retreat. Then torrential rain fell upon the battlefield. As they took stock of their situation, they realised that there were barely 50 men left in their Regiment. As another advance was ordered, Stanley found himself isolated and surrounded by Union troops who took him prisoner. He was startled by the wild-eyed hatred and fury of the Yankees who cursed and threatened to bayonet him. He ended up in a boxcar shipped to Camp Douglas, on the outskirts of Chicago. The camp was a disgusting disease factory, more like a great cattle pen where wounded and malnourished men were left to die in the filth. The prisoners were denied even the most basic of hygiene and medical needs. Fleas, flies and rats infested the filthy barracks. He saw vast numbers of prisoners debilitated, dying of dysentery, typhoid and fever without the slightest aid from their heartless captors.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:389px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-8_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-8.jpg?1636636048" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Changing Sides</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Commissary, Mr Shipman, persuaded Stanley to save his life by enlisting in the Union army. This he did, but three days after his release from prison on 4 June 1862, he came down with fever so severely that he was discharged for health reasons.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Across the Ocean</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">He walked to the coast and worked on farms, and on a ship bound for Liverpool. Then he set out to find his mother, who told him that she wanted nothing to do with him! His mother&rsquo;s cold hostility left him in even darker despair than her abandonment of him as a child. Stanley worked his way back across the ocean to try to find his adoptive father in Cuba. There he was devastated to learn that his father had already been dead nearly two years</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Desolate</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley&rsquo;s situation could hardly have been worse. He was homeless, penniless, without friends or relations. Afflicted by parasites he had picked up in prison, he did not even have a country. Stanley determined that he would never again consciously seek, or expect, human affection. Stanley enlisted as a sailor and worked on merchant ships, travelling to the West Indies, to Italy and Spain. He survived a shipwreck off Barcelona.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In the US Navy</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">On 19 July 1864, Stanley enlisted in the United States Navy in New York. The Navy records describe him as 5 feet, 5 inches in height, with hazel eyes, dark hair and birth place, England. He served on board the USS North Carolina and the USS Minnesota. As he was given the task of being the ship&rsquo;s writer, he kept the log and wrote reports on land and sea battles, some of which ended up being published in the newspapers. His vigorous eye-witness accounts of action and his attention to detail was remarkable. Due to the positive comments he received and the success of having these reports published, Stanley began to think of becoming a journalist. On 10 February, 1965, Stanley deserted the Navy and became a roving reporter in the Wild West.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:273px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-9_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-9.jpg?1636636067" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">A Trail of Defeat and Desertion</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">It is remarkable that a man who throughout the rest of his life developed the reputation as the most persistent and relentless of explorers, the man who never gave up, no matter what, against all odds and in the face of any danger, that before he was 24 years old, Stanley had run away from school, jumped ship, deserted the Confederate cause by changing sides, and deserted the United States Navy in a time of war. No one at this stage of his life could have anticipated what he would accomplish in later life.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Adventures in the West and the East</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">He travelled to Missouri, Salt Lake City, Denver and Omaha. He built a flat bottom boat, which capsized twice. He experienced some of the Indian wars. Then, in July 1866, Stanley set sail for Smyrna in Turkey. There he was betrayed by a treacherous guide into the hands of thieves who severely beat him and stole all his money and papers. After being arrested for not having his papers, Stanley wrote an account of the abuse he experienced in the Orient.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In the Wild West</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Then, returning to the United States, he joined the expedition into Indian country by General Winfield Hancock. He was impressed at how Hancock negotiated with the Comanche and Kiowa Indians in Nebraska and Kansas. He had expected to see the Indians severely dealt with after the atrocities they had committed against settlers. Instead, he saw how General Hancock sought peaceful resolutions and negotiations to extend civilisation, rather than to punish the savages.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Wild Bill</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">At one point Stanley met Wild Bill Hickock and interviewed him. When he asked how many men he had killed, Wild Bill replied that he had killed<em>&ldquo;considerably over 100 white men&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;to his certain knowledge. He added that:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;I never killed one man without good cause.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>Hickock and Stanley became friends and when another made an insulting remark to Stanley, Wild Bill picked the man up and threw him over a billiard table.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:298px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-10_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-10.jpg?1636636097" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Indian Wars</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley also reported on General William Sherman&rsquo;s dealing with the Indians in Omaha and Kansas. He later reported that he learned a great deal about how to deal with primitive people from Hancock and Sherman. He noted that they dealt with them as both warriors and as children, who must be taught and corrected. Stanley noted that he learned to do the same when dealing with savage tribes in Africa.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Journalist</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">While being the special correspondent of the Missouri Democrat, Stanley also contributed articles to the New York Herald, the New York Times, the Chicago Republican and the Cincinnati Commercial. He also noted that despite frequenting bars and taverns where drunkenness was common, he remained true to his pledge of abstinence, with only one exception which he bitterly repented of. He also lived a very disciplined life and saved most of what he earned. Hearing of the upcoming British war with Abyssinia, Stanley persuaded James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald to hire him as their special correspondent to Africa.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Abyssinian Expedition</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley joined the British Expeditionary Force at the Red Sea port of Zula, Eritrea. King Theodoro had killed the former king and had provoked the kingdom to rebellion through his cruelty and tyranny. Then he antagonised the British Empire by assaulting their Consul Cameron and an English Missionary, Stern. When envoys carried letters of protest from Queen Victoria, Theodoro threw the envoys into prison. The English diplomats were tortured and treated in most horrendous ways. After unsuccessful attempts to ransom the prisoners, Britain declared war on King Theodoro. In 1869, Britain dispatched an Expedition Force of 12,000 troops of the Indian Army under Sir Robert Napier, to secure the release of the hostages, and to suitably punish Theodoro. It was a 400 mile march to Theodoro&rsquo;s stronghold at Magdala. Stanley wrote of the colourful sight of English and Irish Regiments of weather beaten veterans in red coats, colourful regiments of Punjab&rsquo;s, Sepoys, Indian cavalry, English sailors with rockets and horse-drawn artillery, elephants, camels, horses and mules.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:354px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-11_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-11.jpg?1636636120" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Battle of Magdala</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">On 9 April, the Abyssinian Expeditionary Force arrived at Magdala, thefortress capital of Abyssinia. Apparently undaunted by the impregnable appearance of this stronghold perched on the top of a granite mountain, the British military marched across a river and proceeded up the mountain. Theodoro launched 3,500 well-armed warriors down the slopes in a wild charge against the British. Calmly Napier ordered the naval brigade to take their positions:&nbsp;<strong><em>&ldquo;Action front!&rdquo;&nbsp;</em></strong>The naval brigade launched their rockets into the midst of the charging Abyssinians who were thrown into terror and confusion by these strange weapons. Then 300 men from the Fourth were ordered forward and the command was given:&nbsp;<strong><em>&ldquo;Commence firing!&rdquo;&nbsp;</em></strong>The British surged forward. The Abyssinians attempted a flanking movement, but they were wiped out by the bayonets of the Sepoys. At the end of the day 560 dead Abyssinians were counted on the field, but not a single British soldier had been lost, although 32 were wounded.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Storming Magdala</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Theodoro, now terrified of the British firepower that he had witnessed destroying his best troops the previous day, attempted to appease the British by releasing all of his prisoners. Stanley noted with surprise the lack of emotion expressed by both the captives who had endured years of torment, and their liberators who also seemed amazingly calm about the whole matter. The next morning the British marched up the mountain and began an artillery barrage on the stronghold. This was followed with an assault and soon British flags were hoisted on the walls and the bands were playing:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;God save the Queen!&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;</span><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><strong>Success!</strong></span><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Incredibly no British soldiers died in this final assault either. Two days later, Magdala was blown up by the engineers and on 18 April 1868, the British Expeditionary Force started back to the coast.&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;And thus the modern Crusade became numbered with past events, to be remembered of all men, in all lands, among the most wonderfully successful campaigns ever conducted in history.&rdquo; w</em>rote young Stanley. When Stanley arrived in Suez, he had his story wired to London and then on to the New York Herald. It was the first news story of the campaign to be published and it established his reputation world wide. Stanley was made a journalist of the New York Herald with US$2,000 a year salary.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:397px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-12_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-12.jpg?1636636136" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">War in Spain</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley&rsquo;s next assignment was to cover the rebellion in Spain. From there he was tasked to find the great African explorer and missionary, Dr. David Livingstone. No word had been heard of him since he last entered the Dark Continent, on what became known as his third missionary journey.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Books, Duty and Action</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley noted that the thing he hated the most was waiting.&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;The more tasks I receive, the happier is my life. I want work&hellip; so that there will be no time for regrets, and vain desires, and morbid thoughts. In the interval books come in handy.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>Although Stanley loved absorbing knowledge, he admitted that he also had&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;a craze for action&rdquo;.&nbsp;</em>He observed that his sufferings drove him to prove himself on the path of success. Stanley noted that&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;By intense application to duty, by self-denial,&rdquo;&nbsp;</em>he drove himself&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;that I might do my duty thoroughly.&rdquo;</em><em>&ldquo;Stern duty commands me&hellip;&rdquo;</em></span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Determination</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley had come through the fires determined to succeed, no matter what the odds. He had a tenacious and insatiable desire to succeed. With his quick mind and retentive memory, languages came easily to him. He taught himself French, Swahili, some Arabic and dozens of African dialects.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Most Extraordinary Assignment</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">On 27 October 1869, he received one of the most extraordinary assignments ever entrusted to a newspaper reporter. James Gordon Bennet, Jr., of the New York Herald, commissioned Stanley to go to central Africa and to learn anything and everything that he could about Dr. David Livingstone and to find him. But first, he tasked Stanley to go and cover the Inauguration of the Suez Canal, and then to proceed up the Nile and find out about Sir Baker&rsquo;s expedition. To travel to Jerusalem, and to Constantinople, to visit the Crimea, the Caucasus, Baghdad and Persepolis, and after that to India. Then to go to Zanzibar and from there to find Dr. David Livingstone.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:337px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-13_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-13.jpg?1636636150" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;.</span><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Find Livingstone</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><em>&ldquo;Draw a thousand pounds now; and when you have gone through that, draw another thousand, and when that is spent, draw another, and when you finished that draw another thousand, and so on, but&nbsp;<strong>find Livingstone</strong>.</em></span><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley declared that he would do everything that a human being could possibly do and beyond that he would trust in God to enable him to do even more. Stanley immediately, that night, set out on his whirlwind tour of the Middle East, covering the opening of the Suez Canal at Port Said, the Holy places in Jerusalem, he walked over the old battlefields of the Crimean War, reported on the Russians&rsquo; civilising mission in Baku. Then to the exotic bazaars of Teheran in Persia, to the ruins of Persepolis, to India and then off to Zanzibar in Africa.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">To the Dark Continent</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Throughout this incredible journey, Stanley read everything he could find about Livingstone and other explorers of Africa. He arrived in Zanzibar on 6 January 1871. Despite the tremendous discoveries of Dr. David Livingstone, the vast interior of the continent was still mostly unknown at that stage. Most of its mountains, lakes, rivers and forests were unexplored. Most of the tribes inhabiting the interior of Africa were still unknown. Many maps of that time had words like&nbsp;<em>Unknown&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<em>Unexplored territory</em>&nbsp;written across huge sections of the interior of Africa.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Slaves and Ivory</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Stanley immediately saw that slaves and ivory were the primary export of Africa being brought out of the interior by unscrupulous Arab traders. The Arabs on Zanzibar regarded Africa as a source of seemingly unlimited numbers of slaves and elephant tusks.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Speke, Burton and Grant</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In June 1856, Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke had set out from Zanzibar to find the source of the Nile. When Burton had fallen sick, Speke set out on his own and discovered, and named, Lake Victoria as the source of the Nile. Burton became Speke&rsquo;s bitter enemy and disputed his findings. Therefore Speke set out with James Grant in 1860, to confirm that Lake Victoria was indeed the source of the Nile. Burton, Speke, Grant and Baker had all established their reputations as African explorers, but the explorer that had surpassed them all was the Scottish Missionary, Dr. David Livingstone.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:267px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-14_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-14.jpg?1636636171" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">David Livingstone</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">For over 20 years, he had walked across Africa, from coast to coast, crossing the Kalahari dessert, discovering Lake Ngami, Victoria Falls, one of the greatest cataracts in the world, Lake Malawi and many other previously unknown features of the continent. Dr. Livingstone was a tireless crusader against the slave trade. At 52 years old Livingstone had left England for the last time, 14 August 1865. Starting from Zanzibar, he proceeded to the mouth of the Rovuma River and from there went up to explore Lake Malawi. In December 1866, some deserters from his porters returned to Zanzibar with news that Livingstone was dead. The world mourned his passing, although some doubted the reports. When letters from Livingstone, dated February 1867 and July 1868 were brought out of the interior, it created a sensation. James Gordon Bennet believed that it would be a tremendous news story if this famous missionary explorer could be found and interviewed.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Preparing the Expedition</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Henry Morton Stanley was only 29 years old when he began the expedition to find Livingstone. He had never before led, or organised, an expedition. Nor had he ever been a leader, or an employer, of men. Yet his wide reading and varied experiences and travel all seemed to have prepared him for this challenge. He spent over $20,000 on the expedition including purchasing millions of beads, and miles of wire and cloth needed for payment to cross tribal territories and to barter for food and other items in the interior. He located 6 Africans who had served explorers Burton, Speke and Grant, including Mabruki and Bombay, who was made captain of the askaris. Stanley purchased 20 donkeys, two boats, and tents, vast quantities of food, medicine, clothing, arms and ammunition.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Supplies for Africa</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The supplies were packed in bails, bags and boxes, each weighing no more than 30kg. As everything had to be carried by porters, and as the supplies needed to last for at least two years, great pains and foresight was shown in every aspect of the preparation. Six tonnes of material needed to be carried into the interior. Ujiji, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, over 742 miles inland from the coast, was the last location where Livingstone had been heard from, that was Stanley&rsquo;s first target. Stanley recruited two other white men, 23 askaris, 157 pagazis (porters), 4 chiefs and 5 additional men with different duties, such as cook, Arabic interpreter, etc. A total of 192 men. At the beginning there were 2 horses and 27 donkeys. The baggage was: 116 loads. The weaponry was: 1 shot gun, 2 carbines, 4 rifles, 8 pistols, 24 flintlock muskets, 2 swords, 2 daggers, 2 axes, 24 hatchets, and 24 long knives.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:281px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-15_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-15.jpg?1636636195" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Into Africa</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">At first the terrain was rough savannah. The climate was hot and humid with temperatures over 128&deg;F. As the rainy seasons came the rivers swelled and animals and men bogged down in marsh and mud. Every river crossing required much ingenuity and hard work. Tsetse flies, mosquitos and every other kind of insect afflicted the men and animals of the column. In the 13 months of the expedition Stanley was laid low by fever on 23 occasions. Dysentery, smallpox, malaria and many unknown fevers afflicted all on the expedition. The first casualty was one of the white team members: William Farquhar, who died early on the expedition.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Leadership on the March</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Every day presented new problems to be solved. Stanley soon learned that leadership required discipline, organisation, morale, motivation, conflict resolution and much communication. Many of the men contracted as porters deserted, stealing, or losing, the goods they were carrying. It was a never-ending struggle to keep the column together and to keep them moving forwards. Every chief demanded tribute for the travellers to pass through their territory. Yet, despite the many frustrations and delays, Stanley&rsquo;s column achieved a rapid advance twice as fast as the column of Burton and Speke.&#8203;</span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Conflict and Mutiny</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">There was a battle at Mirambo and most of his men were so frightened that they refused to go any further. The other white man on the expedition, Shaw, became demoralised and completely worthless at this point. Many men deserted the column. Mutiny erupted. Stanley loaded both barrels of his shotgun, adjusted his revolvers for ready action and walked towards the rebellious men who had picked up their muskets in a threatening way. Stanley raised the shotgun, aiming directly at their heads and commanded them to instantly drop their weapons. Asmani did not obey and Stanley knocked him to the ground. In this way the mutiny was quelled. Stanley compelled all those who would remain with him to swear a solemn promise to remain faithfully under his command until they found Livingstone. Despite many other troubles and starvation which plagued the expedition, the men remained faithful to this thereafter.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Promising Report</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Then they met a native caravan coming from Ujiji. They spoke about a white man with grey hair who had just arrived at Ujiji.&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Was he ever at Ujiji before?&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Stanley asked.</span><br /><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Yes, he went away a long time ago.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley was overwhelmed with excitement and impatience.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:385px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-16_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-16.jpg?1636636215" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Date with Destiny</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley pulled out his new flannel suit, had his Wellington boots polished and his helmet chalked, and then folded a fresh puggree around it. On Friday 10 November 1871, on the 236th day of his expedition, after having departed from Bagamoyo, on the coast, Stanley ordered the flag unfurled. With Asmani leading with the American flag, Stanley ordered guns fired to announce their arrival. Susi and Shumah, the faithful servants of Livingstone, met them on the path and ran back to inform Dr. Livingstone that a white man with a strange flag was coming to see them.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?&rdquo;</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As the only two white men in all of Equatorial Africa, from the Zambezi to the Nile, met, Stanley walked deliberately towards the older man, took off his hat and said:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Dr. Livingstone, I presume?&rdquo; &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">replied Livingstone with a smile. He lifted his cap slightly, and then Stanley shook hands declaring:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I thank God, Doctor that I have been permitted to see you.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Livingstone replied:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I feel thankful that I&rsquo;m here to welcome you.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Catching up on News</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley offered Livingstone a packet of letters from his family and friends at home, expecting him to read them immediately. However, Dr. Livingstone put them to one side and said:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;As I have waited years for letters, I have been taught patience. I can surely afford to wait a few hours longer. Now, tell me the general news: how is the world getting along?&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley gave him an update on the opening of the Suez Canal. General Grant was now President of the United States. The Pacific railroad across the continent of America had been completed. The Spanish Revolution had driven Queen Isabella from the throne. Prussia had defeated Denmark and France in war. The first transatlantic cable had been laid, permitting immediate communication between North America and Europe.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Most Opportune Time</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">From his side, Dr. Livingstone reported that Henry Morton Stanley had arrived at a most opportune time. Arab slavers had robbed him of all his supplies. Livingstone was desperate, sick and destitute. The friendship which began so formerly grew and deepened over the next four months as they were in daily contact.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-17_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-17_orig.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Evaluating Livingstone</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley later reported that he was surprised and captivated by the courtesy, dignity, patience and high morals of Dr. David Livingstone. Writing of Livingstone later in life, Stanley noted:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Lowly of spirit, meek in speech, merciful of heart, pure in mind and peaceful in act&hellip; during health or sickness&hellip; he was, consistently noble, upright, pious and manly, in all the days of my companionship with him.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Livingstone&rsquo;s patience and perseverance impressed Stanley the most.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Firm Resolve</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley felt convicted of the fact that up until then he had tended to solve his problems by running away from them. However, this time, he had succeeded in facing his difficulties boldly and overcoming them. Stanley determined to never again run away from anything.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Exploring Lake Tanganyika</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Together Livingstone and Stanley undertook an expedition by boat around the Northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Finally when Stanley had to return, Livingstone entrusted him with a box filled with his letters, diaries, scientific and geographical research, and many other papers. On 14 March 1872, they parted.</span><br /><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Return</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After resupplying Livingstone with all the trading goods he could need, Stanley&rsquo;s column had much less to transport back to the coast. They marched in rain, trudged in mud up to their knees, crossed innumerable rivers and streams, and finally on 6 May, only 54 days after leaving Tabora, they reached Bagamoyo on the coast. Stanley had walked 2,250 miles in 411 days. 20 members of the expedition had died during this epic journey. At the coast Stanley met Lt. William Hen of the Royal Navy, leading the Livingstone Search and Relief Expedition, sent out by the Royal Geographic Society. This expedition was abandoned before it even began.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-18_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-18.jpg?1636636269" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Praise and Criticism</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley was completely unprepared for the responses he would receive in Europe. The Paris Geographical Society condemned him as an imposter, but many French newspapers hailed his achievement in extravagant terms, comparing it to Napoleon&rsquo;s march through the Alps! The people in England responded to Stanley&rsquo;s exploits with intense interest and excitement. The Standard and the Spectator expressed suspicions and misgivings over the genuine-ness of his report. Some claimed that Stanley had not even been to Africa at all! Sensational stories and speculations abounded. The sudden fame, unexpected suspicions and vicious attacks upon his character, and unfair criticism of David Livingstone, disillusioned Stanley and made him want to recoil from society even more. Stanley wrote that his belief:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;that toil, generosity, devotion to duty and righteous living would receive recognition at the hands of my fellow creatures&hellip;&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;was&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;shattered&rdquo;.</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Honours and Awards</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">However when Livingstone&rsquo;s family confirmed beyond question the authenticity of the letters and papers which Stanley had brought back, all charges of forgery were withdrawn and the Times, the Daily News, the Daily Telegraph and Punch declared Stanley a true hero. Lord Granville, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented Stanley with a gold box with five dozen diamonds as a gift from her Majesty Queen Victoria&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;In recognition of the prudence and zeal displayed by him in opening communication with Dr. Livingstone.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">He was later received by Queen Victoria. He was also honoured by the Royal Geographic Society, presented with the Victoria Medal, and offered public apology for their earlier conduct towards him.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Bestseller</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In Scotland, Stanley was awarded another medal and made an honorary citizen. The completion and publication of Stanley&rsquo;s book:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">, was achieved only three months after his arrival in Europe. It became an instant bestseller. Stanley began to receive a flood of letters from strangers, relatives and acquaintances from his early years, who were suddenly affectionate towards this orphan whom they had once spurned.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-19_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-19.jpg?1636636293" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Fame and Jealousy</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Sailing into New York, Stanley was received with great fanfare and warm welcome by the entire staff of the Herald. The only person missing from the welcome was the proprietor, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the one who had actually sent Stanley to Africa. His reporter&rsquo;s fame provoked a deep displeasure which developed into jealousy and later hatred as Stanley returned from other expeditions and achieved even greater exploits. Bennett&rsquo;s hatred lasted as long as Stanley lived.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Tour of America</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Receptions, banquets, cheers and applause resounded throughout Stanley&rsquo;s triumphal procession through the United States. Dr. Livingstone&rsquo;s elder brother, John, came from Canada to New York, to thank Stanley personally for what he had done for his brother. Author Mark Twain praised Stanley extravagantly, even comparing him to Christopher Columbus.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">War in Spain</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">When Bennett sent Stanley to cover the war in Spain he found it a welcome relief from the round of banquets, lectures, receptions, honours, controversy and criticisms, which had come at him relentlessly since his return from Africa.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Ashantee Campaign</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Then England embarked on another military expedition to Africa, this time to punish the Ashantees who had massacred 600 British citizens. Major General Sir Garnet Wolsely was in command of this expedition to what is today, Ghana. The year was 1873 and Stanley wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;The people are as barbarous, untutored and superstitious, as wild in appearance, as naked in body, as filthy in their habits as any tribe of savages I have ever seen.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley described the grisly march, encountering human sacrifices and severed heads on poles in every village they passed through.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:296px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-20_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-20.jpg?1636636319" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Coomassie</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At Coomassie, Stanley located the killing fields of King Coffee of the Ashantee, a sacred grove where prisoners and slaves had been sacrificed. The terrible stench of decomposing corpses was overwhelming. Thirty, or more, decapitated bodies in the last stages of decomposition were immediately visible. Skulls were piled high and Stanley calculated that the grove contained the skulls of over 120,000 people.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Commendation from General Wolsely</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The British Army fought three battles against the Ashantee, but while nothing in Stanley&rsquo;s account of the expedition indicates that he took any personal share in the fighting, Lord Wolsely&rsquo;s&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Memoirs&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">described Henry Stanley:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;A thoroughly good man, no noise, no danger ruffled his nerve, and he looked as cool and self-possessed as if he had been at target practice. Time after time, as I turned in his direction, I saw him go down to a kneeling positing to steady his rifle as he applied the most daring of the enemy with a never failing aim... the close shut lips and determined expression of his manly face&hellip; told plainly&hellip; no danger could appal&hellip; his cool unflinching manliness (gave) fresh courage. I&rsquo;d been previously somewhat prejudiced against him, but all such feelings were slain and buried at Amoaful, ever since I have been proud to reckon him among the bravest of my brave comrades.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley published his account of the British Military Campaigns in Abyssinia and Ashantee under the title</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">:<strong>&nbsp;Coomassie and Magdala.</strong></em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Death of David Livingstone</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">It was while returning from the Ashantee war that Stanley heard of the death of Dr. David Livingstone. He wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Dear Livingstone! Another sacrifice for Africa! His Mission, however, must not be allowed to cease; others must go forward and fill the gap. ...may I be selected to succeed him in opening up Africa to the light of Christianity&hellip; may Livingstone&rsquo;s God be with me&hellip; may God direct me as He wills. I can only vow to be obedient, and not to slacken.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-21_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-21.jpg?1636636339" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Dedication to Livingstone&rsquo;s Mission</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley saw Africa as a challenge, Livingstone as his example and inspiration. Stanley dedicated his life to serving Africa by developing Christianity and civilisation throughout its vast and unexplored interior. On 18 April 1874, Henry Morton Stanley was one of the pallbearers for the funeral of Dr. David Livingstone at Westminster Abbey. Stanley was given the foremost position on the right. Shortly after that the Daily Telegraph of London and the New York Herald united to fund an expedition to Central Africa under the leadership of Henry Stanley:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;To complete the work left unfinished by the lamentable death of Dr. Livingstone; to solve, if possible, the remaining problems of the geography of Central Africa; and to investigate and report upon the haunts of the slave traders&hellip;&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Through the Dark Continent</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">On 15 August 1874, Stanley and three volunteers set sail from England for Zanzibar. He sought the men who had served him on the Livingstone Search Expedition, or who had served with Livingstone. Ultimately he selected 356 carriers and soldiers. On 12 November 1874, loaded with animals and supplies, they set sail for Bagamoyo, on the coast of East Africa. Immediately he had to deal with those of his men who began stealing from and assaulting the local inhabitants! Then when he found that some had kidnapped women he forced them to set them free. He then faced down a mutiny. Then there were desertions. They passed through areas of severe famine. Their guides deserted. New guides got them lost.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Heat, Famine and Pestilence</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">January 1875, began with a series of severe hardships and catastrophes. Men died from the heat, from lack of food and from exhaustion. Local inhabitants were hostile and severely overcharged the expedition for food. Sickness plagued the men. In the first two months, 20 people died and 89 deserted &ndash; one third of the expedition!</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The First of Many Battles</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Then the Ituru natives attacked the expedition. In just one battle the expedition lost 21 askaris. When Stanley reached Lake Victoria, he called on volunteers to man the boat, the Lady Alice. Not one, stepped forward. The men declared that they were&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;cowards on the water.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Thereafter Stanley dispensed with asking for volunteers and selected and ordered his men.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:375px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-22_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-22.jpg?1636636358" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Lake Victoria</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Beginning on 8 March 1875, Stanley explored Lake Victoria - establishing it as the largest lake in Africa, covering 26,000 square miles. Stanley sailed along, and mapped, its 2000 miles of shoreline, recording every cove, river and island connected with it. Frequently he faced savages, often drunk, screaming their intention to kill him. His calm and confident demeanour frequently prevented conflict.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Kabaka Mtesa</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In April he met with Mtesa, the Kabaka (or king) of Uganda. John Hanning Speke had written of Mtesa. Mtesa claimed to be a Muslim having been converted to Islam by an Arab, Muley Bin Salim. Stanley determined to destroy his belief in Islam and teach the Doctrines of Christ. For 12 days Stanley instructed the king from the Old and New Testament, and at the end Mtesa announced that he would follow the Christian Sabbath, and he would instruct that the Ten Commandments be written on a board where everyone could see and study them everyday. Mtesa loaned Stanley canoes and men to explore the Western shores of Lake Victoria.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Missionaries for Uganda</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Colonel Linant de Bellefonds was sent out by General Charles Gordon, Governor of Sudan, to establish communications with Uganda. Stanley entrusted him with a letter to the Daily Telegraph appealing for missionaries to be sent to Uganda. De Bellefonds was murdered in Sudan, but Stanley&rsquo;s letters were discovered concealed in his boot. When they eventually found their way to England and were published by the Telegraph, a huge fund was collected and missionaries were sent out to Uganda where Christianity began to flourish.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Under Attack</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Later Stanley was confronted by hundreds of well-armed warriors in war costume. Only the protection of Mtesa prevented a fight on this occasion. Later as they discovered half-decomposed bodies with axe wounds, Mtesa&rsquo;s escort of canoes deserted Stanley. Within days the expedition came under sustained attack. Stanley wrote of&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;a scene of rampant wildness and hideous verbosity beyond description.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;The boat was surrounded by a forest of spears, over 50 bows were bent nearly double, with levelled arrows. Over 200&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;stalwart demons&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;contended as to who should deliver the first blow. Stanley had to fight his way out of this desperate situation with his Winchester repeater rifle and shotgun. As they sought to row to safety, war canoes pursued them. With his elephant rifle, Stanley sunk boat after boat of their pursuers.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:396px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-23_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-23.jpg?1636636381" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Fever and Famine</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">For over 76 hours they were without food before finding refuge. Upon completing their circumnavigation of Lake Victoria, they were welcomed back to their base camp only to discover that another of the Europeans had died and many more of the expedition were suffering from dysentery. Attacks of fever reduced Stanley to a mere 108 pounds in weight. As they attempted to progress further to the Congo, several of their canoes proved to be rotten and sunk. The expedition lost 5 canoes, a case of ammunition, 1,200 pounds of grain and 5 guns.</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;<br />Conflict and Conversion</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The treacherous Bumbireh attacked their party and killed a number of men. Stanley launched a counter attack. Then Mtesa asked for Stanley&rsquo;s support in dealing with the rebellious Wavuma. By innovation and audacity, Stanley intimidated the Wavuma to surrender without any further bloodshed. He then persuaded Mtesa and his whole court to completely convert to Christianity. Mtesa gave him an army of 2,000 warriors to escort his expedition to Lake Edward.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Lake Tanganyika</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After this Stanley marched to Lake&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Tanganyika</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;and completed the circumnavigation of the lake in 51 days, proving it was the longest fresh-water lake in the world. Stanley had now been in Africa for two years and had accomplished two great geographical objectives, exploring and mapping both Lake Victoria and Lake&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Tanganyika</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">. Now he prepared for the most audacious of all, the exploration of the Congo River.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To the Congo</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At this point, Stanley had already accomplished much and could have returned home with honours. However the fascination of the unexplored Lualaba River drew him. Was it part of the Congo? The Niger? Or the Nile River? No explorer had dared enter into that notorious cannibal country. Stanley was convinced that the fast flowing, broad Lualaba must empty into the sea and therefore could only be one of those three great rivers.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:390px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-24_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-24.jpg?1636636413" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Dealing with the Devil</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley was convinced that exploring the Lualaba River would be what Livingstone would have wanted him to do. Yet he did not have a single canoe to supplement the Lady Alice. He would have to supplement his expedition with a force strong enough to give him a fighting chance of succeeding. To do so, he would have to deal with Hamid Bin Mohammed, known as Tippu Tib. A notorious slave trader, Tippu Tib was shrewd, unscrupulous, ruthless and cruel. His slave raiders had killed many thousands and enslaved countless more. Tippu Tib and 700 of his men gave confidence to Stanley&rsquo;s expedition, who were threatening to mutiny, rather than go down the dreaded Heart of Darkness River.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Into the Heart of Darkness</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">So, on 5 November 1876, Stanley marched out of Nyangwe, at the head of an expedition of nearly 1,000. By the second day they were hacking their way through thick dense jungle, which made every step painful. After a week of marching they had covered only 40 miles. The terrain became even more difficult as the dense jungle shut out every ray of sunshine. When they finally reached the Lualaba River, the Lady Alice was assembled. While Stanley and his crew went by river, Tippu Tib and the bulk of the expedition continued parallel on land. Each village they passed seemed eerily empty. The inhabitants had apparently fled, but the rows of skulls lining the streets and human bones littering huts and yards spoke eloquently of the depraved nature of the inhabitants.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Confronted by Cannibals</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Where the Ruiki River empties into the Congo River, Stanley&rsquo;s path was blocked by war canoes filled with, what he described as,&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;hostile savages&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;who poured spears and arrows into his people. As Stanley fired back the attackers fled. Smallpox broke out amongst the expedition and soon they had buried 12 of their number. When they discovered that cannibals dug up the bodies and ate them, they began practising burial in the Congo River.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:365px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-25_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-25.jpg?1636636429" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">River Rapids</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">When they came across six old broken and abandoned canoes, these were repaired and used to transport the sick and wounded. Rapids overturned one of these canoes, and four precious Snider rifles were lost. Despite difficulties on land and river, sickness and hostile attacks, the expedition pushed on. Tippu Tib and others pleaded with Stanley to turn back before it was too late, but Stanley was determined.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Sustained Attack</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At Vinya-Njara on 18 December, the expedition came under sustained attack. They constructed a barricade of logs and bush and beat off the savage attacks time and again. The yells of their attackers, the booming of their war horns, the crack of the rifles and muskets and the screams of the wounded created an unnerving and chaotic din. For two hours they fought desperately before the attackers fled. Poisoned arrows continued to drop into the camp throughout the night. Sleep seemed impossible, but even under those conditions, many of the exhausted men dozed on and off. The next morning Stanley set out in the Lady Alice to scout the area, and discovering a series of villages only a quarter of a mile down the river, he decided to capture the nearest village of their attackers. Seizing it, he fortified it and beat off several wild and determined attacks. A mass of arrows flew into the village from the jungle. 800 men in war canoes attempted to rush them.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Counter Attack</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">After beating off both land and river attacks, Stanley determined to make a night attack and take their canoes. This would not only deprive their attackers of their mobility, but enable his expedition to all travel on the river. That night, under cover of darkness, they cut loose 8 long canoes from one encampment and 26 canoes from another. Some of these canoes were 50 feet long. By five in the morning they were all safely back in camp with 38 liberated canoes. At sunrise they could hear the cries of rage from the savages who had been deprived of their most cherished possessions. Now they were ready to accept Stanley&rsquo;s offer of peace terms. Stanley returned 15 of their canoes and paid them what he considered a fair price for the one&rsquo;s he kept. He also released their prisoners.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:298px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-26_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-26.jpg?1636636450" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Abandoned</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">However at this point, Tippu Tib had had enough. He and his followers would go no further and they determined to return east. He would also take back all the sick and wounded. Now that Stanley had 23 canoes, he felt that they could survive on their own. He made a speech to inspire his expedition:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Into whichever sea this great river empties, there shall we follow it&hellip; you have seen that I have saved you a score of times when everything looked dark and dismal for us. If I risk your life, I risk mine. It may be we shall meet a hundred wild tribes yet who, for the sake of eating us, will rush to fight us. We have no wish to molest them. If they fight us, we must accept it as an evil, like disease, which we cannot help. If we fight, we fight for our lives. We shall continue our journey that we shall toil on and on, by this great river and to the salt sea!&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">River Battles</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley then declared a three day holiday in honour of Christmas 1876, with feasting, dancing and canoe races. Each of the captured canoes were given names such as: Livingstone, Herald, Telegraph, Mtesa&hellip; Then with the entire expedition on the river they rowed forwards. Soon drums and war horns warned them of imminent attack. Eager young warriors with painted bodies and grotesquely adorned with the skins of wild animals screamed&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Meat! Meat!&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;as they massed for attack. Stanley wrote that it must have appeared that they were a herd of ownerless cattle straying amongst the starving. He described their attackers as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;the living embodiment of hatred&rdquo;.</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Shields for the Fight</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In order to protect his people, Stanley instructed his men to collect shields after every battle. These were used to bulwark the canoes making them look something like the galleys of the ancient Vikings. By this stage all distinctions between pagazi (carriers) and askari (soldiers) had vanished. Every man both rowed and fought. Those who did not have guns captured spears and threw them back at the next hostile tribe that attacked.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:266px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-27_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-27.jpg?1636636485" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Besieged</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At one point the expedition was attacked from both sides of the river simultaneously. The attackers were painted half white and half red with broad black stripes. One war canoe was 85 feet long. As they targeted the Lady Alice, Stanley had his men fire a volley into the attackers. As the survivors leapt overboard, this massive canoe was captured and incorporated into the expedition&rsquo;s transport. Amidst the pounding of the drums, the screaming of the attackers and the noise of battle came the ominous roar of a waterfall ahead. Attacked from both sides, and with an obviously high waterfall ahead of them, they were faced with a dilemma: drowning, or being eaten by cannibals.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley Falls</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley determined to establish a beachhead and fight. They built a stockade and fought until sunset and through the night. Stanley scouted ahead and established that this was only the first of a series of cataracts. (The seven cataracts were later called Stanley Falls.) It took a month of hard fighting to carry their canoes and kit past each of the waterfalls, fighting off hostile attacks in the dense jungle. By a series of bold attacks and outflanking manouvres Stanley required his men to sometimes be fighting for 72 hours straight without respite. At one point Stanley surprised the attackers by capturing their village and holding their chief hostage, until peace had been established.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Hunted by Cannibals</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley described the Iron Age culture in the Congo at that time: baskets, fishnets, bundles of wooden spears with iron points. Human skulls ornamented the village streets and human ribs, thigh bones and vertebrae lay scattered around the huts. At one point they found themselves surrounded by a huge net and a mass of men with spears, hunting them like game. Sometimes their path had sharp pointed traps designed to injure or cripple them. The prisoners they captured had the filed sharpened teeth of cannibals and rows of ugly tattoo marks on their foreheads. He learned that when these cannibals were unable to capture strangers, they ate their own old men and women.<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Overcoming all Obstacles</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Attacks came thick and fast and sometimes with such intensity, and in such huge numbers, that, had they not been prepared, they would have been overwhelmed. Savage screams filled the jungle and the drums were seldom silent. Finally, after a torturous month, the seventh and last waterfall was bypassed and with the Congo River a mile wide, they re-launched their boats. There was tremendous exhilaration amongst the expedition as they felt that the worst was behind them, but they were soon to learn that the worst was still ahead.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:auto;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-28_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-28.jpg?1636636501" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In the Shadow of Death</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Attacks increased in intensity, poisoned arrows were shot at them at any time of the day or night. They felt like hunted animals. Stanley rose to the occasion, clear-headed and calm in battle, confident that God was protecting him and that he was destined to complete his mission of ending the slave trade in Africa. By now his men had been hardened by travel and conflict and united into an effective fighting force and efficient team. After a long series of battles and skirmishes, they faced one of their most desperate battles on 1 February 1877.</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;<br />Confrontation</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Warned by great shouting and thunderous beating of drums they came around a bend, close to where the Aruwimi River joins the Congo. A fleet of gigantic canoes, bigger than anything they had ever seen before, blocked their way. He formed up his boats in a battle line and with the Lady Alice 50 yards ahead they confronted 54 battle canoes. The largest canoe had 80 paddlers. As the monster canoe aimed straight for the Lady Alice, Stanley encouraged his men:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Be firm as I am. Wait until you see the first spear, and then take good aim. Do not fire all at once. Keep aiming until you are sure of your man.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Charging the Enemy</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As the monster canoe discharged a broadside of arrows, Stanley and his men opened fire. The enemy retreated out of range to re-form for another attack. Stanley decided to pre-empt them by launching his own attack. In hot pursuit Stanley&rsquo;s men forced their attackers&rsquo; withdrawal into a rout. When the attackers made for shore, Stanley&rsquo;s men pursued them and chased them through their village and into the jungle.<br /><br />&#8203;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Idolatry and Cannibalism</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At the village they found a Meskiti, temple, where the large circular roof was supported by 33 tusks of ivory erected over an idol four feet high and painted bright red. This was the focus of worship of the Basoko Tribe. There were numerous skulls mounted on poles, a half-eaten human forearm and ribs on the fire.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:380px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-29_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-29.jpg?1636636529" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Perseverance</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">By this point the expedition had travelled 340 miles north since leaving Nyangwe. This battle at the Aruwimi River mouth was their 28th battle in the Congo. 79 people had died on the expedition, so far. They were still in the middle of the continent and the exploration of the Congo River was not close to half completed. They still had a very long way to go, but Stanley was determined to never turn back. He kept up all details in his journal, writing&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;I persist&hellip;trusting events to an all gracious providence.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Trade</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Storms threatened the canoes with destruction. A chronic shortage of food threatened starvation. However, at this point they found friendly natives in the region of Rubunga, who were willing to trade food for wire and beads. Like the other tribes they encountered in the Congo, these people were elaborately tattooed. They had never seen a white man before, but they had in their possession 4 antique Portuguese muskets which had been traded for slaves. This greatly disturbed Stanley, as it indicated that he may begin encountering hostile tribes armed with muskets. His expedition&rsquo;s 20 rifles and 20 muskets would be inadequate if confronted by a large number of hostiles armed with firearms.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Under Fire</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The next tribe down the river, the Urangi, were also friendly and willing to trade so that the men of Stanley&rsquo;s expedition began to hope that they were emerging from the heart of darkness and entering into the outskirts of civilisation. However, shortly after this a shot rang out from an Urangi canoe and one of Stanley&rsquo;s men from Zanzibar fell dead from a ball fired from a musket. A few days later on 14 February, the expedition was attacked by the most militant tribe on the Congo, the Bangala. The Bangala were the most brilliantly decorated warriors they had yet encountered. Their war cries resounded as their canoes advanced towards Stanley&rsquo;s men. Holding cloth in one hand and a coil of brass wire in the other, Stanley offered trade and peace. He had been told that the Bangala liked to trade, but they actually liked to fight more. The battle continued throughout the afternoon. Stanley counted 63 war canoes opposing them, each with an average of 5 muskets. That was over 300 guns against 40. The Bangala were skilful and aggressive. However, after a 5 hour battle, the Bangala retreated.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:347px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-30_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-30.jpg?1636636572" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Through the Fire</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">This was Stanley&rsquo;s 31st battle on the Congo. Very few professional soldiers have fought as many battles in a lifetime as Stanley fought in just 4 months. Incredibly, although Stanley was in the forefront of every battle, standing in the prow of the Lady Alice, he came through every battle unscathed.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">More Cataracts</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Three day later they reached a lake which was named Stanley Pool. At this point they had travelled 1,235 miles since leaving Nyangwe. Ahead of them were 32 cataracts. Many canoes were lost and injuries incurred as the boats were laboriously hauled overland past each cataract. At one point Stanley fell 30 feet into a chasm, but miraculously escaped with only minor injuries. Their largest canoe, the Crocodile, was swept over a waterfall with the loss of 7 men, including his adopted son, Kalulu. This cataract was then named Kalulu Falls.</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;<br />Obstacle Marathon</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The cataracts and rapids were so numerous that the team developed a standard routine for transporting canoes and kit past them. A dangerous whirlpool was only narrowly escaped. When the Lady Alice survived going over a waterfall and somehow remained afloat, this was named the Lady Alice Rapids. From 16 March to 21 April the expedition travelled only 34 miles in 37 days.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Superstitious Fears</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At one point, local, until then friendly, natives advanced on the camp with muskets, spears, poisoned arrows and shrill war cries. Stanley asked them why they approached in such an aggressive fashion? Their reply was that they had seen the white man writing in a book. They demanded that he destroy his book because it was a bad omen and it meant that their goats would die!</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To Burn or Not to Burn</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">As Stanley had filled his journal with invaluable geographical calculations, sketches, and details on tribes, languages and villages encountered, he could not sacrifice the fruit of all their trials and exploration. Nevertheless he was compelled to agree to burn the offending book. Stanley went to his tent and pulled out his well worn edition of Shakespeare. As this was a similar size and had the same cover as his journal, the natives did not realise the switch. They left with satisfaction when the book was burned to ashes.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:299px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-31_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-31.jpg?1636636593" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Another Blow</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">By now their shoes were worn through and Stanley and the sole remaining European on the expedition, Frank Pocock, were reduced to wearing makeshift sandals. Ulcers and sores had developed on the souls of their feet. At another waterfall the last remaining European team member of Stanley was lost. Trying to steer around a treacherous whirlpool, Frank Pocock was lost.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Mutiny</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Most of the men on the expedition fell into dark despair after this accident. After all the diseases, battles, struggles against nature, heat, exhaustion and strain, the men threatened mutiny. 31 attempted to desert, but local chiefs would not allow them to pass through their territory. Soon the mutineers had to return and Stanley attempted to inspire his tired, hungry and discouraged men.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Pressing On</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In the next month they travelled only 3 miles. Another 3 cataracts remained ahead. The tribes were sullen and uncooperative, unwilling to trade any food. All on expedition were wasting away for lack of nourishment. There were only 116 people left on the expedition and 40 were seriously ill. As they were apparently only a few miles from Boma, where there were European settlers, Stanley sent messengers ahead requesting emergency food supplies. Two days later this messenger returned with pagazis bearing food and a message of welcome from the Europeans at Boma. This gave them strength to walk the remaining 3 days.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Success</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">On 9 August 1877, 999 days after their departure from Zanzibar, they were welcomed back to civilisation by 4 white men who treated them to a banquet in Boma. They were then transported to Cabinda and a ship carried them to Luanda, where they boarded another ship to Cape Town. There Stanley was welcomed and honoured while his ship anchored in the bay. A British warship then carried the explorers from Cape Town to Zanzibar.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:297px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-32_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-32.jpg?1636636615" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Against All Odds</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Of the 359 people who had left Bagamoyo, with Stanley three years before, only 82 returned to Zanzibar with him. 58 had been killed in battles with cannibals in the Congo. 49 had died from smallpox. 9 had starved to death. 14 had drowned. Typhoid, fever, crocodiles and other causes accounted for the rest. Never before, nor since, has any African expedition accomplished so much. Stanley had surveyed the great lakes of Victoria and Tanganyika, and the world&rsquo;s second longest river, the Congo. He had succeeded in exploring and mapping more territory than the explorations of Burton, Speke, Grant, Baker and even Livingstone. The political and commercial implications of his geographical discoveries were immense. Stanley was only 37 years old when he completed his expedition from coast to coast, from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean across the heart of Africa.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Commerce and Civilization</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Of all the great explorers, Stanley alone followed up his explorations by developing an empire. He determined to&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;pour the civilisation of Europe into the barbarian of Africa.&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;Commerce would be used to bring Christianity and culture to the Congo. He described isolation as the great curse of Central Africa. European missionaries and businessmen needed to open up the great continent to civilisation and free the Africans from animism, superstition, slavery, intertribal wars and cannibalism. The 1,425,000 square miles of the Congo River basin were comparable to the Mississippi and the Amazon. The 3,000 miles of the Congo River poured 12 million cubic feet of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second. It had a tremendous potential for hydroelectric power. Africa could be freed by civilising the Congo.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Honours and Awards</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In January 1878, Stanley was welcomed to Europe by representatives of King Leopold II, of the Belgians. King Umberto of Italy sent him an award. The Khedive of Egypt sent him a medal. All the geographic societies awarded Stanley gold medals. The Prince of Wales paid him tribute. Governments throughout Europe honoured him and the Congress in the United States passed a unanimous Vote of Thanks for his achievements. Stanley was now the most famous African explorer alive. Just 4 months after his return he submitted his manuscript for&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Through the Dark Continent,&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">which, in more than a thousand pages, catalogued his incredible journey.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:301px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-33_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-33.jpg?1636636628" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Establishing the Congo Free State</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In November 1878, King Leopold of the Belgians personally requested Stanley to lead a venture to create a Congo Free State. In May 1879, Stanley arrived back at the mouth of the Congo River with less than 100 men determined to bring civilisation to millions of the most savage people on earth, living in one of the world&rsquo;s most remote and inhospitable regions. The debilitating furnace-like climate and dense jungles, treacherous rivers, and myriads of insects carrying fatal diseases, did not dampened the enthusiasm and vision of Stanley to bring civilisation to the Congo. For five and a half years he laboured to achieve this despite overwhelming frustrations. His efforts in the Congo earned him the name:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Bula Matari&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;(breaker of rocks).</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Man of Iron Will</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley had a reputation amongst his officers as a hard man. But his response was:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;One is not likely to be hard with persons who perform their duties; but it is difficult to be mild, or amiable with people who are absolutely incapable, and who will not listen to admonition, without bristling with resentment.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">He was described as a man of iron, a man of courage, of dogged will and a splendid leader. But while he was respectful of the customs, traditions and beliefs of the Africans, he was considered harsh to his fellow Europeans. As one man said: Stanley had no real friends, but many enemies:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;However long you might know him, I doubt you will ever become his friend.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley could not understand, and had little use for, those who held their duty more lightly than he did. To him duty was everything. He did not play cards, or any other game, his only recreation was reading.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Civilizing the Congo</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley negotiated over 400 treaties with the once war-like tribes along the Congo River. These treaties became the foundations of the Congo Free State. Peace, order, progress and industrious work followed in his wake. He established five stations stretching over 450 miles inland and launched a steamer and sail boat on the upper Congo (above Stanley Pool). A road was built between Viva and Isangila. Even the wild and war-like Bangala made treaties with Bula Matari. Through his perseverance, diplomacy, patience and understanding of the tribes of the Congo, he brought civilisation to the tattooed and naked savages who had lived in barbarous depravity and cannibalism for centuries.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:286px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-34_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-34.jpg?1636636652" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Life and Liberty</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley was hailed worldwide as the emancipator who ended the rampant inter-tribal slavery and Arab slave trade which had plundered the Congo for centuries. By the time his 5 years in the Congo was completed, Stanley had built a line of garrison stations for 1,400 miles up the Congo, established peace between tribes that had been in constant warfare for generations. He had established a far reaching political and commercial organisation, built roads and railways, launched two steamers on the upper Congo and three on the lower Congo, bringing peace, commerce and law to a land that had once been wild and lawless. Missionaries and traders were venturing up the river and establishing trading posts and mission stations where, just a few short years before, no one would have thought it possible.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">General Charles Gordon</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley&rsquo;s choice of a successor was General Charles Gordon, who was en-route to take over from Stanley when the Mahdi&rsquo;s rebellion in the Sudan forced him to change his plans and head for his fatal date with destiny in Khartoum.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Belgian Congo</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley regretted that many of his ideals and the principles of David Livingstone, which he had sought to honour, were betrayed by some of the men who followed him. In 1910, King Leopold persuaded the Belgian government to take responsibility for administering the Congo.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Emin Pasha Expedition</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Incredibly, that was not the end of the African adventures of Henry Morton Stanley. He later crossed Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean to rescue one of General Gordon&rsquo;s governors, Emin Pasha. That epic of endurance started out with an expedition of 708 men, and ended with 196. Enroute 512 died. The afflictions, diseases and battles endured on the Emin Pasha rescue compare with Stanley&rsquo;s exploration of the Congo. Stanley and his men were welcomed to German East Africa in Bagamoyo by the guns of the German warships in the harbour which boomed out a salute to this epic explorer. He then wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;In Darkest Africa&rdquo;</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;(903 pages).</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:303px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-35_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-35.jpg?1636636675" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Uganda Mission</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">He noted one of the most encouraging aspects of this Trans African expedition was visiting the Mission station of Rev. Alexander MacKay in Usambiro in Uganda. MacKay had been in Africa for 12 years, in response to Stanley&rsquo;s urgent plea for missionaries after the conversion of Kabaka Mtesa. Stanley described MacKay as&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;the best missionary since Livingstone.&rdquo;</em><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Railways for Freedom</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Stanley observed that the virtues of civilisation never seemed so clear as when he was in the jungle. The wilds of Africa never seemed so pleasant as when he was in the midst of civilisation. Stanley met with England&rsquo;s Prime Minister, William Gladstone, and urged him to build a railroad from Mombasa on the East African coast to the shore of Lake Victoria to help suppress the slave trade.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Marriage and Parliament</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">At the age of 49, less than 3 months after his return to England from this last great African expedition, he married the talented and beautiful Dorothy Tennant at Westminster Abbey, 12 July 1890. Dorothy Tennant was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Stanley received honourary degrees from Edinburgh, Halle, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge. He conducted lecture tours of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. In 1895, he was elected a Member of Parliament for North Lambeth, London. But he was a man of action, not a politician. He accomplished far more by his writings than by his speeches in Parliament. His book:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;was effective in mobilising the political will and action necessary to finally crush the last remnants of that vile trade in Africa.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">A Man with a Mission</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">In his autobiography, he wrote:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&ldquo;Those to whom&hellip; I ventured to consign the secret hopes and interests of my heart, invariably betrayed me&hellip; I learned by experience that there was no love for me, born, so to say fatherless, spurned and disowned by my mother, beaten almost to death by my teacher and guardian, fed on the bread of bitterness, how was I to believe in love?... But I was not sent into the world to be happy, nor to search for happiness. I was sent for a special work.&rdquo;</em></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:336px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/henry-morton-stanley-36_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/henry-morton-stanley-36.jpg?1636636709" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>Mission Accomplished</strong><br />In 1897, he paid his last visit to Africa to take part in the ceremonies opening the Bulawayo railway station in Southern Rhodesia. His last book was:&nbsp;<em>Through South Africa</em>, published in 1898. In 1899, at the age of 58, Stanley was knighted by the Queen. He died 10 May 1904 at 63 years old. He was the most famous convert of Dr. David Livingstone, one of the greatest explorers of all time and one of the most effective campaigners against the slave trade. His 1874 to 1877 Trans Africa Exploit was the most outstanding achievement in all the history of the exploration of Africa.<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter Hammond<br /><br />The Reformation Society<br />P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725<br />Cape Town South Africa<br />Tel: 021 689-4480<br />Fax: 021-685-5884<br />Email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mission@frontline.org.za">mission@frontline.org.za</a><br />Website:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reformationsa.org/">www.ReformationSA.org</a><br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>Bibliography and Recommended Books:</strong><br /><em>How I Found Livingstone</em>, by Henry Morton Stanley, New York, 1872<br /><em>Coomassie and Magdala</em>, by Henry Morton Stanley, New York, 1874<br /><em>Through the Dark Continent</em>, by Henry Morton Stanley, New York, 1879<br /><em>The Congo and the Founding of its Free State</em>, New York, 1885<br /><em>In Darkest Africa,&nbsp;</em>by Henry Morton Stanley, New York, 1890<br /><em>Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa</em>, New York, 1893<br /><em>Through South Africa: A Visit to Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Cape Colony and Natal</em>, New York, 1898<br /><em>The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley</em>, edited by Dorothy Stanley, New York, 1909<br /><em>Stanley, Invincible Explorer</em>, by Laura Beriet, New York, 1995<br /><em>The Man Who Presumed</em>, by Byron Farwell, London, 1957<br /><em>Into Africa &ndash; The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone</em>, by Martin Dugard, London, 2003</div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[How the Reformation Changed the World Part 5]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 21 Sep 2021 12:48:27 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Greatest Century of Reformation]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformationsa.org/history-articles/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5</guid><description><![CDATA[ How the Reformation Transformed Economics&nbsp;To view this presentation as a PowerPoint with pictures, click&nbsp;here.To view this presentation as a video, click&nbsp;here.To listen to the audio of this message, click&nbsp;here.&nbsp;Free Enterprise and the Work EthicAlong with some of the greatest art and literature, the Reformation brought about the greatest industrial advances, productivity and prosperity ever experienced in history.&nbsp;Productivity and ProsperityThe Protestant work ethi [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:357px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-1_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-1.jpg?1632228818" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">How the Reformation Transformed Economics</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To view this presentation as a PowerPoint with pictures, click</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/frontfel/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world">here</a>.</strong><br /><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To view this presentation as a video, click</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="https://vimeo.com/545945912">here</a></strong><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">.</span><br /><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">To listen to the audio of this message, click</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)"><a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=56211231295339">here</a></strong><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Free Enterprise and the Work Ethic</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Along with some of the greatest art and literature, the Reformation brought about the greatest industrial advances, productivity and prosperity ever experienced in history.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Productivity and Prosperity</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Protestant work ethic, which helped to bring about great productivity and prosperity in Western Europe and North America, arose mostly through the Protestant Reformers - particularly John Calvin.&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">"The most dynamic businessmen were to be found in Protestant Holland and the most vigorous industrial growth in Protestant England, both states heavily tinctured with Calvinism."</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;(Historian Richard Dunn).</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:347px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-2_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-2.jpg?1632228898" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Protestant Work Ethic</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Max Webber, in his famous book:&nbsp;</span><em style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">"The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"</em><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;(1905), attributed the Capitalist Revolution to Calvinism, its worldly asceticism and Protestant work ethic.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Energetic Stewardship</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Calvin upheld the right of private ownership of property, taught the Biblical concept of stewardship and promoted free enterprise and diligent hard work. Calvin unleashed all the powers that capitalism has produced. As a result, the free enterprise system has generated the highest standards of living, the longest life expectancy and the greatest advances in industry and medicine ever experienced in history.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:396px;position:relative;float:left;max-width:100%;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-3_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-3.jpg?1632228939" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Foundations for Freedom</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">For these and so many other reasons, the Reformation in Europe during the 16th century has to be seen as one of the most important epochs in the history of the world. The Reformation gave us the Bible - now freely available in our own languages. The Reformation also pioneered the now-almost universally acknowledged principles of religious freedom, liberty of conscience, the rule of law, separation of powers and constitutionally limited Republics. All of these foundational principles were unthinkable before the Reformation.</span><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">&nbsp;</span><br /><strong style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">Firm Foundations</strong><br /><span style="color:rgb(42, 42, 42)">The Reformers emphasis on God's sovereignty, that Scripture alone is the final authority, that Christ alone is the Head of the Church, that justification is by God's grace, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, received by grace alone. Their teachings on the depravity of man, the Covenant and Church government has influenced Law and liberty throughout the Western world and beyond. All of us are beneficiaries of this tremendous movement for Faith and Freedom. It is time that we re-examined the history and the principles of the Reformation.</span></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style='display: table;width:368px;position:relative;float:right;max-width:100%;;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a href='https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-4_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'><img src="https://www.reformationsa.org/uploads/1/0/4/1/104153586/published/how-the-reformation-changed-the-world-part-5-4.jpg?1632228999" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0; max-width:100%" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" /></a><span style="display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center;" class="wsite-caption"></span></span> <div class="paragraph" style="display:block;"><strong>The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance</strong><br /><em>"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God, except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."</em> Martin Luther<br />&nbsp;<br />Dr. Peter Hammond<br />Africa Christian Action<br />PO Box 23632<br />Claremont 7735<br />Cape Town South Africa<br /><a href="mailto:info@christianaction.org.za">info@christianaction.org.za</a><br /><a href="http://www.christianaction.org.za/">www.ChristianAction.org.za</a><br /><a href="http://www.reformationsa.org/">www.ReformationSA.org</a><br />&nbsp;<br />See also:<br /><a href="http://reformationsa.org/index.php/component/eventlist/details/575-Art%20?Essay_Competition_=">Reformation Art and Essay Competition 2021</a><br /><a href="https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/news/the-greatest-century-of-reformation">The Greatest Century of Reformation</a><br /><a href="http://reformationsa.org/index.php/component/content/article/69-reformation-500/413-practical-steps-to-reformation">Practical Steps to Reformation</a><br /><a href="http://reformationsa.org/index.php/reformation-today/351-are-you-praying-for-revival">Are You Praying for Revival?</a><br /><a href="http://reformationsa.org/index.php/component/multicategories/article/316-how-the-reformation-changed-the-church">How the Reformation Changed the Church</a></div> <hr style="width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;"></hr>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>