The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was a powerful force in the later 1800’s and early 1900’s. Not only did they influence the 18th amendment to the Constitution that prohibited alcohol, they also joined the efforts for women’s suffrage and the right to vote. The founder of the WCTU Frances Willard was baptized on May 5, 1861 after attending Methodist church …

The first bishop of the Methodist Church, Thomas Coke, was an attorney and the mayor of Brecon, Wales and thought by many to be John Wesley’s successor. This is a picture of the cathedral in Brecon where Coke worshiped. Coke came to America not too long after the American Revolution and, along with Francis Asbury, was the first superintendent of …

When James Sharp was named archbishop of St. Andrews, making him the head of the Church of England in Scotland, he sealed his fate as a turncoat to the “Covenanters” who became the Presbyterians. Sharp had once been a Covenanter which meant he wanted the Church of England to stay out of Scotland’s congregation-driven church structure. This was right in …

The former bishop of Alexandria, Egypt named Athanasius was the first person to use the term “canon of Scripture” and led the charge against a major church heresy called Arianism. Arianism was named for a fellow Alexandrian churchman named Arius who said Jesus was not really on par with God so the idea of the Trinity is incorrect. This was …

In the 1930’s as Germany became Nazi Germany they found odd allies throughout the world. One was Father Charles Coughlin in Michigan who had a very popular national radio show. Father Charles, who began as a big supporter of FDR, sided with the Nazis more and more and began to rant against Jews and Communists – just like Adolph Hitler. …

From the time Emperor Constantine began meddling in church business by calling the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, Roman emperors seem to keep on meddling. Pelagius, who was the “original anti-Calvinist”, was a theologian who believed mankind has the ability to choose if they will accept Christ as their Savior. On April 30, 418 Roman Emperor Honorius banned all …

In the very early stages of the Protestant Reformation the country of Switzerland was a true “early adapter” as they pulled away from the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in decades of theological and civil wars. One of those hotbeds was Basel, Switzerland (pictured here). On April 29,1529 the government authorities made it a crime to celebrate mass. Politics and …

At London, England’s busiest intersection, Piccadilly Circus, is a fountain called “The Angel of Christian Charity” which some call “Eros”. It was placed there to commemorate Lord Shaftesbury who felt his Christian duty was take up the causes of the less fortunate. He’s quoted as saying, “I think a man’s religion, if it is worth anything, should enter into every …

When Pope Pious V issued a Papal bull excommunicating England’s Queen Elizabeth I on April 27, 1570, my guess is she really didn’t care. The edict said she was “a heretic and favorer of heretics”. The split of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church (begun by her father Henry VIII) was complete when Elizabeth took the crown …

In the late 1870’s a grasshopper epidemic was engulfing the Minnesota farmlands and the people of the city of Cold Spring called upon Governor John Sargent Pillsbury (as in the Dough-boy fame) for a statewide day of prayer on April 26, 1877 for God to deliver them from the insects. Over the next two days warm weather caused millions and …