A Son Of Liberty

The German historian Leopold Van Ranke famously said, "John Calvin was the virtual founder of America" (Smith, The Creed of the Presbyterians, p. 119). Reformation historian J.H. Merle d’Aubigné wrote that “Calvin was the founder of the greatest of republics. The Pilgrims who left their country in the reign of James I, and, landing on the barren shores of New England, founded populous and mighty colonies, are his sons; and that American nation which we have seen growing so rapidly boasts as its father the humble reformer” (History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, p. 5). I suspect you'll hear that quite often this year because, as many of you know, 2009 is the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth. He was born in France in July 1509.

It cannot be disputed that Calvinists were the first to colonize America. The Pilgrims were staunch Calvinists. But I find it a little disingenuous to say, in the words of Dr. E. W. Smith, "These revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in the system of Calvin, were brought to America ..." (emphasis mine). And the continuance of the thought is found in the concluding paragraphs in an online article by Loraine Boettner: "In England and America the great struggles for civil and religious liberty were nursed in Calvinism, inspired by Calvinism, and carried out largely by men who were Calvinists" [link].

Nowhere in my reading do I find liberty, self-governance and, specifically, religious freedom principles in Calvin's history. I find the opposite. I find Calvinists, beginning with Calvin, imposing doctrines, imposing strict and uncompromising moral codes and imposing a new form of papacy, if you will, on the people through a church-state hierarchy. He and his followers persecuted those that sought religious liberty and self-governance. And in the midst of this great persecution -- and under their "Manifesto of Persecution" that they found in Deuteronomy 13 -- Calvin argued for the continuance of persecution in his theocratic Geneva. He argued against religious liberty and said, "This law [Deut. 13] at first sight appears to be too severe."

For merely having spoken should one be so punished? But if anybody slanders a mortal man he is punished and shall we permit a blasphemer of the living God to go unscathed? If a prince is injured, death appears to be insufficient for vengeance. And now when God, the sovereign emperor, is reviled by a word, is nothing to be done? God's glory and our salvation are so conjoined that a traitor to God is also an enemy of the human race and worse than a murderer because he brings poor souls to perdition. ... But we muzzle dogs, and shall we leave men free to open their mouths as they please? Those who object are like dogs and swine. They murmur that they will go to America where nobody will bother them. (Bainton, Travail, pp. 68-69)

The fact is that one can find some disturbing and dark hostility toward religious liberty in Calvin's work. And one needs to look no further than Calvin's 1554 manifesto Defense of the Christian Orthodox Faith ... Against the Manifold Errors of Michael Servetus. Remember, Servetus was the man whom Calvin had executed because his preaching against the Trinity and infant baptism. Calvin recommended decapitation, but Servetus was burned at the stake.

Did the followers of Calvin "found" America? Yes. But it was a separation from his core beliefs on the church-state that gave us liberty.

The Secret, according to Amazon.com [link], is a New Age self-help book about "the law of attraction as a groundbreaking and life-changing work, finding validation in its thesis that one's positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, happiness." The book tries to convince us that the powers of positive and negative thoughts can affect aspects of our lives -- from wealth to poverty, from health to illness. In essence, it's a craptastic work of crap.

But, just because a book is full of nonsense and should be avoided by all means, it doesn't mean that someone can't poke fun. And that's what one book reviewer did at Amazon. If you follow the link above, scroll down to the "Most Helpful Customer Reviews" section and read the first one -- or at least the first one at the time of this posting. However, before you go, be warned that included in the review is mention of adult content -- no language, mind you, just stuff that happens in prison. If it's not there, then try this link: [link].

I laughed until I teared. In fact, some of the other submissions by this author are just as good or better: [link]

Update: I just read the review of the "stacking chairs" book. My fave:

Finally, I must comment that Dr. Parker's treatise on stacking chairs has reinvigorated my own personal interest in furniture based consumption modeling and the related effects on the medical industry. I have recently begun a study of metal folding table usage in the southern United States and the corresponding rise in emergency room visitation. I won't provide any spoilers in this forum, but I can't help but tease the fact that I have found a widespread correlation between metal folding table usage at Baptist picnics and emergency room visitation for trauma in the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints.

More quotes from my notes (Please note that I am simply relaying notes and not arguing for a specific point ... yet.):

Consider what it means to take on the theology of double predestination (see John Piper): God wills that some go to Hell. In the context of Scripture, that's unfathomable.

In the Emergent movement, the pulpit is not central, the narrative is central. It is a movement away from epistolary preaching.

Tradition is the living faith of dead men. Traditionalism is the dead faith of living men.

Whitefield - A self-proclaimed Calvinist who never read Calvin.

Volition has to have a part in salvation or judgment has no place.

All religions are fatalistic; Christianity deals with the will.

Communism is defined by what is yours is mine. Communalism is what is mine is yours.

Augustine argued there were no errors in Scripture; and, if there were perceived errors, it was because of three reasons: copy error, translation error, or you.

How can churches say that they're a fellowship of believers and only meet once a week -- one hour a week?

A religionist says, "Look like me." A Christian says, "Look like Him."

I received my Rush Limbaugh Show update email yesterday and the subject was "One Trillion Seconds is 31,000 Years." But I don't just take anyone's word. I checked. Sure enough, one trillion seconds is equal to 31,709 years, 9 months, 2 weeks and 1 day. Incredible!

700 billion seconds -- $700 billion is the supposed bailout -- is 22,196 years!

And my annual income in seconds? A long day of overtime but still enough time to get sleep. That's it. Holy frijoles!

If it's not in a "Calvin and Hobbes" comic then you probably don't need to know it. This is possibly the best explanation about the root of our economic problems, as I understand them. (Note, click image to enlarge).

This time, no quotes, but pictures of significant events in the history of baptists. Hover for a brief description. And I apologize for the load times of the larger pictures. I just didn't have time to find web-friendly pix.

photo courtesy of http://www.galenfrysinger.com/germany_munster_saint_lambert.htm. No rights reserved.

photo courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/42985004@N00/13945843 under Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

image courtesy of http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/images/Hubmaier.jpg

Take this test [link] and record your answer. I scored 87% (13 of 15). How did you do?

Update (spoiler below if you haven't taken the test): Yesterday, I found the test link on Neatorama.com, took the test, fired off a blog post and then rushed off the class. Now, I look at my results and investigate. I missed the "generalisations" because I just didn't pay attention. I'll take the hit.

But the water one -- my other miss -- was intriguing. Commenter "Sparge" at Neatorama makes a compelling case for the mistake in the water statements and conclusion. He said:

I also take issue with the water question, particularly with the wording:

Conclusion
Therefore we can predict that every future examination of water will reveal the same chemical composition.

You can predict anything you want. In fact, there’s pretty good reason to make that prediction in this case. If (as the site suggests) some not-water should come along, then the prediction is wrong, but the conclusion remains valid.

On top of that, the statement is that water is "a molecule composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom." Therefore, water without two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom is not water. But the concluding statement says "every future examination of water will reveal the same chemical composition." If the microscope is fouled up, it may not reveal it. However, the conclusion does not say that the microscope of statement "b" has to be used in future examinations.

It's a bad question with faulty logic and should be tossed. Therefore, I grant myself an overall score of 93% (13 of 14). If you missed the water question, do the same. G'day.

I have the privilege of taking a course this week on the subject of Anabaptists and their history. For quite some time I have had an interest in church history and have found inadequate material concerning baptist (or "rebaptizer") history. So you will understand why I furiously took notes for four hours last night while Dr. Emir Caner, the President of Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia, spoke non-stop.

Dr. Caner is an interesting study. He was born and raised a Sunni Muslim. He converted to Christianity in 1982 and then went on to earn his B.A. in Biblical Studies at Criswell College in Dallas, TX; his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC; and his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Texas in Arlington. He has authored many books including Unveiling Islam and More Than a Prophet. And his teaching style is warm and enjoyable.*

I hope to share more throughout the week-long course, but for now these quotes from my notes will have to suffice to give a flavor of last night's lecture:

"Some say Christianity is a crutch. It isn't. It is a wheelchair. All or nothing."

"There are only two types of people: Men with beards and women."

"Of the five root denominations (namely, Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Anabaptist), only one has a history of restoration. All others have a history of reformation."

"If you are a pastor, you better smell like the sheep."

"Regenerate eyes and an open heart are all that are needed to understand Scripture, not church hierarchy."

"Allegorize the Bible and you can believe what you want."

And, possibly the highlight of the night (for me, at least) was a quote from Tertullian, a controversial -- and you will see why -- author, 2nd Century apologist and originator of the term "Trinity." Of women, he wrote:

You are the Devil's gateway; you are the unsealer of that tree; you are the first forsaker of the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the Devil was not brave enough to approach!

* Dr. Caner is roughly 97% correct. Unfortunately, he's one of those traditionalist baptists that believes new Christians are baptized "into" the church. He subscribes to pre-trib eschatology. And I'm not sure where he stands on alcohol consumption, but I'll ask when we get to the time period when I suspect Christians stopped drinking: The feminist movement and its associated prohibition.

In the age of the Internet, XML, databases and high-speed data transfers the amount of parsed data available to you and me is tremendous. Just the other day, I showed my wife a neat applet on my cell phone that recognizes songs when the phone is held to a speaker. I held my Samsung phone up to the van speaker and, sure enough, it told us that "White Christmas" by Mr. Crosby was playing and I could own it for 99 cents.

And then just two days ago I downloaded Chessbase Light 2007 because it has a database of 32,000 chess games played since the 16th Century (the online access-only database has 4.2 million games) for my game analysis. So when I move a pawn or bishop or whatever, the program tells me that Siegbert Tarrash made the same move in 1907 and 51% of the games that included that move ended in a draw. It's crazy.

Because there is "nothing new under the sun," that means that most of what I dream up or come up with isn't original. Your stuff isn't as fresh either. But until the present, we've been able to claim it as originality because we haven't seen it or heard it and neither have our friends or acquaintances. Don't believe me? Take something as simple as your name -- your whole name. Google it. How many John Lee Smiths are there? How many Jane Lynn Does are there? Or whatever your name is?

I foresee a time when you'll have a conversation with real-time analysis. You'll say something and then your friend will say, after consulting his handheld, "That wasn't original. A 14-year old girl in Kansas said that back in 1989. What else ya got?"

So, in light of all this, I'd like to put this on the record: Peperoni innervate unexpanded gaffers. You can quote me on that. The date stamp is above. And it's original.

Holy [insert favorite swear word here*], everyone looks drunk!

Seriously. As I scan the photos of "people you may know" on Facebook, I see photos of people holding cameras at arms length or photographing themselves in bathroom mirrors. Sure, there are the usual casual photos of "friends" and their family or someone standing next to their significant other. And then there are some who are coyly gazing at something in the forefront and have softened it in Photoshop for ... I guess it's an effect or something. I don't get that. But the others? Gotta be drunk.

But here's the real funny thing. I thought that I would connect with some old Army buddies, high school graduates and coworkers. But my memory is atrocious. I scan friends of friends and wonder to myself if I know any of those people. Now I have to run home, log on to the PC and scan them with my wife and ask her if I know any of those people.

So far, I wish I hadn't even waded into the water. But since I'm there, I guess I should go ahead and jump in head first. I'm off to the house where I'll strip off my shirt, put on my best 6-pack face and photograph myself in the bathroom mirror.

* My favorite swear word is "crap," but I get emails everytime I use that word.

Our Christmas was a joyful time of celebrating with friends and family. The climax of my Christmastime 2008 was reconnecting with two fellow high school graduates over dinner at our house and having one come and share her testimony at church. Celebrating Jesus with friends is tops any day for me.

I did receive quite a few gifts. To name them all or rank them would be tough. Some of my favorites: The Gospel of John commentary by James Montgomery Boice; Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief by James McPherson (just to drive some of you batty); "From the library of [Joe Napalm]" book stamp; and a Napoleon Bonaparte chess set that was originally a gift to my father in 1966.

I hope your Christmas or Hanukkah was wonderful. If you celebrated Kwanzaa, I ask, "Why?!"

Okay. Now that those pleasantries have been dispensed, let's move on to other matters....

John, the evangelist, beloved disciple and theologian, wrote his gospel primarily to the Jews and Samaritans of his time. One interesting theme, according to many commentators including my New American Commentary: John 1-11 [link], is the Johannine emphasis on the Jewish festivals and Jesus' fulfillment of them. And, while this post is about Hanukkah, allow me to take a quick aside to show observational proof.

First, in John 6 we read that "the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand" (v. 4). Jesus fed five thousand people and, when he saw that they intended to make him king, he "withdrew ... to the mountain by himself" (v. 15). Later in the chapter, "on the next day" (v. 22), Jesus told his disciples that he was the fulfillment. Remember, the feast of the Jews was approaching. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life" (v. 35).

Then in chapter 7 of John's book, we read of the Feast of Booths, also known as Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. John writes in verse 37, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink'" (ESV). Now, here a little background is necessary. As you may know, the Feast of Booths is a celebration commemorating God's protection for his chosen people as they crossed the wilderness after the Exodus. He provided manna and, on one occasion, water from a rock [link]. But what you may not know is that, on every day except the last of the eight-day holiday, the priest would pour out a golden pitcher of water on a rock. On the last day public prayers were offered for continued rain. It was then, on the last and greatest day of prayer for rain and continued provision, Jesus stood and shouted (literally krazō, or to speak with a loud voice), "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

And after a short extract (pericope) about the woman caught in adultery, the theme continues in chapter 8. Again, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths because he is the "light of the world" (v. 12). Huge lamps were lit in the Temple courtyard to light up Jerusalem in memory of God's pillar of fire that led the people of Israel in the wilderness. And Jesus told the Jewish leaders that he was that light that lit the path.

In John's book we have the privilege to read as Jesus, the Son of God, commented on the events: "See the bread? That's me. See the water? That's me. See the light? That's me."

Continuing in chapter 10 of John, we have the crux of this post: the fulfillment of Hanukkah, or the Feast of Dedication. As our guest blogger astutely pointed out yesterday, Hanukkah was a post-Old Testament holiday instituted by Judas Maccabeus in 165 BC to commemorate the cleansing of the Temple after Antiochus Epiphanes defiled it. While there is debate on the origins of Hanukkah (Wikipedia sums it nicely [link]), one thing is absolutely certain: Hanukkah has nationalistic overtones. Hanukkah was instituted after the successes of the Maccabean revolt.

At Jesus' time, Hanukkah had been celebrated for nearly 200 years. It was a detestable thing that the Romans, like the Syrians before, occupied Jerusalem and, worse, they had placed a cohort of soldiers adjacent to the Temple. The Romans quashed revolt after revolt in similar bloody manner and at the time of the Feast of Dedication, nationalism and longing for a Maccabean savior was at its peak. The cohort at Fort Antonia was reinforced to keep the crowds passive.

It was at the Temple, in Solomon's colonnade, where the frenzied crowds asked Jesus, "Are you the ruler who is prophesied about in the Scriptures and about whom we sing (see note below)?" From John 10:24 "'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.'"

Jesus' answer and explanation silenced his critics and showed how he fulfilled the Feast of Dedication. He said, "'I and the Father are one" (v. 30). In brilliant juxtaposition to Antiochus' bogus claim of deity, Jesus explained that he was consecrated (or dedicated) by God and his actions and signs proved that he was indeed the Anointed One of whom the prophets wrote. Jesus is the fulfillment of Hanukkah in that he is the King of the true Israel from the Davidic line, the Son of God. He is our royal priest whose sacrifice is complete.

Beginning today, December 22 (25 Kislev on the Hebrew calendar), millions of people will celebrate Hanukkah. For most of those people it is a secular or nationalistic holiday. But for some of our brothers and sisters in Jesus, it is a celebration of our Messiah.

A couple of days ago, I wrote Fluffy Cow, our resident Hebrew expert, and asked if she would write a guest post about the holiday. These are her words:

Hanukkah, or the Feast of Dedication, is an 8-day celebration to honor the restoration of the Temple around 164 B.C. Antiochus IV, a Greek king ruling over Judea, was brutal and oppressive to the Jews living there. He took over the temple, forbade the Jews to observe or study the Torah. He went as far as to force them to bow to the Greek gods and perform desecrations under penalty of torture and death, brutally killing men, women and children. The Temple itself was invaded, desecrated and pillaged. Pigs were sacrificed upon the alter. Revolt ensued....

Enter Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his son, Judah Maccabee, leader of a small group of Hasmoneans who used guerrilla warfare to drive out the Syrians. They regained control of the Temple, purified it, tore down the defiled alter and built a new one. During the cleaning, they found one small container of oil -- enough for only one day. They decided to go ahead and light the menorah and miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for 8 days!

Yeshua and Hanukkah

The obvious connection here is the understanding that Yeshua is the Light of the world. During the current celebration of this holiday, there is a significant focus on the lights of the menorah. The Hanukkah menorah differs from the Temple menorah in that the temple menorah has 7 branches, and the Hanukkah menorah has 9 -- one for each of the 8 days and a "servant" to light the others.

Another connection, not so obvious, is the timing of His conception and birth. (I know.... touchy subject!) However, one can find that John the Baptist was conceived around the Hebrew date of Sivan 30 (our June) which puts his birth in Passover. We know that Yeshua was conceived 6 months after John, which is the Hebrew month Kislev (December). How beautiful that the conception of the Light of the world was possibly during the Festival of Lights! (For those of you counting on your fingers, yes, this puts His birth during Tishri -- or more importantly, the Feast of Tabernacles)

The Bible tells us of Yeshua referring to himself as the light (John 9:5-7, John 12:35-36). Some believe that it was during Hanukkah that he said these things. We can see specifically his observance of Hanukkah in John 10:22: "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter" (Hanukkah) and 23-27: "And [Yeshua] walked in the Temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, 'How long do you cause us to doubt? If you are the [Messiah], tell us plainly.' [Yeshua] answered them, 'I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because you are not my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.'"

Hanukkah is a time of miracles. Yeshua performed many miracles to show his identity as Messiah. Our God is a God of miracles. Yeshua, as God, as the Light, as Messiah, showed us himself.

(Extra bonus points for anyone finding an Old Testament prophetic reference to the events of the first Hanukkah!!!)

[Joe's notes: Thank you, Fluffy. You've certainly increased my awareness of Hanukkah. In fact, I have come across some interesting stuff and want to share it tomorrow....]

OK, put on the William Tell Overture, hold on to your skirts and we'll blow through this like a whirlwind....

1. Duggar child number 18 is here [link]. Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar was born yesterday. For the women readers -- because this doesn't mean much to us guys unless it's a fish -- she weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

2. I've said it before and I'll say it until you carry me out on a stretcher, Brussels sprouts are nasty. More proof: [via link].

3. This made me laugh:

4. I just said "no thank you" to George Bush's billion-dollar bailout.

5. You may be surprised to read that on my secret top-10 Christmas wish list is the horror novella Coraline by Neil Gaiman. My reading has never ventured far from historical nonfiction. However, the plot and the movie website [link] have certainly piqued my interest in this Alice in Wonderland-like book.

6. Also on my super-secret wish list is Leonard Verduin's book The Reformers and Their Stepchildren [link]. If anyone opens this at Christmastime, I will tackle them and confiscate it. If anyone opens a Christmas sweater, I'll just laugh.

7. And while we're looking at books, check out The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester [link]. Wesley asked if I was "down with OED" [link]. Yeah, you know me.

8. OK, let's call it quits there. When I start talking about books, I start to feel faint. Have a good weekend. If you get snow, consider yourself blessed. It's 50 degrees here, making the snowy Christmas decorations look moronic. Again, have a good 'un. See you on Monday.

On Friday, December 5, I blogged about Jon Meacham's book, American Gospel [link]. At the time, I called it a "wonderful book." At this time, I need to downgrade it to unexceptional. He makes a very compelling case in the early chapters of the book that we are not a Christian nation, but a nation inhabited by Christians -- again, more ecumenical than sectarian. And it is in line with my hypothesis that God has blessed America despite our secularism, not because of some imaginary covenant. Case in point is Romans 9:14-18:

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. (ESV)

The problem with Meacham's book, though, is the second half. I can't quite decide if he built a house of cards in the first half and then we read about its falling down or, if in his obsessiveness to take the middle road, he ends up taking the road less courageous. In other words, the position that he takes is religious humanism, for lack of a better descriptive. His point is summed up several times when he alludes to -- and sorry I can't quote verbatim because the book is at home -- he alludes to quotes by President Grant, Rev. Jerry Falwell in his early ministry, LBJ and others who said there is a place in politics where God "stops" and human creativity begins.

So, maybe it is better said that Jon Meacham's book is lukewarm.

Since blogging about the natural-born eligibility of Obama's presidency and the tenous case made by his opposition [link], some new evidence has come to light. And, I believe, it is significant. From Wikipedia.org:

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for senators: 1) each senator must be at least 30 years old, 2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine years, and 3) must be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character."

The Senate (not the judiciary) is the sole judge of a Senator's qualifications. During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of members. As a result, three Senators that were constitutionally disqualified due to age were admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), and Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816) and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818).

In 1806, Framer Thomas Jefferson was president. In 1816, James Madison, also known as "Publius" in the Federalist Papers, was President. Neither mentioned Clay's or Mason's ineligibility.

And, finally, Twisted Sister [link]. I wrote that post "tongue in cheek." Certainly I don't support their work. The point, however poorly developed, is that Christmas is not a funeral. It is a celebration of the beginning of the greatest news in human history. I'll set aside the Twisted Sister comment and share this instead. It is a much better point made in a sermon by Bishop Phillips Brooks, the renowned nineteenth century preacher:

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in an obscure village. He worked in a carpenter's shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant teacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying -- His coat. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone. Today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has That One Solitary Life. (reprinted in All the Apostles of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1972)