1980
First Published
4.35
Average Rating
516
Number of Pages
In this book Ryle casts light on milestones long forgotten by his generation. When was the Gospel first preached in the English tongue? Who was the first man to translate the entire Bible into English? Why were men, women, and children burned alive? How did Mary Tudor earn the unhappy name "Bloody Mary"? Whose evil policies forced thousands of seventeenth-century pilgrims to seek refuge in America? Drawing from his classical education, Ryle answers these questions by tracing the English Reformation as it was seen through the eyes of those who reformed the Church. Well schooled in the Fathers who kept the faith, he instructs their childrens children who will inherit that faith. He brings focus and clarity to the epochs which forever changed the destiny of the English speaking peoples. With his typical eloquence he lays bare the plain truth for all to see. While some pages are filled with the fragrant aroma of Gods grace, others reek with the stench of burning fleshbut all are Ryle at his bestgracious, forceful, judicious, and honest. "Light From Old Times" illuminates the ancient paths. Like points on a compass, the lives sketched in this volume and the doctrines uncovered by it guide us toward the true Gospelthe one worth living forand the one worth dying for.
Avg Rating
4.35
Number of Ratings
78
5 STARS
50%
4 STARS
38%
3 STARS
9%
2 STARS
1%
1 STARS
1%
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Author
J.C. Ryle
Author · 55 books
Ryle started his ministry as curate at the Chapel of Ease in Exbury, Hampshire, moving on to become rector of St Thomas', Winchester in 1843 and then rector of Helmingham, Suffolk the following year. While at Helmingham he married and was widowed twice. He began publishing popular tracts, and Matthew, Mark and Luke of his series of Expository Thoughts on the Gospels were published in successive years (1856-1858). His final parish was Stradbroke, also in Suffolk, where he moved in 1861, and it was as vicar of All Saints that he became known nationally for his straightforward preaching and firm defence of evangelical principles. He wrote several well-known and still-in-print books, often addressing issues of contemporary relevance for the Church from a biblical standpoint. He completed his Expository Thoughts on the Gospels while at Stradbroke, with his work on the Gospel of John (1869). His third marriage, to Henrietta Amelia Clowes in 1861, lasted until her death in 1889.
