Just missing the “Ten”, King Henry 8th was crowned head of the British monarchy in 1509, and was largely responsible for thrusting the English nation into internal strife and breaking apart formally from Rome and the Pope.  In 1538 Henry VIII issued a proclamation ordering “one book of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English” placed in every church in England. The declaration directed the clergy to put the Bible “in some convenient place whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it…” This had reversed an earlier royal decree which banned the English biblical translation.

It is widely known that King Henry, who the Pope had in previous years deemed “the defender of the Faith”, had sought an annulment from the Pope regarding his marriage to his first wife. Rome rejected his wishes and as such the King, who was already in love with his soon-to-be 2nd wife, declared that he did not need the Pope to receive an annulment or a divorce, and at that point established himself (and the monarch) to be the official head of the Church of England, rather than the Pope. During this time, in the early to mid 16th century, many countries, factions, and groups were breaking from Rome and the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation was in full swing, led by persons like Luther in Germany, Henry in England, Calvin, and others. The king clearly had “other” reasons (unlike Luther and Calvin) to reject the Pope, but with Luther and such they were all instrumental in a widespread opinion across western Europe that the Pope should not have authority over heads of States. In addition, there were many who felt that the Roman Catholic Church had significantly veered off the course of appropriate and Biblical Christianity.

The world, and the various denominations, still feels the effects of these early protests and divisions today.

King Henry is a good example of many of the others that are in the Top 10; not always the “holiest” per se, but a charismatic “difference-maker” in the history of the universal Church nonetheless.  We welcome your comments and thoughts on this selection.  Thank you.

-Ken L.

King James could translate chapters of the Bible from Latin to French, and then to English by the time he was 8 years old.  Later on he was able to put the resources of the crown behind the work of translating and in 1604 appointed the fifty-four men who commenced in earnest with the work in 1607 with six companies working on various parts of the translation.  In 1611 the translation was approved by all the companies, and the Authorized Version appointed by King James was to be read in all the churches of the nation.  The influence of King James on the Christian church is so important and still of great relevance today because of the version of the Bible which bears his name which celebrated its 400^th birthday in 2011.  The King James Version continues to be one of the best selling and most loved English versions of the Bible of all time.

Next weekend we will discuss the man who just missed our Top 10, an enigmatic character for sure.

-Ken

The study of history seems to be waning.  In fact, there are many who seem to delight in redacting history because they don’t like the truth.

Church history is even that much more of a conundrum for people today.  This book- Top Ten Most Influential Christians- rolls back the curtain so that the average individual has one more opportunity to see for themselves the names of those who have changed the course of church history for better or for worse.

One of the points brought out is that “knowledge of Christian Theology is… in alarming decline”.  This sadly is very true.  If the average church-goer had even a rudimentary understanding of the basics within Christianity, including understanding church history, their knowledge and appreciation of God would likely be far greater.

It must have been a very difficult job to whittle all the names down to ten individuals, but this book manages it.  From Emperor Constantine to many others, the lives discussed in this book represent what the book calls true “watershed” events, moments, or scenarios.  We need to remember too, that the book points to those who are “self-professed Christians”, and the influence they also have had on society.

While the first ten chapter take the time highlight individuals, chapter eleven allows the reader to gain understanding in how these rankings were accomplished.

This book is certainly by no means the be-all, end-all of all books on church history- and it does not purport to be that.  What it DOES do is present information to the average layperson in which their appetite for more will come alive!

In the end, Top Ten Most Influential Christians, is a book that I am glad to have added to my library.  It is a worthwhile resource, and one that I will undoubtedly refer to often.

-Dr. Fred DeRuvo

First published in 1521, his Loci Communes (“Commonplaces”) was the first systematic theology written by any Reformer.  He wrote some of the confessions of the Lutheran Church, including the Augsburg Confession.

A less controversial personality than Martin Luther, Melanchthon was willing to make some compromises with Roman Catholicism.  Especially, Melanchthon developed the idea of synergism – the teaching that man’s will works with God’s will to accomplish man’s salvation.  Both Martin Luther and John Calvin had strongly insisted that neither man’s will nor man’s activity play a role in accomplishing man’s salvation.

Feel free to openly comment on this selection, as we get closer to the official “Top 10″, and the book launch in early March.  Thank you, and God Bless,

Ken L.

In 1976, he became the first non-Italian born Pope since 1523, a span of 450 years.

John Paul 2^nd would become the most traveled Pope in Church history, and declared, in the mid 1980’s, that a new official Cathechism of the Catholic Church must be written.  This was the first definitive collection of the Catholic Christian faith and doctrines since the Baltimore Catechism of 1885.   In addition, the Pope was seen as instrumental in the underlying societal feelings that finally resulted in the fall of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Feel free to comment on this result/selection.  Thanks, and God Bless,

Ken L.

Book pre-orders are now available! SAVE $2- $3 off regular S&H fees:

Via Paypal, we are now accepting book preorders for “The Top Ten Most Influential Christians (since the Apostles)”.  Book price is $10.00, and our current shipping and handling cost is $2.00 (to the continental USA).

To preorder, simply log-in to your Paypal account and send a payment ($12.00) to the following email address-based PP account-   thebranches@yahoo.com     The name on the PP account is Ken Lambert/ Abby Matzke.   In the recipient message box, please write- “1 book preorder” and type in your mailing address.  And any other info you would like us to know.  We will take it from there.  If you would like to preorder more than (1) book, please email us directly first and we could likely give more of a discount.

We are doing these preorder sales in this fashion prior to establishing our e-retail links/ bookstores via our Publisher.  Any questions, please email Abby or I.  Thanks for your interest and support.

The 15th most influential Christian is German-born Martin Chemnitz, a crucial figure in the 16th century.  As a famous 17th century saying went- “If the second Martin had not come, the first Martin would not have stood.”

Chemnitz studied under Luther as well as Reformation cohort Philip Melancthon, and it was Chemnitz’ mastery of the early Church Fathers that helped the fledgling breakaway group refute the Catholic Church’s Council of Trent.

For more information on Chemnitz, along with other instrumental Christians, please consider ordering our pending book.  Presale ordering instructions are posted elsewhere on this Blog.

Thanks, and God Bless,

Ken L.

What is TCP_Radio? The Christian Perspective Radio Program (which is what the TCP in TCP_Radio stands for), is a show hosted by Ben Umnus Tuesday and Thursdays. Ben speaks of the current buzz, political commentary, reflecting on cultural trends, and all that other “important” stuff people like to ramble on about. Nothing is off the table for discussion, conditioned the show remains clean and respectful; TCP Radio though Christian based is friendly to people of all walks of life. TCP_Radio welcomes guest interviews and has had guests such as Ken Ham, Ben Kinchlow, Bruce Marchiano, and Marilyn Hickey on the program. Mr. Umnus also writes various topics (some similar in content to what you may hear on the radio program) including Book and movie reviews, food critiques, sports predictions/commentary, theological discussion, etc. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please let Ben know.

Log in/ listening instructions can be found at-   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/benumnus

We are excited to have a conversation with Ben and we welcome any calls from the public. Thanks, and God Bless,

Ken L.

Without further adieu-

#20-  Charles Spurgeon.  Called by many “the prince of preachers”, the famous Baptist preacher of 1800′s England.

#19-  Pope Pius 9th.  Mid 1800′s Pope, who was the longest reigning Pope since the Apostle Peter.

#18-  Joseph Smith.  Founded the Mormons in the 1820′s; alleges to have had a new “revelation” from God.  *We understand Smith is not a Christian, but his name was allowed in our survey because he was a “self-professed” Christian.  It is clear that he has had a significant effect on the U.S. universal church- be it a detriment to Christianity.

#17-  Arius.  A major figure in the 4th Century, who divided many in the Church with his views that Jesus was less than the Father.  The Nicene Creed is a direct response to his incorrect views.

#16-  C.F.W. Walther.  Introduced and led the Lutheran movement in the U.S. in the mid- 1800′s.  President of its seminary for 37 years.

************************************************************************************

These are our findings, and they are not the direct opinions of book authors Abby Matzke or Ken Lambert.  We are reporting the findings, after our analysis.  We hope that a discussion of these important persons will lead many to explore various aspects and details of the Christian faith.

Let the “debate” begin!

God Bless,

Ken L.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/studygrowknow/2011/12/16/top-ten-most-influential-christians

Our part of his show is around 30 minutes long, starting right near the beginning.

*******************************

Book pre-orders are now available!

Via Paypal, we are now accepting book preorders for “The Top Ten Most Influential Christians (since the Apostles)”.  Book price is $10.00, and our current shipping and handling cost is $2.00 (to the continental USA). 

To preorder, simply log-in to your Paypal account and send a payment ($12.00) to the following email address-based PP account-   thebranches@yahoo.com     The name on the PP account is Ken Lambert/ Abby Matzke.   In the recipient message box, please write- “1 book preorder” and type in your mailing address.  And any other info you would like us to know.  We will take it from there.

We are doing these preorder sales in this fashion prior to establishing our e-retail links/ bookstores.  Any questions, please email Abby or I.  Thanks for your interest and support.

-Ken L.