Dan van Voorhis is an author, historian, professor, and speaker at 1517. After receiving his Ph.D. in History from the University of St. Andrews, Dr. van Voorhis spent 11 years teaching history and political thought at Concordia University, Irvine. He is now the 1517 Academy Dean. He also spends his time writing for 1517 and hosting/producing podcasts including the Soul of Christianity and the Christian History Almanac. Dan is married to Beth Anne, and they have two sons, Coert and Raymond.
The year was 814. Today we remember the death of Charlemagne. The reading comes from Bernard of Clairvaux, his "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee," translated by Edward Caswell.
The year was 1343. Pope Clement VI proclaimed a coming jubilee and laid out the practice of indulgences. The reading is from G.K. Chesterton, “O God of Earth and Altar.”
The year was 1681. We remember Isabel Alison and Marion Harvey, martyrs for the radical Covenanters. The last word for today comes from St. Jerome, a word on the church and martyrdom.
The year was 1863. We remember the Quaker, Rufus Matthew Jones. The last word for today, a word about peace, comes straight from the Prince of Peace's mouth in the Gospel of John.
The year was 1076. Emperor Henry IV convened a synod at Worms to deal with the power-hungry pope. The reading is from John Newton, his poem, "A Thought on the Seas-Shore."
The year was 1549. We remember Transylvanian Lutheran Johannes Honterus. The last word for today comes from a Hungarian poet, János Pilinsky, “On the Third Day.”
The year was 1623. We remember Father Paolo Sarpi, a Servite and Venetian critic of Rome. The reading is from Juergen Moltmann and his "The Crucified God."
The year was 1960. We remember Charles Emmanuel Grace. The reading is from Frederick Buechner's "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale."
The year is 1759. We remember the Corporation for the Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers. The reading is “Mercy” by John F. Deane.
The year is 1953. “The Catholic Hour” made its debut on NBC television. The reading is by Pauline Johnson, a 19th century Canadian Poet, “Christmastide.”
This 5-minute podcast consists of stories from the past about the saints and sinners who have shaped the history of the church and concludes with a piece of prose, poetry, and the reminder that everything is going to be ok.
Season 3 of The Soul Of Christianity: Say A Little Prayer. Season 3 of The Soul Of Christianity: Say A Little Prayer. Dan vanVoorhis and Debi Winrich get to The Soul of Christianity, this time by going line by line…
For over four hundred years historians and theologians have been unable to come to a consensus as to where Johann Arndt (1555-1621) fits on the spectrum of orthodoxy in the Lutheran church, what age he best represented, and how he…
This is a story of a historian turning his craft to the story about which he is most afraid: his own. This is a book about fighting the monsters of addiction, severe anxiety, depression, and crippling self-doubt. But more than…