Friday, November 14, 2025

It is the 14th of November 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

So- I was arranging the emails from the students from Cornerstone Christian School in Emo, Ontario, Canada for last week's mailbag and in doing so, three at the bottom that I hadn’t categorized didn’t make it into the script- so, without further ado- and in an abbreviated, but hopefully helpful fashion.

 

Teagan Degroot grade 9

“I have a question about John Piper and what he did/does”. Both did and does- he’s a retired pastor and founder of Desiring God ministries. He is a reformed baptist- so, like a Calvinist but with the understanding of the sacraments from the radical traditions. He’s quite famous and liked by a lot, but, as happens when you get famous, he’s also criticized a good bit. We have such an opportunity to read and listen to so many Christians; it does us well to do it, but also to think critically and be able to both praise and disagree with fellow Christians.

I work for a ministry that looks to teach and preach on a really wide basis- like his, but let me remind you that what we offer is extra- not in place of church. Churches with real people and warm meals and worship and all the stuff that is making the church stand out, digital is always extra- we are an in-person kind of people first and foremost.  

 

Pierce Anderson grade 11

I was wondering what your thoughts on young relationships in the church would be, and how those views would be changed going back through the history of the church.

Pierce- most of the world, throughout time and space, has had their relationships decided upon by their parents. And so, there isn’t Scripture about dating or the like- it’s something we use wisdom and biblical principles to try and figure out. Someone your age, for most of the history of the church, would be one of the people Paul was writing to about loving your wife- you’d be married by now. And it might be someone you hardly knew or even liked! But the call to love was there- is it better with modern dating to figure out if you’re compatible… I don’t know- definitely not my field. But you’re called to love your brother and sister in the faith, and one of those might become your spouse, to whom it will be both easier and harder to love them- in a good way. The best advice I can give to someone wondering about relationships is to worry more about how to be a good friend- this can be transferred over to other relationships- but at your age in our culture, you’re around a lot of peers- take advantage of it!

 

Gemma Klassen grade 9

If you had lived during the Thirty Years' War and had a place of influence, what would you have done differently to stop the war quicker or make peace? Or, what do you think they should've done differently?

This was such a thoughtful question- the 30 Years War, 1618-1648, truly is a horrendous cap to the Reformation era, with Protestants battling Catholics until it devolves into the grab for land in a new, modern Europe.  The answer to “fixing” it is in many ways where they eventually got, with a civic tolerance for different ideas and the modern nation state.  For it to have ended more quickly, it would have taken wise leaders to see the suffering and forego their own glory and wealth to make peace.

It’s also very keen of you to wonder about putting yourself (or me in the question to ask: what could we have done better? If the study of history is leading you to ask that question, Gemma, you’re doing well!

 

I think we need to be honest with ourselves and realize that heroism is rare, and we might be just as likely to succumb to the power, or money, or popularity that bad decisions can bring. In the church, we talk about how we are all simultaneously sinners and saints on this side of paradise- and if it’s true of us, it was true to them- we don’t have to worry about presenting ourselves as perfect, nor our forebears in the faith without sin.

Teagan, Pierce, and Gemma- I apologize for the omissions, but I am thankful for your questions and for the time for my listeners to hear what you’re wondering and maybe a quick answer as to how we might think about those things.

The Weekend Edition is not titled “Stupid Animal Tricks” a la David Letterman, but there are a lot of animals and a few lists to count down.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a benediction from 2 Thessalonians:

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 14th of November 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man looking into bringing back the dowry system…. He is Christopher Gillespie. 

The show is written and read by a man always happy to get to tell the story of Hanno the Elephant… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.