Wednesday, April 29, 2026

It is the 29th of April 2026 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

If it’s the 29th of April, that means that my youngest son is getting older! Happy birthday, Raymond Westbrook, who turns 14 today- he loves youth group and the Rams, music, and In-N-Out.

 

Today, we head back to the 1800s to 1854 and Agra in Northern India. As you might remember, Protestant Missionaries expanded into India in the 1800s following William Carey and the opening of the country by the East India Company. Prior to the Christian missionaries, the theological debates on the subcontinent were between the dominant Hindus and the Muslims who had consolidated in the North under the Mughal Empire.

 

In 1854, we have records of a “great debate”- the two minority religions in India, Christianity and Islam. Rahmatullah Kairanawi and Muhammad Wazir Khan took the side of Islam against the German Lutheran Karl Gottlieb Pfander. It seems that the Muslim side “won” by popular acclamation when Pfander withdrew after a few sessions. But the real story involves the maulvi Imad ud-Din- an Islamic scholar who assisted the winning side. His story is our story today- for despite being a multi-generational scholar, he was having his own doubts about Islam. And it was Pfander’s arguments which helped turn the tide for him- he became one of the most famous, or infamous, converts to Christianity and was baptized on this, the 29th of April in 1866. Luckily for us, he wrote an account of his conversion and baptism that serves as our source today.

 

He writes that many people who have heard his remarkable story have come to suggest that it is false, or that Imad Ud-Din is a fictional person, or that the story has been over-dramatized. He writes his own account to settle the case.

 

He lays out his family's genealogy- an esteemed Muslim family in service to the Shah’s until British occupation drove them out. He continued to study- the Quran, jurisprudence, literature, philosophy, etc, but he yearned for knowledge of God. It was the Suffis- those Muslim mystics- who encouraged him to seek God in prayer and meditation. But it was his contact with Christian missionaries that opened the possibility to him that there might be another way. Despite being warned by fellow Muslims, he searched the Injil and Tawrat- what we call the Old and New Testament.

 

Imad Ud-din would write of the comparisons he was making between the two religions while still practicing many Sufi mystical traditions. He found himself caught between the two, at least intellectually, but it was the doctrine of assurance that pushed him over the edge. From Surah Maryam 19:71, he read “It is the inevitable decree of your Lord that every one of you will be taken to hell”- and while this might be a kind of “purgatory” or temporary status, he came to the conclusion that Prophet Muhammad could not intercede. There was no assurance that he wouldn’t be left down there. He admitted that the hardest parts to grasp were the Trinity and the idea that Jesus is God. For Jews and Muslims alike, monotheism can be so central that the Trinity can cause anxiety. But after praying and speaking with some missionaries, the one-time aide to Muslim apologists made his way to the local Christian Mission Society, where he was baptized by the Reverend Robert Clark on this day in 1866.

 

He wrote: “Ever since I have entered into the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have had much spiritual satisfaction. The former agitation and restlessness have completely gone. My face is no longer so pallid. No longer do I experience great anxiety of heart. Through the reading of God’s Word, I have found great pleasure in life. Little remains of that sickness of fear for death and the grave, and I am wonderfully happy in the Lord.”

 

Imad Ud-Din would receive the Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity from the Archbishop of Canterbury, making him the first Indian to receive the award. Many in his family were also baptized, and he published dozens of works on Christianity and Islam. He published an Urdu translation of the Quran, and by the time of his death in 1900, he was perhaps the most famous Indian Christian. Today, we remember Imad Ud-Din and his conversion and baptism on this day in 1866.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Jeremiah, as we keep the Shepherd theme running:

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
 “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely
 and do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved
 and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:
 The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 29th of March 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man in Culver’s country- the second finest regional chain burger in America… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man whose wife vetoed the name Cornelius- you’re welcome, Raymond! 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.