Thursday, August 6, 2026

It is the 6th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

I had spent some time last week working on a show for the 4th of August- two days ago- and the very curious story of James Springer White… when I realized that this was the same birthday as my man Cardinal Bibbiena, the comic cardinal with the racy washroom… well, I did what you would expect of me.

 

But to my delight, I discovered that while James Springer White was born on the 4th of August, he died on this, the 2nd of August (obviously, years later, or we wouldn’t be talking about him). And so, the story of the man behind the famous (or infamous) woman, who helped launch a publishing empire, a curious American denomination, and whose Corn Flakes and Hydrospa’s couldn’t save… here we go!

 

James Springer White was born on the 4th of August in 1821 in Palmyra, Maine. He was born to Deacon John and Betsy White- they worshipped amongst the churches called the “Christian Connexion”- probably the closest relation to modern non-denominational churches; they were largely Baptist and Congregational. They tended to discount creeds and labels, preferring the “no Creed but Christ”. James was a sickly boy, worked on the family farm, earned a teaching credential, but eventually felt called to full-time evangelistic ministry.

 

He was ordained in 1843 by the Christian Connexion but had already been spellbound by one of the great itinerant preachers and showmen of his age. He was William Miller- former military man and Baptist preacher turned prophet. He had come to the conclusion that Jesus would return in 1844. James Springer White would become one of Miller’s most effective teachers and preachers. He would join Ellen Harmon, another Maine native with a sickly youth who came to follow the apocalyptic Miller.

Of course, any discussion of William Miller and his “Adventists” must include the events of 1844- usually called “the Great Disappointment”. Miller tried to reschedule and redefine- but died soon after. James Springer White and Ellen Harmon would marry and become itinerant evangelists… Ellen G. White, the wife of James, would become the face of the new “Seventh Day Adventists”- her prophecies and writings would become the backbone of the modern denomination- still active today.

 

But James would lead the charge when it came to organizing the new church and especially setting up its publishing arm. He launched “Present Truth” magazine in 1849 and soon merged that to form what is today the “Adventist Review”. You will find variants of the phrase “Present Truth” to be a watchword amongst various tripes of Adventists. With both James and Ellen being sickly youth, health and wellness would form an important part of the new church (outside of the Saturday Sabbath, their dietary restrictions might be the second most defining feature of the church).

 

James would lead the movement to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he would start the Western Health Reform Institute and Battle Creek College. Today the college is Andrews College, and the Health Reform Institute would be renamed the “Battle Creek Sanitarium” and was headed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. That’s right- of cereal fame! His rolled oats, turned slightly stale and then refreshed with a splash of milk, were part of the Adventist healthy lifestyle- perhaps you didn’t know the origins of your morning routine.

 

Ellen G. White would become the face of Adventism- but it was the planning, building, and publishing arm that made this one string of “Adventism” tower over all the rest. Many others, former followers of Miller (there were many), either disappeared or formed new groups well beyond even a generous boundary of orthodoxy. Ellen would become the face in part because James fell ill; in 1881, he was admitted to the Sanitarium under Kellogg, but even the king of Corn Flakes couldn’t save him. James Springer White died on this, the 6th of August in 1881, just two days after his birthday- born in 1821, he was 60 years old.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Acts 17:

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows it was C.W. Post who worked in the Kellogg Kitchen and stole the idea of health food cereal- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who is on team Post- especially because they make the best cereal: Fruity Pebbles- 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.