Thomas Boston – Period 9 (1707-1712)
Move to Ettrick Boston first visited Ettrick (alt. “Etterick”), a small village forty-five miles west of Simprin, in November 1706. However, his visit left a poor impression on him. He […]
Thomas Boston – Farewell Sermon from Simprin, 1707
After Boston had first preached in Simprin, in July 1699, his impressions of the people were disheartening. Some fell asleep, others went outside – and that was before taking into […]
Thomas Boston – period 8 (1700-1707)
“My dear father… died that night, in the 70th year of his age… It was a heavy death to me…” John Boston’s death John Boston, Thomas’ father, was “a man […]
Thomas Boston – period 7 (1699-1700)
“Sinners… within or without the visible Church, have a real right to Christ…” A disagreement over baptism Not long after Boston had settled in Simprin, he visited a friend,Rev. George […]
Thomas Boston – period 6 (1699)
“The bent of my heart to preach Christ continued all along… as I had opportunity: but for a considerable time I met with many rubs in my way.” Feeling useless […]
Thomas Boston – period 5 (1698-1699)
“On the 18th I went to God, and begged… [that] I might be helped to live by faith, above the world… My soul went out in love to Christ, followed […]
Thomas Boston – period 4 (1797-1798)
Period 4 1697-1698“They were satisfied, and should have had their Christian right to choose their minister.” On preaching Christ Boston was twenty-one years old when he was licensed by his […]
Thomas Boston – period 3 (1694-1697)
“I bless the Lord, who gave me counsel then and afterwards, to seek and value conversation with serious Christians, in the places where my lot was cast.” Taste and see […]
Thomas Boston – period 2 (1689-1694)
“Here began more remarkably my bearing of the yoke of trial and affliction.” A remarkable change Boston graduated from the grammar school at the age of thirteen years old. Soon […]
Thomas Boston, period 1 (1676-1689)
“I was born of honest parents, of good reputation among their neighbours.” Got good of the gospel Thomas Boston’s father, John, first “got good of the gospel” when he was […]
Anti-Religious Bias in Treating Australia’s Convict Past
My wife and I recently went on a Franklin River cruise on Tasmania’s west coast where we disembarked to the infamous former penal settlement of Sarah Island. Located in the […]
Celebrating the Nicene Creed, 1
Celebrating the Nicene Creed, Part 1 Christians confess their faith in God as He Is This year (2025) marks seventeen centuries since the writing of the Nicene Creed which is, with the […]
Becoming Luther, part 3
BECOMING LUTHER (part 3): A Spiritual Diary September 4, 1525 – Wittenberg The Peasants’ Revolt has ended in catastrophe. Thousands dead. My tract against the murdering hordes has brought universal […]
Becoming Luther, part 2
BECOMING LUTHER (part 2): A Spiritual Diary The Break with Rome (1518-1525) February 28, 1518 – Wittenberg The 95 theses have spread across Germany like wildfire. I wrote them in […]
Becoming Luther, part 1
BECOMING LUTHER (part 1): A Spiritual Diary An imaginative reconstruction of Martin Luther’s inner life, drawn from his letters, Table Talk, and theological writings, woven with philosophical reflections on consciousness, […]
The “Biggar”Picture on Colonisation
Why Nearly Everything You Assume about Colonialism and Slavery is Wrong Nigel Biggar’s book, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (2021) is a much needed corrective to the lies and misinformation being […]