Author: Admin

God’s Lecturer

Thomas Cooper (1805-92) was not a man to do things by halves. His unflagging energy and enormous appetite for knowledge matched his relentless determination to do what he felt was right, whatever it might cost. That energy and that determination propelled him into the pulpit, into a Stafford jail, into the freethinking movement, and ultimately into a most improbable career that kept him constantly busy for the last thirty years of his life.

Cooper’s father died when he was young, and like many poor boys he was apprenticed to a tradesman—in his case, to a cobbler. There cannot often have been a greater mismatch between abilities and opportunities. Cooper’s intellectual gifts drove him to read voraciously, and before long he obtained a position as a lay preacher among the Wesleyans. His unusual gift for public speaking made him immediately popular. It also attracted the unfavorable attention of a less gifted superintendent who, by Cooper’s account, did what he could to thwart the younger man’s career in the church. Some unpleasant ecclesiastical wrangling ensued that left Cooper without a pulpit.

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Beta site launched

We are pleased to announce the beta launch of The Library of Historical Apologetics site. In addition to a brand new look, we will be using this site to provide you with more information about historical apologetics resources...

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Lardner, Nathaniel

Nathaniel Lardner (1684-1768) was a dissenting minister who devoted his life to producing the apologetic masterpiece of the 18th century, the multi-volume Credibility of the Gospel History. Lardner’s objective may be explained...

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Farrar, Adam Storey

Adam Storey Farrar (1826-1905), fellow of Queen’s College, Oxford, delivered his Critical History of Free Thought as a set of eight sermons preached under the auspices of the Bampton Foundation in 1862. The work is a...

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Westcott, Brooke Foss

This popular work by the great 19th century textual scholar makes the argument for the resurrection in an interesting way. Westcott, who is well aware of (though not persuaded by) critical attacks on the authenticity of the...

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