Audio by Revd J Philip Arthur

Do not steal

Whether we own much or little, what we have is ours to steward and is not to be stolen, so violating the God-given right to private property. Stealing also reveals covetousness, which is idolatry.

Athanasius against the world

The tombstone of Athanasius read ‘Athanasius contra mundum’ – Athanasius against the world. Athanasius made a solitary stand in the 4th Century in defending the truth that Jesus Christ was fully God. As a result he was repeatedly exiled from the city of which he was bishop, but Athanasius continued to show remarkable faithfulness and perseverance in the face of almost total opposition.

Oliver Cromwell

Series: Contending for the faith – part 3

From modest gentleman farmer to great soldier and statesman, Oliver Cromwell consistently trusted in God’s mercy and providence in spite of the political tumult of his times. He often cuts an ambivalent figure in British history, suffering from popular misrepresentations of the Puritans as gloomy killjoys. However, Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones has celebrated the period of his Protectorate as “one of the most glorious” in English history. After Cromwell, Parliament gained a status it had never had before.

Warts and all: Oliver the Protector

Series: Independency and freedom

The ending of the reign of Charles I and the assumption of power by Oliver Cromwell (pictured above) inaugurated an extraordinary period in English religious history. The king was dead, the bishops gone. On one level the Puritans, long oppressed, had gained power. The reality was more complex and we will consider the positive and negative aspects of the Commonwealth period for faith and freedom, as well as how new radical forces were released.