Posts by Richard Turnbull
February 10, 2023
In the middle decades of the 18th century, a powerful spiritual movement swept through much of North America and Great Britain, as well as some parts of northern Europe. This evangelical revival (or, in North America, the Great Awakening) transformed not only individual believers but culture and society as well, and produced some extraordinary personalities, people used mightily by God. Continue Reading...
October 21, 2022
For Britain’s PM, Chaos Has Consequences
Boris Johnson, though deeply flawed, was the glue that held the British Conservative Party together. His electoral reach, charisma, and commitment to deliver Brexit put together a huge majority of 80 seats over all other parties combined in the 650-seat House of Commons. Continue Reading...
September 30, 2022
Lord Shaftesbury: Evangelical Social Reformer
“I want nothing but usefulness to God and my country” (Diaries, February 22, 1827)
When the funeral procession of Lord Shaftesbury progressed through the streets of London toward Westminster Abbey on October 8, 1885, thousands of people lined the streets, bands gathered to play Christian hymns, and hundreds of banners were held high with Bible verses. Continue Reading...
September 09, 2022
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
The longest reign of any British monarch came to an end on the afternoon of Thursday, September 8, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral Castle, her favorite residence, in the northeast of Scotland. Continue Reading...
July 27, 2022
After Boris: More of the same or a different direction?
We’re down to the final two candidates: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. The next prime minister of the United Kingdom with be either our third female premier (all Conservative) or the nation’s first ethnic Indian (and Hindu) leader. Continue Reading...
June 08, 2022
Boris Johnson: The great survivor?
The vote is in. Boris survived—or did he?
The 359 members of the Parliamentary Conservative Party voted by 211 to 148 that they had confidence in Boris Johnson as the leader of the party and prime minister of the United Kingdom. Continue Reading...
April 27, 2022
John Calvin and God’s civil government
John Calvin (1509–1564) was a towering figure of the Protestant Reformation. The author of the magisterial Institutes of the Christian Religion, published in numerous editions between 1536 and 1559, Calvin was a second-generation Reformer. Continue Reading...
December 22, 2021
This Advent, the Christmas child calls you and me
We arrive at the Christmas stable. We have prepared. The Christ child is come to us—Immanuel.
We begin by taking a step back. The candle that is lit for the final Sunday of Advent reminds us of Mary, the one who brings the Lord into the world. Continue Reading...
December 15, 2021
Advent lifts the veil of judgment and mercy in the divine economy
One of the more disturbing aspects of the way the market economy works is the ability of, at least some, participants to avoid responsibility for their decisions and actions. The manner in which this works is through the concepts of corporate personality and limited liability. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2021
The problem of the atheist economist
There is much in the classical liberal economist that I find attractive. By classical liberal, I do not mean the sort of political liberalism that defaults to certain presumptions of big government. Continue Reading...