When J. Henry Shorthouse (1834-1903) published John Inglesant in 1881, he contributed a unique synthesis of Anglo-Catholic sensibilities to the enduring legacy of the Oxford Movement. Although his "philosophical romance" has been acclaimed "the greatest Anglo-Catholic novel in English literature" and "the one English novel that speaks immediately to human intuition without regard to the reader's own faith or philosophy," his most enduring contributions are the "religion of John Inglesant," an Anglo-Catholic synthesis of obedience and freedom, faith and reason, and the sacramental vision of "the myth of Little Gidding." The popular success of John Inglesant transformed the quiet, middle-class, Birmingham manufacturer into "the author of John Inglesant," apologist for the Church of England. Reinterpreting his "English saint," Shorthouse experimented with feminine points of view and developed his philosophical themes into "spiritual romances," analogues of Christian experience and psychological studies of Christian imagination. In succession he offered the public: The Little Schoolmaster Mark (1884), Sir Percival: A Story of the Past and of the Present (1886), A Teacher of the Violin (1887), The Countess Eve (1888), and Blanche, Lady Falaise (1891). Afflicted with a lifelong stammer, "the author of John Inglesant" proved himself a master of cadenced rhythms and "enspiritualised" prose in quest of "the great musical novel." Delineating parallels between sixteenth-century and Victorian England, Shorthouse integrated Quietism with Platonism into a religious aesthetic, a sacramental vision of "the Divine Principle of the Platonic Christ." Studied chronologically, Shorthouse's transition from Quaker to "Broad Church Sacramentalist" provides informing comparison with T. S. Eliot's conversion from Unitarian to Anglo-Catholic, as his myth of Little Gidding informs the historical imagination of Eliot's Christian poetry and dramas. The religious and developmental nature of the work of both artists affords analogies with C. G. Jung's psychology of Individuation.
C.H. Spurgeon (1834 - 1892)
Spurgeon quickly became known as one of the most influential preachers of his time. Well known for his biblical powerful expositions of scripture and oratory ability. In modern evangelical circles he is stated to be the "Prince of Preachers." He pastored the Metropolitan Tabernacle in downtown London, England.His church was part of a particular baptist church movement and they defended and preached Christ and Him crucified and the purity of the Gospel message. Spurgeon never gave altar calls but always extended the invitation to come to Christ. He was a faithful minister in his time that glorified God and brought many to the living Christ.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill).
The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000 - all in the days before electronic amplification.
In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the new Metropolitan Tabernacle.
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