"OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY"
-96-
APRIL
24, 1475 --Italy. Girolomo Savonarola steals away
from his family while they are attending the festival of St. George and
enters the St. Domenico convent at Bolobna. His parents have determined
he should study medicine, but he seeks the seclusion of the convent
after becoming sensible to the corruptions of society.
"Oh Thou Who art Good," he exclaims, "in Thy Goodness
teach me Thy righteousness."
24, 1529 --Germany. The Reformers are first called "Protestants" at the
Second Diet at Spires (or Speyers).
24, 1547 --Germany. Charles V is victorious over the evangelical princes
of the Schmalkald League in the Battle of Muhlberg. The Emperor is the
undisputed sovereign everywhere in Germany and the two leaders of the
League are delivered into his hands. Since the Peace of Crespy in
September 1544, Charles has attempted to put down Protestantism by
force.
24, 1575 --Germany. Jacob Boehme is born in Altsiedenberg, near Gorlitz,
Germany. This shoemaker will leave behind some twenty-nine books and
tracts among which will be the Way to Christ.
24, 1780 --Maryland. In Baltimore, a Methodist conference replies with a
hearty "Yes" when asked, "Ought not this conference to require those
gravelling preachers, who hold slaves, to give promise to set them
free?" When asked, "Does this conference acknowledge that slave-keeping
is contrary to the laws of God, man, and nature, and hurtful to society,
contrary to the dictates of conscience and pure religion, and doing that
which we would not others should do to us and ours? Do we pass our
disapprobation on all our friends who keep slaves, and advise their
freedom?" They reply, “Yes."
24, 1915 --Turkey. Tradition tells us Armenia was the first country to
accept Christianity, and was supposedly converted early in the fourth
century. But the State Church here has grown stagnant, and in the last
century when fervent missionaries circulated in the country, the
Patriarch grew apprehensive and banned Bibles and Christian books.
Several leaders in the Armenian Church were imprisoned.
The country is almost entirely under the domination of
Moslem Turkey, and their bigoted stand against Christianity has made it
an offence punishable by death for a Moslem to convert to Christianity.
Though the church enjoyed a brief respite when in 1856 the death penalty
was relaxed, yet in 1864, the Turkish government again began arresting
and convicting Moslems who convert and align themselves with the "People
of the Book." Fearing a revolt by the Armenians, government soldiers
murdered nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants between the years 1895
and 1896.
Under the cloak of the First World War, the Turks have
accused the Armenians of assisting the Russian invaders. Today an
attempt is made to murder every Armenian within the borders of Turkey.
It is an all out war of annihilation. Many are murdered by forcing their
heads in vices until the victim collapse. Thousands of children are
buried alive in ditches while others are stoned or hacked to death.
Others have their jaws torn apart. Finally those unable to be killed in
this single day, are herded into the desert. Today, is celebrated in
Armenia as a “Memorial Day" each year. It is estimated six hundred
thousand perish today.