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AUGUST

    
 2, 1570 --France. The Peace of St. Germain ends France's Third War between the Roman Catholics and Protestant forces. This Peace gives Protestants freedom of conscience and worship along with three cities of safety.

2, 1819 --England. At Pontefract, Yorkshire, Thomas Armitage is born. At sixteen he will join the Methodist Church only to leave it in 1848 to become a Baptist. He will be best remembered for his History of the Baptists Traced By Their Vital Principles And Practices From The Time Of Our Lord And Saviour Jesus Christ To The Present.
     Pope Pius VI sends a brief to Emperor Joseph II saying "Those who lay their hands on the goods of the Church belong to Hell."
     Order Number Twelve is issued which prohibits religious instruction in schools. As Shinto is not formally recognized by the government as a religion, though it enjoys the status of a state religion, instruction in State Shinto is established as the foundation of national education, and every school has become a center for the dissemination of Shinto doctrine.

3, 1921 -- Vermont. At 2:30 this morning, Vice-President Calvin Coolidge takes the oath of office as President of the United States. His father, a notary public, administers the oath, which is taken on the family Bible. President Coolidge is a Presbyterian.

4, 1677 --Massachusetts. Margaret Brewster, a Quaker, has blackened her face, and in sackcloth and ashes has entered the South Church in Boston during Sunday morning service. Consequently, she has been arrested for making "an horrible disturbance and affrighting the people." She is brought to trial today and will become the last woman to suffer whipping in New England for being a Quaker.

4, 1792 --Scotland. At Annan, Dumfriesshire, Mr. Edward Irving is born. As a young man he will become the assistant to Dr. Thomas Chalmers, however, he will soon come to deny the doctrine of Predestination and will in 1827 propose a "secret rapture." He will later tour Scotland preaching the "imminent return of Christ" and will succeed in bringing Horatio and Andrew Bonar to his views, while his "Pretribulation rapture" view will influence the followers of John Nelson Darby.
     In 1830, he will publish a tract declaring Christ possessed a fallen nature. The same year the Church of Scotland will condemn him on the charge of heresy. In 1831, "tongues" and "prophetic utterances" will break out in his congregation. In 1835, he will be formally charged with heresy and excommunicated by the Scottish church.

5, 304 --Germany. It is a time of great persecution, and at Augsburg, Afra boldly confesses her faith, and for it will today be burned to death. As a child, her mother dedicated her to the service of the goddess Venus. Here in Augsburg, she lived as a prostitute until a bishop and a deacon, fleeing the persecution, took refuge in her house, quite unaware of her reputation. She was converted and today seals her faith with her death.

5, 642 --England. Oswald, king of Northumbria, is killed in battle with Penda, the heathen King of Mercia, at Maserfield. When his father, Ethelfrid fell in battle with Edwin, the great king of Northumbria, in 617, Oswald and his brothers were forced to flee, and sought refuge at Iona. Here he was converted and baptized. Edwin became the first Christian ruler of Northumbria.
     In 634, Oswald recovered his kingdom by defeating the British king Cadwallon at Heavenfield. He at once introduced Christianity and was noted by Venerable Bede as being devout, humble, gracious, and charitable to the poor, "always wont, while ruling a temporal kingdom, to labor and pray for an eternal one.

5, 1620 --England. The Pilgrims set sail from Southampton aboard the Mayflower and the Speedwell. But after a few days of sailing, the Speedwell will be found shattered, old and leaky. Both ships will anchor in the port of Dartmouth for eight days of repair work. When they again set sail, the captain of the Speedwell will declare his ship unfit to cross the ocean and will put back to Plymouth. The ship will be abandoned. The Pilgrims will board the Mayflower on September 5th.
 

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