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Christian History

Today in Christian History

January 16

January 16, 1545: George Spalatin, Martin Luther's close friend and go-between with Frederick The Wise, dies (see issue 34: Luther's Early Years).

January 16, 1604: Puritan John Rainolds suggests " . . . that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek." England's King James I granted his approval the following day, leading to the 1611 publication of the Authorized (King James) version of the Bible (see issue 43: How We Got Our Bible).

January 16, 1890: Moody Bible Institute in Chicago is dedicated, 17 years after evangelist D.L. Moody and college administrator Emma Dryer first discussed the idea (see issue 25: D.L. Moody).

January 16, 1920: Largely the result of Christian activists, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution goes into effect, prohibiting the sale of alcohol. Thirteen years later, Congress repeals the prohibition (see issue 55: The Monkey Trial and the Rise of Fundamentalism).

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March 28, 1592: Czech theologian Jan Comenius, educator of the Bohemian (or Moravian) Brethren, is born in Nivnice, Czechoslovakia. As today, the region was tormented by warfare, and Comenius believed ...

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