Nathan W. Bingham

And Tennant was one of those also traveling around preaching in different places. And he preached a very famous sermon called The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry. And in that sermon, he talks about unconverted ministers and what a bane they are on the church. He says they are like caterpillars, crawling around, seeing to eat up everything green.

Wherever they saw any life, they wanted to destroy it. That's the danger of unconverted ministers. And many people have read that sermon and said, wow, you know, that's a really inflammatory sermon. That's a revolutionary sermon. And I respond by saying, no, that's not the revolutionary part of the sermon.

Wherever they saw any life, they wanted to destroy it. That's the danger of unconverted ministers. And many people have read that sermon and said, wow, you know, that's a really inflammatory sermon. That's a revolutionary sermon. And I respond by saying, no, that's not the revolutionary part of the sermon.

To say there are a bunch of unconverted ministers is no problem unless you start naming them. There was another preacher, James Davenport, that did some of that. That was problematic, that you could pretend to know who are the unconverted and unregenerate ministers. What's really...

To say there are a bunch of unconverted ministers is no problem unless you start naming them. There was another preacher, James Davenport, that did some of that. That was problematic, that you could pretend to know who are the unconverted and unregenerate ministers. What's really...

revolutionary in Tennant's sermon is he said to the people to whom he was preaching and you need to decide if you have an unconverted minister and if you do you need to go to a congregation where there's a converted minister. This was a revolution in thinking. Up to this point the attitude of probably all Christians, certainly all Protestants was, I'm just a lay person.

revolutionary in Tennant's sermon is he said to the people to whom he was preaching and you need to decide if you have an unconverted minister and if you do you need to go to a congregation where there's a converted minister. This was a revolution in thinking. Up to this point the attitude of probably all Christians, certainly all Protestants was, I'm just a lay person.

I don't have a right to decide who's converted or not converted. I don't have a right really to decide if the minister's doing a good job or not. He's the minister. He's supposed to know whether he's doing a good job or not.

I don't have a right to decide who's converted or not converted. I don't have a right really to decide if the minister's doing a good job or not. He's the minister. He's supposed to know whether he's doing a good job or not.

I remember as a young minister preaching in a Dutch Reformed congregation, and at the door a young man shook my hand and said, thanks for the good sermon, even though I know I shouldn't say that. I said, why shouldn't you say that? He said, oh, we were taught if you compliment the sermon this week, you might criticize it next week, and that's not our business.

I remember as a young minister preaching in a Dutch Reformed congregation, and at the door a young man shook my hand and said, thanks for the good sermon, even though I know I shouldn't say that. I said, why shouldn't you say that? He said, oh, we were taught if you compliment the sermon this week, you might criticize it next week, and that's not our business.

I thought, I have a brief momentary experience of life before the Great Awakening. before what has come to be called the triumph of the laity. And we live in a world where the laity is triumphed.

I thought, I have a brief momentary experience of life before the Great Awakening. before what has come to be called the triumph of the laity. And we live in a world where the laity is triumphed.

That was W. Robert Godfrey from part four of his six-part complete overview of church history. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and you're listening to the Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind.

That was W. Robert Godfrey from part four of his six-part complete overview of church history. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and you're listening to the Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind.

I've greatly benefited from Dr. Godfrey's series on church history, and I love the way that he's able to make these time periods come alive as we see the ups and downs, ebbs and flows of the Christian's family history throughout the centuries. If you'd like to add this fourth installment covering 1600 to 1800 A.D.,

I've greatly benefited from Dr. Godfrey's series on church history, and I love the way that he's able to make these time periods come alive as we see the ups and downs, ebbs and flows of the Christian's family history throughout the centuries. If you'd like to add this fourth installment covering 1600 to 1800 A.D.,

You can request a copy on DVD when you give a year-end donation in support of Renewing Your Mind and the global outreach of Ligonier Ministries at renewingyourmind.org. Every day we hear stories of minds renewed and lives transformed thanks to the Lord's blessing upon the teaching resources that you enable to be produced and distributed.

You can request a copy on DVD when you give a year-end donation in support of Renewing Your Mind and the global outreach of Ligonier Ministries at renewingyourmind.org. Every day we hear stories of minds renewed and lives transformed thanks to the Lord's blessing upon the teaching resources that you enable to be produced and distributed.

So as our way of saying thank you, in addition to the DVD, we'll unlock lifetime digital access to this series and its study guide as well. If you're planning to give a year-end gift to Ligonier Ministries by check, remember all checks need to be postmarked by December 31st. Thank you. Are science and Christianity opposed to one another?