iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 16h

Presbyterian abolitionist John Rankin (1793-1886): Sabbath schools for the enslaved were broken up by men with whips, clubs and guns. Revisionists now cite those Sunday schools as proof of slavery's gentler side. Somehow the clubs never make the brochure. How can you protect kids today? #christian

Black square graphic. Left: a photograph of a white sculpted bust of an older man, captioned "Rev. John Rankin (From a bust by Ellen Rankin Copp, of Chicago, Illinois)." Beneath it in bold white type: "JOHN RANKIN," a date line, and in italics, "Letters on American Slavery." Right, in white text, the quotation: "It often happens that the benevolent teachers of Sabbath Schools find themselves and their poor, unoffending scholars, on the sacred morning, surrounded by men armed with whips, clubs, and guns, for the violent dispersion of the unhappy and innocent victims of their rage!"

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Matthew 25: why the right hand? David Thomas (1813–1894) notes it's not doctrine: Christ was hungry, and you fed him or didn't. We'll casserole a fellow churchgoer, but hungry strangers moving nearer? Suddenly it's Scrooge asking about the treadmills. #congregationalist #bible #compassion

Square black graphic. On the left, an engraved portrait of a curly-haired man in a dark coat, seated, chin resting on one hand, pen in the other; a faint caption beneath reads "The Editor of The Homilist." Below the portrait in bold white text: "DAVID THOMAS (1813-1894)," and in italics, "The Practical Philosopher." On the right, a white-text quote: "Why are some placed on the right hand [in Matt. 25]? What is the reason the Great Arbiter assigns? Hear it: 'I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was naked, and ye clothed me.'"

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Puritan vicar William Whately: search any town and most households are stuck fast in the mire of want. Say that now and people sniff for an agenda. His: pity for families caught in the usurer's wax, by others' scheming or their own folly. How can you show mercy in the market? #puritan #presbyterian

Black square graphic. Left: an engraved oval portrait of William Whately, an older bearded man in a skullcap and ruff, framed by a Latin inscription with Latin verses beneath. Below it in bold white type: "WILLIAM WHATELY (1583–1639)," then in italics, "A care-cloth: or a treatise of the cumbers and troubles of marriage." Right, in white text, the quotation: "Run throughout an whole Town and Country, inquire into all the households, and search into all the estates of the greater number, and you shall find them broken, encumbered, low, dejected, and even sticking fast in the mud and mire of want and penurie."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Puritan John Bunyan: always selling for as much as you can get isn't done with an eye to God's glory. He saw the cruelty in hard bargains. Some cite "2,000 years of church teaching" minus this bit. Others assume the Reformed never had any decency to cite. #reformed #theology #compassion #puritan

Black square graphic. Left: an engraved portrait of John Bunyan, a man with long wavy hair and a moustache, in a buttoned dark coat. Beneath it in bold white type: "JOHN BUNYAN (1628–1688)," then in italics, "Life and Death of Mr. Badman." Right, in white text, the quotation: "In all that a man does, he should have an eye to the glory of God, but that he cannot have that sells his commodity always for as much as he can, for the reasons urged before."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Anglican cleric A.N. Bethune, later Bishop of Toronto, on Corinth: the rich feasted at communion while the poor went hungry. Paul: shall I praise you? Certainly not. Today's rebuke goes, efficiently, to whoever mentions the hungry. But who’s at margins of *your* feasts? #anglican

Black square graphic. Left: a scanned, yellowed title page reading "The Clergy Reserve Question in Canada, by A. N. Bethune, D.D." Beneath it in bold white type: "ALEXANDER NEIL BETHUNE (1800–1879)," then in italics, "Sermons on the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." Right, in white text, the quotation: "...those who were abundantly provided, in utter thoughtlessness of the solemn time, came to revel on their own supplies of meat and drink; banqueted there, as St. Paul charges them, even to excess; while, at the same time, the poor were overlooked, and, during the rioting and feasting of the rest, went empty and hungry away."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Free Church of Scotland minister James Stalker: Jesus commanded love of enemies and forgiveness of injuries, on pain of going unforgiven yourself. Utterly new, he said. Still is, apparently. Civic life runs on the grudge as a renewable resource. Whom are you holding out on? #christan #lordsprayer

Black square graphic. Left: an engraved portrait of a man with dark wavy hair and a moustache, in a dark coat and high white collar. Beneath it in bold white type: "JAMES STALKER (1848–1927)," then in italics, "Ethic of Jesus According to the Synoptic Gospels." Right, in white text, the quotation: "Jesus applied the law of love to an extreme case when He said: 'Love your enemies.' To the same effect He commanded to forgive injuries, putting into the Lord's Prayer the petition: 'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,' and frequently affirming with solemnity that, unless we forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. Nothing of the kind had been conceived in the world before..."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thomas Becon, Marian-era Reformer, taught every gift — strength, eloquence, wealth — comes earmarked for your neighbour's benefit. Now comfort flows to the comfortable, and the needy get told it's spiritual, not their problem. #puritans #reformeddoctrine #stewardship

Engraved portrait of Thomas Becon (1512–1567), English Reformer and Marian prisoner, beside a quotation from "The Nosegay": "Whatsoever God hath given thee, he hath given it thee for the profit of thy neighbour also... Art thou rich? so must thou comfort the needy."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Robert Bolton, Puritan minister, called charity bought by evicting the poor "blood money" — the church should shun the giver, not launder the gift. Now, too often today, shunning's reserved for whoever criticizes the giver. #puritan #selfexamination #oppression

Portrait of Puritan minister Robert Bolton (1572–1631) beside a quotation from his "The Saint's Self-Enriching Examination," decrying landlords who enclose land, drive the poor from their homes, and then offer charity as blood money bought "by oppression, extortion or usury, or by grinding the face of the fatherless."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

William Jay, English Congregationalist minister, on enjoying and improving one's life: eluding misery means hiding from our own flesh — pure religion visits the afflicted. Some Christian circles today lament being surrounded by misery and conclude the fix is keeping family away from it. #christian

ALT text: Black background graphic. Left: engraved portrait of William Jay, English Congregationalist minister, in clerical robes, with signature below. Text reads "WILLIAM JAY (1769–1853), 'Life Enjoyed and Improved.'" Right: quotation reading "We are surrounded with the defenceless, the hungry, the naked, and the sick. We live in a world full of misery, and whatever be our situation, it is impossible to elude cases of distress. But are we to elude them? Are we to hide ourselves from our own flesh? 'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.'"

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Charles Simeon, Anglican co-founder of the Church Missionary Society, thought interest fine but exploiting a neighbour's need worthy of "utmost abhorrence." Now that abhorrence lands not on the exploiting, but on whoever mentions it. How can you be kind in the market today? #missions #anglican

Black-and-white engraved portrait of Charles Simeon (1759–1836) beside a quotation from his "An Inquiry of the Character of Those That Shall Be Saved": "There is a legal interest of money which may fitly and properly be made: but every kind of extortion is worthy of the utmost abhorrence."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

John Calvin on Hebrews 13:2's stranger-entertaining angels: skeptics miss the point — per Matthew 25, we receive Christ himself in the poor. Recently told that *praying* for refugees is "an extremely complex issue." Christ, now a foreign policy dilemma. #johncalvin #refugees #christian #bible

ALT text: Black background graphic. Left: painted portrait of John Calvin, 16th-century French reformer, in dark clerical cap and coat with long beard. Text below reads "JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564), Calvin's Commentaries, Hebrews." Right: quotation reading "And doubtless God proved that hospitality was especially acceptable to him, when he rendered such a reward to Abraham and to Lot... That not mere angels are received, but Christ himself, when we receive the poor in his name."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Robert Horne, 17th-century Oxford chaplain: hoarding surplus while others starve is theft, even murder — "such thieves eat the poor at their tables of excess." Today's version of that disdain mostly targets anyone who says the poor's suffering is our problem. WhocanUfeed? #christian #compassion

ALT text: Black background graphic. Text reads: "...it is a waste of the good creature, abusing that to sin which might have comforted many, perhaps, have saved the lives of some. And what are such but thieves to their brethren, Prov. 3.27, and murderers of their brethren, and themselves? He that robs a man of that which is his, is a thief: And such thieves are they that eat the poor, that is, that which is theirs, at their tables of excess." Attributed to "ROBERT HORNE (1565–1640), Of the Rich Man and Lazarus."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Martin Luther on Psalm 1:2: "Thou shalt not kill" means positive kindness to neighbour, not just restrained anger. Today's "biblical manhood" limits duty to one's household, while counseling rehearses grievances against whole classes so we watch their demise comfortably. Who can you help? #lutheran

ALT text: Black background graphic. Left: painted portrait of Martin Luther, 16th-century German monk turned reformer, wearing a black cap and robe. Text below reads "MARTIN LUTHER (1483–1546), Complete Commentary on 22 Psalms; Psalm 1:2." Right: quotation reading "...we are to love, to bless, to do good. What then is the purport of this scripture, Thou shalt not kill? Why this — that thou art not to be bitter and angry with, but kind and gentle to, thy neighbour. Therefore, look into what the scriptures teach concerning love, kindness, suavity, benevolence, goodness, and tenderness; and when thou hast collected and compared them all, hast thou not then well chattered and meditated in the law of the Lord?"

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

James Balmford, 16th-century Presbyterian minister: plague survivors who deny contagion, do poison others and deny God's providence. Christians (CN) now say ADHD meds are unnecessary — beaten via "discipline." Same spirit: your survival, everyone's proof. #masks #presbyterian #conspiracy

ALT text: Black background graphic. Text reads: "Wilt thou by thy bloody errour [that the Plague is not contagious] poison other, because God hath glorified his special providence ouer thee? Is this thy thankfulness for so great deliverance, to obscure Gods providence by attributing thine escape to this, that the plague is not infective?" Attributed below to "JAMES BALMFORD (b. 1556), A short dialogue concerning the plagues infection, Published to preserve blood, through the blessing of God."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Howard Crosby on Nehemiah scolding elites for enslaving their own countrymen over debt: love needs mildness, leaders going first, God rejecting the unloving. We can't say slavery was bad, won't discuss market exploitation, and call it "unloving" to mention it to shareholders. #presbyterian #bible

Black background graphic. Left: sepia photograph portrait of Howard Crosby, 19th-century Presbyterian minister with white beard, in clerical robes. Text below reads "HOWARD CROSBY (1842–1923), The book of Nehemiah." Right: quotation reading "What renders the admonition to exercise love effective? 1) Mildness in example. 2) Readiness of the preacher and his friends to take precedence in the example of love (ver. 5:10). 3) The assurance that God rejects the unloving from His communion, and robs him of His blessing (ver. 5:13)."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

William Beveridge, 17th-century Anglican bishop, catalogued almsgiving’s duties: feed, clothe, visit, comfort, admonish, relieve — actual help. A popular evangelical sermon I saw mentioned only one’s own family. Cornelius was commended for prayer AND almsgiving. Streamlined scripture. #anglican

ALT text: Black background graphic. Left: sepia engraved portrait of William Beveridge, 17th-century Anglican bishop, seated in clerical robes beside an open book. Text below reads “WILLIAM BEVERIDGE (1637–1708), ‘Of Almsgiving.’” Right: quotation reading “…this duty…compriseth under it our feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, redeeming the captive, visiting the sick, entertaining the stranger, relieving the oppressed, easing the afflicted, comforting the sorrowful, instructing the ignorant, informing the erroneous, assisting the weak, admonishing the wicked, supplying the indigent, resolving the doubtful, rescuing such as are falling into danger, being good and kind, helpful and liberal to all unto the utmost of our power…”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Augustus Strong, Baptist theologian, insisted the ‘true Church’ was the one burned by the Inquisition, not the one lighting fires — 30,000 punished, 8,000 burned. Apparently news to anyone who hears ‘religious conviction’ and reaches for ‘Inquisition apologist.’ Truly inspired literacy. #baptist

Black-and-white portrait of Augustus Strong (1836–1921), Baptist theologian, alongside a quotation from his writing on “Christ in Creation and Ethical Monism” describing the persecution of the true Church during the Inquisition era, including the Albigenses, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, and Savonarola.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Calvin (16th-century Calvinist): empty ceremonies worthless; true worship is upright living and neighborly aid. Modern theology has innovatively created elaborate Sunday afternoon rubrics leaving mysteriously no room for neighbor-care. Truly inspired exegesis. #calvinist #johncalvin #presbyterian

Portrait of John Calvin, 16th-century Calvinist reformer, with quote from Calvin’s Commentaries on Isaiah 58 stating that mere ceremonies are vain worship, and that true worship of God requires leading an upright life with neighbors and willingly assisting them.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Houston (Reformed Presbyterian, Ireland): Christians are bound to the suffering. Today, we’ve helpfully added ideological tests first. Inspired theology. #persecutedchurch #christian #hebrews

Title page of Thomas Houston’s “The Christian Magistrate: A Discourse with an Appendix,” with quote on Christians feeling bound with the imprisoned and compelled to energetic action toward all human misery, as members of one body.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Bersier (French Reformed minister): leisure for the rich, ceaseless toil for the poor—shouldn’t that leisure address suffering? Modern: social media eloquence suffices. Inspired theology. #reformedtheology #christian #lazarus

Portrait of Eugene Bersier, 19th-century Reformed minister from France, with quote from “Lazarus at the Rich Man’s Gate” questioning what portion of the leisured wealthy’s lives they devote to the poor and suffering.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Farrar (Anglican dean): Christ summoned outcasts, fed hungry, embraced lepers. Modern CN pastors: lamenting these outcasts plot takeover. Quite inspired reversal. #anglican #jesus #friendofsinners #welcome #christian

Portrait of Frederic William Farrar, 19th-century Anglican dean, with quote from “Free and Open Churches” describing Christ’s radical welcome and love for society’s outcasts, the suffering, the disfigured, and those others rejected.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Boardman: Providence put Bunyan in jail to produce Pilgrim’s Progress, and Howard in prison to produce the reformer of hospitals and prisons. Suffering as preparation for changing society. Today’s political prisoners are locked incommunicado. No Birmingham letters emerging from those conditions.

Black graphic with a photograph of Henry Augustus Boardman (1808–1880) beside a quote from *Moral Courage*: "The Providence which allowed John Bunyan to be shut up in Bedford jail, that the world might not miss of the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' permitted John Howard, when a young man, to be thrown into a French prison, that a pioneer might not be wanting to marshal and direct the sympathies of Christendom in renovating the prisons and hospitals of the world."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

DeWitt (Presbyterian, Princeton): charity and Gospel are one thing. We’ve ingeniously split them anyway. Quite the modern improvement. #presbyterian #christian #charity

Portrait of John DeWitt, 19th-century Presbyterian minister and professor of church history at Princeton, with quote from “Universality of Christian Benevolence” on the inseparability of material charity and spiritual proclamation.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Edgar (Reformed Dutch pastor): any system binding the soul to prevent growth, recreation, mental culture is corrupt. It can happen in slavery (it’s wrong, y’all) and even in a small business run by a Scrooge. How can you help workers fully develop? #labor #christian #dutchreformed

Title page of Cornelius Henry Edgar’s “The Curse of Canaan,” with quote denouncing systems of labor that bind the human soul and prevent intellectual and moral development, whether in Northern shops or Southern fields.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Polhill: if you’re rational, Adopted, Blessed—charity abounds in you. If not you, who shall do it? Modern version: earned it myself; welfare (even veteran’s programs) are socialism; the very news of suffering is a threat. Strikingly inspired moral inversion. #anglican #grace #charity #calvinist

Polhill, an Anglican minister and Calvinist theologian, argues that if you’re rational, adopted into Heaven’s family, and blessed with abundance—natural and spiritual—you logically must be charitable. Modern improvement? We earned it ourselves, welfare is socialism, and suffering is a personal threat. Remarkably inspired moral gymnastics.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Peters (NYC Reformed pastor): Torah and Talmud rank alms and benevolence above all other laws. Modern discourse somehow missed this. Perhaps we decided the ancients were wrong, or simply stopped reading. #reformedtheology #bible #calvinist

Black and white portrait of Madison Clinton Peters, 19th-century pastor, with quote from “Wit and Wisdom of the Talmud” stating that spending alms and practicing benevolence exceed in importance all other laws of the Torah.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Martin Luther: faith, divine trust, neighbor-love invite persecution. The least of these in modern times is “virtue signaling” accusations. Brilliantly efficient—dismiss compassion without argument. Rather diabolical, that.

Portrait of Martin Luther, 16th-century Protestant Reformer, with quote from “The First Sermon, On Sunday Invocavit” on faith, trust in God, and love toward neighbor inevitably inviting persecution because the devil neither sleeps nor rests.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Tillotson: rich man blamed not for injustice but lack of charity. Modern twist? We invent reasons poverty is deserved, or blame scapegoats, thus dodging moral duty. Genuinely brilliant moral inversion, which is to say, thoroughly wretched. #anglican #bible #christian #foreignaid

Historical portrait of John Tillotson, 17th-century Archbishop of Canterbury, with quote from Sermon CXXV about the wealthy man not being charged with injustice but with lacking charity and consideration for the poor.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Hall reads “give us our daily bread” as communal. God gives more than we need precisely to exercise the grace of giving and open the opportunity of reward. The “us” and “our” are doing considerable work that individualist readings prefer to ignore. #christian #congregational #lordsprayer

Black graphic with a photograph of Newman Hall (1816–1902), identified as “The Revd Newman Hall, L.L.B.”, beside a quote from The Lord’s Prayer: “God gives to His children more than they need for themselves, to exercise in them the grace of giving, and to open to them the opportunity of a special reward.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Bayly’s confession: allowing someone hungry, cold, and naked to leave your door unaided—their lean cheeks pleading pity, your heart unmoved—is to deceive and suffer Christ himself. Contemporary controversy has moved the argument back a step: whether anyone is actually hungry. Convenient. #gospel

Black graphic with an image of the title page of *The Practise of Pietie: Directing a Christian how to walke that he may please God*, printed for John Hodgetts, 1613, beside a quote by Lewis Bayly (d. 1631): "A humble confession of sins ... yea, I have deceived and suffered Christ, where was trusted, many a time, in his poor members, to stand hungry, cold, and naked, at my door, and hungry, cold, and naked, to go away succourless, as he came; and when the leanness of his cheeks pleaded pity, the hardness of my heart would shew no compassion."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Cyril reads Matthew 25 simply: the condemned did the opposite of what the saints were praised for. Works righteousness remains vigorously policed. Doing the literal opposite of feeding the hungry passes without theological comment. Cyril considered the connection worth making explicit. #christian

Black graphic with a Byzantine icon portrait of Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444) beside a quote from Sermon CXII: “But upon those upon the left hand He shall lay a heavy condemnation, saying, ‘Go to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ And the charge against them is, that they have done the very opposite of that for which the saints were praised.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Daille: the giver gains more than the recipient receives; the one who refuses charity loses more than the one refused. The food given would have been destroyed by moths anyway. The one who withholds loses eternal life and glory. This accounting features rarely in sermons. #christian #bible

Black graphic with a portrait of Jean Daillé (1594–1670) beside a quote from Exposition on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians: “For as we said that he who gives obtains more fruit from his charity than he who receives, so we now say that he who does not give loses much more than he to whom he refuses his charity. The one loses nothing but food or clothing for mortal flesh, which the worms will soon destroy; the other loses thereby an infinite good, even life and eternal glory.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Dods: slavery appealed to self-interest. What ended it was slow Christian leavening plus vigorous assertion of Christian principle. Christian sentiment is now being cultivated in rather different directions. The leavening appears to be running in reverse.

Black graphic with a portrait of Marcus Dods (1834–1909) beside a quote from Erasmus and Other Essays: “[Slavery] was a universal custom. It appealed to the self-interest of men. But by the slow leavening of Christian sentiment, and by the vigorous assertion of Christian principle, society has at length thrown off this incubus, and in the very act of doing so has made a really measureless stride in civilisation.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Ellinwood: the hospital was a high-water mark of Christian civilization—all sects competing to serve the sick without regard to race or creed. Hospitals are now culture war territory. Those practicing brinkmanship against them tend to wave the flag of Christian orthodoxy. #christian #presbyterian

Black graphic with a portrait of Frank Field Ellinwood (1826–1908) beside a quote from *The Great Conquest*: "In this country nothing so impresses one with the blessings of our Christian civilization as the grand and munificent provisions of a well-equipped and well-ordered hospital. In our large cities all religious sects, Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish, vie with each other in providing for the sick of all classes and without respect to nationality or creed."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Calvin on Psalm 72: remove protections and the powerful exploit the weak. The magistrate exists to avenge the poor against injustice. Nobody objects in principle. We’ve elevated our inconveniences to oppression and cannot hear our poor brethren—because we have none. #calvinism #calvinist #christian

Black graphic with a portrait of John Calvin (1509–1564) beside a quote from *Calvin's Commentaries, Psalm 72*: "Let laws and the administration of justice be taken away, and the consequence will be, that the more powerful a man is, he will be the more able to oppress his poor brethren. David, therefore, particularly mentions that the king will be the defender of those who can only be safe under the protection of the magistrate, and declares that he will be their avenger when they are made the victims of injustice and wrong."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Parkhurst: Christian leaven produced family equality—fathers once despots, husbands tyrants, now affection and equality. Women increasingly equal before the law. Conservative energy now reverses this, attributing it to secular corruption. Parkhurst would disagree. #presbyterian #equality

Black graphic with a portrait of Charles Henry Parkhurst (1842–1933) beside a quote from The Hidden Leaven: “There is hardly an aspect of life, hardly a single relation among men, that has not had during these nineteen centuries great and, indeed, pretty steady experiences of betterment and enrichment. Instance the relation of father to children, once a relation of despotism, now a relation of affection. Instance the relation of husband and wife, once a relation of tyranny, now a relation of equality, equality before God, and more and more so before the law.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Wardlaw on Ecclesiastes 11: give to 7 or 8 because complete reversals of fortune happen. Those you’ve assisted may one day assist you. Not sentiment—prudence. Foreign aid once operated on this logic. It has been reclassified as political correctness. #bible #ecclesiastes #usaid #congregationalist

Black graphic with a portrait of Ralph Wardlaw (1779–1853) beside a quote from Lectures on the book of Ecclesiastes: “It is frequently of consequence to us, to secure friends in the time of our prosperity, against the day of possible calamity and suffering.— It sometimes happens, that entire reverses take place in the circumstances of men; and that he who has assisted and relieved others, requires relief and assistance from the very objects of his kindness.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Bersier: Christianity insists the suffering of our brothers and sisters is our own, and none have the right to close their heart to it. Much of the stifling of this voice now comes from within Christianity itself. Cain would recognise the maneuver. #reformedchurch #christian #bible

Black graphic with a portrait of Eugene Bersier (1831–1889) beside a quote from The Saying of Cain: “In fine, notwithstanding the veils with which Christianity is covered, and under which men endeavour to stifle its mighty voice, it everywhere reminds man that the sufferings of his brethren are his sufferings, that none have the right to close their heart to them.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Booth: the Greatest Commandments are a standard against which believers must test themselves until conformity is attained. Much apologetics energy goes toward stifling that conscience-prick instead. Booth would recognise this as failing the test. #baptist #blackvoices #christian #bible

Black graphic with a portrait of Charles Octavius Booth (1845–1924), identified as Rev. C. O. Boothe, D.D., Author of “Plain Theology,” beside a quote from Plain Theology for Plain People: “This is the standard [love to God and neighbor] which the Lord sets up before those whom he has loved, and for whom he has given himself. It was designed that it should be studied, and that each believer should carefully test himself by it, and never rest satisfied until, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, conformity to it has been attained.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Calvin on James 1:27: religion is not demonstrated in pomp and ceremony but in visiting those in necessity and alleviating distress. These are the duties God’s servants ought to attend to. Calvin considered this the actual definition of religion. #calvinism #christian

Black graphic with a portrait of John Calvin (1509–1564) beside a quote from Calvin’s Commentaries: “James then [1:27] teaches us that religion is not to be estimated by the pomp of ceremonies; but that there are important duties to which the servants of God ought to attend. To visit in necessity is to extend a helping hand to alleviate such as are in distress.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Jerome: wealth is no spiritual obstacle if used well. Poverty is no recommendation if the poor fail to avoid wrongdoing. Neither class gets automatic credit or condemnation. Contemporary factions have strong preferences. Jerome found both theologically unsupported. #christian #poverty #wealth

Black graphic with a painting of Jerome (347–420) in his study beside a quote from Letter LXXIX. To Salvina: “His wealth need not stand in the way of the rich man, if he makes a good use of it; and poverty can be no recommendation to the poor if in the midst of squalor and want he fails to keep clear of wrong doing.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Raffles: if prayers work by being prayers, free ones work equally well. If every mass already commemorates all the faithful including the poor, what exactly are the fees purchasing? The economics demolish the theology without assistance. #congregationalist #worship #protestant

Black graphic with a portrait of Thomas Raffles (1788–1863) beside a quote from Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead: “If on account of the prayers simply, then prayers said gratuitously would be of equal avail; and as, we are told, there is a commemoration of all the faithful in every mass, of course including these whose relations are too poor to pay for them, then whence the necessity of paying at all?”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Dent quotes Exodus 22: trouble the widow or fatherless child, and God’s wrath kindles against you. He places this in a pathway to heaven—not as a minor caveat but a central warning. God notices. The pathway runs directly past their door. #puritan #justice

Black graphic with an image of the title page of The Plain Man’s Pathway to Heaven by Arthur Dent (d. 1607), beside a quote: “In the twenty-second chapter of Exodus, God made this law following: ‘You shall not trouble an widow or fatherless child; if thou vex or trouble such, and so he call and cry unto me, I will surely hear his cry. Then shall my wrath be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless,’ Exodus xxii.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Ellinwood: medical missionaries brought vaccines, sanitation, and anesthetics to the developing world—heritage of all nations. Distraction from the gospel, or its fruit? Certain Christians today pursue a different conquest, whose benefits are less universally distributed. #presbyterian #christian

Black graphic with a portrait of Frank Field Ellinwood (1826–1908) beside a quote from *The Great Conquest*: "The humanitarian relief resulting directly and in-directly from medical missions has many ramifications. The precautionary measures which are being introduced into many lands, as for example, vaccination for small-pox, … sanitary safeguards ... drainage … who can trace, or adequately measure, these manifold and widely extending influences which are now permeating the ignorant and suffering masses of the heathen world? The use of anaesthetics and the safeguards against septic blood-poisoning will soon become the heritage of all nations."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Barnes: no topic receives more thorough biblical treatment than oppression, and slavery is its perfect embodiment. Everyone agrees oppression matters most. The disagreement is purely about which sufferers qualify. Barnes, reading scripture, had no such list. #presbyterian

Black graphic with a portrait of Albert Barnes (1798–1870) beside a quote from *Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery*: "There is almost nothing which is more frequently adverted to in the Bible, than oppression. And yet, the idea of oppression enters into the very conception of slavery, and is imbodied in all the laws that pertain to it. Indeed, if it were the design to originate a system of laws for the very purpose of oppression; if a legislature should wish to frame a series of enactments which should accomplish that in the most effectual manner, the slave laws of this country would be the very ones which would be needed for such a purpose."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Luther: abusing gospel freedom leads to Mammon worship, ruthless accumulation, extracting wealth from land and people. Conservative warnings about gospel license cover certain sins vigorously. Covetousness features less prominently. Luther didn’t make that distinction. #lutheran #socialjustice

Black graphic with a portrait of Martin Luther (1483–1546) beside a quote from Of Luther’s Prayer for a Gracious Rain: “… for seeing that through thy gospel they are unbridled, they think it free for them to live and do what they please; they now fear neither death nor hell, but say, ‘I believe, therefore I shall be saved;’ they become haughty spiteful Mammonists, and accursed covetous cut-throats, that suck out land and people.”

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Gerhard: you wish to be a son of God, yet refuse to own God’s other sons as brothers. If someone deserves love, love them for that. If not, love them because God commands it. Even loving enemies demonstrates friendship with God. The logic is airtight. #lutheran #peace

Gerhard—Lutheran scholastic theologian—identifies a contradiction worth sitting with. You wish to be a son of God, yet refuse to own God’s other sons as your brothers. He resolves the question of worthiness neatly: if the person deserves love, love them for that. If they don’t, love them because God—who does deserve everything—commands it. Even loving an enemy demonstrates friendship with God. The logic is airtight. The application is, apparently, optional.

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Collyer: the Gospel breathes peace, promotes human joy, strengthens philanthropy. Jesus made friends with outcasts and offended religious people. Today’s pattern reverses: gospel-on-sleeve-wearers create division at church, argue against charitable urgency. #gospel #congregationalist #christian

Black graphic with a portrait of William Bengo Collyer (1782–1854) beside a quote from *Lectures on Scripture Facts*: "One should have imagined that the gospel of Jesus could have no enemies. It breathes only peace. It has but one subject — to promote the felicity of mankind. It sweetens every connection of human life. It strengthens the cause of philanthropy."

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

M’Crie quotes an Inquisition victim who preferred cannibals to his baptized tormentors. Neither flinching nor excusing it. The Reformation’s heirs were primary targets, and they preserved the memory. Don’t be a fiend. Consider who kept this story alive. #reformed #presbyterian #churchhistory

Black graphic with a portrait of Thomas M'Crie (1772–1835) beside a quote from *History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain*: "Oppressed and worn out with a mode of living so different from what he had been used to, he [Constantine Ponce] was heard to exclaim, 'O my God, were there no Scythians, or cannibals, or pagans still more savage, that thou hast permitted me to fall into the hands of these baptized fiends?'"

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Greg Johnson @pteranodo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Bartlett catalogs unsanctified commerce: the East India Company, slave trade, opium war, Pacific vice. Against this, missionaries fought fifty years. Commerce was the pollutant; missionaries were the resistance. Today that framing is inverted, and commerce is the idol. #christian #missionaries

Black graphic with a portrait of Samuel Colcord Bartlett (1817–1898) beside a quote from *Divine Forces of the Gospel*: "And of at least the average tendencies of unsanctified commerce, the world has had some evidence in the East India Company's relation to [Indian] idolatry, in the African slave trade, in American debauchery of the Indian tribes, in the opium war with China, and in the white man's hellish pollution, that fought fifty years with the missionary for the Pacific Islands."

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