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Men of Faith
Charles Spurgeon
The remarkable story of "The Boy Preacher of the Fens" who became one of the truly great preachers of the nineteenth century. Coming from a family of noted preachers, Charles Spurgeon built the Metropolitan Tabernacle into a congregation of over 6000 and added over 14,000 members during his thirty-eight-year London ministry. The combination of his clear voice, his mastery of language, his sure grasp of Scripture and a deep love for Christ produced some of the noblest preaching of any age. Though his later years were clouded by bitter controversy and failing health, he is remembered with love and respect. Through his sermons, both spoken and printed, many thousands have been led to that all-important encounter with Jesus Christ. Inspiring insight into the life of Charles Spurgeon.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 3, 2023
A good overview of Spurgeon's life.
May 25, 2024
A very condensed but informative biography of a remarkable man, whose ministry of preaching and teaching reached thousands of people. Largely self educated, he left a library of 12,000 books at his death!
February 12, 2017
I often read quotes by Charles Spurgeon and realized I knew very little about him. This is a not a long read but contains a lot of information on Spurgeon's life, from childhood to his role as preacher. I found it very interesting and informative.
April 24, 2020
Better than I thought it would be. Good gentle introduction to Spurgeon aimed at a popular audience. I don't think she gets the Down-Grade controversy right (she basically thinks by the 1880s Spurgeon was a grumpy old dude that wanted to have a moan. I beg to differ).
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October 17, 2022This is a concise biography of Charles Spurgeon, fairly easy to read, and short enough to retain the attention of a reader unused to reading biographies.
Something to be aware of: this book does emphasize Spurgeon’s Calvinistic views, perhaps even more than Spurgeon himself would have.
Something to be aware of: this book does emphasize Spurgeon’s Calvinistic views, perhaps even more than Spurgeon himself would have.
January 16, 2019
this was an a+ little book!! inspired me to learn more about Charles Spurgeon :)
July 24, 2020
“Charles grew up with the assumption that Christians should be friends in spite of differences of denomination” (10). I really love this! ❤️
August 11, 2021
Very boring and tritely written.
May 27, 2022
I love the subject of this book, however it is just a long account of his life, a little better than an encyclopedia entry. Straight history
May 3, 2023
Read this to my children for family reading time. It's a good intro to the life of Spurgeon. Not the best place, however, to get an accurate portrayal of his theology, but at least the author doesn't speak ill of his Calvinism.
June 3, 2014
I only skimmed the book, reading especially the first few pages and the last few pages, but that was enough to show me that the author was not in sympathy with some of the basic beliefs and convictions of her subject and did him a gross injustice. She maligned and disparaged things he loved and held dear. I don't even think she intellectually understood his theology, because some of the things she said were misleading or flat-out false. She likens Calvinism to "once saved always saved," a phrase that has been so abused as to be a poor distillation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
In another place she says that hyper Calvinists believe that Christ's atonement was limited because he only died for the elect. This is the third point of Calvinism and is not hyper Calvinism. She said that Spurgeon and Calvin, on the contrary, both believed that Christ died for all. That is flat-out wrong.
But worst of all is how she presents Spurgeon in the downgrade controversy. She quotes another as saying that Spurgeon "subjects his adversaries to the most varied and unseemly abuse...". She writes herself that Spurgeon "in his old age, it seems, was becoming less tolerant of other Christian bodies and more fundamentalist in his outlook... He was already, in his 50th year, feeling isolated from his own denomination, and seeing himself as the only upholder of Christian truth. This feeling was to grow stronger and stronger until it resulted, in his final years of life, and the downgrade controversy."
But the worst paragraph is this, "the narrowness of his outlook had blinded him to what the Downgraders were trying to do. It was not so much higher criticism that was at fault as the prevailing spirit of the age. This belief in the supernatural reached its height in the 1880s, and many ministers of the gospel found it an impossible task to preach Christianity on the basis of signs and wonders.... [Spurgeon's] ministry was largely to simple, uneducated people who were as yet untouched by the prevailing materialism. The gospel as the Puritans had written about it and understood it still had an appeal to them. But to an increasing number of people the language and thought forms of the Puritans was becoming unintelligible. Spurgeon accused his fellow ministers of preaching 'another gospel', but it was more a question of presentation than of content. Spurgeon's wish for a comprehensive doctrinal formula can never be fulfilled. How could he ever have expected mere words to contain the mysteries of incarnation and atonement without possibility of misunderstanding? The Baptists prefer to rest their faith on the unseen but living word; Spurgeon was relying too much on the rigidity of phrases and formulae."
She begins the last paragraph of the book in this way: "Spurgeon should be remembered not for his later years, clouded as they were by bitter controversy and failing health, but for his vigorous middle years, when he was loved by his church and respected by the Christian world at large."
The problem is that there are not too different Spurgeons. Spurgeon did not change. The world around him changed. That he refused to change with it is a virtue, not a fault.
I am indignant at this book. People are welcome to disagree with Spurgeon or anyone else, but they should be open that they are writing a critical biography instead of pretending to admire him while undermining some of the basic things he stood for and misrepresenting his beliefs. If you want to know what Kathy Triggs thinks of Spurgeon, then this is the book for you. But if you want to know what Spurgeon thought then read Spurgeon: A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore. I am sorry that Bethany House published this book in its men of Faith series. Spurgeon was a man of faith, but this author makes a mess of his faith.
In another place she says that hyper Calvinists believe that Christ's atonement was limited because he only died for the elect. This is the third point of Calvinism and is not hyper Calvinism. She said that Spurgeon and Calvin, on the contrary, both believed that Christ died for all. That is flat-out wrong.
But worst of all is how she presents Spurgeon in the downgrade controversy. She quotes another as saying that Spurgeon "subjects his adversaries to the most varied and unseemly abuse...". She writes herself that Spurgeon "in his old age, it seems, was becoming less tolerant of other Christian bodies and more fundamentalist in his outlook... He was already, in his 50th year, feeling isolated from his own denomination, and seeing himself as the only upholder of Christian truth. This feeling was to grow stronger and stronger until it resulted, in his final years of life, and the downgrade controversy."
But the worst paragraph is this, "the narrowness of his outlook had blinded him to what the Downgraders were trying to do. It was not so much higher criticism that was at fault as the prevailing spirit of the age. This belief in the supernatural reached its height in the 1880s, and many ministers of the gospel found it an impossible task to preach Christianity on the basis of signs and wonders.... [Spurgeon's] ministry was largely to simple, uneducated people who were as yet untouched by the prevailing materialism. The gospel as the Puritans had written about it and understood it still had an appeal to them. But to an increasing number of people the language and thought forms of the Puritans was becoming unintelligible. Spurgeon accused his fellow ministers of preaching 'another gospel', but it was more a question of presentation than of content. Spurgeon's wish for a comprehensive doctrinal formula can never be fulfilled. How could he ever have expected mere words to contain the mysteries of incarnation and atonement without possibility of misunderstanding? The Baptists prefer to rest their faith on the unseen but living word; Spurgeon was relying too much on the rigidity of phrases and formulae."
She begins the last paragraph of the book in this way: "Spurgeon should be remembered not for his later years, clouded as they were by bitter controversy and failing health, but for his vigorous middle years, when he was loved by his church and respected by the Christian world at large."
The problem is that there are not too different Spurgeons. Spurgeon did not change. The world around him changed. That he refused to change with it is a virtue, not a fault.
I am indignant at this book. People are welcome to disagree with Spurgeon or anyone else, but they should be open that they are writing a critical biography instead of pretending to admire him while undermining some of the basic things he stood for and misrepresenting his beliefs. If you want to know what Kathy Triggs thinks of Spurgeon, then this is the book for you. But if you want to know what Spurgeon thought then read Spurgeon: A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore. I am sorry that Bethany House published this book in its men of Faith series. Spurgeon was a man of faith, but this author makes a mess of his faith.
March 1, 2013
The Overview
This little book is a brief overview of the life of Charles Spurgeon. It's a great way to gain a general understanding of his life and ministry. I have heard so much about him and yet never really known anything about him. This biography helped me get to know the man behind the reputation.
The Readability
It's only 92 pages long and divided up into only 3 chapters. However, it's not what I consider an easy read. There are a lot of details covered in this short book and I found it a challenge to follow all the controversies addressed in side it's pages. That said, it is still a great little book if you just want to become generally familiar with this famous preacher.
The Highlights
For me the highlight was getting a general understanding of the life of Spurgeon and of his ministry. It is nice to have a short book that gives you a brief, yet thorough look into the life of someone, and this book did just that. It peaked my curiosity enough to want to read more about him.
The Downside
Like I previously mentioned, it wasn't a "fun" or necessarily "relaxing" read.
The Recommendation
Despite what I consider to be the downside, I still recommend this book. There is a lot to be learned from the life of another strong man of faith in Christ. However, it may not be the best read for a younger teen.
This little book is a brief overview of the life of Charles Spurgeon. It's a great way to gain a general understanding of his life and ministry. I have heard so much about him and yet never really known anything about him. This biography helped me get to know the man behind the reputation.
The Readability
It's only 92 pages long and divided up into only 3 chapters. However, it's not what I consider an easy read. There are a lot of details covered in this short book and I found it a challenge to follow all the controversies addressed in side it's pages. That said, it is still a great little book if you just want to become generally familiar with this famous preacher.
The Highlights
For me the highlight was getting a general understanding of the life of Spurgeon and of his ministry. It is nice to have a short book that gives you a brief, yet thorough look into the life of someone, and this book did just that. It peaked my curiosity enough to want to read more about him.
The Downside
Like I previously mentioned, it wasn't a "fun" or necessarily "relaxing" read.
The Recommendation
Despite what I consider to be the downside, I still recommend this book. There is a lot to be learned from the life of another strong man of faith in Christ. However, it may not be the best read for a younger teen.
April 9, 2008
Short and sweet account of the life of Charles Spurgeon. Some parts were not written in an engaging style, but on the whole, it was a good read. Spurgeon loved the Word and loved to preach. He had a good sense of humor but also stood firmly on truth. He also battled health problems. I saw similarities between Spurgeon and myself, except I don't smoke cigars!
November 16, 2013
“God is continuing to use this man to bring humans closer to Him.”
September 3, 2014
A simple overview of Spurgeon's life.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews