Christian Biographies

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Christian biographies are a great way to see how church history has worked out in the lives of men and women called by God. We may or may not live in perilous times (though as Gandalf says, "that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.") but whether we read of the scholar or the martyr or the warrior or the minister or the wife or child who lived for Jesus these stories are compelling and inspirational for many.

What are some of your favorite Christian biographies?

 

[Plimoth Thom]

John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father - Francis J. Bremer

Jonathan Edwards: A Life - George Marsden

autobiographies

The Confessions - Aurelius Augustine

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - John Bunyan

The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration
of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson - Mary Rowlandson

 

[Bryan]

Christian Leaders of the 18th Century by Ryle

Bryan
SDG

 

[Pilgrim]

Originally posted by Bryan
Christian Leaders of the 18th Century by Ryle

Bryan
SDG

I haven't read that many biographies, but the best among those I've read are the following:

Iain Murray's 2 vol. biography of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Murray's Life of Arthur W. Pink
Arthur Dallimore Life of Edward Irving and Spurgeon, A New Biography

John Newton's autobiography (Can't remember the title offhand)
John Bunyan Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
Augustine Confessions

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Some of mine include:

Memoirs of Thomas Boston
The Life of John Murray by Iain H. Murray
Van Til: Defender of the Faith by William White, Jr.
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
No King But Christ: The Story of Donald Cargill by Maurice Grant
Lion of the Covenant: The Story of Richard Cameron by Maurice Grant
The Life & Campaigns of Lt. Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson by R.L. Dabney
The Life and Letters of Robert Lewis Dabney by Thomas C. Johnson
The Life and Letters of James Henley Thornwell by B.M. Palmer
The Life Work of John L. Girardeau by George A. Blackburn
The Confessions of St. Augustine
Memoirs of a Huguenot Family by James Fontaine
Scots Worthies by John Howie
Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves

 

[cupotea]

Scots Worthies by John Howie

That one's got my vote. But I haven't read too many other biographies. I'm going to have to copy and print out some of the suggestions found here and get some of them. (After all, my Library Fund is replenished for 2006!)

 

[RamistThomist]

The Life & Campaigns of Lt. Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson by R.L. Dabney
The Life and Letters of Robert Lewis Dabney by Thomas C. Johnson
The Life and Letters of James Henley Thornwell by B.M. Palmer
Scots Worthies by John Howie
Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves

 

[RamistThomist]

Originally posted by Draught Horse
The Life & Campaigns of Lt. Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson by R.L. Dabney
The Life and Letters of Robert Lewis Dabney by Thomas C. Johnson
The Life and Letters of James Henley Thornwell by B.M. Palmer
Scots Worthies by John Howie
Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves

The bio of Stonewall Jackson is rightly called a classic. Describes the theology and politics (can the two ever be separated? No) of the second greatest American to ever live (the first being Patrick Henry).

The Dabney bio is an out of print classic. Good luck finding it cheap. Same for Thornwell.

Scots Worthies is fascinating. Both it and Fair Sunshine show you how "genteel" functionally secular societies really are. Find the last words and Prayer of Richard Cameron to prove my point. Stirring!

On a more theological note, I found the first volume of Lloyd-Jones' life to be exeptionall. The second one was good, but I particularly loved the first one.

 

[Ivan]

I enjoyed Spurgeon's autobiogrhapy.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Dallimore's 2 vol Whitefield biography is my favorite... remarkably well done!

 

[MICWARFIELD]

This is Luther - by Ewald M. Plass is a good one. Has anyone else read it?