130. TESTIMONIES OF FAITH
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Only "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps.14:1.)
1. MICHELANGELO, ITALIAN SCULPTOR, PAINTER, ARCHITECT & poet, 1475-1564: "I die for the faith of Jesus Christ, & in the firm hope of a better life."
2. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, ENGLISH POET, DRAMATIST & ACTOR, 1564-1616: "I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping & assuredly believing, through the merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."
3. JOHANNES KEPLER, GERMAN ASTRONOMER, known for his three laws of planetary action, 1571-1630: "Let my name perish if only the name of God the Father is thereby elevated."
4. ROBERT BOYLE, IRISH PHYSICIST & CHEMIST, called "the father of chemistry", 1627-1691: Boyle read the Bible every morning throughout his life, & "did his utmost to defend & uphold the great doctrines of the Scripture". He financed & distributed thousands of copies of a new Irish translation of the Bible.
5. SIR ISAAC NEWTON, ENGLISH SCIENTIST who formulated the laws of gravitation & motion, 1642-1727: Newton's achievements in science are very well known, but it is not so well known that he spent more time studying the Bible than studying the stars. "There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history. All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer. I can take my telescope & look millions of miles into space; but I can go away to my room & in prayer get nearer to God & Heaven than I can when assisted by all the telescopes of Earth."
6. IMMANUEL KANT, GERMAN PHILOSOPHER, 1724-1804: "The existence of the Bible as a book for the people is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity."
7. WILLIAM COWPER, ENGLISH POET, 1731-1800: "What various hindrances we meet in coming to the mercy seat! Yet who that knows the worth of prayer but wishes to be often there."
8. GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1st US PRESIDENT, 1732-1799: "It is impossible to rightly govern the World without God & the Bible."
9. JOHN ADAMS, 2nd PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A., 1735-1826: "The Bible contains more philosophy than all the libraries that I have ever seen, & such parts as I cannot reconcile with my little philosophy, I postpone for future investigation."
10. PATRICK HENRY, AMERICAN PATRIOT & radical leader, 1736-1799: "The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed."
11. SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL, GERMAN-BORN ASTRONOMER, discoverer of the planet Uranus, 1738-1822: "All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more & more strongly the truth contained in the Sacred Scriptures."
12. JOHN BACON, ENGLISH SCULPTOR, 1740-1799: " What I was as an artist seemed to me of some importance while I lived; what I really was, as a believer in Christ Jesus, is the only thing of importance to me now that I am dying."
13. THOMAS JEFFERSON, 3rd PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A., 1743-1826: "I have always said that a studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make you better citizens, better fathers & better husbands."
14. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, GERMAN POET, 1749-1832: "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in ever greater extent & depth, & the human mind widen itself as much as it desires!--Beyond the elevation & moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go."
15. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, AMERICAN STATESMAN, 1757-1804: "I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, & if I were sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor."
16. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 6th PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A.., 1767-1848: "The first & almost only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the World. So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country & respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year."
17. ANDREW JACKSON, AMERICAN SOLDIER & STATESMAN, 7th President of the U.S.A., 1767-1845: "That Book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests."
18. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, EMPEROR OF FRANCE for 10 years, conquered large parts of Europe, 1769-1821: "The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it. ...Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne & I myself have founded empires, but upon what do these creations of our genius depend?--Upon force! Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, & to this very day millions would die for Him."
19. WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, ENGLISH POET LAUREATE, 1770-1850:
Oh! There is never sorrow of heart
That shall lack a timely end,
If but to God we turn, & ask
Of Him to be our friend!
20. SIR WALTER SCOTT, SCOTTISH NOVELIST, POET, 1771-1832:
Within this ample Volume lies
The mystery of mysteries.
Happiest they of human race
To whom their God has given grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the latch, to force the way;
But better had they ne'er been born
That read to doubt or read to scorn.
21. DANIEL WEBSTER, AMERICAN ORATOR, SECRETARY OF STATE for 3 US Presidents, 1782-1852: "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering & to prosper, but if we & our posterity neglect its instructions & authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us & bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
22. ZACHARY TAYLOR, 12th PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A., 1784-1850: "It was for the love of the truths of this great & good Book that our fathers abandoned their native shores for the wilderness."
23. MICHAEL FARADAY, ENGLISH SCIENTIST, called the greatest of experimental physicists, 1791-1867: When Faraday was questioned on his speculations of a life after death, he replied: "Speculations! I know nothing about speculations. I'm resting on certainties. I know that my Redeemer liveth, & because He lives, I shall live also." From the age of 50 he was a regular preacher. "His object seemed to be to make the most of the words of Scripture", was the comment of one who heard him.
24. SAMUEL F.B. MORSE, INVENTED THE MORSE CODE, 1791-1872: The first message ever sent in this code on the new line from Baltimore to Washington was four words from the Bible: "What hath God wrought!" Sam Morse wrote to his brother, "It is His work, & He alone could have carried me thus far through all my trials."
25. THOMAS MacCAULEY, ENGLISH HISTORIAN, 1800-1859: "The English Bible, a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power."
26. WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, US SECRETARY OF STATE, 1801-1872: "The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the Bible."
27. RALPH WALDO EMERSON, AMERICAN WRITER & PHILOSOPHER, 1803-1882: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen."
28. ROBERT E. LEE, AMERICAN GENERAL, commander of Southern forces in the US Civil War, 1807-1870: "In all my perplexities & distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light & strength."
29. ALFRED LORD TENNYSON, ENGLISH POET LAUREATE, 1809-1892: "Bible reading is an education in itself."
30. WILLIAM GLADSTONE, PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND, 1809-1898: "All that I think, all that I hope, all that I write, all that I live for, is based upon the divinity of Jesus Christ, the central joy of my poor, wayward life. I have known 95 of the World's greatest men in my time, & of these, 87 were followers of the Bible."
31. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 16th AMERICAN PRESIDENT, 1809-1865: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the World is communicated to us through this book."
"I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason, & the balance by faith, & you will live & die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man."
32. SIR JAMES SIMPSON, SCOTTISH, PIONEER IN OBSTETRICS & discoverer of chloroform, 1811-1870: When asked at a great public meeting what his greatest discovery had been, he replied without hesitation: "That I have a Saviour."
33. HORACE GREELEY, PROMINENT AMERICAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR & publisher, 1811-1872: "It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."
34. ROBERT BROWNING, ENGLISH POET, 1812-1889.
The work began when your first prayer was uttered.
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.
35. CHARLES DICKENS, ENGLISH NOVELIST, 1812-1870: "The New Testament is the very best book that was or ever will be known in the World."
36. SOREN KIERKEGAARD, DANISH PHILOSOPHER, 1813-1855: "The tyrant dies & his rule ends, the martyr dies & his rule begins."
37. CHARLES DANA, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR of New York Tribune, & New York Sun, 1819-1897: "The grand old Book still stands, & this old Earth, the more its leaves are turned & pondered, the more it will sustain & illustrate the pages of the Sacred Word."
38. JOHN RUSKIN, ENGLISH WRITER, 1819-1900: "Whatever merit there is in anything that I have written is simply due to the fact that when I was a child my mother daily read me a part of the Bible & daily made me learn a part of it by heart."
39. QUEEN VICTORIA, QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN, 1819-1901: "That Book accounts for the supremacy of England. England has become great & happy by the knowledge of the true God through Jesus Christ."
40. ULYSSES S. GRANT, AMERICAN GENERAL, 18TH PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A., 1822-1885: "To the influence of the Book we are indebted for the progress made in civilisation, & to this we must look as our guide in the future. The Bible is the sheet-anchor of our liberties."
41. LORD KELVIN, BRITISH INVENTOR, known for the absolute scale of temperature, first transatlantic telegraph cable & helping to formulate the 2nd law of thermodynamics, 1824-1907: "The commencement of life upon Earth certainly did not take place by any action of chemistry or electricity or crystalline grouping of molecules. We must pause, face to face with the mystery & miracle of the Creation of living creatures."
42. THOMAS HUXLEY, ENGLISH BIOLOGIST, 1825-1895: "The Bible has been the Magna Carta of the poor & oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it."
43. LEO TOLSTOY, RUSSIAN NOVELIST & PHILOSOPHER, 1828-1910: Many consider him to be one of the World's greatest writers. He wrote "War & Peace". "To understand the whole work of the Master is not in my power; but to do His will, written in my conscience, that is in my power, & that I know without a doubt. And when I do this, then undoubtedly I am at peace."
44. JAMES CLERK MAXWELL, SCOTTISH SCIENTIFIC GENIUS, predicted the existence of radio waves long before their discovery, 1831-1879: "No theory of evolution can be formed to account for the similarity of molecules...Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter itself out of nothing." He maintained to the end his firm faith in the Bible, "deep humility before God, reverent submission to His will, & hearty belief in the love & atonement of the Divine Savior."
45. MARK TWAIN, AMERICAN AUTHOR, 1835-1910: "It is hard to make a choice of the most beautiful passage in a Book which is as gemmed with beautiful passages as the Bible."
46. DWIGHT L. MOODY, AMERICAN EVANGELIST, 1837-1899: "I would doubt my existence as quickly as I would doubt the truth of that Book."
47. SIR AMBROSE FLEMING, ENGLISH INVENTOR 1849-1948. He was a leader in the development of electric lighting, the telephone, & wireless telegraphy in England & inventor of the first electron tube. "There is abundant evidence that the Bible, though written by men, is not the product of the human mind. By countless multitudes it has always been revered as a communication to us from the Creator of the Universe."
48. HENRY VAN DYKE, AMERICAN CLERGYMAN & WRITER, 1852-1933: "Born in the East & clothed in Oriental form & imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the World with familiar feet & enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. Children listen to its stories with wonder & delight, & wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked & the proud tremble at its warning, but to the wounded & penitent it has a mother's voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams, so that Love, Friendship, Sympathy, Devotion, Memory, Hope, put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens, & the trembling pilgrim comes to the Valley of the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter, he takes the rod & staff of Scripture in his hand, he says to friend & comrade, `Good-bye. We shall meet again.' And comforted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness into light."
49. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 26th PRESIDENT of the U.S.A., 1858-1919: "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education. Almost every man who has by his lifework added to the sum of human achievement...has based his lifework largely upon the teachings of the Bible."
50. WOODROW WILSON, 28th PRESIDENT of the U.S.A., held office during WW1, 1856-1924: "A man has deprived himself of the best there is in the World who has deprived himself of a knowledge of the Bible."
51. GENERAL PERSHING, COMMANDER OF AMERICAN FORCES IN WW1, 1860-1948: "I have known Jesus Christ now for 47 years, & I could not face life without Him. I commend such a Savior to you."
52. GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER, AMERICAN NEGRO SCIENTIST who won international fame for agricultural research, 1864-1943: Carver spent much time in prayer, & his faith & prayer, rather than his microscope, made him a success. For each problem & each discovery he spent much time praying & waiting on the Lord for results. When friends & other great men of the World came to visit, he would explain to them the Scriptures & give his own testimony of his love for the Lord.
53. DR. ROBERT A. MILLIKAN, AMERICAN NUCLEAR PHYSICIST & Nobel Prize winner, 1868-1953: "Just as behind this watch there had to be a watchmaker, so behind the intricate precision & timing of this great Universe there had to be a Great Creator or Designer!"
54. HERBERT HOOVER, 31st PRESIDENT of the U.S.A., 1874-1964: "There is no other book so various as the Bible, nor one so full of concentrated wisdom. Whether it be of law, business, morals etc...he who seeks for guidance...may look inside its covers & find illumination."
55. J.C. PENNY, U.S. MERCHANT, MILLIONAIRE, 1875-1971: "I would rather be known as a Christian than a merchant."
56. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, 32nd PRESIDENT of the U.S.A., 1882-1945: "The influence of the Scriptures in the early days of the Republic is plainly revealed in the writing & thinking of the men who made the nation possible...They found in the Scriptures that which shaped their course & determined their cause."
57. GEORGE S. PATTON, GENERAL OF 3rd U.S. ARMY IN EUROPE IN WWII, 1885-1945: "Yes, I read the Bible--every God-damned day!"
58. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, 34th PRESIDENT of the U.S.A., 1890-1969: "To read the Bible is to take a trip to a fair land where the spirit is strengthened & faith renewed."
59. DOUGLAS MacARTHUR, FIVE-STAR GENERAL IN WWII, 1900-1964: "Believe me, sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed."
60. CHIEF DAN GEORGE, CANADIAN INDIAN CHIEF & film director, 1910-?: "When the White man came we had the land & they had the Bibles, now they have the land & we have the Bibles."
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