By the time he was an adult, Spurgeon read an average of six books a week and was well–read in Puritan theology, natural history, and Latin and Victorian literature.
#Charles spurgeon archive#
In his autobiography, posted on the Spurgeon Archive website, Spurgeon described the impact reading had on him: "Out of that darkened room I fetched those old authors when I was yet a youth, and never was I happier than when in their company." This fondness for books lasted a lifetime. In the attic, Spurgeon fell in love with reading. Reading them provided Spurgeon with a solid theological background. The attic also contained books on Scriptural theology and Christian martyrs. Over the course of his lifetime, Spurgeon read the book more than 100 times. Spurgeon particularly loved Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, a Puritan who had been jailed for his beliefs. The Puritans were sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestants who wanted the Church of England to be stricter in its morals. In this dark, little space, Spurgeon discovered countless books and fell in love with Puritan theology.
#Charles spurgeon windows#
Upon one day that had once served as the minister's den before the windows were covered up. His favorite getaway was in the attic, in a secret little room he stumbled These memorized hymns turned up in his sermons years later.Īs a youngster, Spurgeon spent a lot of time exploring his grandfather's parsonage and church and found several secret places to hide and escape from life. Spurgeon was so good she reduced the fee to a half–penny and he still emptied her purse. Spurgeon's grandmother also influenced his religious studies by offering him a penny for each Isaac Watts hymn he could memorize. Years later, Spurgeon's picture and profile appeared in the publication.Īfter six years, Spurgeon returned to his family in Colchester, though he continued to spend long holidays with his grandparents.
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![charles spurgeon charles spurgeon](http://www.tracts.ukgo.com/images/spurgeon.png)
In an effort to keep Spurgeon occupied so he would not interrupt his grandfather, he was given a copy of The Evangelical Magazine to read. No doubt, this practice helped Spurgeon become well–acquainted with the Christian gospels.
![charles spurgeon charles spurgeon](https://ctd-thechristianpost.netdna-ssl.com/en/full/30972/spurgeon.jpg)
On Sunday mornings, Spurgeon was put in the parlor with his grandfather as he prepared his sermon. He looked upon the blacked–out windows and darkened rooms with awe. As a child, Spurgeon could not understand why the light of the sun was being taxed. Spurgeon grew up in the Stambourne parsonage during a time when England had a "window" tax, whereby homes were taxed by the number of windows they had, the theory being that more expensive houses had more windows. His grandfather, James Spurgeon, was a popular preacher, who served a congregation in Stambourne for more than 50 years. Due to financial constraints, Spurgeon went to live with his grandparents in Stambourne when he was about 18 months old. John and Eliza Spurgeon had 17 children, eight of whom survived infancy. Spurgeon's father was a minister, who served independent congregations in the area. Before he was a year old, the family moved to Colchester. Born to Family of MinistersĬharles Haddon Spurgeon was born June 19, 1834, in a small cottage in Kelvedon, Essex, England, to John and Eliza (Jarvis) Spurgeon. He has more material available to readers than any other Christian author, dead or alive. In the history of Christianity, no other cleric is more widely read-after Biblical ones-than Spurgeon. With no formal theological training, British Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892) became the most popular minister of the nineteenth century, regularly attracting crowds of 6,000 each Sunday to his London – based Metropolitan Tabernacle church.