AS a young boy, growing up in the sixties I was, for a very short while, confused between Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader and Martin Luther, the 16th century Reformer, for whom he was named.
Similar confusing mistakes could arise, I suppose, with George Washington and George Washington Carver or George Washington Truett or Thomas Charles and Thomas Charles Edwards or even Adoniram Judson and Adoniram Judson Gordon.
Much more common, however, are confusions between eminent men who share either the same name or a very similar one.
It is not that uncommon, for instance to find people confusing the two Augustines, even though one died over 150 years after the other.
Aurelius Augustine of Hippo (354-430) is undoubtedly the more significant. After his conversion in his thirties from a worldly life as a teacher of rhetoric he became an eminent theologian and one of the greatest of the Church Fathers. His Confessions, City of God and other writings have rightly earned him a reputation as a great and holy man.
Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury (d c 604), also, understandably, has a special place in many an Englishman’s heart, especially if it is true that he thought the first Angles he saw looked like angels. The fact that he was the instrument that first brought the power of Rome to bear on these islands when Pope Gregory sent him here in 596 ought to restrain any Protestant enthusiasm for the man. Unlike Aurelius, this Augustine is not appreciated by both Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Another distinction to be remembered is that between Apollinaris, author of an Apology addressed to Marcus Aurelius in the second century (Apollinaris Claudius or Apollinaris of Hierapolis) and his contemporary Apollinaris of Ravenna martyr and first bishop of Ravenna. There was also, among others Apollinari(u)s of Laodicea (c 310- 390) who opposed Arianism but paved the way for Monophysitism and gives his own name to an ancient heresy, Apollinarianism.
The name Alexander is a popular one. At least eight Popes have borne the name and in earlier times there was also an Alexander (d 328) who was patriarch of Alexandria. His more famous young arch-deacon and successor was one Athanasius. There was also an Alexander Bishop of Jerusalem (d 251) who studied alongside Clement and Origen in Alexandria at the catechetical school. He set up a Christian library in Jerusalem, the first of its kind and so deserves to be remembered by all friends of The Evangelical Library. Also Alexander of Constantinople (c 240-340), one of 16 saints recognised by the Roman Catholic church whose name was Alexander.
An Alexander of Hales flourished 1185-1245 and is a lesser known schoolman who, like Aquinas, tried to harmonise Christianity with Aristotelianism. In more modern times there has been Archibald Alexander (1812-1851) of old Princeton and his not to be confused sons (The Bulletin did it once) Joseph Addison Alexander (1809-1860) and James Waddell Alexander (1804-1854).
In the world of hymns it is useful to distinguish between C F Alexander (1823-1895) and C M Alexander (1867-1920) not least because, despite appearances, Cecil Frances was a woman, the wife of the Archbishop of Armagh. Although Charles McCallon Alexander sang for Moody, he is better remembered as R A Torrey’s associate. Unlike the author of There is a Green Hill, All Things Bright and Once in Royal David’s City Charles was not a hymn writer but it is his collection (Alexander’s Hymns) that is still sometimes seen today.
Many Lutherans remain unknown outside their own circles. If you come across the name Agricola or Arndt do be careful to distinguish, firstly, between Luther's fellow Reformer Stephan Agricola (1491-1547) and Luther’s eventually estranged colleague Johann Agricola (c 1494-1566) and the Wittenberg student Michael Agricola (1510-1557) who translated the New Testament into Finnish. There was also a preacher called Adam Christian Agricola (1593-1645) and an earlier St Agricola (d 304) and St Agricola of Avignon (630-700).
A precursor of the pietistic movement Johann Arndt (155-1621) was a mystic, though outwardly conforming to Lutheran doctrine. A later Missouri Synod Lutheran by the name of William Frederick Arndt (1880-1957) is best known as F W Gingrich’s partner in the translation of and adaptation of Bauer’s Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.
This frst appeared in the Evangelical Library Bulletin (I have added one or two extras)
A precursor of the pietistic movement Johann Arndt (155-1621) was a mystic, though outwardly conforming to Lutheran doctrine. A later Missouri Synod Lutheran by the name of William Frederick Arndt (1880-1957) is best known as F W Gingrich’s partner in the translation of and adaptation of Bauer’s Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.
This frst appeared in the Evangelical Library Bulletin (I have added one or two extras)
