By Ian Wilson (Rated G)
An obscure man from an obscure parish who was content to be forgotten, John Ball was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire, in October 1585. Not much is known about him before he entered Brasenose College, Oxford in 1602. There he received a good education, and later became the family tutor of Lady Cholmondeley in Cheshire. While working as a tutor, he had a spiritual experience of some nature and became converted to the Puritan way.
Ball was then ordained a priest in the Church of England 1610, though he was not in agreement with many of her practices. He was a man of deep conviction and was greatly distressed by the troubles of his day. Therefore, he and his companions would often spend days in prayer and fasting for his nation and the world. This eventually got him into trouble with church officials, when it was discovered he and his friends were fasting on the Feast of Ascension. John Ball was then arrested and imprisoned. He was later released only to be arrested once again.
He spent much of his life being harassed by bishops who despised his nonconformist ways. He would not back down, however. He was faithful to his convictions until his death in 1640. He was greatly praised by his contemporaries in the Puritan movement, and his writings have contributed greatly to Calvinist thought since then.
May we, like John Ball, have the courage of our convictions.
LogoSophia Magazine 