Thousands of followers of the Christian faith appear in the world every day. She simply cannot but have great adherents who develop religious thought and give hope to those who have lost it through her books. Their works play a fundamental role not only in the history of Christianity. And often these people are well educated. One such person is Andrew Murray. This is a writer and missionary from South Africa.
Andrew Murray Biography
He was born on May 9, 1928 in the city of Graff-Reinet, South Africa. This city is also one of the largest in South Africa. Murray's father was a missionary in the Dutch Reformed Church. His family arrived in Africa from Scotland with a missionary purpose. His mother had ancestors of different views and nations: the French Huguenots and German Lutherans. In addition to Andrew, the family had an older son.
Father wanted to see Murray as the continuation of his work, which the son did not resist. And so he went with his elder brother to Aberdeen (a city in Scotland). Already in 1845 he completed his studies. But almost immediately after that, Andrew, like his brother, continued to study in the Netherlands, in the city of Utrecht. There he mastered the art of theology.
On May 9, 1848 in The Hague, Andrew Murray and his brother were ordained priests. After this, the younger brother returned to South Africa to spread the Protestant faith there. In July 1856, Murray married Emma Rutherford. In marriage, she bore him eight children.
Preached at Bloemfontein, Worcester, Cape Town and Wellington as pastor.
Achievements
It is difficult to find such clergymen so devoted to their work. During his life, Murray wrote 240 works on religious subjects. He was also one of the founders of the South African Religious Mission. Andrew Murray is still considered one of the key figures in the history of Christianity in the South African region.
Ideas
Murray regarded communication with God as the cornerstone of human life. The criteria for happiness, he considered the ability to rejoice, to love communication and to be humble.
In Christianity there are many branches that have differences in fundamental issues: a calendar, attributes of faith, interpretation of scriptures, prayers, etc. In total there are three large branches into which Christianity is divided: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism. Andrew Murray belonged to the Protestant faith, which also has many branches. One of them is Rivevelism, to which Murray referred himself.
The main aspect of the religious life of Andrew can be called the experiences that arise during a personal meeting with God (subjective religious experience). The emphasis in the sermons was often placed on the second coming of Jesus Christ.
A feature of RV is that for a long time it did not have the proper structure. The role of preachers spreading this idea was played by many leaders who were not connected. That was Murray. Since 1860, he began to spread this belief, observing all its canons.
Andrew Murray and Humility
Over the course of his life, he has written several fundamental works, one of which is his book Humility. It talks about how this helps to cope with the difficulties of everyday life, and also answers questions about how to come to the joy of love and be persistent through humility. Murray emphasizes that without humility it is impossible to be in the presence of God, that it makes a person stronger, it allows God to make a person better. Humility is the root of perseverance, strength. It is with him that everything should begin. In this book, Murray also reflects on the benefits of goodness that happens to a person from interacting with God.
Other works
André Murray left behind a rich legacy in the form of many works. All of them were aimed at helping a person gain faith in God, point out the benefits of the Christian faith. The emphasis was also on interaction with the Almighty.
An important role was played by the book “The Experience of the Holy Spirit”, which tells how the holy spirit can help a person understand all the charms of the Christian faith. Murray does not forget to touch upon the fact that only true faith can radically change a person. The books of Andrew Murray to this day serve as excellent literature helping to rekindle the religious fervor in the heart of the reader.