Some people see the Church of England as in crisis at the present time. Perhaps lessons from great men of the past need to be heeded.
John Charles Ryle was born on May 10 1816 at Park House, Macclesfield. His father was a banker with an income of £15,000 a year, and he grew up in an environment of privilege and prosperity, but spiritually there was little evidence of vital Christianity. In recalling these early days, he concluded that they were 'destitute of any real religion'.
From a preparatory school he was sent to Eton in 1828. Here he mixed with the sons of the rich and famous, and excelled at study and sport. In 1834 his outstanding academic ability gained him a place at Christ Church Oxford, where he captained the university cricket team and continued his academic progress. The young Ryle was a man of great intellectual and physical stature, and his presence (he was over six feet two inches tall), commanded respect. He was regarded as one of the three most outstanding students in his college. The future looked bright, but he had no knowledge of Christ as his Saviour, and Oxford was a place where pleasures, position and possessions were all that really mattered. But before that year had come to a close, Ryle's life was to be spiritually transformed.
