Welcome to five minutes in church history hosted by Dr Stephen Nichols, where we take a little

break from the present to go exploring the past. Travel back in time as we look at the people,

events, and even the places that have shaped the story of Christianity.

This is our story, our family history. Let's get started.

Chip Wreck,, A Castaway, A Story Full of Cannibals and Pirates, Robinson Crusoe.

This of course is the consummate adventure story. It was written by Daniel Defoe and published in 1719.

First, a little bit about Daniel Defoe. He's buried in Bun Hill Fields, which is that great cemetery in London for the Puritans.

It is the non-conformist cemetery.

Actually the portion where Daniel Defoe was buried was bombed out during World War II.

And it had to be moved, those graves had to be moved, and so there's this obelisk there commemorating the grave of Daniel Defoe.

But in 1719 he published his book, we know it simply as Robinson Crusoe.

The full title though is a bit more informative. The full title is The Life and

Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Of York, Mariner, who lived 8 and 20 years, all alone in an uninhabited island on the coast of America.

Near the mouth of the Great River, having been cast on shore by shipwreck wherein all the men perished but himself

with an account how he was at last strangely delivered by pirates and that's just

the title page as you keep reading you find this great story. You might

know the plot, but here's Robinson Crusoe sets sail from Hull in England in 1651 as the story has it. In fact some readers of this

tale were so taken by the narrative detail of Daniel Defoe they thought for sure this was a true story and that

the foe was just simply recounting a true story from diaries he had found.

But no, he made it all up, and so he has Robinson Crusoe and his ship wrecked and he's washed ashore on his island and he spends 28 years there.

What's fascinating to me though in the story is the story of Robinson Crusoe's conversion.

Early on while he's on the island we begin to see some glimpses of his awareness of God.

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