World Famous Comics: A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall
A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall
By: Catherine Marshall Publisher: Chosen Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Format: Special Edition Label: Chosen Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: January 01, 2002
Product Description: In the Preface to A Man Called Peter, Catherine Marshall tells of a dream she had after Peter Marshall's death: Peter was working in a rose garden and said playfully, "I know perfectly well what you've been doing, Catherine. You're writing a book. . . . It's all right, Kate. Go ahead and write it. Tell it all, if it will prove to people that a man can love the Lord and not be a sissy. . . ." Filled with wonderful humor, wisdom, and loving detail, the powerful story of Peter Marshall's life has touched the hearts and minds of millions of people. It is a book about love--the love between a dynamic man and his God, and the tender, romantic love between a man and the woman he married. It is also the gripping adventure of a poor Scottish immigrant who became Chaplain of the United States Senate and one of the most revered men in America. Through Peter's story and the powerful sermons and prayers included in this paperback edition, readers will discover insight into God, man, and life on earth and hereafter. They will also be encouraged by the realization that if God can do so much for a man called Peter, he can do as much for them.
A Man Called Peter The language is eloquent and so much different than the writing today. That alone sets it apart. As for the content, it is very moving and humorous. A great story-one not to be forgotten.
Even the Great Have Doubts Sometimes. Peter Marshall was a man of God and yet he contemplated suicide in the play, "A Man Called Peter," based on this book. One of the school plays during the year I took Dramatics class and we were able to watch rehearsals. He was an inspiration to all who knew him. Some of his sparkling observations in our country are expressed here where he had a great ministry as minister to the presidents (before Billy Graham), he began in Birmingham, Alabama, as a newspaper reporter. He believed that each of us is responsible for helping our Christian brothers and sisters, especially the weaker ones.
In one of his soul-searching, gut-wrenching sermons, he compared America to his native Scotland: "We have in the United States today a higher standard of living than in any other country, or at any other time in the world's history. We have more automobiles, more picture shows (movies), more telephones, more money, more swing bands, more radios, more television sets, more night clubs, more crime, and more divorce than any other nation in the world." In another, this truism based on Jesus' teachings" God speaks through our circumstances and guides us, closing doors as well as in opening them." All things work together for good for those who love God. The promises of God found in the Bible can give us hope, but many times we do not claim them as our own until we face a crisis.
Andrew was chosen to be the Patron Saint of Scotland, and Saint Andrew's cross, a diaganol white cross on a blue ground, is the foundation on which St. George's cross of England and St. Patrick's cross of Ireland were laid to make the Union Jack. Alec, my youngest (son of the oldest son) was born on March 17 and reportedly looks just like Geoffrey (named after Chaucer). "A tired-ooout rail splitter, crouched over his tattered books, by candlelight at the day's end, preparing for his future, instead of snoring or sky-larking like his co-laborers, Abraham Lincoln cut out his path to later immortality in his spare time. Georgia Sharpe, an admirer of Peter Marshall, wrote: "A stranger entered a church during the sermon and took a seat in the back row. After a while, he leaned forward and asked the elderly man in front of him, "How long hs he been preaching?" "For about forty years, I think," the man replied. "I'll stay then," said the stranger;" he must be almost finished.
Peter Marshall left behind just such home-spun philosophy in his teaching and ministering to the members of government at First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. and a wonderful wife who shared (as did JoNell Allen) her husband's sermons with the public.
A Story About One of My Heros... Dr. Peter Marshall's story about his rough childhood with the endless desire to go to sea, his eventual immigration to America after the LORD's calling him into the ministry, his seminary education, his marriage to Catherine Marshall (then Catherine Wood), his pastorate at N.Y. Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., the birth of his son Peter John Marshall, his appointment to the position of Chaplain to the U.S. Senate, and his tragic death in 1949, are all wonderfully brought to life in this amazing biography of one of America's greatest preachers. Catherine Marshall has been a blessing to my life and has brought me closer to Christ through her many Christian books. Dr. Marshall himself has allowed me to probe deeper into the meaning of salvation by faith alone and his audio tape entitled "Can You be Wrong?" available at Peter Marshall Ministries - have been instruments used by God in the event of the salvation of many. His sermons included at the end of this book, especially the one entitled, "The American Dream", has been especially pertinent to issues that still exist in the USA today, and served as my Speech and Debate piece as a high school senior. Although Dr. Marshall was more of a story teller, rather than an exegetical minister, his sermons are up there with Dr. John MacArthur and other ministers who I love and trust. I would recommend this biography over the biographies of any other minister I have read to date. If the LORD had this much in mind for a poor Scottish immigrant with nine and a half dollars in his old brown wallet when he arrived at Ellis Island almost 90 years ago...imagine what he could have in store for you and me!
Peter Marshall I have both the movie and the book. I saw the movie when I was a child and it made an impression on me. I never forgot it. I have a grandson who is becoming a minister and I wanted him to see the movie. I haven't read the book yet, but I will soon. I feel sure it is better than the movie. I believe Peter Marshall was an outstanding minister and we can learn a lot from him. I am now 60 years old. This man has touched many lives over the years even since he died. I also have the book of his sermons. Catherine Marshall has kept his memory going and she is an awesome writer.
The Tale of a Modern Apostle As someone related to those who have served in the clergy, I found Catherine Marshall's ardent tribute to her late husband, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall particularly heartwarming and inspiring. As her husband (who became affectinately known as "Twittering-Birds Marshall" because of the flowery phrasing he gave to his wonderful sermons) painted vivid imagery with the parables he told, she paints a vivid image of his all-too-brief life. Through her words, we see the winsome Scottish lad who suffers the tragic loss of his father at age four, whose hardscrabble experiences and humble beginnings would lead him to have great compassion for others in similar circumstances, the spiritual depth he developed on the occassions when his Inner Voice saved him from accidental death, the inspiration he received from fellow Scottish churchman Eric Liddell, his Scottish wit, and fun-loving style. He was a man I feel I would have liked, as did many, and had he lived a few more years, he might have been highly instrumental in the struggle for Civil Rights, judging from the deferrence he gave to the writings of African American men of faith, James Weldon Johnson, and George Washington Carver, and his expressed concern for underpriviledged minorities. His sermon, "The American Dream", is still very timely in the modern world. Readers follow him through his immigration to the United States, his entrance into the clergy, his meeting of Catherine, the difficulty of finding time to spend with her due to mounting ministerial duties, his marriage, his camaraderie with other ministers, the high emotion of embracing U.S. Citizenship, the use of his sharp sense of humor to win people over to Christ, his enthusiasm for board games, sports, life itself, and also his great love for his family and humanity in general. I can hear the melodic trill of his brogue when his quotes appear in the story as his wife recaptures the rhythm of his speech patterns, and each chapter is headed with appropriate Biblical verses that summarize their contents. Dr. Marshall was nonimated as Senate Chaplain while serving in the church where Abraham Lincoln once worshipped, and upon his election became a much-loved confidant of Senators on both sides of the aisle. Michigan Senator, Arthur Vandenberg (who himself passed away around the time of this book's publication in 1951), affectionately called him, "Dominie", the Dutch word for "Parson". We share the couple's delight at the birth of their son, "Wee Peter" in the years prior to Dr. Marshall's rise to the Chaplaincy of the Senate, the challenges to their faith brought on by Catherine's bout with tuberculosis, and Peter's heart trouble, and see how much prayer meant in their lives at such time. We also see how Peter's illness inspired others to pray. But we are also made aware that not everyone admired the Marshalls and that the Good Reverend was subjected to anti-immigrant backlash as well as misinterpretations of the meaning of his sermons. He had his moments of self-doubt, as does everyone. Dr. Marshall's instinctiveness in changing his sermon for the graduating class of the Annapolis Naval Academy, which he gave just hours before the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor is formidable, and through his warm, consoling mannerisms, Christ became warm and alive in the hearts and minds of many. Through Marshall's example, many lives were changed for the better. We also see how this spiritually attuned couple helped produce some of Peter's best sermons in joint ventures that made their life's pilgrimage a real partnership. Five days after his attendance of President Truman's second inaguration, this fine representative of Christ on Earth was lost to the world. But his sweetness, and love for his wife were evident until the very end. As he passed from this life, the Holy Spirit gave Catherine the strenghth to carry on with her life, and to console others. As she worked on her late husband's story, he appeared to her in a dream, providing encouragement, but still letting that sparkling Scottish wit shine through, perhaps more eminently, in the afterlife. The last words he spoke to her, "See you in the morning", would carry her through the years.--Through the acclaim of this biography, the 1955 film of the same name in which Richard Todd gave an adorable performance as Peter, an eventual second marriage, the entrance of her son into the Presbyterian ministry, her own success with the novel, "Christy" and other religious literature, and eventually, her own undoubtably happy reunion with Peter in March, 1983. Her son honors the rich spiritual legacy of his parents by continuing the family tradition. As did his own father, Peter John Marshall lost his father in childhood, and perhaps strives to know him by following in his footsteps. Perhaps he knows the Senate Chaplain who was his father better than the elder Dr. Marshall knew his father through the availability of the Senate Chaplain's recorded sermons and writings. Christ said"...Whosover liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"--John 11:25, 26 As the life of Dr. Marshall continues to inspire many all these years later, I'll say that I do.