Timeless Christians

White, Henry Kirke

Henry Kirke White died when he was just 21, and would not be remembered at all except for two things: he experienced a dramatic conversion out of deism into Christianity and described in a poem how he learned to fix his eyes on "The Star of Bethlehem."

White was born in Nottingham, England, March 21, 1785. Early in life he showed a remarkable love for books and a talent for composition. His oldest sister later said, "I see him in his little chair with a large book upon his knee, and my mother calling, 'Henry, my love, come to dinner,' which was repeated so often without being regarded, that she was obliged to change the tone of her voice before she could rouse him." At seven he taught one servant to read, and about that same time recorded the oral history of another. But his parents were poor, and he was compelled to weave stockings, despite his plea that it was misery for him to straitjacket his mind in this way.

His parents finally placed him in a law office, and that apprenticeship delighted him. On the way to and from work he made good use of his time by studying Greek. So eager was he to learn and to make a mark in the world that he even studied during meal times: Law, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, chemistry, astronomy, electricity, drawing, music, and mechanics. His reading made his mind chaotic and filled him with doubts about Christianity. He adopted deistic opinions. Deists believe God created the universe and then left it to itself; they deny the divinity of Christ.

A deist friend became a Christian and placed Scott's Force of Truth in White's hands. After reading it, White's anguish of mind became awful and he begged his friend to kneel and pray with him. In 1801 he became a Christian and immediately determined to study for the ministry. He blessed his friend for opening his eyes to the truth, and tried to put his ambition behind him. "I now turn my eyes to Jesus, my Savior, my atonement, with hope and confidence...what can I do less than dedicate my whole life to his service?"

He had prepared a volume of poems and published these in 1803. Reviewers panned them; the well-known poet Robert Southey, however, wrote him a letter of encouragement.

Through the kindness of his employers and some friends, White got into St. John's College, Cambridge in 1805. Again he studied for exhausting hours. His body began to show signs of consumption. He wrote a friend that "a very slight overstretch of the mind in the daytime occasions me not only a sleepless night, but a night of gloom and horror." He experienced much coughing and fever. As his health worsened he became more concerned for his family's salvation. "I shall be glad to moor all my family in the harbor of religious trust, and in the calm seas of religious peace."

He died the next year, 1806. Several of his poems became hymns, the best-known being "Oft in Danger, Oft in Woe." His great longing had been for fame, but the only fame he obtained is in his connection with Christ.

by Dan Graves