Earl of Shaftesbury

The Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885)
Shaftesbury was a fascinating character who combined an utter commitment to the evangelical gospel of Jesus with a passionate concern for the poor.
He was converted after entering Parliament in 1826. He was deeply influenced by both the supreme authority of the Bible and the doctrine of the second coming of Jesus, which, he believed, should shake Christians out of their complacency both for the spread of the gospel and the welfare of humanity.

Shaftesbury was a passionate supporter of the great evangelical societies of the nineteenth-century, including the Bible Society, the Church Missionary Society, the London City Mission and the Church Pastoral Aid Society.

Shaftesbury was responsible for the introduction of legislation restricting and banning the employment of children in factories, mines and as chimney sweeps, the development of various forms of social housing and the protection of the mentally ill. He would tour the slums of London in the company of the City Missionaries, establishing schools and encouraging Christian work among the poor.

Shaftesbury opposed creeping Catholicism in the Church of England; genuflections, vestments, candles, incense all, well, incensed him (!), obscuring the great and comforting doctrine of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.