They toured the world, visiting sites and mission stations in Japan, China, India, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. At age six, Borden wrote with less than perfect spelling, “I what to be an oneast man when I grow up, and true and loveing and kind and faithful man.” At age seven, he stood for hours in church, decked out in his blue sailor’s suit, to dedicate his life to Christ.įor 11 months Borden was under the tutelage of Walter Erdman, a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, minister, and missionary. Moody, and raised her children accordingly. His mother underwent a conversion experience in Chicago Avenue Church, the church made famous by evangelist D. No Reservesīorden was born in Chicago on November 1, 1887, the third of four children of a wealthy silver magnate and landowner. As the church grows in China and the gospel labors in the Muslim world, Borden’s testimony is alive in the impact he made on the world. But as with many Christian heroes, the reality is more inspiring than any potential fiction. Is the central anecdote of Borden’s life a case of hagiography? That it has not been found does not mean it is not true. No Regrets”-has not been found by historians or biographers. It was an ill testament for one whose death was mourned from Chicago to New York to Cairo to China.Įven stranger is the fact that what Borden is perhaps most known for-the inspirational quote that he is reputed to have written into his personal Bible, “No reserves. This meant that the gravestone now faced the wrong direction, requiring the rare pilgrim to slither in between the wall and the grave to read the inscription. A recently erected wall in the poorly tended cemetery pressed square up against his plot. Engraved at the bottom were words uttered in memorium, “Apart from Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.” His will distributed nearly everything to mission groups and Christian ministries, leaving him only a cement slab as a gravestone. Heir to a family fortune, the Yale graduate instead devoted his life to Christ, pledged in service to the Muslims of China.īut at age 25 Borden died in Egypt, having contracted spinal meningitis while studying Arabic in preparation. Tucked away in the northwest corner of the American cemetery in Cairo lies the neglected grave of William Borden, one of the most celebrated missionaries of the 20th century Student Volunteer Movement.
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