Reform And Conflict: From the Medieval World to the Wars of Religion, 1350-1648

The Baker History of the Church #4

by Rudolph W. Heinze

The Baker History of the Church series is an accessible and authoritative series that has shed light on the roots of the Christian faith and the foundations of the church. Reform and Conflict, the fourth volume in the series, covers AD 1350-1648. An era of dramatic change in church and state, this time period saw significant administrative, moral, and doctrinal reforms that led to both theological and military conflict. Evaluating and interpreting the most recent biblical research and historical scholarship, Reform and Conflict examines the era's lasting impact on the arts, science, economics, political thought, and education. In investigating how the period affected the religious beliefs of every believer, Rudolph W. Heinze shows how this period greatly influenced what Christians believe and practice today.

Genres: History, Church History, European History, Theology, Nonfiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Rudolph W. Heinze (Ph. D., University of Iowa), taught history at Concordia University and was later appointed tutor at Oak Hill College in north London. Now retired, Heinze is adjunct professor at Wheaton College and visiting scholar at Oak Hill

Reviews

[ThePrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent exposition of the era of Reformation, dense but palatable. A good balance of general information and very minute detail, which only added to the charm of the book. While a great many things contained therein I would have been aware of previously, there are some excellent callbacks to primary sources that were amusing and shed some light further still upon the Reformers to whom we owe a great deal. From Melancthon's 'rabies theologorum' to Calvin's constantly being lumped in with the Zwinglian Swiss on the matter of the Lord's Supper, the narrative-eque way in which this volume flows made it great fun to read and endlessly interesting. Recommend.

As an aside, this has got to be the best obligatory book I've had to read for a university course.

[Rohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a better summary, managed to go in detail at some points (like three women of the reformation), but also keep an eye on the big picture.

The reformation was very political wasn't it! Makes me wonder if our closed mindedness to society is something the reformers would have fought us on.

[Michael King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another big church history book for the year after "Dominion". Really insightful, showing the good and not shying away from the ugly either. Very grateful for the way God worked through the men and women of the Reformation to re-establish the depths of his grace.

[Adelaide · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is SO dense.
I read this book for a report i had to do in my Reformation class; and I’ll be honest it’s not an easy read. I had to take many breaks while reading, simply because there is so much info to take in.

Its not necessarily a hard read in that it’s written poorly, or is completely un-enjoyable; but it’s just so thick with the nitty-gritty details of the reformation period.
My opinion may also be slightly biased, as I don’t have a huge passion for the reformation and the specialised nature of this book is kind of boring to someone like my, whose passions lay elsewhere.

With that being I would recommend this book for any person who has a specialised interest in The Reformation. If you’re interested to look at fine tooth details of the whole scope of theology, politics, important figures, reformers, divisions, attempts at unity, social factors and general events that make up the reformation period then this book is for you!

But if you’re like me and don’t have a kind of specialised interest in this, I would not recommend! It reads like a text book- in that it gives you the information, but there’s not much joy or vibrancy in reading it.

With that being said if you have a passion for the reformation period you may disagree and say this book is an excellent read, because it covers one of your passions in such great detail. And that’s okay.

I just personally would not recommend this book for the average reader/Christian looking at the reformation on a basic level :)

[Jehian Tiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The brave men come first and weaker men come after and write their biographies. At least that’s my paraphrasing of someone’s quote that I’ve always thought very relevant to those who readily make moral judgements upon those in the past by our standards. Being faithful to the fellowship I have with the saints of old, I try not to repulsed when I come face to face with the worst bits about them. So whenever I read histories that indulge in a little foppishness, it can be tiresome. At times this volume was like that. Particularly the ecumenical emphasis and easily missed footprints of dusty feminism. In fairness, it is pretty balanced. Just a little foppish.
That said, I would say this is a great introduction to the era of the Reformation and I thoroughly enjoyed lots of it. Some of the chapters included some very poignant moments and the writing was very engaging. Would recommend.

[Chris Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good reformation history overview. It moves from medieval background to overall assessment, and covers all the areas of church reform (Lutheran, magisterial, Anabaptist, Genevan, Roman Catholic, English and Scottish, women's involvement). There is also an account of the religious wars, which I can't remember seeing in other survey histories like this.

I liked the regular discussion of historiography along the way, where Heinze notes the history of the histories of the reformation. Complementing this is a useful topical bibliography of primary and secondary readings. My only minor disappointment is that some maps are very hard to read - they look like they are colour design but grey reproductions.

[Glen O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent one volume introduction to the Reformation period, suitable for a college level text. In fact I will use it as such the next time I teach "The Reformers and the Reformation" at Booth College. It's long reformation extends from 1350-1648, nicely framing the central events in a larger context. The work of revisionist historians is taken seriously but Heinze also wants his readers to understand and appreciate the insights of older historians and the importance of their work. One of the most helpful aspects of Heinze's book is his discussion in chapter 11 of women in the Reformation period including interesting discussions of Wibrandis Rosenblatt (who was married three times including to both Oecalampadius and Martin Bucer), the Strasbourg reformer Katherine Zell, and the Catholic reformer Vittoria Colonna. The Monarch History of the Church (Baker History in the US) is an outstanding multi-volume series, and this is the third of the four volumes appearing so far that I have read. Each one delivers in terms of avoiding too much technical discussion but at the same time introducing the reader to recent scholarship on key issues in dispute. The books are attractive and inexpensive (you can opt for the hardback or paperback editions), and include helpful timelines and suggestions for further reading after each chapter.

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame this series was discontinued with only 4 of the planned 8 volumes released. This is a well organised, balanced & readable survey of the Reformation era. Detailed enough to give more significant attention to each topic than a Church History survey, but not so long as to be tedious. Covers all the major 'reformations' plus particular themes (such as 'Woman of the Reformation') and addresses the various debates in recent Reformation scholarship.

[David Goetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, balanced, accessible survey of the Reformations of the 16C. It's chapters on the histories of the English and Scottish Reformations were especially good at sifting the classic and revisionist accounts.

If you want a good, brief intro to any aspect of the Reformation era or to the pertinent literature, this is still a good place to start.