Fallible Heroes: Inside the Protestant Reformation

by Stephen Fortosis, Harley T. Atkinson, Donald T. Williams (Foreword)

To the casual observer the major contributors of the Protestant Reformation include a select few—Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and perhaps Philip Melanchthon. However, the movement might have easily perished in its infancy were it not for a very unique and courageous company of more obscure individuals who worked together across continental Europe during the sixteenth century—Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Matthew and Katarina Zell, Menno Simons, John Oecolampadius, Andreas Karlstadt, and Heinrich Bullinger, to name a few. This book draws the reader into three often-ignored elements of the first, the interaction the reformers had with each other through dialogues, letters, debates, and colloquies; second, the weaknesses, blemishes, and misdeeds of the reformers (in addition to their strengths and accomplishments); and third, the contributions of the lesser-known reformers in addition to the prominent ones. It is a story as vividly powerful as any adventure novel—it is a story of Fallible Heroes.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2022

Reviews

[Jeanne Blanchet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written work

Fallible Heroes examines the lives and theology of key figures in the Protestant Reformation (Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, Tyndale, Swingli and others) . It is written in a clear, concise manner with a helpful summary at the end of each chapter. It was unbiased, depicting the faults as well as virtues of these brave Christian reformers. I recommend it for anyone interested in Christian history.