THE TRAVAIL OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

by Roland H. Bainton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1951

This is a most important book. For while Professor Bainton seems to be dealing with rather ancient history, the life and work of the men whose biographical sketches he gives us have a direct pertinence for the problem of religious liberty today. This connection is spelled out by the author very clearly in his introduction and the closing reflections. But the main body of the book consists of nine character studies of personalities involved in religious persecution in the defense of religious liberty against persecution from the late Fifteenth Century through the late Seventeenth Century. The personalities studied are Thomas of Torquemada, the moving spirit in the Spanish Inquisition; John Calvin, the embodiment of Protestant intolerance at its peak; Servetus, a victim of Protestant persecution; Castellio, the remonstrator against protestant intolerance; David Joris, the heretic as hypocrite; Bernardino Ochino, the heretic as exile; John Milton, ""the bard of speech unbound""; Roger Williams, the seeker for religious freedom, and John Locke, the apologist for the British Act of Toleration which the author declares to be a red letter day in the fight for religious liberty. The studies show the author to be a good historian especially of the Reformation period and an interesting writer. His own wood-cuts add interest to the book. Catholics will no doubt feel that the study is weighted in favor of Protestantism. But the author is a Protestant and his book is based on lectures delivered at a Presbyterian theological seminary. As Professor Bainton found a wide reading for his prize winning life of Luther, ""Here I Stand;"" this book too, should be in wide demand. It deserves being pushed.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1951

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Westminster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1951

Categories: NONFICTION