Foxe's Book of Martyrs

by John Foxe

Overview

In 1563, John Foxe published an account of the life of Christian martyrs, beginning with Stephen, the first to die for the cause of Christ, and ending with the most recent martyrs of his day—Protestants killed during Bloody Mary's reign. He knew that dangers lay in forgetting the martyrs—in being insensitive to their struggles. They faced torture and death in their fight of faith, willing to stand for their beliefs and the Word of God regardless of the price. The faithfulness of such historical figures as John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and so many others has given us our rich Christian heritage. Their courage and dedication inspire us to live for Christ today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629110639
Publisher:	Whitaker House
Publication date:	02/01/1981
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	188,864
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

John Foxe (1516–1587), born at Boston, Lincolnshire, England, was a devout and scholarly boy. He attended Brasenose College, Oxford and then Magdalen College where he held a fellowship for seven years. While a student, Foxe became known for his scholarly wisdom and piety and could have led a quiet and successful life; becoming aware of certain spiritual truths, however, Foxe embraced Protestantism. In 1545, he resigned his fellowship at the university and become a tutor for the Lucy family of Warwickshire. Shortly thereafter, he married Agnes Randall of Conventry. John Foxe worked for the Reformation, writing tracts and beginning his famous history of the persecutions and martyrdoms in England from John Wycliffe through the early 1500s. When staunch Roman Catholic Queen Mary took the throne in 1553, Foxe and his family fled England for the continent in fear for their lives. There he continued working on his manuscript, which was eventually published in 1563 as The Acts and Monuments of These Latter and Perilous Days. Foxe continued laboring on his work until his death in 1587.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1 THE EARLY CHRISTIANS

CHRIST our Saviour, in the Gospel of St Matthew, hearing the confession of Simon Peter, who, first of all other, openly acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, and perceiving the secret hand of His Father therein, called him (alluding to his name) a rock, upon which rock He would build His Church so strong, that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In which words three things are to be noted: First, that Christ will have a Church in this world. Secondly, that the same Church should mightily be impugned, not only by the world, but also by the uttermost strength and powers of all hell. And, thirdly, that the same Church, notwithstanding the uttermost of the devil and all his malice, should continue.

Which prophecy of Christ we see wonderfully to be verified, insomuch that the whole course of the Church to this day may seem nothing else but a verifying of the said prophecy. First, that Christ hath set up a Church, needeth no declaration. Secondly, what force of princes, kings, monarchs, governors, and rulers of this world, with their subjects, publicly and privately, with all their strength and cunning, have bent themselves against this Church! And, thirdly, how the said Church, all this notwithstanding, hath yet endured and holden its ,own! What storms and tempests it hath overpast, wondrous it is to behold: for the more evident declaration whereof, I have addressed this present history, to the end, first, that the wonderful works of God in His Church might appear to His glory; also that, the continuance and proceedings of the Church, from time to time, being set forth, more knowledge and experience may redound thereby, to the profit of the reader and edification of Christian faith.

At the first preaching of Christ, and coming of the Gospel, who should rather have known and received him than the Pharisees and Scribes of that people which had His law? and yet who persecuted and rejected Him more than they themselves? What followed? They, in refusing Christ to be their King, and choosing rather to be subject unto Caesar, were by the said Caesar at length destroyed.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface

Biographical Sketch

The Early Christians

The Story of Constantine the Great

John Wickliff, the Morning Star of the Reformation

The Leader of the Lollards: The Trouble and Persecution of the Most Valiant and Worthy Martyr of Christ, Sir John Oldcastle, Knight (Lord Cobham)

The History of Master John Huss

The Life and Story of the True Servant and Martyr of God, William Tyndale

The History of Doctor Martin Luther

The Story, Life, and Martyrdom of Master John Hooper, Bishop of Worcester and Gloucester

A Faithful Parish Clergyman: The History of Dr. Rowland Taylor

The Martyrs of Scotland

The Story and Life of Master Latimer

The Story of Bishop Ridley

The Trial, Condemnation, and Martyrdom of Ridley and Latimer

The Fires of Smithfield

The Life, State, and Story of the Reverend Pastor and Prelate, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

Anecdotes and Sayings of Other Martyrs

Editorial Reviews

After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time it is still a living force. More than a record of persecution, it is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, and a source of edification.”

 English Prose James Miller Dodds