The Reformation: A Soundbite History

by Andrew Cook

In honour of the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation, this small book goes through some of the key events and characters who, under God, brought about one of the most significant changes in the history of the church. Covering great names, such as Luther, and less well-known names, such as John Huss, this work seeks to present the essence and impact of this great era. This is an engaging and accessible introduction to the Reformation.

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2017

Reviews

[Luke J. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short little book on the Reformation and some of the leading men who helped to kick-start it and continue to fan its flames has been very enjoyable to read. It really is a “sound bite history” as the chapters are short and snappy, and really only cover the absolute basics of each of the Reformers lives. The book has seven chapters, with six of them dedicated to an individual who had a pivotal role in the beginnings of the Reformation: Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, John Huss, John Calvin, Hugh Latimer and George Whitefield.

I found it to be very educational and easy to read and digest; gleaning just enough information to be easily remembered without it feeling like a heavy and dull historical study. Though, it being written by someone who is a Baptist, if you're well read enough in church history you will likely notice some of the Baptist bias towards certain doctrines that are mentioned as being held by some of the Reformers which grate against typical Baptist views. For example, the frequent implication that anyone who still held to some form of “real presence” in the Eucharist hadn't come to the 'pure Gospel truth' yet (despite this being consistent with historical Christianity prior to the Roman Catholic Church’s specific doctrine of transubstantiation).

But aside from those minor issues, the book did well to not feel like it was pushing a certain viewpoint on you and was just trying to give a decent overview of the historical settings and people involved. Well worth a read, whether you are a Protestant OR a Roman Catholic!

I gave this book four stars. 

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

My aunt lent me a few books on The Reformation for my class & although this was a short book, a lot of ground was covered and I really enjoyed reading through it. The writing was easy to follow and gave a detailed overview of different Reformers including Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Huss. It gave you enough detail to have an overview but also means you can go and look deeper into different areas or people if you wish. The only thing I would have liked included would be a conclusion or a way of tying it all together as the book stopped quite abruptly after the chapter on George Whitefield, but perhaps this is to suggest the Reformation isn’t really over? Who knows but I really enjoyed this bitesize and accessible overview of The Reformation and some of the key figures during the time. I would definitely like my own copy of this book at some stage to add to my collection and to refer back to - this review is 100% my own opinion! ☺️

[Jacky Rossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting small book, which I trust is fairly historically accurate. Although I would doubt some of the author’s comments, e.g. “Edward VI probably the godliest king that England has ever known”, being as he died aged 15, he didn’t have a lot of time to prove or disprove that theory! There is a serious bias too against certain church practices and habits, not only things that the Reformation exposed e.g. transubstantiation, but which I think are more matters of taste, such as lighting of candles, and images in churches. But informative enough.

[Afiniki Silas-Bossan · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the title implies, it really was a "soundbite" history so I appreciated the condensed biographies. What I didn't like, however, was it put doctrines and points of view into rather simplistic "good" and "evil" baskets where all the current mainstream "reformed" views were presented as pretty much self-evidently good and right (and without much explanation to convince the reader) while the views of most other denoms were just cast as bad, wrong, harmful, evil, stupid, etc.

[Joe Shoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a 'sound bite history' expertly capturing the highlights of these men's lives without being too complicated and long winded. The reader is able to bring to memory momentous historic events in the life of the Church of Christ, and even come out with timeless quotes from God's chosen vessels.