The History of Protestantism; Volume 3

by James Aitken Wylie

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674 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2010

About the author

Rev. James Aitken Wylie was a Scottish historian of religion and Presbyterian minister. He was a prolific writer and is most famous for writing The History of Protestantism. Wylie was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland and his father, James Aitken was an Auld Licht Antiburgher minister in the Original Secession Church. Wylie was educated at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen where he stayed for three years before studying at St. Andrews under Thomas Chalmers. He followed his father's example, entering the Original Secession Divinity Hall, Edinburgh in 1827, and was ordained in 1831. In 1852, after joining the Free Church of Scotland, Wylie edited their Free Church Record until 1860.

He published his book The Papacy: Its History, Dogmas, Genius, and Prospects in 1851. The Protestant Institute appointed him Lecturer on Popery in 1860. He continued in this role until his death in 1890, publishing in 1888 his work The Papacy is the Antichrist. Wylie's classic work, The History of Protestantism (1878), went out of print in the 1920s.

Reviews

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this book with the rest of the family at nights. What an amazing story! Wylie does, unfortunately, confuse church country, and many, if not most of the Wars he described seemed to have been more political. Nevertheless, the story of the Taborites is amazing, and I even hope, because of their affiliation with the Waldenses, that some of them were baptists.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, interesting writing. He tries to present sides fairly, but he is too friendly to post millenialism by supporting a national or governmental Christendom. The Taborites seemed most like Baptists to me in their theology, therefore, the most truly “Hussite” and born again. The Calixtine faction seems quite doubtful that they subscribed to faith alone and Sola Scriptura. The latter wars appeared to be more a matter of fighting for national defense of freedoms than theological.

[Seth Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hussites had an active faith in Christ even before Luther and good fellowship with the Waldensians. (Any chance they were Baptists? Wylie hints that way at the very end of the book.)

Too much emphasis on politics, and more biography would have been pleasing.