Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church

History Lives #3

by Brandon Withrow, Brandon Withrow

Let history come to life—just the way it should. Read the stories of the reformers in the 16th and 17th centuries who changed the face of the Christian church forever. Meet the German monk, the French scholar, and the Scottish tutor who protested corruption in the church. Get to know the queens and explorers who risked everything for the freedom to worship according to their consciences.

It was a time of war and upheaval, but also a time of promise and hope. From Erasmus and Luther to Katherine Parr and William Bradford, God used different personalities in different places to bring sweeping changes to church government and the way we worship. Learn from their mistakes and be encouraged by their amazing strengths and gifts.

Extra features throughout this book look deeper into issues such as the Scientific Revolution, wars of religion, the Puritans, and the settling of the Americas.

This is the third book in a series intended to cover the history of the Christian church through its people and key events. They are written with 9-14 year olds in mind but the modern, relaxed and enthusiastic style is infectious.

Genres: History, Christian, Church History, Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, Christianity

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Heather Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series but starting with this one, it becomes more problematic for you as we are not Protestant. There was still a church and many, many saints in the East that are left out!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the previous two volumes, this book relives episodes of lives from memorable Christians during the era of the Reformation--including the colonization of America.

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Courage and Conviction is the third volume in Mindy and Brandon Withrow's excellent series, Chronicles of the Reformation Church. The Withrows' tackle roughly two hundred years of church history from 1517 to 1700 AD. Readers are introduced to heroes like John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Knox, John Bunyan and many more. The series is designed for teens and pre-teens but will also benefit anyone seeking to grasp church history with greater depth and clarity.

This series makes church history come alive. I heartily recommend it!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned church history is fascinating and that many of died so that I can have the freedom to worship according to my convictions.

[Melanie Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series does an amazing job of teaching church history to my kids - and I have learned so much myself that I never knew! I especially like how these books don't sugar coat the negative aspects of church history. This series is honest about the human flaws of each figure it discusses. I think this is important to teach our kids, especially today. Many are deconstructing their faith, and in many of these stories, I hear of believers who didn't know about the bloodshed between Catholics and Protestants (with blame on both sides) until they were adults. That isn't the only reason for people questioning their faith, but I think being honest about it when our kids are young can help them wrestle with and sort through tough questions as they are ready for them. This series is a great tool for that, especially this volume in the series. We especially had a great family discussion after the chapter entitled "War Between Christians." We have been using these books as our family devotions in the morning, and it has sparked some great conversations. I highly recommend these!

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. I loved how it incorporated not just church history but placed it in its historical context as well with short chapters interspersed with the deeper dives into individual Christians of the time. Perfect for middle school level church history in my opinion. We used it in our homeschool for ambleside year 8 studies ( 1400s-1700s approximately) and it fit perfectly. Highly recommend for that age and I am so glad I added this one in.
This was a favorite book of the year with both my middle school students.

[Vianny D'Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy and encouraging. Set in narrative format, and meant basically for older children, these books can sometimes surprisingly benefit adults too! Loved it and highly recommended if you want a brief overview of church history.

[Maxime N. Georgel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu moins bon que le premier de la série. 12 biographies plutôt qu'une véritable histoire de la Réforme. Quelques articles explicatifs.

Je le ferai lire à mes enfants, c'est vraiment une belle manière de donner des repères historiques.

[Shaun Marksbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series continues well, highlighting key events in some of the Reformers lives. There were a few stories in here I found gripping.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring book that we read in our Dialectic homeschool history studies.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this series with my kids and have loved learning church history with them.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book. It's about Reformers and short stories about them. I wasn't really gripped when I was reading this book, but some of the stories were interesting. It was cool learning about the different Reformers and how brave each one was. So overall I guess I liked this book.

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoyed Courage and Conviction as much as we enjoyed the first two volumes in this series—Peril and Peace and Monks and Mystics. The lives of many famous people in the Reformation church are brought to life in these pages, along with short historical articles on a variety of topics relating to the church of that time. The stories take you all over Europe...

Read my full review here.

[Stephanie Sheaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same review as other books in this series. Interesting and important history to absorb, but the writing style and the format is somewhat lacking. After reading several chapters, the characters all begin to sound the same and blur together.

RE-READ Spring 2022: Same thoughts as before.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to several characters from the Reformation. Not in depth, but well done and helpful for giving children an overview, not just of the character, but of his/her times.

[Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lets you learn in a fun way.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview of the high points of the church during the Reformation for children.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent addition to the series. Also check out

Reformation Heroes by Kleyn, Kleyn and Baake

[A Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series contains engaging biographical sketches of church fathers (& mothers).

[Brendan Keefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book would recommend it to many!

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book in this series by the Withrows is excellent. Animates historical figures with excellent dialogue-rich stories. One of our favorite history resources.

[Jaeger Matthias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. It includes people such as: Desiderius,Martin Luther, and John Wycliffe.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice introduction to some of the major characters in the history of Christianity - child/teen level - told in story format

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool to see all the different people and how they stood up for God's Word even though it meant their death! Even though I've only read three books in the series, I highly recommend it!