Playing the Man

This past Sunday in our Inquirer's Class, we looked at the history of the Christian church from Jesus through the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century (insert audible gasps here...yes, we really covered over 1500 years of church history in about 40 minutes!). When we got to the Reformation, we mentioned the influence that John Calvin had upon John Knox, who was in Geneva because of the persecution in England that was initiated by the Roman Catholic Queen, Mary Tudor (a.k.a. "Bloody Mary," the eldest daughter of the notorious Henry VIII).

Upon ascending to the throne in 1553, Mary began to undo many of the reforms that her half-brother Edward VI had initiated. Two prominent "protestant" bishops under Edward, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, were arrested by Mary and summarily tried and burned at the stake in Oxford this very week 451 years ago. They were executed because they were seeking to reform the church and to bring it in line with what the Bible has to say.

In the midst of the fire, Latimer turned to Ridley, who was suffering greatly, and said: "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out."

As it turns out, Hugh Latimer was right. Their martyrdoms only served to intensify the people's zeal for reform in the church. And Mary was "forced" to initiate a series of ferocious attacks on the newly reforming church in which over 200 men, women, and children were killed for their convictions. Mary's tirade began on October 21, 1555.