Foxe's Book of Martyrs

Book Description:

In 1563, John Foxe published an account of the lives 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 were men who triumphantly donned the armor of God - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the sword of God's Word. 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 Huss, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and so many others has given us our rich Christian heritage. And the courage and dedication of these men inspire us to live for Christ today.

This text was abridged from John Foxe's original work by William Grinton Berry (1873-1926), who endeavored to disentangle Foxe's lengthy national and religious historical discourses from the powerfully moving biographies in order to highlight the personal accounts. Berry minimized the repetitious judicial examinations that were common to many of the depicted martyrs while conserving Foxe's literary craftmanship and simplicity of style as expressed in these vivid narratives of faith and courage.

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