How the Reformation Happened

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 180 pages
• Published by: T A N Books & Publishers October 1992
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0895554658
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0895554659
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 4.8 ounces

Product Description
1928. Two historical problems are of prime importance to our race. To understand them sufficiently is to understand ourselves. To misapprehend them is to misapprehend our own nature: what made our culture and what threatens to destroy it. The first of these problems is the conversion of the Roman Empire to Catholicism. How came the pagan world to be baptized? What made Christendom? The second is the disaster of the 16th century. How came Christendom to suffer shipwreck? What made the Reformation? It is the second question which Belloc approaches in this book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This is a brief but sweeping overview of the Reformation, concentrating mainly on the political and social forces at work during the whole period. Although Belloc was an ardent Catholic, he is surprisingly balanced in his analysis; for instance he pulls no punches when critiquing the shortcomings of the Church, and is quite mild in his assessment of Martin Luther. (Belloc is most venomous toward the British upper classes, who so shamelessly exploited the Church, Elizabeth, and the common people merely to increase their personal wealth and solidify their political position. His analysis is undoubtedly contrary to mainstream English history, but is compellingly supported by the facts.) Belloc's greatest strength is his ability to distill general principles and underlying causes from the tidal wave of political and social upheaval that was pouring across Europe. Thus the book is a fantastic starting point for a study of the Reformation. Although it is short on details (especially military details) it provides a very clear context.