Fallible Heroes: Inside the Protestant Reformation
Ebook
Overview
To the casual observer the major contributors of the Protestant Reformation include a select few--Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and perhaps Philip Melanchthon. However, the movement might have easily perished in its infancy were it not for a very unique and courageous company of more obscure individuals who worked together across continental Europe during the sixteenth century--Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Matthew and Katarina Zell, Menno Simons, John Oecolampadius, Andreas Karlstadt, and Heinrich Bullinger, to name a few. This book draws the reader into three often-ignored elements of the Reformation: first, the interaction the reformers had with each other through dialogues, letters, debates, and colloquies; second, the weaknesses, blemishes, and misdeeds of the reformers (in addition to their strengths and accomplishments); and third, the contributions of the lesser-known reformers in addition to the prominent ones. It is a story as vividly powerful as any adventure novel--it is a story of Fallible Heroes.
Amidst the deluge of scholarship on the Protestant Reformation, Fortosis and Atkinson’s book carves out a space for itself as it shines light on a less familiar cast of the Magisterial and Radical Reformations traditionally overshadowed by more famous, heavyweight contemporaries. Written in a crisp, flowing, style easily read by non-specialists, Fallible Heroes shows adept use of an interesting array of oft unused primary sources in raising probing questions about the Reformers’ frailties and shortcomings.
——Charles Nienkirchen, Ambrose University
A clear and accessible history of the Reformation movement from its earliest impulses, narrated through vivid biographic accounts of the key figures and their sometimes-overlooked support cast. It concludes with stimulating reflections on the wisdom to be retrieved from these narratives and then applied to the challenges of the present moment.
——Glen G. Scorgie, Bethel University
Fallible Heroes is a welcome and valuable contribution in the study of Protestant Reformation. The authors, with sensitivity and attentiveness, have researched the lesser-known actors on the Reformation canvas of Europe. Readers will enjoy and reap the benefits of their findings—fresh and engaging, sympathetic and honest, insightful and instructive.
——T. V. Thomas, chairman, Lausanne Global Diaspora Network
- Title: Fallible Heroes: Inside the Protestant Reformation
- Authors: Stephen Fortosis, Harley T. Atkinson, Donald T. Williams
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Pages: 274
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666745528, 9781666745511, 1666745510, 9781666745504, 1666745502, 1666745529
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666745528
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2026-06-17T06:42:32Z
Stephen Fortosis taught at Western Seminary in Portland,
Oregon and Trinity International University’s Miami extension. He
is the author of several books including Great Men and Women of
the Bible, The Anchor: Finding Safety in God's Harbour,
A Treasury of Prayers, and Boxers to Bandits.
Harley T. Atkinson was professor of Christian Education and
Ministry Leadership at Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa, Georgia for
twenty-seven years. He is co-author of Ministry to Youth in
Crisis (revised edition), author of The Power of
Small Groups in Christian Formation, and Teaching Youth with
Confidence, and editor of Handbook of Young Adult Religious
Education.