Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553 [Paperback]

Roland H. Bainton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Michael Servetus, a Spaniard executed for heresy in John Calvin’s Geneva, is remembered as an important Reformation-era theologian and as a physician credited with the discovery of the circulation of the blood through the lungs. His first book, On the Errors of the Trinity, so shocked both Catholics and Protestants that he was compelled to live under an assumed name. All but a few copies of his magnum opus, Christianity Restored, were destroyed shortly after publication. However, the case of Servetus, which has been taken up by Voltaire, Gibbon, and many others, marks the beginning of the idea of religious toleration.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Roland H. Bainton’s classic biography of Servetus remains as useful and as readable today as it was when it was first published in 1953. This new edition includes:

- A new introduction by the leading modern Servetus scholar, Ángel Alcalá

- Translation into English of text from Alcalá’s Spanish edition of 1973

- Additions to the notes and bibliography incorporating recent scholarship

- Many new annotations in the bibliography

- A short biography of Roland Bainton

- Historia Mortis Serveti: an account of the death of Servetus from 1554

About the Author

Roland H. Bainton, a professor of church history at Yale University and a lifelong pacifist, wrote Hunted Heretic as part of a life-work consecrated to "the reconciliation of peoples." His works include The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, The Travail of Religious Liberty, Christian Attitudes toward War and Peace, Erasmus of Christendom, three volumes of Women of the Reformation, and a celebrated biography of Martin Luther, Here I Stand.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Blackstone Editions (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972501738
• ISBN-13: 978-0972501736
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Addition!, August 12, 2009

By 

Mark Ellis (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553 (Paperback)

This reprint of Bainton's classic is a most welcome addition to Servetus studies. Bainton's book on Servetus' thought and life remains the definitive work on Servetus, and will likely remain so for years to come. The additions by Angel Alcala, are superb, a friend of Bainton's and a leader in Spanish scholarship. For those who are looking to make a foray into Servetus studies, the bibliography is a gem. English speaking Servetus self-standing studies have been pretty poor since the appearance of Bainton's work, usually led by scholars with broader messages they want to communicate using Servetus's life and death as the means to do so. Many use Servetus to rail against organized religion (a classic use), to argue for intellectual freedom, to display a Jewish and Christian theological compatibility, to show some kind of Unitarian heritage, and usually to demonstrate the excesses of Christian society.

In Calvin studies, Servetus is discussed heavily. Usually falling into two camps: those who use Servetus to rail against John Calvin, or those who try to get Calvin off the hook for his involvement in the Servetus affair. Bainton's brilliance in *Hunted Heretic* is his ability to show the reader the reason he is attracted to Servetus (religious freedom), while never giving the reader reason to doubt his historical analysis, which in the end is serious, nuanced, and honest.

This is a great edition of the classic work.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, interesting and thought provoking, October 9, 2009

By 

B. Whitestone (Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553 (Paperback)

Although Michael Servetus had a faith of sorts in Jesus, Jesus' Church, so-called, caused him to be burned alive because, like many a good baptist, he would not accept the militant Protestant Church's position on infant baptistm. Well, that was not all. After searching the Bible carefully, he also came to the view that the Church's doctrine of the Trinity was in error, and he was bold enough to write books on the issue; for that heresy, the Catholics had also been hunting him.

It is true that Servetus had some strange views. But to die for them? As he himself pointed out, Protestant officials were willing to tolerate error in Martin Luther. And the Bible suggested even the elect could err; so should he die for alleged error? Well... some suggested he had to die because he reviled the esteemed officials and clergy at his heresy trial.

Funny, Jesus didn't demand respect. The Bible specifically says Jesus did not return reviling for reviling, much less kill. And He told His followers to take up their cross and follow Him, doing as He did. In fact, Jesus rebuked his disciple Peter for fighting to defend Him, saying that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. I wonder if those who presided at the heresy trial really understood that.

Read the book to learn about the extent of John Calvin's involvement, which is often misrepresented both by those who want to defend him and those who want to discredit him. (Calvin was very actively involved in the trial.) And see if you can decide why Michael Servetus had to die.