This classic book is a brilliant and well-documented work that reveals the tension between the church and Christendom. Verduin shows how the American concept of separation of church and state is the result of pioneering done by the "stepchildren" of the R
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Reformers,
By
This review is from: The Reformers and their Stepchildren (Paperback)
This is must reading for anyone fed up with political Christianity. Verduin unmasks many of the myths about the Reformation which the mainstream Protestant churches fail to teach."Stepchildren" is a term Verduin uses to designate the more radical front of the Reformation which was later scorned and persecuted by the officially sanctioned Protestant churches. Verduin avoids the term "Anabaptist" because this underground dissent of Christendom went all the way back to the days of Constantine and had no official founder or name. Known throughout the centuries as Donatists, Waldenses, Cathars, or Anabaptists,the "stepchildren" had the greatest influence in securing the religious liberties we enjoy today. Verduin spares no criticism of the Reformers, ie Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, who merely replaced Roman Catholic theocracy with one of their own. Originally allied with the "stepchildren", the Reformers became their bitterest enemies when they allied themselves with the governing authorities and used civil and military force to coerce believers. It was the "stepchildren", many of whom emigrated to the American colonies, and not the Reformers, who had the greatest influence upon religious freedom and separation of church and state which was later incorporated into the First Ammendment of our Constitution. The First Ammendment, once and for all, ended the notion that America would ever become a "Sacral" or theocratic society tied together by one religion.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finding the Thread of Christianity in History,
By Itasca C. Small (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Reformers and their Stepchildren (Paperback)
Reverend Leonard Verduin devoted his life to serving the Lord. He died in Nov., 1999, at the age of 102, still working on his writing until the last couple of months of a rich, God-Fearing life. This is just one of the books he wrote in an effort to inform his fellow-man of the true history of Christianity since Jesus Christ brought Salvation to this world. Leonard was a Fulbright scholar who not only spent a full year researching the original ancient and pre-modern records in Europe, but also devoted decades to research in many facets of history and other subjects. He had a truly idetic memory and could perfectly recall everything he ever read. He was a brilliant linguist, who read the texts in their original forms. He translated many works. He dedicated his life to the Lord at an early age and steadfastly held to the course. If you want to truly understand Christianity's history, this book is a must-read, together with his book published in 1998, "That First Amendment and the Remnant". His other works are also first-rate!
8 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Roots of American Hillbilly Religion,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Reformers and their Stepchildren (Paperback)
If you ever wondered where Theonomists, Christian Reconstructionists and other right wing civil-violence supporting movements came from this is a must read book. Verduin successfully seperates the wheat of peaceful Christianity from the chaff of civil-religion and demonstrates how vastly more wise step-children can be from parents. Anyone who has ever been surrounded by a person who believed they had a divine mission to govern the world will get a kick out of this book (no pun intended). A must read for religious libertarians, but be prepared to have your saints soiled. "The Reformers and Their Stepchildren," reads like a horticultural digest, and Verduin, the Sunday morning tv-religion gardening expert, demonstrates that in the war between weeds and crops, you better be scared. Whether you're Christian, Jewish, Sikh or Confucian, the weeds and flowers raised in this garden are perennial. -Two Thumbs Up for the Flowers
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