Protestors for paradise - Frances Gumley

This is the third book of a series by Frances Gumley and Brian Redhead on the history of Christian civilization, following "The Good Book" and "The Christian Centuries". It looks at protestors against the Christian establishment, from Martin Luther and Henry VIII to C.S. Lewis, relating stories of idealism and treachery, of power, politics and gory martyrdom, of blind bigotry and courageous goodness.;Historically the Church has seen numerous reformers, and although many of them failed, a few survived to clamour against ecclesiastical dogma. In the 16th century Luther, a German theologian and former Augustinian friar, called the Pope the "Antichrist...enthroned in God's very temple". In the 19th century the far-from-irreligious Charles Darwin infurated the whole of Christendom with his belief that the long-held view "that each species has been independently created, is erroneous". Failure to recognize the power of these individuals led to the fragmentation of Christendom which is still being paid for today. Henry VIII affronted the Pope by founding the Church of England, and John Wesley distinguished Methodism from the established Church. The story is not over - their reforms are unfinished and other reformers are at work today.;The book is published to accompany a repeat of the Radio 4 programme on which it is based.