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The unquenchable flame

Introducing the Reformation

Best brief intro

THE UNQUENCHABLE FLAME
By Michael Reeves
IVP. 192 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978-1-84474-385-8

One of the tragedies of modern evangelical church life is a general ignorance of church history.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the ‘chronological snobbery’ that led some (I would think many) Christians to think and behave as if what happened in the past has little, if any, relevance to living for Christ in the present. Indeed, a good case can be made for tracing the church’s present ills in large part to its failure to read and learn from history (his story). Michael Reeves understands this well and has written an engaging, fresh and compelling account of the major figures and issues that characterised the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

In The Unquenchable Flame, Reeves introduces us to one of the most turbulent episodes in the history of the Christian church. In five very readable (and I mean very readable) chapters, interspersed with fascinating contemporary illustrations and helpful timelines, Reeves tells why the Reformation happened (Going medieval on religion); who God raised up to make it happen (Martin Luther: God’s volcano); the difficulties and dangers that the Reformation provoked (Soldiers, sausages and revolution); the significant contribution of John Calvin (After darkness light); the suffering experienced when the Reformation came to Britain (Burning passion). Reeves, thankfully, does not stop there. In two further chapters he tells us about the later influence of the 17th-century Puritans on the Reformation (Reforming the Reformation) and concludes by asking the question, Is the Reformation over? (this chapter should be read by any Christian who claims to be an evangelical).

Reeves is a sure guide. He has not written a book for scholars, though scholars would benefit from being reminded that the Reformation was not merely a socio-political movement, but a mighty work of God’s Spirit reviving Christ’s church and restoring to it the gospel of God’s grace. Mark Dever’s blurb on the back cover says: ‘Michael Reeves has written what is, quite simply, the best brief introduction to the Reformation I have read’. I concur.

Ian Hamilton,
Cambridge Presbyterian Church