Fallible Heroes: Inside the Protestant Reformation - Paperback

by Stephen Fortosis (Author), Harley T. Atkinson (Author), Donald T. Williams (Foreword by)

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.

Author Biography

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.