If Rick Warren is Right, Why Did These Martyrs Even Die At the Hands of the Roman Catholic Church?

LTRP Note: Please refer to our previous post titled “Rick Warren: Protestants, Catholics Must Unite to Defend Life, Sex, Marriage – ‘We’re on the Same Team’”  to understand what we mean by the title of this article.

“An Account of the Persecutions in Italy Under the Papacy
By John Foxe
(author of Foxe’s Book of Martrys – * please read our note at the bottom of this post.)

We shall now enter an account of the persecutions in Italy, a country which has been, and still is, the center of popery. Italy is also the source of various errors which have spread themselves over other countries, deluded the minds of thousands, and diffused the clouds of superstition and bigotry over human understanding. In pursuing our narrative we shall include the most remarkable persecutions which have happened and the cruelties which have been practiced by the immediate power of the pope through the power of the Inquisition.
In the twelfth century, the first persecutions under the papacy began in Italy at the time that Adrian, an Englishman, was pope, being occasioned by the following circumstances:

algerius
The burning of Algerius, ordered by the Roman Catholic church.

A learned man and an excellent orator of Brescia, named Arnold, came to Rome and boldly preached against the corruptions and innovations which had crept into the church. His discourses were so clear, consistent, and breathed forth such a pure spirit of piety, that the senators and many of the people highly admired his doctrines.

This so greatly enraged Adrian that he commanded Arnold instantly to leave the city as a heretic. Arnold, however, did not comply, for the senators and some of the principal people took his part and resisted the authority of the pope.

Adrian now laid the city of Rome under an ecclesiastical censure, which caused the whole body of clergy to interfere; and at length he persuaded the senators and people to give up the point and allow Arnold to be banished. This being agreed to, he received the sentence of exile, and retired to Germany where he continued to preach against the pope and to expose the gross errors of the Church of Rome.
Adrian still thirsted for his blood and made several attempts to get him into his hands; but Arnold  avoided every snare laid for him. At length, Frederic Barbarossa requested that the pope would crown him king of Germany with his own hand. This Adrian complied with and at the same time asked a favor of the emperor, which was to put Arnold into his hands. The emperor very readily delivered up the unfortunate preacher, who soon fell as martyr to Adrian’s vengeance, being hanged and his body burnt to ashes at Apulia. The same fate attended several of his old friends and companions.

Encenas, a Spaniard, was sent to Rome, to be brought up in the Roman Catholic faith; but having conversed with some of the reformed and reading several treatises which they put into his hands, he became a Protestant. When this became known, one of his own relations informed against him. He was burnt by order of the pope and a conclave of cardinals. The brother of Encenas had been taken up about the same time for having a New Testament in the Spanish language in his possession; but before the time appointed for his execution, he found means to escape out of prison and retired to Germany.

Faninus, a learned layman, by reading controversial books became of the reformed religion. An information being exhibited against him to the pope, he was apprehended and cast into prison. His wife, children, relations, and friends visited him in his confinement and persuaded him to renounce his faith. This obtained his release. But he was no sooner free from confinement than his mind felt the heaviest of chains—the weight of a guilty conscience. His horrors were so great that he found them insupportable, until he had returned from his apostasy and declared himself fully convinced of the errors of the Church of Rome. To make amends for his falling off, he now openly and strenuously did all he could to make converts to Protestantism and was pretty successful in his endeavors. These proceedings occasioned his second imprisonment, but he had his life offered him if he would recant again. This proposal he rejected with disdain, saying that he scorned life upon such terms. Being asked why he would obstinately persist in his opinions and leave his wife and children in distress, he replied, “I shall not leave them in distress; I have recommended them to the care of an excellent trustee.” “What trustee?” said the person who had asked the question. Faninus answered, “Jesus Christ is the trustee I mean, and I think I could not commit them to the care of a better.”

On the day of execution he appeared remarkably cheerful. An observer said, “It is strange you should appear so merry upon such an occasion, when Jesus Christ Himself, just before His death, was in such agonies, that He sweated blood and water.” To which Faninus replied:

Christ sustained all manner of pangs and conflicts with hell and death on our account; and thus, by His sufferings, freed those who really believe in Him from the fear of them.

He was then strangled, his body was burnt to ashes and then scattered about by the wind.

Dominicus, a learned soldier, having read several controversial writings, became a zealous Protestant, and retiring to Placentia, he preached the gospel in its utmost purity to a very considerable congregation. One day, at the conclusion of his sermon, he said, “If the congregation will attend tomorrow, I will give them a description of Antichrist and paint him out in his proper colors.”

A vast concourse of people attended the next day, but just as Dominicus was beginning his sermon, a civil magistrate went up to the pulpit and took him into custody. When he was brought to examination this question was put to him: “Will you renounce your doctrines?” To which he replied: “My doctrines? I maintain no doctrines of my own; what I preach are the doctrines of Christ, and for those I will forfeit my blood, and even think myself happy to suffer for the sake of my Redeemer.” Every method was taken to make him recant for his faith and embrace the errors of the Church of Rome; but when persuasions and menaces were found ineffectual, he was sentenced to death, and hanged in the marketplace.

Galeacius, a Protestant gentleman, who resided near the castle of St. Angelo, was apprehended on account of his faith. Great endeavors being used by his friends he recanted and subscribed to several of the superstitious doctrines propagated by the Church of Rome.

Becoming, however, sensible of his error, he publicly renounced his recantation. Being apprehended for this, he was condemned to be burnt. He was chained to a stake, where he was left several hours before the fire was put to the fagots, in order that his wife, relations, and friends, who surrounded him, might induce him to give up his opinions. Galeacius, however, retained his constancy of mind and entreated the executioner to put fire to the wood that was to burn him. This he did, and Galeacius was soon consumed in the flames which burnt with amazing rapidity and deprived him of sensation in a few minutes.

Soon after this gentleman’s death, a great number of Protestants were put to death on account of their faith in various parts of Italy,  giving a sure proof of their sincerity in their martyrdoms.

End

* A note from Lighthouse Trails: Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was first published five hundred years ago. Today, there are many editions of this book available. When Lighthouse Trails decided to start offering this book to our readers, we began our search for a suitable edition. Much to our dismay, we discovered that many of the current editions were compromised in one form or another. For example, in one edition by a Christian publisher, front page endorsements included the names of those who promote contemplative spirituality and/or the emerging church. When one realizes that contemplative/emerging spirituality embraces some of the very same beliefs that Foxe’s martyrs opposed to the point of suffering cruel persecution and death, it is most troubling and misleading to see these names in the cover of an edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

In another edition we reviewed, the book was among a special set of “Christian classics.” We were once again perplexed to see that some of the other books in that series were written by contemplative mystics.

And yet another edition, published by a secular publisher, advertised mystical and occult practices on the back cover.

Still another edition removed most of the section (like the section above) in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs about persecution by the Roman Catholic papacy.

Finally, after an unsuccessful search, Lighthouse Trails decided to publish our own edition of this truly incredible and unforgettable account.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3: 17