The Spreading Flame Part 3 Champions of Freedom

The poet Lord Byron wrote “They never fail who die in a great cause.” Nowhere is this truth more evident than in the deaths of the martyrs whose flaming pyres attest to what happens when either nobleman or commoner decides, for conscience sake, to follow the path to a purer faith. The martyrs paid for their struggle in the priceless coinage of their blood and left a legacy which can never be calculated.

In part three of “The Spreading Flame” we turn the focus first to Scotland where persecutions and martyrdoms drove many a virtuous man and woman from their homeland.

But then, suddenly, a champion appeared! A man prepared to do battle, to take on all comers, to fight till victory was achieved, to heed neither critic nor foe till men and women, freely born, could freely worship as conscience decreed.

“John Knox fought the noblest battle ever waged on Scottish soil .. and defeated a more formidable foe than Wallace encountered at Stirling .. or Bruce vanquished at Bannockburn. He broke the firm knit league of conspirators .. plucked from their very teeth the little country of Scotland .. and rescuing it made it one of the lights of the world .. and .. along with England .. a mother of free nations.”

In Switzerland an equally fierce and courageous battle was fought by another champion – Ulrich Zwingli. Almost single handedly he dragged the tiny Alpine country from the mediaeval darkness of superstition and made it one of the brightest lights of the Reformation.

Zwingli paved the way for Calvin. Calvin became the friend and mentor of Knox. Knox transformed Scotland and his message went around the world.

The Spreading Flame brings you the vibrant, uplifting story of these great champions of the faith.