On this episode of White Horse Inn, Shane Rosenthal talks with Mike Brown about some of the forgotten figures of the short-lived Italian Reformation such as Peter Martyr Vermigli, Don Benedetto, and Juan de Valdes. During the second half of the program, Shane talks with Mike about some of the challenges he faces as a missionary-pastor serving in a secularized Catholic culture.
Show Quote:
Even though Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance, it ended up being a graveyard for the Reformation. However, in the early 16th century, many of Martin Luther’s writings flowed into Italy through Venice, a port city known for its publishing of books. It was also infamous for being a place of free-thinking individuals and for being continually at war with the Pope. Right outside of Venice at San Giorgio Maggiore, home of a Benedictine monastery, many of the leading lights of Italy gathered together and talked about what was happening with the Reformation movement on the continent. Thus, the San Giorgio Monastery became for Italy what the White Horse Inn tavern was for England.
Mike Brown
Recommended:
Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored
Authors: Michael G. Brown & Zach Keele
Sacred Bond is an introduction to covenant theology geared to the lay reader. “People often ask me for a basic or introductory book on covenant theology. Now we’ve got one–Sacred Bond. Brown and Keele explain covenant theology in basic and readable terms. Better yet, they do so without succumbing to the tendency to talk down to the reader or make the complicated too simplistic–a common problem with introductory texts.
The Benefit of Christ
Author: Don Benedetto
Almost unknown by evangelical Christians today, Juan de Vald?s and Don Benedetto were Italian Reformers who penned what are probably the two most significant works of the Italian Reformation: One Hundred and Ten Considerations and On the Benefit of Jesus Christ, Crucified. Both writers protested not merely against the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, as Martin Luther did, but went further to challenge the Italian humanism of the Renaissance.
Peter Martyr Vermigli
Author: Simonetta Carr
Born in Florence, Italy, in 1499, Peter Martyr Vermigli decided that he wanted to teach God’s Word when he grew up. After many years of study, he became a well-respected leader in the Roman Catholic Church, yet he questioned the church’s teachings because he believed they were contrary to the Bible. Eventually forced to flee Italy and the Roman Church, Vermigli joined the Reformers north of the Alps and devoted the rest of his life to teaching, preaching, and writing about the great truths of the Protestant Reformation. He lived in many parts of Europe, and he influenced many of the most important figures of his times.
