"Once upon a time in a past far, far away and now clouded with timid trepidation there lived men of God powerful in Christ. In this piece J.C. Ryle begins:
There are certain facts in history which the world tries hard to forget and ignore. These facts get in the way of some of the world’s favourite theories, and are highly inconvenient. The consequence is that the world shuts its eyes against them. They are either cut dead as vulgar intruders, or passed by as tiresome bores. Little by little they sink out of sight of the students of history, like ships in a distant horizon, or are left behind like a luggage train in a siding.
Of such facts the subject of this paper is a vivid example:-" The Burning of our English Reformers; and the Reason why they were Burned." It is fashionable in some quarters to deny that there is any such thing as certainty about religious truth, or any opinions for which it is worth while to be burned…"
