Hillar's book is well documented, being 426+ pp. But this study is costly with Amazon having a used copy for almost $400.00. See if you can obtain this study through interlibrary loan.
Hillar is mostly concerned with issues surrounding the freedom of conscience and religious coercion. He examines Servetus as a case example of how religion has tried to suppress individuals not considered orthodox by the majority.
The book is divided into three parts, it contains an appendix and has a select bibliography. I've found Hillar's study to be informative and helpful for learning more about antitrinitarianism, Socinianism, repression of freedoms and the case of Servetus.
While Hillar's examination of Servetus is generally well-written, there appear to be numerous typos in the book. Ergo, it could have probably been edited better. Hillar is an intelligent, deep thinking individual who is erudite and studious. However, his study contains some non-standard English, but I do not make this statement to demean his contribution in any way. I well know my own capability to employ non-standard English at times. All the more reason to enlist a good editor when one is composing an important scholarly contribution. In any event, Hillar's book is worth perusing
2 comments:
Dear Edgar,
Do you consider this to be the best Servetus biography? Otherwise there are 'Hunted Heretic' by Bainton and 'Out of the flames' by Goldstone. Any opinions on these two?
I don't know if I would consider Hillar's book to be the best biography on Servetus, but I certainly enjoyed the read. Bainton is good IMO, and one advantage he has over Hillar (I think) is that Bainton's specialty is church history. But Hillar has done extensive work on Servetus.
Post a Comment