Ambassadors in Chains

“I have read a number of books over the years that represent, in my mind, scholarship at its best. They have been clear, winsome, literate, learned, nuanced, and somehow relevant. I return to them often and consider them models worthy of emulation. Richard Steele has written such a book. I hesitate to call him ‘old school,’ but he is exactly that. He is learned. He writes with elegance. He exercises good judgment and manifests wisdom. And he loves his subject, loves it as only one who knows it well can, like a mother loves a child’s face because she has gazed at it so often and with so much affection. I, too, came to love what he does because of the way he wrote this book. I found nothing but pleasure in reading it. I commend it to you with deep appreciation for both author and subject. You will not be disappointed.”
—Gerald L. Sittser, professor emeritus of theology, Whitworth University

“Finally! Many of us have been anticipating this book for years, knowing that Richard Steele would do an incredible job of handling his source material with expert care and consideration. The subgenre of ‘prisoners of conscience’ is such an important one to explore in our context, one where people’s opinions and endorsements are often ‘on sale’ to the highest bidder. Prisoners of conscience have actively shown throughout history with their very bodies that truth is worth suffering for. It is a precious affirmation of faith to be surrounded by a cloud of such witnesses. Steele faithfully and compellingly lifts up their voices for us to learn, be comforted, and ultimately challenged by their lives.”
—Daniel Castelo, William Kellon Quick Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies, The Divinity School, Duke University

“Steele offers four intriguing, albeit inspiring, profiles of discipleship in a martyr of blood, a confessor of truth, a statesman of esteem, and a preacher of justice. The result is a revelation of genuine Christian identity and integrity, against which we are all measured and judged. These are not just profiles of survival through sacrifice, they are symbols of life in abundance.”
—John Chryssavgis, professor, Holy Cross School of Theology

“What enables some people to maintain their convictions under state threat and how do they do so in a faithful manner? With a storyteller’s gift for narrative, Richard Steele helps readers explore these questions by expertly guiding them through histories of oft-complex theological debates, political machinations, and social upheavals. The result is a book engaging both for the stories it tells and the all-too relevant questions it raises about living a life of Christian conviction.”
—Sarah Ruble, professor of religion, Gustavus Adolphus College

“Putting modern scholarly history to work for purposes of Christian theological anthropology, Richard Steele examines in four case studies an ecumenical cross-section of Christian conscience at work in the world. Christian conscience is understood as convictions of personal identity. Convictions so profound that to abandon them would constitute the moral disintegration of the person. To sustain them enables further conviction about the way this identity is to be enacted in challenging circumstances. Not only a solid contribution to the doctrine of humanity, but highly recommended reading for our challenging times!”
—Paul R. Hinlicky, Tise Professor Emeritus of Lutheran Studies, Roanoke College