Radiant: Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History by Richard M. Hannula

Radiant: Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History Reviews

• 
  Mason Sherrill

  Phenomenal! I was left in absolute awe of God’s grace and faithfulness through these women’s stories. I was also deeply convicted to be courageous for Christ in all seasons, no matter the cost. Absolutely will be re-reading this to my children someday. What a legacy.
• 
  ValeReads Kyriosity

  Our God is worthy of lives lived in loving, obedient honor of Him. These women serve as vivid reminders of that truth. They were flawed, but He specializes in drawing straight with crooked lines. I was moved to tears in a number of places. Other reviews have noted that some of the women held less than kosher theological positions. I thought Hannula did a good job of pointing those out, but personal he missed a few...and I missed his misses.
  
  Toby did a mostly fine job reading. Of course in a book of biographies from numerous cultures, there were numerous pronunciation pitfalls, and he fell into a few.
• 
  Suzannah

  (Originally posted at
  my blog, Vintage Novels)
  
  I have to admit that the drawcard for me in this book's description was Lady Anne Hamilton, "who rode with the Covenanter cavalry at the decisive Battle of Berwick". Swashbuckling Covenanter lady? Where do I sign up to read about her?
  
  And so I decided I would write and ask for a review copy of church historian Richard Hannula's latest release, Radiant: Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History.
  
  The content, form, and style of this book is not likely to cause riots in the streets. Hannula provides mini-biographies of the promised fifty remarkable women, from the well-known (St Monica, Jeanne d'Albret, Corrie ten Boom) to the obscure (an unnamed Armenian woman, a Mrs Smith of Coventry, the aforesaid Lady Anne Hamilton), all evenly distributed throughout church history from late antiquity to modern times. The briefness of the chapters, the simpleness of the writing style, and the vividness of the storytelling makes this ideal as bedtime reading for children, or quick and easy devotional reading for a grown-up.
  
  The real power in this book comes from the stories of the women themselves and the amazing power of God in their lives to sustain them through difficult times. And this is what will have an incredibly impact on the world. At the same time I was reading Radiant I've been working through George Grant's wonderful The Micah Mandate, specifically the chapters on mercy, and the overwhelming emphasis of these good church women on mercy ministry - food, education, political protection - was a real challenge to think about the wider meaning of the Christian mission.
  
  Beyond that, it was a real pleasure to meet these women. Hannula provided some details I didn't previously know about women like Saint Margaret of Scotland or Katherine Luther, who seems to have been a terrific character!
  
  

  Luther would occasionally fall prey to bouts of discouragement and gloomy moods. Once, when a depression lasted longer than usual, he left home to visit friends for a few days, hoping that a change of scene might help. It didn't, and he wrote Katherine that he was coming home. When he arrived, he found her sitting in a chair dressed from head to toe in black with a dark veil covering her face. She was sighing and holding a wet handkerchief to her eyes. Luther rushed to her side and asked, "Katherine, what is the matter?"
  "Only think, my dear doctor," she said, "the Lord in heaven is dead! This is the cause of my grief."

  
  
  Other favourites from this book included the adorable Elizabeth of Hungary, the brave and clever Catherine Parr, the grand tragic story of Margaret Nisbet, and of course Lady Anne Hamilton, "the lioness of the Covenant." None of these women had easy lives, but despite illness, persecution, danger, or depression, they were granted victory in Christ.
  
  There were other things I enjoyed about this book. For example, Christianity is not an individualistic or egalitarian faith, and so the lives of many of these great women happened intertwined with the lives of the great Christian men they married, befriended, or assisted in some way. Jonathan Edwards's wife Sarah, Adoniram Judson's wife Sarah Boardman Judson, Samuel Rutherford's correspondent Lady Jane Gordon, and the wonderful Sabina Wurmbrand who told her husband that she would rather he were dead than a coward, are all honoured for their role complementing and supporting their remarkable Christian men.
  
  I also enjoyed the overview this book provided of church history through the ages. Many of the details were already quite well-known to me, of course, but it would be a great introduction for younger readers. I was also pleased by Hannula's balanced attitude toward women who espoused causes evangelical Protestants today might not always agree with--he provided gentle criticism from a Reformed point of view while honouring these women's very real faith and perseverance.
  
  Radiant also provided an introduction for me to a number of women whose biographies we have, but I had never been prompted to pick them up and read them. Reading this book, and skimming through the bibliography at the back, populated my to-read list with a whole lot more reading which I can't wait to get into, much of it in the public domain.
  
  Warmest thanks to Canon Press for supplying me with a free review copy of Radiant!
• 
  sydney

  I really enjoyed this! It was encouraging to read about strong women of faith throughout history and how they stood boldly for Christ during difficult times and persecution. These women came from all walks of life and all parts of the world, who in some way served to develop the Christian faith. Many of the women in this book were martyred, and to the very end they carried out the works of Lord in dignity and rejoicing, calling out to God and calling to others to turn to Him. Reading about their unwavering faith makes me want to walk in the same boldness they did, and they faced much fiercer persecution than I do.
  
  One of my favorite quotes is from Lady Jane Gray as she sits in the Tower of London awaiting death;
  “Should I forsake my faith for love of life? No, God forbid! May God be merciful to us, for the Lord says, ‘Whoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father in heaven.”
  
  This book is a great place to start if you are interested in church history but don’t know where to start. The chapters are short and easy to read, but offer a lot of information and context about the circumstances in which these women lived. Spanning from the 1st century to the 20th, there is bound to be a time period you enjoy. I was always told in history class that all history is important, but the history you like the most is more fun. :)
• 
  Katja Labonté

  Free on Amazon (7.11.22)!
• 
  Lissie

  10/10 for any Christian woman!
• 
  Lizzie Sanduleac

  A great encouragement for women to love the Lord wholeheartedly and remain faithful to him through various trials, whether at home or overseas.
• 
  Abigail Hayven

  Phenomenal 👏🏼 I fully expect this to be my top non-fiction read of 2023.
  
  I was only familiar with a handful of the ladies in this book, and I’m not sure why. These women have incredible stories that ought to be shared so much more often! God was so faithful to being about glory for Himself through these women and their families.
  
  Each chapter tells the story of a different woman in church history, and the method of storytelling is very engaging!
  
  Perhaps the thing I loved most about the book is the wide verity of the lives of the women. God used faithful mothers, relentless singles, bold royals, and everything in between to advance His great commission. It was such a beautiful display of His sovereignty to work in and through the lives of us all, wherever He may have us. We just need to be faithful, and meet His calling head on, and these women are fabulous examples of that.
  
  It’s a book I will definitely be adding to my future homeschool library. I would recommend it for ages 13+.
  
  If you want to be encouraged by the stories of normal individuals who were faithful to pursue Christ at all costs, pick up Radiant.
  
  I listened to it as an audiobook on the Canon+ app and highly recommend.
• 
  Brian

  Wonderful book that I had the pleasure of proofreading. Hannula is not a great writer and the intro is basic la-de-da "let's learn about women in church history today," but for Pete's sake, we should know more about Katherine von Bora (aka Kate Luther).
  
  Some evaluations with spoilers that only spoil if you know the characters:
  Perpetua, Crispina, and Marcella—predictable stories: a Christian is persecuted, people plead with them, they suffer some doubt while standing firm, they die. The motives of the early Christians continue to be unexplored and the Romans remain cardboard villains. Is there really nothing about these early women martyrs that is unexpected or bizarre?
  
  Monica’s life is more interesting than Hannula makes her out to be. All sorts of interesting details pop up in the Confessions that make her a fascinating character: her youthful addiction to wine and quitting after getting called a wine-bibber by a slave, the way she encouraged young women not to even speak against their husbands, her refusal to baptize Augustine lest he defile himself in sin, her wishing that Augustine would not marry lest it hinder his studies, the dream she had of a shining one telling her that Augustine would be saved, her begging Augustine not to go to Rome and his deception of her, her bold decision to leave her home in Africa and follow him to Milan, her lack of rejoicing on hearing that Augustine was no longer a Manichee, her practice of leaving cakes and wine and drinking a diluted cup of wine and her giving it up for the sake of Ambrose—all these humanizing details make Monica a fascinating character, but they get left out. What do I want? I want the strangeness and weirdness of the Early Church as much on display as the virtue. In fact, that will make the virtue believable and imitable.
  
  Nonna and Anthusa are really bizarre, since they really didn’t do that much and the characters are perfect. The lives of their children, Gregory and John really need to be expanded upon since they really didn’t do much. Anthusa sticks out because of her wish for her son not to live.
  Brigid is better, but the do-gooding is still expected at this point.
  
  Clotilda and Bertha—Yes! These stories are amazing!
  Brigid and Leoba—Good nuns; both have unusual relationships with Patrick and Boniface.
  Ludmila—exciting and profoundly sad.
  Queen Margaret of Scotland—best yet!
  Clare—loads of fun. The story of how she ruined her body is a really good example of how the Church developed through trial and error.
  Elizabeth of Hungary is none the worse for being repeated; she remains fascinating because of her willingness to dress in jewels and robes for her husband.
  Anne of Bohemia—Uh, almost half the chapter is really about Wycliffe. What’s here is good, but there needs to be more Anne and less Lollard.
  Mrs. Smith—Not worth a chapter, she did one thing and died for it. The end.
  Margaret of Norway—Why haven’t I heard of her before? So brave and so important for the Reformation.
  Katherine von Bora (aka Luther)—sadder and more beautiful than I could have imagined.
  Katherine Parr—kicks the notch up. Uses deceit quite cleverly and may very well have tipped the tide for Protestantism in England.
  Anne Askew—good story, but we might consider deleting.
  Katharine Hamilton—2/3rds is about her brother who never gives in and then she recants! Strange and unflattering comparison.
  Lady Jane Gray—goes longer than it might, but instructive.
  Jeanne d’Albret—still inspires, but already in T & T.
  Lady Anne Hamilton—quite the character, but unfortunately the chapter barely spends time on her; it focuses more about the covenanters.
  Jane Gordon—this story is fascinating, though it seems to be more of a take on Rutherford at times than a story about the woman.
  Nisbet story—sad story.
  Nicholas and Erdmuth—truly remarkable! No way do we delete this chapter.
  Sarah Edwards—good example of a story that could have been about Jonathan, but tilts decisively for her here.
  Spauldings—full of amazing moments: Eliza’s silence and Chief Timothy’s regret on losing her.
  Sarah Boardman Judson and Fidelia Fiske—exciting and encouraging the way most missionary stories are.
  Amanda Smith—half the story is about her youth and her parents’ involvement in the Underground Railroad. The rest of the chapter is interesting. Her revival and connection to the Holiness movement is the most theologically strange moment that evokes opposition. I wish Hannula would comment here like he did on Catholicism.
  Maria Hudson—courtship story alone worth the price of admission.
  Mary Ann Lyth and Mary Calvert—short and remarkable. The story might be improved though by telling it in more linear fashion.
  Liu Wen Lan and Mrs. Kao—same problems as the Early Church saints: super-perfect missionaries that suffer, but simply die. This ground was also covered in Trial and Triumph.
  Ramabai—fascinating because she really began to be a missionary before she became a Christian: a nice variation.
  Armenian nurse—might be a bit short, but definitely powerful.
  Ida Kahn—I think her friend Dr. Mary Stone should get billing with her. The story ends too quickly though.
  Bessie and Corrie ten Boom—always good, but misses a great anecdote about how she forgave one of the Nazi guards.
  Sabina Wurmbrand—truly wonderful and stands well on its own separate from her husband’s story in T & T.
  Ei Sook and Elder Park—fascinating and disturbing promise of judgment.
  Darlene Rose—easy to sympathize with her hatred of her enemy. When I heard her preaching the gospel to Yamji, a tear almost came to my eye.
  Frank Schaeffer—for once I wanted them to have more about her husband since he's not in T & T.
  Dayuma—cool because she is a fierce pagan that ends up bringing the Gospel.
  Bilquis—cool and sympathetic because of her fear of losing her family.
  Eta Linneman—offers a much needed relief to the missionary stories. Here here for dry academics!
  Taban—good ending.
• 
  Christina

  This was a good fly-by overview of many notable women throughout Christian history. I appreciated the chance to get to know many of them over a large swath of time. It helps build perspective, as well as giving me a chance to pick and choose some ladies to get to know better in other, more in-depth biographies. Many of their stories will fade in my memory, while others will stick with me forever.
  A worthwhile one-time read.
• 
  Megan Oldland

  I really enjoyed all of the different stories about these radiant women who served God through all of the extremes trails and triumphs.
• 
  Ebookwormy1

  After the success of his initial title, Trial & Triumph, Richard M. Hannula has published additional titles in similar format.
  
  This title focuses on the contributions by women to the witness and development of the Christian faith. As you would expect, these women are our sisters, mothers, wives, missionaries and ministry leaders and they have vibrant biographies to commend them. I remain highly enthusiastic about the chronological order that both breaks out periods of church history and aides us in finding connections with Christian women in the context of their times.
  
  As with other compilations, though some biographies shine, others disappoint. Perhaps because I love her, the account of Elizabeth of Hungary (reprinted from Trial & Triumph) remains particularly disappointing. The Elizabeth of Hungary account seems incomplete, but a few are overly perfect. And others, particularly those of the Roman Catholic tradition, are surprisingly balanced, such as this passage on Clare of Assisi:
  
  “Over time, Clare so mistreated her body that it broke down in pain and illness. Finally, she grew so weak that Francis intervened. He commanded her to eat at least one meal every day and to sleep on a bed stuffed with straw. Later in life, Clare realized that her severe fasting had destroyed her health, and she urged others not to follow her excesses.” (pg. 76)
  
  I don’t know if 50 is too many, but I found the book becoming rather tedious by the end, even though I was interested in the final chapters. Several of the profiles spurred me to future investigation on the web or by adding to-reads to my Goodreads list. While this is a valuable contribution in giving an overview of the contribution of women to Christianity generally, I think the original Trial & Triumph would be preferable if you could only purchase one.
  
  I *like* this series, though I cannot say I adore it as much as Simonetta Carr’s Christian Biographies for Young Readers, in which I find the writing and depth superior. But Hannula is filling a spot in the market for compilations and I think I prefer his work over the Withrow’s History Lives series.
  
  Trial & Triumph, Hannula, 1999
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  
  Christian Biographies for Young Readers, Simonetta Carr, ongoing
  
  www.goodreads.com/series/83950-christ...
  
  History Lives, Vol 1-5, Withrow, completed 2012
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 
  Lisa Bittle

  Wow! When you are off, you might as well be way off! This book is terrible! I read another book by this author, so thought I'd try this one too. But alas, it's full of terrible history. Not that the history is terrible, but that the women that the author selected as remarkable women in church history were often way off in their doctrine and what it means to truly follow Jesus Christ. Don't get me wrong, some of the women in this book are good role models, but many are not. Sad to see what some think as "remarkable" followers of Christ.
  
  I don't recommend this book! My pastor has a heresy shelf where he puts authors that didn't stay true to God's Word, and went way off the deep end. This book is that bad that I'd recommend putting it on the heresy shelf. Instead, I am throwing out my copy of this book, because I wouldn't want others to come across it and read it. Terrible!
• 
  Grace Achord

  The author does a very good job of writing within the historical context of each person. He does not anachronise, but rather, lets the stories speak for themselves, without trying to assert his own agenda or theological persuasions.
  
  The book is an easily read account of some remarkable women. It reignites a passion in the reader to serve Christ and to mimic His other followers who served Him well. The short bios are engaging glimpses into the lives of these women, calling the reader to learn more about them.
• 
  Megan

  This was a wonderful compilation of biographical sketches. Naturally, each of the 46 biographies was very short -- not exhaustive by any means. However, each woman's story was inspiring and engaging. Some were so filled with faith and wisdom that I was moved to tears. I plan to recommend this book to other Christian women. It isn't perfectly written, but the stories it contains are beautiful and worthy of telling.
• 
  Debra Wills

  This was a book I read to my Mom and she enjoyed it as much as I did. Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History was more than I expected, some of the women like Bestie and Corie ten Boom and Katherine Parr, I knew from their biographies but others were mothers, wives, and sisters of some of the great names in church history. If you like history, you will enjoy this book. Each story is short and is divided into sections from Early church persecution to 20 and 21st-century missionaries.
• 
  RedeemedReader

  Terrific anthology of mini-biographies of women from the ancient church to the present for middle grades and up.
  
  Read full review at
  Redeemed Reader
• 
  Jenna

  Great book for encouraging Christian girls in their faith.
• 
  Gabe Mira

  Fantastic read. ”Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1, NASB)
  
  This is great to read as a family too with the short chapters. It will convict and encourage you as a family.
• 
  Amy

  I really enjoyed this book. The variety of women throughout history who took a stand for Christ is refreshing and encouraging. There were new facts and tidbits from each chapter that were new to me - even the most well known women had some new information.
  
  It was an encouragement to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind. These women were strong and unwavering in their faith.
  
  I listened to this book on Scribd and my only complaint was the reader - he was a bit dry and monotone.
• 
  Beverly

  The faith of these women put me to shame. I really don't know if I would make the choices they did in the face of personal physical peril. The stories from the time of the reformation widened my eyes to what was happening at that time, and making me more thankful for those who pushed for reformation, for pushing to have Scriptures available in a language and form that the average person could read them for themselves.
• 
  Éowyn

  It seems almost presumptuous to rate this book at all; suffice to say "Trial and Triumph" by the same author was one of the most influential books in the development of my childhood mind, and this is just such another. Powerful without being overwhelming I heartily recommend this book to one and all but especially those of a youthful age.
• 
  Katie Pastrana

  Hard read as I’m not a huge history fan so it took me a little longer than I wanted for that reason. However, the book has great takeaways and inspiring stories of women of faith!
• 
  Katie

  Inspirational, challenging, convicting. Brilliant!! A must read for Christian women young and old.