Talk:George van Parris

Fellow-protestants?
The article begins by telling us van Parris was "a Dutch Arian, who was burnt at the stake in London by his fellow Protestants". It may sound interesting, but is it logically and semantically possible? Actually, the term Protestant was not actually in use in the time in the same sense as it is used today and supporters of the Reformation were generally termed evangelicals. Assuming a continuity between the Edwardian reformers and later protestantism: is not a minimum qualification for the title Protestant, as now and historically understood, belief in the Trinity? This doctrine has never been at issue between Catholics and Protestants. Protestant churches have never recognised Unitarians as fellow-Protestants and do not accept Unitarian baptism as valid. The Parris case foreshadows Calvin's treatment of Servetus at Geneva a few years later - a key event in establishing Calvin's credentials as a determined leader of the Reformation. Van Parris was one of only two people executed for their religious beliefs in the reign of Edward VI (the other being Joan Bocher, a different sort of Unitarian). That might make a better opening gambit, although I'd rather someone with real expertise in the area had a proper look at the intro than mess with it myself.Sjwells53 (talk) 21:28, 11 February 2013 (UTC)