User:Manning Bartlett/Matthew Hammond

Matthew Hammond (birth year unknown, died 1579) was an English farmer who openly expressed disbelief in Jesus Christ, and was subsequently burned in a ditch by the Bishop of Norwich.

Other details - Unitarian.

Quote: "Christ is not God. He is not the saviour of the world, but a mere man, a sinful man, and an abominable idol. All who worship him are abominable idolaters. And Christ did not rise again from death to life, nor did he ascend to heaven."

Refs:
 * A history of England: from the first invasion by the Romans, Volume 8 By John Lingar, page 54
 * Memoirs of the Reformation of England, by Constantius Archæophilus By Edward Hatton, p58
 * Video cite: Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, Part II - Noughts and Crosses. 21:37