Stronger Than the Sword
Set in times when to refuse to conform to the forms of worship imposed by the state was to risk fines or imprisonment, Stronger Than the Sword depicts a typical family living in Somerset in the mid-seventeenth century.
The circumstances of their lives, and those of their friends, take place in the context of stirring historical events. Interwoven into the narrative are numerous references to real-life historical characters, including Joseph Alleine, John Bunyan, and the early Baptist leader Hanserd Knollys, as well as notable political figures.
A farmer, searching the moors at night for his son, missing after a skirmish in the English Civil War, stumbles across a Royalist soldier lying severely injured in a ditch. His decision to help the man will have surprising repercussions in years to come, both for his own family and for the stranger whose life he saved at great personal cost.
The central characters in the story are representative of the countless numbers of Christians worldwide who, down through the centuries, have demonstrated a faith in the living God which is stronger than the sword – a faith that prevails even though a civil power may attempt to crush and annihilate it. As such, their example challenges Christians today to remain faithful to the truths of Scripture, cost what it may.
- About the author: Faith Cook, the daughter of OMF missionaries, was born in China and now lives in Derbyshire, England. She is the author of numerous books, including Anne Bradstreet: Pilgrim and Poet and Caught in the Web.