God’s story is our story. When we read of the Old Testament patriarchs, we’re reading our family history. The trials
and triumphs of our brothers and sisters in Christ are recorded throughout the pages of the New Testament. But, there are others in our family that we seldom read or hear about. The martyrs and victims of the Spanish Inquisition often find their place in this number. The Spanish Brothers is a beautiful illustration of the lives of two brothers in sixteenth century Spain, learning to know, love, and live the truth of the Reformed faith in fiercely Roman Catholic Spain. As in other parts of Europe during the early days of the Reformation, owning a copy of the Scriptures in a “vulgar” tongue is strictly forbidden, the owner labeled a heretic. Relentless in its pursuit to stamp out those who “smell of fire”, the Catholic Church makes a public spectacle of the torture, humiliation, and grotesque execution of its native sons. But the story of the brothers Alvarez and their lifelong search for their honored father lifts the reader above the horrific scenes going on all around them, into the presence of the One in Whom they put their trust.
Lest you think The Spanish Brothers gratuitously gory, it is not. Alcock does not dwell on the details of the torture, glorifying the base and barbaric treatment of fellow human beings. The more acrid treatments occur “off-stage” and are left to the readers’ imagination. Rather, she shows the peace that surpasses all understanding, while not shrinking from the realities of the Inquisition’s cruelty. I am glad to have this living book to add to my children’s understanding and love of those who gave their lives that the truth might be made manifest to future generations.