Author Description

If an average person, when confronted with the law, wrath and judgment of God confesses his sins and receives in faith his forgiveness and justification, while this is miraculous, it is not monumental. For such an application of the Law and Gospel is the norm whereby an unbeliever becomes a Christian. But if such a deep and profound acknowledgment of sin, ignominy and misery together with a serene confession of faith in the Lord Jesus as the only solution to a troubled conscience, is set forth in writing, for all the world to see, by a person of high and noble standing, such as the Queen of England, this is noteworthy. For this reason, I suggest that "The Lamentation of a Sinner," authored by Queen Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England, is one of the more significant, and yet largely unknown, documents to emerge out of the sixteenth century Reformation. "The Lamentation of a Sinner" is also included in my new book "Katherine Parr: Opportunist, Queen, Reformer." The book, a hardover including sixteen pages of color prints, was published by Amberley Books in the UK. . In addition to a biography presenting the life and faith of Queen Katherine within the context of the Lutheran Reformation, a final section "Practicing and Amending" discusses and applies her teaching in "The Lamentation." Queen Katherine presents the basic truths of the Christian faith applicable to the life of every believer in every age.