My life has interfered with my work on The Servetus Project. John Lennon said "Life is what happens while you are making other plans. Life happened while I was planning to work on The Servetus Project.
I am currently rewriting the script and the chapters of my book "Rebel With a Cause" to publish the second edition. I'll check in here with updates.
Supporting "The Passion of the Heretic", a narrative feature film script about the life of Michael Servetus (1511-2011).
Monday, January 14, 2019
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Servetus Project website exceeds 4000 hits
The Servetus Project website has exceeded 4000 pageviews. Today, the total pageviews reached 4020 at 5:00 EDT August 1, 2013. I appreciate all the attention and feedback. I'm looking forward to a bright future and I hope we will all be able to see a feature film about Michael Servetus' life in the near future.
Now if that very special executive producer would stop by.
The image below shows recent activity.
Now if that very special executive producer would stop by.
The image below shows recent activity.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
The Servetus Project and the book, Rebel With a Cause: The Radical Reformer, has been featured on two European websites. One French Unitarian and one Italian Unitarian church have placed an announcement of the book on their websites.
I appreciate this publicity a great deal. It is special to me when Unitarian groups express interest in my work on The Servetus Project. You can see the web pages at:
Unitarian News French
Unitarian Christians of the "BET DAVID CHURCH" Italian
Michael servetus plays an important role in the development of Unitarianism. His role is based mainly on his earliest book, On the Errors of The Trinity which gave focus to the various anti-Trinitarian ideas and groups in the 16th century. His last book, The Restitution of Christianity, was nearly eradicated by his enemies before it could be distributed widely. It was not able to affect Christian theology, though it has many important memes that developed much later in Christian history. These mostly positive changes could have come much earlier if his ideas had been distributed as widely as On the Errors of The Trinity.
There are only three extant copies of The Restitution of Christianity in libraries and they have only been translated from the original Latin into Spanish and English in recent years. they have not yet received the theological examination they deserve.
I appreciate this publicity a great deal. It is special to me when Unitarian groups express interest in my work on The Servetus Project. You can see the web pages at:
Unitarian News French
Unitarian Christians of the "BET DAVID CHURCH" Italian
Michael servetus plays an important role in the development of Unitarianism. His role is based mainly on his earliest book, On the Errors of The Trinity which gave focus to the various anti-Trinitarian ideas and groups in the 16th century. His last book, The Restitution of Christianity, was nearly eradicated by his enemies before it could be distributed widely. It was not able to affect Christian theology, though it has many important memes that developed much later in Christian history. These mostly positive changes could have come much earlier if his ideas had been distributed as widely as On the Errors of The Trinity.
There are only three extant copies of The Restitution of Christianity in libraries and they have only been translated from the original Latin into Spanish and English in recent years. they have not yet received the theological examination they deserve.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
New Servetus Biography by Uwe Bimstein
A new book about Michael Servetus' life has been published by German author Uwe Bimstein. Titled Toleranz und Scheiterhaufen: Das Leben des Michael Servet (Tolerance and the Stake: The life of Michael Servetus), the book is a biography which also speaks to Michael's theology from a current viewpoint.
I am happy to see more information published about Michael's life. Because he spent time in Germany and Switzerland with Protestant leaders after leaving the Catholic Church, I am hopeful Mr. Bimstein has included new information on Michael's time in Basel and Strasbourg. At this pivotal juncture in his life, he was rebuffed by the Protestant leaders. With the knowledge that neither the Catholics nor the Protestants were willing to allow changes in their doctrines, Michael decided to publish his ideas in the book On the Errors of the Trinity. This act set the course for the rest of his life. More information about what the Protestant leaders said to him or about him would shed light on his fateful decision.
I congratulate Mr. Bimstein on his publication and hope to see an English version soon. More information on the book is available at:
Tolerance and the Stake
 |
| Cover of Tolerance and the Stake |
I am happy to see more information published about Michael's life. Because he spent time in Germany and Switzerland with Protestant leaders after leaving the Catholic Church, I am hopeful Mr. Bimstein has included new information on Michael's time in Basel and Strasbourg. At this pivotal juncture in his life, he was rebuffed by the Protestant leaders. With the knowledge that neither the Catholics nor the Protestants were willing to allow changes in their doctrines, Michael decided to publish his ideas in the book On the Errors of the Trinity. This act set the course for the rest of his life. More information about what the Protestant leaders said to him or about him would shed light on his fateful decision.
I congratulate Mr. Bimstein on his publication and hope to see an English version soon. More information on the book is available at:
Tolerance and the Stake
Friday, July 19, 2013
An Overdue Update
I can remember when I expected to have my revision of The Passion of the Heretic script and of Rebel With a Cause: The Radical Reformer finished in November of 2012. Life interfered. I interfered. The Economy interfered. This all held up the reprinting of my sold out book, Rebel With a Cause. Now I am poised to finish the script re-write by the end of July, 2013, and begin the additions to the book and a rewrite of the former non-script parts of the book. So it looks like a fall printing date. If nothing interferes.
As for the film, no one with millions to invest has shown up as of today. I'm still convinced this story could be a money making film for some enterprising Executive Producer. Whether it is my script, my script revised by professional screenwriters, or another vision of Michael's story, I do not care. My part in this project is to be a catalyst to getting a narrative film made about the life of this extraordinary Enlightenment man who was, unfortunately, born in the Renaissance period. Somehow, someway, someone in the movie industry will tell the right person this dramatic story and the money grease will fall into place. Wheels will turn.
It is my contention that had Michael been born one hundred fifty years or two hundred years later, he would be celebrated with John Locke, Francis Bacon, Voltaire, Issac Newton, Gottfried Liebniz, Benjamin Franklin, Immanuel Kant, and many other Enlightenment notables. He could have known and discoursed with many of them. The primary difference would be the Inquisition would have been laid to rest and his ideas and contributions could have been more easily accepted or critiqued. Though there could have been an adversary as powerful as Calvin, there would have also been more protectors. Martin Luther only succeeded in his breakaway from Catholicism because German Princes gave him protection. Michael's ideas were too radical in 1553, but could have at least gotten a fair hearing in 1753.
I digress from my writing, or rather, my lack of writing. I am at page one hundred in the script, having gone over the previous pages and added improvements (I hope) and more drama at important moments. I have been reading also. I have started Michael's Christianismi Restitutio (English translation, Christopher Hoffman and Marian Hillar, Edwin Mellon, 2007). That is hard reading for me, even in English since I am not a theologian and it would be dense reading even if I were. I'll get back to that, but for now I have moved on. I re-read Jerome Friedman's Michael Servetus: A Case Study in Total Heresy. This book provides an explanation of Michael's theology, not exhaustive, not necessarily correct, but available. I wish there were more scholarly studies of Michael's thoughts and beliefs.
Around page one hundred in the script, Michael arrives in Geneva and the great trial gets underway. This is the most difficult part of the script for me to write. How do I show the trial drama to an audience without making it into a boring journey through legal and theological arguments? And when that is necessary, how to show the intense theological debate Calvin and Michael had to an audience that would not follow it anyway? As I said about Christianismi Restitutio, I have a lot of trouble following it myself. In this quandary, I turned to the current masterpiece of legal investigation into the trial, Did Calvin Murder Servetus. At five hundred and sixty-two pages, sixteen appendices, and fourteen pages of biographical references, this is a mighty tome to study. It does, however, explain the intricacies and substance of the trial. Stanford Rives, Esq., the author, has explained the trial and Calvin's part in it in great detail with nearly one thousand (990) footnotes. I haven't finished re-reading it, but it will make the presentation of the trial much more exciting. Mr. Rives has honored me with several email exchanges over the past few years.
Another thing I must mention is the encouragement to keep working on this I have received. My wife has always been a source of understanding support. Several friends ask me about the project when they see me. I have gotten two requests for books through social media networks in the last week. Since the book sold out in October of 2012, it is exciting to have this mini-revival of interest. A few months ago my dear friend and blogger buddy, Helen Holshouser bought a book Helen has mysteriously been interested and impressed with my script and book to a greater extent than most of my other peeps. She has bought more books and talked to more people than anybody else. She also gives me more flattery (of the good kind) than I probably deserve. Helen wrote a magazine article about me and my writing for Our State magazine. They only accept articles from their regular writers. We are holding publication by someone until the new book is ready. I'd like to extend many thanks to all my friends with a special tip 'o the hat to Helen.
And if I finish the book in the fall, that is just in time for your Christmas giving list.
As for the film, no one with millions to invest has shown up as of today. I'm still convinced this story could be a money making film for some enterprising Executive Producer. Whether it is my script, my script revised by professional screenwriters, or another vision of Michael's story, I do not care. My part in this project is to be a catalyst to getting a narrative film made about the life of this extraordinary Enlightenment man who was, unfortunately, born in the Renaissance period. Somehow, someway, someone in the movie industry will tell the right person this dramatic story and the money grease will fall into place. Wheels will turn.
It is my contention that had Michael been born one hundred fifty years or two hundred years later, he would be celebrated with John Locke, Francis Bacon, Voltaire, Issac Newton, Gottfried Liebniz, Benjamin Franklin, Immanuel Kant, and many other Enlightenment notables. He could have known and discoursed with many of them. The primary difference would be the Inquisition would have been laid to rest and his ideas and contributions could have been more easily accepted or critiqued. Though there could have been an adversary as powerful as Calvin, there would have also been more protectors. Martin Luther only succeeded in his breakaway from Catholicism because German Princes gave him protection. Michael's ideas were too radical in 1553, but could have at least gotten a fair hearing in 1753.
I digress from my writing, or rather, my lack of writing. I am at page one hundred in the script, having gone over the previous pages and added improvements (I hope) and more drama at important moments. I have been reading also. I have started Michael's Christianismi Restitutio (English translation, Christopher Hoffman and Marian Hillar, Edwin Mellon, 2007). That is hard reading for me, even in English since I am not a theologian and it would be dense reading even if I were. I'll get back to that, but for now I have moved on. I re-read Jerome Friedman's Michael Servetus: A Case Study in Total Heresy. This book provides an explanation of Michael's theology, not exhaustive, not necessarily correct, but available. I wish there were more scholarly studies of Michael's thoughts and beliefs.
Around page one hundred in the script, Michael arrives in Geneva and the great trial gets underway. This is the most difficult part of the script for me to write. How do I show the trial drama to an audience without making it into a boring journey through legal and theological arguments? And when that is necessary, how to show the intense theological debate Calvin and Michael had to an audience that would not follow it anyway? As I said about Christianismi Restitutio, I have a lot of trouble following it myself. In this quandary, I turned to the current masterpiece of legal investigation into the trial, Did Calvin Murder Servetus. At five hundred and sixty-two pages, sixteen appendices, and fourteen pages of biographical references, this is a mighty tome to study. It does, however, explain the intricacies and substance of the trial. Stanford Rives, Esq., the author, has explained the trial and Calvin's part in it in great detail with nearly one thousand (990) footnotes. I haven't finished re-reading it, but it will make the presentation of the trial much more exciting. Mr. Rives has honored me with several email exchanges over the past few years.
Another thing I must mention is the encouragement to keep working on this I have received. My wife has always been a source of understanding support. Several friends ask me about the project when they see me. I have gotten two requests for books through social media networks in the last week. Since the book sold out in October of 2012, it is exciting to have this mini-revival of interest. A few months ago my dear friend and blogger buddy, Helen Holshouser bought a book Helen has mysteriously been interested and impressed with my script and book to a greater extent than most of my other peeps. She has bought more books and talked to more people than anybody else. She also gives me more flattery (of the good kind) than I probably deserve. Helen wrote a magazine article about me and my writing for Our State magazine. They only accept articles from their regular writers. We are holding publication by someone until the new book is ready. I'd like to extend many thanks to all my friends with a special tip 'o the hat to Helen.
And if I finish the book in the fall, that is just in time for your Christmas giving list.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Son of Gonzalez Echeverria Visits The Servetus Project
The son of Servetus researcher Gonzales Echeverria has commented to a post about my book, Rebel With A Cause. Although his purpose seems to be to contradict the prior comment of Jaume de Marcos, The Servetus Project welcomes the first Echeverria supporter to this website who almost identifies himself. So, welcome, Son of Gonzales, AKA "Michael Servetus Res". "Boston Clifford Center" and "Unitarian Dome", my readers still wonder who you are.
I would encourage everyone who wishes to comment here to identify yourself in your Google profile if you are using an assumed name. This simple act, as obvious as it may seem, gives some immediate credibility to your statements. I would also encourage future posters to comment on my book or my screenplay, the purpose of this blog. If you want to debate historical evidence for various theories about Michael's life, there must be more suitable places for that. If there are not suitable places, it is easy to start one.
I would encourage everyone who wishes to comment here to identify yourself in your Google profile if you are using an assumed name. This simple act, as obvious as it may seem, gives some immediate credibility to your statements. I would also encourage future posters to comment on my book or my screenplay, the purpose of this blog. If you want to debate historical evidence for various theories about Michael's life, there must be more suitable places for that. If there are not suitable places, it is easy to start one.
Friday, November 9, 2012
No New Ground Broken
I have reviewed Mr. Dome's comments to my last post, I appreciate his return to explain his position. I believe now that I have misunderstood his statement. When he said, "Stated in inspected documents", I thought he meant documents he, or some other researcher, had inspected. I imagined from this that others, even you and I, could inspect them. After my review of his comments and the resources he directed me to view, I now believe he meant documents that French officials in the 1500s inspected that are no longer extant. There is, as I now understand, no document that shows Michael had a father named De Villanueva. Just the same as there is no document that shows Michael had a father named Serveto.
The documents referred to my Mr. Dome , from my understanding, are documents viewed by registrars of the University of Paris when Michael matriculated there, Tagault, head of the medical school, when he was tried for teaching astrology, and the officials who conferred citizenship on him while he was living in Vienne.
If only any one of these officials would have saved a copy of the documents they viewed.
If only any one of these officials would have saved a copy of the documents they viewed.
I extend my apologies to Mr. Dome for misunderstanding his words and I appreciate him showing me sources to help me recognize my misunderstanding.
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