Spain is much more than a holiday destination. It is true that many British people choose our country for their holidays, but as evangelical Christians we have an obligation to look beyond the sunshine and beaches to a country that does not know the gospel and remains under much darkness.
History
In the 16th century, Erasmianism, a precursor to the Protestant Reformation, influenced Spain. In the words of M. Bataillon, ‘It was both enlightenment and progress… It stirred in Spain what is most intimate and universal in her. It enriched its heritage in an everlasting way.’ Spain was thus a sown field for the Reformation. The reading of the Bible and of forbidden books from Europe did the rest. Not a few nobles and clergy were converted, but the anti-Protestant policies of Charles V and his son Philip II, along with the Holy Inquisition, erased all traces of ‘heresy’. The so-called Second Reformation took place in Spain in the middle of the 19th century, following the establishment of liberal constitutions that promoted religious freedom. It was at this time that missionaries and colporteurs such as George Borrow (noted for his bestselling travel book, The Bible in Spain) worked in Spain together with other British and European organisations, sending their men and women to promote the knowledge and distribution of the Bible, taking advantage of the recent freedoms in the country to carry out missionary work.
