Martyrdom in the home of golf

I am not a big fan of golf. But I do like walking with our dog on the golf course near our home at dusk.... Anyway, since arriving in the US I have noticed how much attention that the British Open (being played in St. Andrew's Scotland) is getting in the media. I fear that some of this high level of coverage stems from a media obsession with Tiger Woods....

One newspaper article even gave a bit of background on the town including mentioning the martyr's memorials in the street cobblestones. This brought back some personal memories for me.

Patrick Hamilton, one of the first leaders of the Scottish reformation, was martyred in 1528 at age 24. According to Wikipedia:

His only book, Loci communes, known as "Patrick's Places", set forth the doctrine of justification by faith and the contrast between the gospel and the law in a series of clear-cut propositions. It is to be found in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments. [Book of Martyrs]

The complete text of the book is here.

The photo above [taken from a beautiful collection of photos of Scotland by James G. Mundey] shows the initials PH, the memorial for Patrick Hamilton.

About a decade ago I interviewed for a job at St. Andrews University [which thankfully I did not get]. I think the formal interview was in a room just above this monument. This helped keep things in perspective.