Chapter 2: “Stephen’s Riddle” – The Bible Makes Us Baptists by Mary E. Bamford (read by H. Ross)

In this second chapter, Editha’s cousin Stephen shares a seemingly harmless riddle about people who live in a fish cellar and eat only fish until they die. But when Editha’s father hears it, he abruptly leaves the supper table in distress—shaken by the haunting memory it brings.

As the chapter unfolds, listeners are transported into a historical account of early English Gospellers—young men who risked everything for the truth of God’s Word. Among them was Clark, who read Paul’s epistles aloud to friends at Oxford, including Anthony Delabare, who came to faith in Christ. When their secret meetings were discovered, they were imprisoned in a cold, foul fish cellar, surviving only on salt fish. Four men died, including Clark, who, even in his final days, held fast to the Gospel: “Believe, and thou hast eaten.”

This story helps explain Editha’s father’s sorrow—his growing rejection of Roman Catholic authority, his compassion for persecuted believers, and his quiet but courageous decision to follow Christ as an Anabaptist. Though Editha is unaware of the full significance, this chapter marks a turning point in her father's spiritual journey—toward liberty of conscience and biblical faith.

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