Bibles of the English Reformation: William Tyndale's Bible to the King James Version

 As William Tyndale was burned at the stake, he cried again and again until his neck was broken by the strangling rope of the executioner, ''Lord open the king of England's eyes, Lord open the King of England's eyes!'' Tyndale was dead, though his Bible translation was not, and it was as least as influential in England, quite certainly more in fact, than was Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses was in Germany. Tyndale saw himself as a martyr, and as one fighting for something far greater than life itself: the acceptance of the English Bible by all English people, not just clergy, but also the everyday working peasant.
 What followed Tyndale's death was another remarkable story of Henry VIII transforming the Church of England more and more into Protestantism, and away from Roman Catholicism. Soon Saint Thomas Moore, now widely held as a Catholic martyr, would be beheaded for not approving of the king's divorce from his first wife. Roman Catholics and Protestants alike would be forced to submit or face capital punishment by order of the king. Those that denied Transubstantiation, were likewise killed.
 Henry VIII was a remarkable man. His character was selfish, yet pious, and he is as colorful as a bird from the Amazon Forest. Henry would have nothing be seen as higher than him, not a papacy, nothing. Whatever one's view of him personally, he greatly contributed to the history of the English Bible.

 Myles Coverdale finished out The Tyndale Bible, and from his own  Bible translation would be The Great Bible of Henry VIII. The Great Bible would be the first authorized version of the English Bible, succeeded later by the Bishop's Bible. Called great for it's size, The Great Bible was a major step in putting English Versions of the Bible in churches throughout all the land.
 Meanwhile, more reformed versions of the Bible took place. Several Editions were made of The Geneva Bible, used heavily by Calvinists, which was full of notes that attacked the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
 Perhaps most striking to the 16th century versions of the English Bibles was The Douay Rheims Bible. Brought on by Roman Catholic monks that had fled England from Protestant Persecution, the Douay Rheims was the first complete Roman Catholic Bible in England. Not to be confused with the later Challoner Bible, The Douay Rheims was translated directly from The Latin Vulgate, and implied Protestants as the enemy of the church by it's English translation of Ephesians chapter 6, which says that they wrestle not against principalities and protestants.
 As influential however as all these English Bibles were, a much more influential English Bible would influence and change the world as none of them had done yet.  It's name dear readers is too significant to briefly mention here, for it is the masterpiece of English Literature.

Bibles of the English Reformation: The Tyndale Bible

This post today will be focusing on how The English Bible impacted the world and changed it forever. Of special significance, I want to bring attention to how The Tyndale Bible was laying the foundation for a much more popular English translation just a little while later. That later version I speak of, would come to be known in the English speaking world as The Authorized Version, or more commonly, The King James Bible. 

 It is hard to mention the English Reformation, without first mentioning William Tyndale. William Tyndale impacted the English speaking world in ways that no one had ever done yet.
 Influenced by Martin Luther, Tyndale was an English Lutheran that not only spoke against abuse in the Catholic Church, but saw the need, from his perspective, to translate the Bible into the tongue of English men.
 When people think of Reformation theology, they probably often think of the debate over how a man is justified before God. Whereas Roman Catholicism has taught dogmatically since The Council of Trent, that man is justified not by faith alone, on the reverse, Protestants commonly taught that it was faith alone in Christ that did justify. Of course, that is not to say that all the Protestants or Catholics did not disagree with each other on the specifics of justification, but rather my point is to illustrate the fact that the justification debate was instrumental to the Protestant Reformation.
 That said, there maybe one area of difference compared to the justification one, and that I suggest to be the debate over the use of Holy Scripture by lay people.
 Many in the Roman Catholic hierarchy were in fear that a Bible in the Vernacular, would cause people to question the church, and for heresy to spread. Bibles produced by the Protestant Reformers were commonly banned or burnt by the command of the Catholic Church.
 On the other hand, Protestants claimed that Latin was no longer the Vernacular, and that all people should be able to read the Bible for themselves.
 While I don't want want to get into much detail about the Protestant Reformation here, it should be noted that Tyndale was a contemporary of Martin Luther, though it is unclear if they ever met. But Tyndale may bear more similarities to the earlier John Wycliffe, if not in theology, than certainly by the fact that both Wycliffe and Tyndale were English men.

 Unlike John Wycliffe, Tyndale's English Bible, though never complete, was translated from the Greek New Testament rather than the Latin. His interest in Greek set the stage for many of the Bible translations after him. Prior to The Crusades, and especially the Protestant Reformation, Greek had been largely unknown in the West for about a thousand years. However, by the time of the Reformation, many of the Protestants more and more began to distrust the Catholic Church, and took further interest in translating the Bible from The Textus Receptus of Erasmus, rather than simply The Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome. Even then, many Protestants throughout the ages have treasured the work that St. Jerome did for the West by his writing of The Latin Vulgate.

                                         The above picture is of The Tyndale Bible.



           English law under Henry VIII would forbid many of the common people from reading the English Bible. However, due to the printing press and the great efforts of Tyndale's followers, the English Bible would spread quickly. Tyndale would not recant his alleged heresies, and would suffer at the burning of the stake before it.
 While William Tyndale is an interesting figure, I am not going to discuss details of his life here, though I encourage you, my readers, to do that. What I am simply trying to impose through these series of post on the English Bible of the Reformation, is their brief influence on literature. Indeed, however one sees the Reformation, the burning torch of it's adherents cause would not be so easily blown out by the popes or bishops of the Roman Church. In time, no matter the persecution or trial, The English Bible would survive all future threats and attempts at it's burning or banning from the common man. Even when Queen Mary Tudor successfully Catholicised England to it's Roman roots, she could not stop the publication of the English Bible. Mary Tudor would have multiple English Bibles burnt, but every attempt at this, only seemed to further help the Protestant cause. In time many English Protestants would not only see the pope as Antichrist, but the Roman Catholic Church as a great evil institution.  Exaggerations on the part of many Protestants would blow some of the events of the Reformation out of their historical context, but even then, these hatreds on the part of many Protestants towards the Roman Church, can be largely traced back to the division between Catholics and Protestants over whether ordinary people were fit to interpret the Bible for themselves, in contrast to the interpretation of the Scriptures, being made by the Catholic Church.
 The English Bible had now changed the world forever, and for many Protestants, there was no going back. If anything, many Protestants would continue to dissociate themselves from Roman Catholic doctrines more and more. Soon, Protestants such as the Puritans, would disavow not only the use of crucifixes, but also of crosses. What all Protestants did certainly agree on though, was that Scripture is for all people, and all people must study it.

There are several notable films of William Tyndale that I would recommend including God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale.  This film was done really well not just in it's historical accuracy, but also the fact that is just entertaining! That said, this film I think, is certainly from the Protestant point of view, which may disinterest hardcore Roman Catholic in it.

Bibles of the English Reformation: The Wycliffe Bible

In my previous post, I went briefly over the English versions of the Bible from the Reformation eras. This post is the beginning of my series of posts on each of the main English versions of the Bible.

 For the previous one thousand years, St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate, had been used almost exclusively in the west. The Roman Catholic Church was leary of Vernacular translations, although not entirely opposed to it. Many of the Catholic hierarchy felt that Bibles used by the people, in the common language, would make heresy more easily spreadable by people not going to the church for it's interpretation of the Scriptures. The Protestants believed this was an excuse of the Roman Catholic Popes and Bishops to keep people dependent upon the church, and especially on indulgences for salvation.  The ushering debate of Papacy vrs. Church Council, and the Church vrs. Scripture Alone, would be only foreshadows of the things to come.

 The Crusades to the Holy Land had been essentially over by the fourteenth century. The knowledge of Latin exclusively alone had faded through the Crusades however. Crusaders came back to Europe with knowledge of many things unknown to Western Christians, one of them being other languages. As new languages spread, the dependency on Latin likewise began to decline in the West.
John Wycliffe was not the first person to translate parts of the Bible into English. In fact, it is still debated how much he actually contributed to the Wycliffe Bible. What is certain, is the English Reformer John Wycliffe laid the foundations for the English Reformation in England.
 I first read a biography of John Wycliffe in my mid teens. My views have Wycliffe have went a little up and down over the years, but I have always considered him quite interesting.
 John Wycliffe was an Oxford scholar. Having Sympathy for the poor, Wycliffe's followers were mostly poor themselves, although some noble knights did also join his cause. Wycliffe held to the doctrine of Apostolic Poverty, and attacked the Roman Catholic Church for it's excessive property and money. Wycliffe felt he was follower of St. Augustine. One of his most important beliefs, shared also by his followers, was that the Bible should be in the vernacular, or common language for men to read.  As many of Wycliffe's works were later burnt, much of his theology is left obscure and unclear to modern readers. Frequently, this English reformer sided with the royalty of England over the church hierarchy. While this last point may sound surprising to many modern evangelical protestants, the fact is that Protestants historically supported Monarchy and Church states much like Roman Catholic.  Wycliffe died in exile for his alleged heresies, though his influence upon the English Reformation, would come to great influence with a certain scholar by the name of William Tyndale.

 Wycliffe's followers were known as the Lollards. Some of these groups opposed all forms of war, especially Crusades { check out The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards by John Purvey}. The Lollards were not a unified movement theologically speaking, they attracted large amounts of different people. The coming Peasant Revolt against King Richard II, was supported by some Lollards, and hence Wycliffe was later blamed for initiating this rebellion. As might be expected,  some of the beliefs of the Lollards were exaggerated of what Wycliffe had actually taught.
 Geoffrey Chaucer was a student of John Wycliffe. To this day, it is still debated where Chaucer theologically stood. On one hand, The Canterbury Tales certainly mocks abuse in the Catholic Church, but on the other, no document has ever shown Chaucer to not be a Roman Catholic. Whatever Chaucer's beliefs, he was greatly influenced by Wycliffe.
 With all that as in introduction, I want to say a little bit about The Wycliffe Bible. 

 The Wycliffe Bible was the first complete English Bible, itself being produced by the Lollards. This landmark in English Literature, was translated from the Latin Vulgate into English.  Many scholars believe Wycliffe had nothing to do with the translation however, which was completed largely by Nicholas of Hereford. A later second edition was written by John of Purvey, which was more radical than the first by it's further attempts to break with Rome. The Lollards incorporated more than a thousand words previously not found in English from Latin. The King James Version of the Bible would be heavily influenced by The Wycliffe Bible.


 For God louede so the world, that he yaf his oon bigetun sone, that ech man that belieuth in him perische not, but havbe everlasting liif. - John 3: 16, The Wycliffe Bible. 


 On a different subject, Wycliffe not only influenced the best selling book in history, The King James Version of the Bible, he influenced the father of English Literature, Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.

Further Sources : https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp file=47891, http://catholicencyclopedia.newadvent.com/cathen/09333a.htm,  English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith, Medieval Christianity: A New History by Kevin Madigan,

An Introduction to the Bibles of the English Reformation

 The Bible is by far the most sold Bible in the History of the World. The King James Version of the Bible alone has sold over 1 billion copies. The Bible's impact upon history, literature, art, linguistics, politics, and science is beyond compression.  What many takes advantage of now, however, is the fact that the Bible is more accessible to us than ever.
 This post will focus on some brief history of Bibles during the English Reformation. In future posts, I will reflect on these individual Bible translations with more care and attention.  My intent here is not to get into the Roman Catholic vrs. Protestant debates, but merely reflections on English translations of the Bible. I will leave it to theologians and historians to debate the context of the English Reformation, especially of whether or not it was morally right. Again, this post will merely focuses on the work of English Bibles.
 As we look at translations of the Bible from Latin or Greek into English, it is important to keep in mind the fact that it took much more work to produce copies of the Bible then it does today. Gutenberg's Printing Press was just the beginning for the publication of the Bible.
 As an introduction, the Bible had been used almost exclusively through the Latin Vulgate for the previous 1000 years before the time of the Protestant Reformation. Illuminated Manuscripts of the Bible had been used my monks from one Monastery to the next. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, everything suddenly changed.
 While parts of the Bible had been translated into English during Medieval Times, the entire Bible had never been. John Wycliffe's translation of the Bible from The Latin Vulgate to English, set the foundation for the English versions of the Bible, though many later versions of the Holy Scriptures, were based upon the Greek rather than the Latin text.
 The English Lutheran William Tyndale, was perhaps most influential on the history of the English Bible. He translated nearly all the Hebrew and Greek text of the Old and New Testaments into English. Tyndale, would go on to be burnt at the stake under the reign of  King Henry VIII of England. Protestants commonly claim that Tyndale was put to death for trying to get the Bible into the hands of all English people, not just the clergy of the church, whom many of the reformers felt were corrupt.  Roman Catholics on the other hand, commonly claim that Tyndale's execution was based on the fact that many of the notes of his Bible attacked the teachings of the Catholic Church, and that therefore, Tyndale was not simply put to death for writing an English Bible. Whichever of these two views the reader takes, what is universally agreed, is that William Tyndale was heavily influential upon the coming English Reformation.
 In 1534, Henry VIII cut ties with Rome. He had Roman Catholics and Protestants alike put to death, and made all submit to him as the head of the church. While most historians believe he started the Anglican Church, others say it would be not started until Elizabeth I. Henry VIII was the first English monarch to authorize a full translation of the Latin Scriptures into English. The Great Bible, alike to The Coverdale Bible, became in frequent use among the English clergy thereafter until the later Bishops Bible.

Called The Great Bible for it's massive size, this English translation of the Holy Scriptures, would pave the way for the most influential book in history, The King James Version of the Bible. 

The Geneva Bible was full of many reformed notes that attacked popes beginning with Gregory VII. The notes of the Geneva Bible also attributed the Whore of Babylon, found in The Book of Revelation, to the Catholic Church. 

 Building on a number of English Bibles, including Tyndale's Bible, The Geneva Bible, The Douay Rheims Bible, and The Bishop's Bible, The King James Version of the Bible would be more moderate than other Protestant Versions, yet still clearly Protestant. It's preface would attack ''Papist'', a derogatory term for Roman Catholics, yet it would retain the use of Charity, rather than love, in 1 Corinthians 13.





 To be continued....


Further Sources: The Nortan Anthology of English Literature, English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith.

Some Great Books that Defend Medieval Times

  Too often do people get their understanding of history from Hollywood or the media. Both the media and Hollywood have shown again and again to lie about Christians, and degrade the Western Christian past.
 The Crusades have been the subject of constant criticism in recent years. These expeditions to Outremer, and elsewhere, are also now used as a scapegoat to victimimize Muslims and convince people that the Muslims were either/and or should have not been attacked, and even evangelized by Christians instead. Too often those that make such ignorant comments forget about the Medieval Christians that did try to evangelize the Muslims, including St. Francis of Assisi. On a final point about evangelism, just as it would be absurd to say Christians should have just evangelized the Nazis rather than fight a war against them, so the same reasoning goes for the fact that the Crusades were absolutely necessary. 
When 9/11 happened, then President Bill Clinton said that the Muslims are getting back at the West for what happened in the first crusade. President George W. Bush called the War in Iraq a ''Crusade,'' and was then accused by the east of behaving like Richard the Lionheart.  A few years ago, then President Barack Obama, equalized modern jihad with the Crusades and Inquisitions of Christians of the past. Obama's criticism of the Crusades then a saw a return in criticism against him from Republican presidential candidates: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Bobby Jindal.  When President Trump said during the 2016 presidential debates and campaign,  that we need to bring back more of Medieval torture and ban Muslims from the country, no wonder he struck a chord with the left. Trump repeatedly talked about building a ''Medieval Wall'', and the fact the fact that Muslims have killed Christians more now than ever since the Middle Ages. For decades, the left has lied about American History, and Western History in general. The left's attempt is to make Americans no more proud of their Western roots than that found in any other culture. For to long, many Christians have been ignorant of their past, apologized for the Crusades, and have wrongly assumed that Muslims are victims of Christian bloodshed. This has resulted in many Christians apologizing for the Crusades and hoping their apology will soften the hearts of Muslims. There is no apology for truth, truth must be defended at all costs. Conservatives in recent years have seen the effects of Muslim immigration. Whether it be UKIP with Brexit in the U.K., or the Trump movement in the U.S., many Christians have been waking up to the dangers of Islam. The fact that not all Muslims are violent does not take away the danger of Islamic immigration. Closed Churches in the U. K. have become Mosques, and more people now attend Mosque than Church in France.
 Unfair generalizations are now given to the Christian past, and not simply to the Christian heritage of the Middle Ages, but also to the Christian roots of Puritan England. The left demonizes the Roman Catholic Inquisitions of the past, but it does the same to the Puritan Protestant's burning of witches in New England. Now, Christians of conservative doctrines,  are sometimes labelled ''Medieval,'' as a derogatory  insult. Whether it be Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, for decades the left has brutally attacked the reputation of Christians of past church history. This is seen in many films. Satire is now deployed against the Christian past. The left has a common way of making Christians looking silly or as hypocrites. The Monty Python films are no exception to this rule. In Monty Python: Life of Bryan, originally called Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory, another man is born next to Christ, and mistaken to be the Messiah. These are just some examples of blasphemy against Christ, which usually goes with mocking the holy church.
As someone that has for years defended the Crusades and Medieval Culture against unfair prejudice  and liberalism, I just wanted to post here some titles of books that defend Medieval Culture, the Medieval Church, and the Medieval Crusades. As liberals seem to hate Medieval Culture, I think it's important that Western Christians study more of their past to defend their Christian heritage. The books listed blow, also defend the Medieval West in more general terms as well.

 This book is just a good defense of the Crusades in general, while also exposing truths about Islam. The book shows well that not only was Islam a cult violent religion of Mohammed, but that the Crusades were in fact, very much defensive wars, called upon with good reason to defend Christendom from the Jihadist.

 This book is great for showing just a handful of the many of the devout Christians from Medieval Times. It particularity exposes how evangelistic was the Medieval Roman Catholic Church, and the great lives of some notable saints.

 This book is a good source for showing that Medieval People were not ignorant.

 This is one of my favorite books about the Middle Ages in general, focusing heavily on literature that influenced the Medieval World. Lewis's book also does much the same as the book listed above it, it shows the intelligence of art and science of medieval man. Sadly, many have seemed to have forgotten of the much knowledge that Medieval man had in certain subjects, that many now do not. For more information on this, check out my previous post on this very subject. C. S. Lewis, himself a Moderate Protestant, has always been an inspiration to my writings and theology. As a Moderate Protestant myself, I agree essentially with everything I have ever read from Lewis.

 This work is great for defending the fact that Science was not rejected by many Medieval people. Pope Sylvester II has been called the ''Science Pope'' for good reason.

 This work by G. K. Chesterton is great for showing one of the most heroic of all Medieval Christians.

 This book is a remarkable source for showing that Francis of Assisi went to the Muslims and preached to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps more surprising to modern ears, this book shows that Saint Francis actually supported the Crusades.

 What better way to understand Medieval Times, then to understand the Medieval Christian's worldview? Augustine's City of God, was besides the Latin Vulgate Bible, the basis for the Western Christian worldview. 

 Saint Augustine's writings served not only to defend the doctrine of original sin, but formed the basis for many of the Western's minds understandings of subjects like Predestination and Free Will. Augustine also defends the concept of just war in his writings, as well as the use of torture for those that do not hold the Catholic Faith. Whatever one thinks of Augustine,  it was his worldview, it was his writings like Confessions and City of God that were some of the greatest foundations of the Medieval World. As Augustine did not teach may of the teachings later taught by the Roman Catholic Church, most notably infallibility of the pope, it is perhaps no surprise that his writings were used as much by Protestants as they were by Roman Catholics.
                                                                

While it is true that many Medieval Christians were anti-Semitic, some were the opposite. Saint Bernard felt it was God's right alone to punish the Jew for unbelief. For this topic, I can think of no better source than the above book. 

John Gillingham has written quite respected books that have defended the reputation of Richard I. He is probably the best historian of the lionheart's life. 

 Many modern day feminist have a way of criticizing the culture of the Middle Ages for Medieval Women. This small book is good for disproving many of the feminist claims. 

Protestant theologian Dr. George Grant, has been one of my longtime mentors. His book is a great source on the origins of Islam and related subjects. 

 Roman Catholic historian Dr. Jonathan Riley Smith, now deceased, is widely regarded as the greatest modern historian of the Crusades. His work is a must read. 

This is one of the good books on defending the Knight's Templar from common liberal lies that I would recommend. 

This work is good for defending the Templars against many modern lies, as well as the false accusations brought against them by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the late Middle Ages. Historian Frale, has recently discovered documents in the Vatican showing that they were innocent of the accusations of Sodomy. 

The above book is an account about a Friar that went to and evangelized the Mongels. I recommend it primary as a source to the common evangelism found in the Medieval Church. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas has been recognized as the universal doctor of the Catholic Church. Many of his writings are the basis for Medieval Culture's worldview in general. 

 The second book listed here by Aquinas, is not only a defense of the Christian faith against Islam, but also of Latin Christianity vrs. Greek Christianity.

This small book of woodcuts and illustrations of the Protestant Reformation is another very fair source to that period of history. 

 You may like Mary Tudor or not! She has been called, ''Mary Bloody Mary'' by Protestants ever since her queenship for her execution of hundreds of Protestants. Still, some have exaggerated her cruelty over the years, and it's important to know that Elizabeth I killed more Roman Catholics than Mary Tudor killed Protestants. 

His holiness, Pope Innocent III, defends the papacy from the Scriptures in his book. Whether or not, one believes in the papacy or not, no one can fairly say that Medieval Popes did not know the Scriptures. 

 This an excellent book showing that Medieval Christians were not ignorant of the Koran.

However you feel about the Council of Trent, that is not the subject of this post. The Introduction to to the Roman Catechism by TAN Books is an outstanding defense of the Medieval Church. It clearly shows that Medieval Christians quite often knew the Holy Scriptures etc. 

Protestant Church Historian Alister Mcgrath, is one of the world's most admired theologians. His work above, is an excellent source on a fair understanding of the Protestant Reformation and it's Roman Catholic counterpart. 

I hope you all enjoyed this. I encourage all to quit apologizing for the Christian past. Even now, many Christians wrongly think that apologizing for their past will somehow make people feel more welcome to be Christians. It's time the Religious Right experience reveal, and realize the threat of Islamic aggression.