Introduction

We are continuing our apologetics study about how we got the English Bible. Last week we discussed John Wycliffe and the Bible translation he helped bring about. Tonight, we are going to jump ahead in history about 100 years and introduce a man named William Tyndale.

William Tyndale

William Tyndale was born in 1495 in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, close to the border of Wales.

Lollard sentiment was high where Tyndale lived. Wycliffe had a prebend near there at one point and Purvey had also preached near there. (Purvey was the man who revised Wycliffe’s translation into a more readable format.)

Tyndale was taught at a special grammar school and showed a great aptitude for languages even at an early age. He could read Latin with ease by about age ten. (p. 80)

Tyndale was greatly impressed by a passage he read in the Latin chronicles where a king caused part of the scriptures to be translated into English (possibly Great Deeds of the English Kings).

At age 12, he went to Oxford, where he was “singularly addicted to the study of the scriptures.” He earned his M. A. there in 1515.

Tyndale then went to Cambridge where Erasmus had been teaching, boosting the Greek studies there.

Tyndale also devoured the works of the new Continental Reformers: Luther, Melanchthon, and Zwingli.

By the time Tyndale left Cambridge in 1521, the Reformation had taken hold.

Between the time of Wycliffe and Martin Luther, the Renaissance had taken hold along with the printing press. Classical wisdom and learning were revived.

The Humanism intellectual movement got rolling, which emphasized the unity of truth and the dignity of man. Its human ideal was the “Renaissance Man,” accomplished in all things. It stood in great contrast to the “formalistic pieties” of before. (p. 81)

The printing press

Johann Gutenberg, a Mainz goldsmith, invented the printing press in 1450. Screw type presses had been used earlier for embossing patterns on paper and textiles. It wasn’t until techniques of die-stamping and casting molds got better that letters in relief could be produced, allowing for the printing press.

In medieval times, monasteries and other religious organizations had almost a complete monopoly on book production. Each abbey and monastery had its own scriptorium.

When the printing press was invented, there was already a huge demand for books. Many copyists were employed but they could barely keep up. Printing presses were soon in place in a number of cities (p. 83)

In Cologne, William Caxton, “the father of English printing” learned the craft, then set up his own press at Westminster in 1476. He went on to publish nearly a hundred English books, many of his own translation. He had a very natural style of speaking, which influenced English diction. He had no dictionaries-only his own judgment. This was tricky because English was so in flux that sometimes even neighboring shires couldn’t understand each other.

Caxton told the story of some Northumberland merchants who sailed to the mouth of the Thames and were looking for breakfast at an inn. They asked for some “eggys” but the landlady said she didn’t speak French. They said they didn’t either, but still wanted “eggys.” He was told that instead he wanted “eyren,” which meant eggs in the dialect of Kent. Caxton had to decide which word to use and decided on “eggys,” which is what we now use also. (p. 84)

Rejuvenation of Biblical studies

During the Renaissance, great strides were made in Biblical studies. In the Middle Ages, Greek and Hebrew were seldom studied in universities.

1453: Constantinople fell to the Turks. Greek exiles fleeing to Italy brought Greek manuscripts with them. Pope Nicholas I collected these and had them transcribed. At his death, he left a library of 5000+ works. The exiled scholars started teaching at universities in Europe and their knowledge spread.

1458: Greek reintroduced at University of Paris

1476: New Greek grammar published

1480: New Greek lexicon published

1492 and on: Greek studies re-established at Oxford.

John Colet returned from a tour of Italy in 1497 to deliver a series of lectures on the book of Romans. He made a clean break with medieval interpretations and taught straight from the text,

In order to hear Colet, Erasmus came to England in 1497. Colet inspired Erasmus to make a fresh Latin translation of the NT. This was part of Erasmus’ landmark edition of the NT that came out in 1516.

Hebrew learning had also restarted.

• 1488: Entire text of Old Testament in Hebrew printed
• 1503: First Hebrew grammar
• 1506: First Hebrew lexicon
• 1525: Fully annotated Hebrew OT published. This would be the basis for all future Hebrew-Bibles.

Trilingual universities started popping up (Latin, Hebrew, and Greek) in Germany, England, France, and Spain.

1517: Complutensian Polyglot Bible produced. OT had Vulgate text in the middle, with Hebrew on the left and Greek Septuagint on the right. NT had Greek and Latin Vulgate side by side.

1522: Martin Luther publishes German translation of NT

1523: Lefevre d’ Etaples publishes a French translation of NT

1534: Luther publishes complete German Bible

1535: Pierre-Robert Olivetan publishes a complete French Bible. (p. 86)

Bibles dominated book production in the 16th century and by the end of the century every European nation had a native translation. The form of the vernacular languages was to some degree fixed as the Bibles came out.

The Catholic Church intervenes

The Church initially welcomed the printing press since it was first used to print the Gutenberg Latin Bible. The archbishop called it “a divine art.” But then printing began to spread ideas of reform, and the Church was not a fan.

1491: Papal legate of Venice wrote law preventing printing works on religious subjects without approval of local diocese. (p. 87)

1515: Pope Leo X made the law universal across the Catholic West. Barely anyone cared and they printed what they wanted.

1517: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the doors of the Wittenberg church. These were quickly translated into multiple languages and printed all over. This was a great surprise to Luther who had intended them only for the academic circle, writing them in Latin in part so that the general masses could not read them. (Great quote from Luther on p. 87.)

Erasmus was an early critic of both the church and biblical studies in universities. (great quote p. 88). He pointed out that the writers of the NT themselves wrote in Greek, making Jesus’ words understandable by the common people.

Tyndale spreads “heresy”

1521: Tyndale ordained to the priesthood. He decided to forego an advanced divinity degree and became chaplain and domestic tutor to the household of Sir John Walsh in Little Sodbury at the edge of the Cotswold Hills.

Tyndale used to preach in a common place called Saint Austin’s Green in front of the church and secretly tutored students in theology. (p. 89)

His reform ideas stirred up some of the local authorities and various men would come to debate. He would routinely win debates, usually by citing scripture. These men would then bear a grudge against him.

Intro to Erasmus’ translation: p. 89. Tyndale took this to heart.

Tyndale converted the Walsh family to his views and stopped having local clergy in their home.

“The clergy were an ignorant lot…” p.90. Many could not even recite the Ten Commandments or knew where they were found.

Tyndale was accused of heresy for his views (i.e., insistence on scriptural authority), called before the church leaders and rebuked.

Tyndale then decided what his life’s work would be: getting the scriptures to the lay people.

“I perceived that it was impossible to establish the lay people in any truth, except the Scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue, that they might see the process, order, and meaning of the text.” – William Tyndale (p.90)

Dangerous time for a new translation

Tyndale left the countryside for London to try to find a patron. Cuthbert Tunstall received him coldly and shot him down.

• Note: Tunstall’s name will come up again later!

Luther’s rebellion had set everyone on edge in 1523 and no one wanted any part of a translation project that might bring more controversy. King Henry VIII hated Luther more than any person on earth. Luther was declared a heretic and Henry sought to eradicate his followers. They bought wrote tracts against each other. But many in the general population tended to side with Luther. seeing him as the underdog. Revolution broke out all over Europe, with many monks and nuns leaving their cloisters (p. 95).

King Henry promised the pope he would burn any “untrue translations.” He sent Cardinal Wolsey to hunt down heretical books that were coming in from overseas.

May 12, 1521: A long line of mules bearing chests of Lutheran writings proceeded to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Bishop Fisher preached a fiery sermon, then the books were burned. (p.96)

Tyndale finds help

Tyndale realized he would need to leave the country to do what he wanted to do. He became a preacher at St. Dunstan’s-in the-West and was given free lodging with Humphrey Monmouth. Tyndale spent his time translating the NT to English. He could speak seven languages fluently: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, English, and French. (p. 98)

Monmouth belonged to a semisecret society of Merchant Adventurers known as the Christian Brethren. They traded in forbidden religious literature and subsidized printing of religious books in English. They ultimately subsidized Tyndale’s work. The group was so powerful that even the authorities wouldn’t touch them (the group was made up of rich cloth merchants). (p. 97)

May 1524: Tyndale leaves for Germany and meets Luther.

1525: Tyndale’s English NT was completed in 1525. The translation was direct from Greek.

Printing Tyndale’s translation

Tyndale went to Cologne to arrange for publication. Cologne was” something of a haven for reformers.” but Catholic zealots flourished there also. A man named Johann Dobneck (John Cochlaeus) tried to frustrate Tyndale’s plans.

Dobneck had a doctorate in theology and had been dean at St. Mary’s at Frankfurt-on-the-Main until reformers pushed him out. He called himself “the scourge of Luther” but was so belligerent that even some Catholics turned against him.

Dobneck was editing a publication when he overheard some workers at a printing press boasting that all of England would soon be Lutheran. He managed to get the details and found out that Tyndale was trying to get his work printed and secretly shipped to England.

Dobneck tipped off the city authorities and persuaded them to intercept the shipment. Before the raid, Tyndale was also tipped off and managed to grab some printed sheets and head to Worms by boat. There the printing was done in two formats, the larger of which had marginal notes, references, and a prologue. (Paid for by the Christian Brethren,)

1526: Both formats of the NT were concealed in cases of dry goods and sailed for England. Henry VIII and Wolsey were alerted by several people that the shipment was coming and placed a watch at all ports. Henry was terrified that once authority was questioned, he didn’t know where it would end.

In 1524-25, there had been a violent revolt by peasants who had been spurred on by radical evangelists. Roughly 50,000 people died.

The vehemence of Luther’s own writings inflamed the situation. Erasmus complained that he and Luther taught nearly the same thing, “only without sedition and violence.” (p. 100)

Heavy taxes and tithes from the Church had made people upset for a long time. Luther tried to prevent violence but failed.

Tyndale’s New Testament did make it to England and was immediately well received by the common people. Wycliffe manuscripts were still treasured, so Tyndale’s translation was like a feast for them.

Tyndale’s translation was exceptionally well done. He adopted many of the structures of Luther’s translation, including chapter divisions and order of the books. The translation was his, though. He looked at Erasmus’ Greek NT (1516 and 1522 editions), Erasmus’ Latin NT, the Vulgate, and Luther’s German NT. He pulled from the best of each, with the Greek as the primary source. (sample - p. 105)

The local authorities did not like it. It was made a serious crime to own, sell, or distribute the books. Merchant ships were boarded and searched. Another bonfire was held in front of St. Pauls’ cathedral at Tunstall’s decree. (decree of Tunstall - p. 106)

An underground book trade developed to distribute the books. Pirate editions were hurriedly printed in Antwerp. They were shipped back concealed in corn ships and bales of merchandise. (great story about Tunstall buying Bibles to burn - p. 107)

Tunstall had decided to try to buy up all the Bibles he could so he could destroy them. He approached a cloth merchant in Antwerp named Augustus Packington that he thought might know the source of the Bibles. Tunstall promised to pay him for every Bible he could find and Packington agreed to help. It so happened that Packington and Tyndale were friends. Packington went straight to Tyndale and told him the bishop of London wanted to buy all his Bibles. Tunstall got the Bibles, Packington got the thanks, and Tyndale got the money. Through Packington, Tyndale also convinced Tunstall to buy up all the standing type to prevent a reprint. Tunstall did. Tyndale used the money to prepare a new and improved version of the Bible – at the expense of the Catholic church. About a year later, Thomas More was interrogating a man about where they got money to print Bibles. The man told him the money came from the bishop of London.

Sample of the Tyndale Bible

When he sawe the people he went vp into a mountayne and when he was set his disciples came to hym and he opened hys mouthe and taught them sayinge: Blessed are the povre in sprete: for theirs is the kyngdome of heven. Blessed are they that morne: for they shalbe conforted. Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth. Blessed are they which honger and thurst for rightewesnes: for they shalbe filled. Blessed are ye mercifull: for they shall obteyne mercy. Blessed are the pure in herte: for they shall se God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shalbe called the chyldren of God. Blessed are they which suffre persecucio for rightwesnes sake: for theirs ys the kyngdome of heuen. Blessed are ye when men reuyle you and persecute you and shall falsly say all manner of yvell saynges agaynst you for my sake. Reioyce and be glad for greate is youre rewarde in heven. + For so persecuted they ye Prophetes which were before youre dayes.

• Matthew 1:1-12, Tyndale Bible, 1534

Source: https://textusreceptusbibles.com/Tyndale

Tunstall goes after Tyndale

Tunstall became obsessed with calling Tyndale to account. He did not think he could use official means to stop Lutheran ideas, so he decided to get Sir Thomas More to debate Tyndale in public. More had “a horror of free speech as we know it, and objected to any interpretation … unless it proceeded under an episcopal license.” (p. 111) (great quote from Erasmus on this idea -p. 111) More published his Dialogue Concerning Heresies in 4 books (170,000 words) to dispute Tyndale. Tyndale quickly responded. More’s principal objection was with Tyndale’s rendering of certain theological terms:

• priest → senior (later, elder)
• Church → congregation
• penance → repentance
• confess → acknowledge
• grace → favor
• charity → love

According to More. Tyndale was trying to persuade people “that such articles of our faith as… be well proved by Holy Scripture, were in Holy Scripture nothing spoken of; but the preachers have, all this 1500 year, misreported the Gospel… to lead the people purposely out of the right way.” (Discussion on ekklesia and presbyter - p. 114) (penance vs. repentance -p. 115)

More argued that although these words did not have significance for special church functions in New Testament times, the writers of the New Testament had invested them with special meanings, thus a different translation that carried that meaning was more appropriate. Who should decide on the proper words to use? More argued it was the Holy Roman Catholic Church, because it cannot err. Thus, he gave tradition the overriding vote over scripture.

Tyndale starts on the Old Testament

Tyndale next began translating the Old Testament, saying that it was easier to translate from the original Hebrew to English than from Latin to English because the grammar between Hebrew and English is more similar. He started with the Pentateuch.

In 1529, Tyndale had the Pentateuch translation done and set sail from Antwerp to Hamburg to have it printed. His ship was caught in a storm and broken against the shore. He lost the manuscript and all his books. (p.118)

He eventually reached Hamburg by another ship and met Miles Coverdale, an English expatriate. Tyndale found lodging with a widow and together with Coverdale, worked night and day to produce a new manuscript. They did and in 1530 it was printed in Antwerp, then smuggled into England. The books of the Pentateuch were formatted in such a way that they could be sold and traded individually.

Sample of Genesis from Tyndale - p.119

Tyndale is responsible for bringing a number of Hebrew turns of phrase into English because he translated them directly.

Some pirate versions of Tyndale’s translation came out that had errors or changes purposely added to them. A miscreant named George Joye was particularly bad about doing this and Tyndale publicly called him out on it, saying that if he was going to do it, to put his own name to it and not use Tyndale’s.

King Henry and Thomas More

In the process of King Henry VIII trying to get his divorce legalized, Wolsey was sacked and More took his place. More now used the government to officially eradicate heresy as he saw it. A number of heretical books (118) were forbidden, with Tyndale’s NT at the top of the list.

More initially got Henry to agree that it was good for the common people to not have the Bible in English, but Henry gradually changed his mind on this, thanks to Anne Boleyn reading Tyndale’s The Obedience of a Christian Man and recommending it to Henry. Henry read it and thought it was “a book for me, and for all kings.” He thought Tyndale and Wycliffe strengthened his case about his divorce.

Henry gradually began reducing the power of the Church in England in each successive parliament.

1532: Anne Boleyn found with child. In January 1533, she and Henry were secretly married in Westminster Abbey.

The Church of England

May 1533: After being elevated to Canterbury see, Thomas Cranmer nullified Henry’s marriage to Catherine and declared Anne to be his lawfully wedded wife. On June 1, Anne was crowned Queen of England. Cranmer and Henry were both excommunicated for this and Henry then severed the church from Rome. In 1534, parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making the king the “supreme head” of the English Church. After this, the Church of England became effectively a spiritual department under the rule of the king. (p.131)

May 21, 1535: Tyndale captured by Henry Phillips in Antwerp and taken to Vilvorde Castle, north of Brussels. Many tried to free him but were unable to. He stayed in a dungeon there until October 1536.

Tyndale asked for and at some point was granted his study materials. He completed the translation of Joshua to 2 Chronicles before he was arraigned.

Under the Decree of Augsburg (1530), belief in justification by faith was punishable by death. In the preface to his NT, Tyndale wrote, “The NT is an everlasting covenant made unto the children of God through faith in Christ, upon the deservings of Christ. Where eternal life is promised to all that believe and death to all that are unbelieving.” Tyndale argued for salvation by faith alone in several of his works.

• Tyndale had an incomplete understanding of salvation.

James 2:24 (NASB95)

24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

August 1536: Tyndale found guilty of heresy, degraded from his priestly office and handed over for punishment.

October 6, 1536: Tyndale was tied to a stake, strangled by a hangman, then burned at the stake. Before he lost consciousness, he called out, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

• This prayer would eventually be answered!

Henry Phillips, who had conspired to capture Tyndale, bounced around Europe trying to pass himself off as a true zealot for the church, but was shunned by the church and failed to find work. His letters home pleading for help were all intercepted.

• His end is oddly similar to that of Judas Iscariot, minus the suicide.

Thomas More also ended up martyred. He had resigned his professional duties, but refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn, which upset King Henry. More escaped various attempts to tarnish him with bribery and other crimes, so Henry demanded he take an oath saying his marriage to Anne was “true and perfect.” More refused and was imprisoned in the Tower, then condemned for treason and beheaded on July 7, 1535. In 1935, he was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. (p.136)

The state under King Henry

King Henry now owed a lot to Bible authority on account of his divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, mostly from the point of view that the Bible countermanded the pope’s authority. He had argued for his divorce based on a biblical injunction in Leviticus, which his lawyers told him outweighed the opinion of the pope. (He was married to Catherine of Aragon, who was previously married to his brother, Arthur Tudor.)

Leviticus 18:16 (NASB95)

16 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.

Anne Boleyn helped greatly in making the English Bible a more acceptable proposition and she encouraged Henry in this regard.

Thomas Cranmer: head of the church under Henry. Cranmer was already reform-minded and was introduced to two of the king’s advisers in 1529 and they asked him about the king’s divorce. Cranmer suggested they appeal to experts in canon law to see if his marriage to Catherine had been legitimate in the first place. This immediately made him a friend of Henry and he entered royal service. Cranmer wrote a treatise on behalf of the king’s position that quoted scripture, church fathers, and church councils. This work influenced scholarly opinion on the matter.

Cranmer quietly married a niece of a prominent Lutheran, but then was called by Henry to the Canterbury see. This presented a problem because the church officially supported clerical celibacy, but he did not and was already married. He tried to conceal his marriage as best he could. Legend has it that he carried his wife from place to place with him in a steamer trunk pierced with holes. (p. 140)

Thomas Cromwell: head of the state under Henry. Cromwell was reform-minded and a protege of Wolsey. When Wolsey was sacked, he seemed to be in a bad position, but repaired this quickly by setting out a plan to help Henry’s finances by reducing the monasteries and making Henry “Supreme Head of the English Church.”

Cromwell was an expert facilitator in making deals. He “reportedly induced Pope Julias II, who had a craving for “strange delicacies and dainty dishes” to rubber-stamp some pardons for a client in return for the recipe for a type of English jam.” (p.141).

Cromwell also played on Henry’s fears for his own safety and set up a vast network of spies.

Henry had previously said that he would be glad to have an English Bible available in “a more stable time.” That time had finally come. Cranmer approached the king on the subject, having on his side Cromwell and Anne Boleyn, among others. In December 1534, the English bishops officially asked for the king to authorize a new English translation.

Cromwell made this his own personal matter. He wanted an English bible placed by authority in every church in England, to be read as part of every service, and that all would have free access to read it if they wanted. Cromwell memorized the entire Latin NT of Erasmus on a trip between England and Rome, both to improve his Latin and to make himself knowledgeable on the subject. (p.143)

Bible examples of generational decline

• Abraham, Isaac, Esau
  • Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22:9 – Abraham’s faith
  • Genesis 26:25; 25:28 – Though still faithful, Isaac was more focused on worldly things than his father.
  • Genesis 25:29-34 – Esau had no regard for his birthright.
• David, Solomon, Rehoboam
  • Acts 13:22
  • I Kings 1:5-6; 11:1-6 – David didn’t rebuke his sons in the way he should have.
  • I Kings 14:22-24
• Israel
  • Judges 2:7-12

How does this happen?

• Time is viewed differently
  • Isaiah 6:8; John 8:33, 39-40
• Authority is viewed differently
  • Genesis 12:4 – “So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.”
  • Matthew 15:8-9; II Timothy 3:5-7; Romans 10:1-3
• A different focus in life
  • Hebrews 11:8-10; Deuteronomy 6:10-12; 32:15

How do we stop the decline?

• For the third generation …
  • Study and teach – Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:7
    • In everything you do, be teaching!
• For the second generation …
  • Try to remember your place – Revelation 3:14-19
• For the first generation …
  • Hold onto your faith – I Peter 5:5-9

Conclusion

• Luke 16:27-31

[Note: Due to technical difficulties, the recording of the beginning of this class was lost. My apologies! - MRW]

Introduction to 2 Corinthians

• Notable verses
  • II Corinthians 4:16
  • II Corinthians 5:7
  • II Corinthians 5:10
  • II Corinthians 5:17
  • II Corinthians 6:2
  • II Corinthians 7:10
  • II Corinthians 9:7
  • II Corinthians 10:4
  • II Corinthians 12:9
  • II Corinthians 13:5
• Corinth, a city of Achaia
  • Ancient Greek city destroyed by Rome in 146 B.C., then refounded as a Roman colony in 44 B.C. by Julius Caesar.
  • Important crossroads between the Greek mainland and Peloponnesian peninsula
  • Home to many “gods” and “lords” (I Corinthians 8:5)
  • Jewish presence (Acts 18:4)
  • Other cities of Achaia: Athens and Cenchrea (Acts 17; 18:18)
  • Acts 18:2-3
• Background
  • Paul spent 1.5 years in Corinth in the late 40s/early 50s (second journey).
  • I Corinthians written about A.D. 55 from Ephesus (third journey)
    • Paul anticipated another visit to Corinth (I Corinthians 16:2-3, 6)
    • Painful visit (II Corinthians 2:1)?
  • II Corinthians written about a year later from Macedonia (third journey)
    • II Corinthians 13:1
    • Three-month stay in Greece after writing II Corinthians (Acts 20:2-3)
    • Wrote Romans during that visit.
  • Brief review of I Corinthians
• Three main sections of II Corinthians
  • II Corinthians 1-7 – Apologetic (explanation and defense)
  • II Corinthians 8-9 – Hortatory (exhortation)
  • II Corinthians 10-13 – Polemical
• II Corinthians overview
  • Very personal letter from Paul to Christians in Achaia.
  • Paul used a variety of methods to convince and exhort them.
• Paul’s work as an apostle
  • John 15:26-27; 16:8-11
  • Acts 9:15-16
    • “Instrument” from the Greek, skeuos, meaning vessel (II Corinthians 4:7)
  • Acts 20:22-24
  • I Corinthians 15:8-10
  • II Corinthians 4:1; 5:18; 6:3
  • I Timothy 1:12-13, 16
• Class goals
  • Greater understanding of the text with a goal toward personal application and improvement.
  • Local authority and individual Christian’s relationship with apostolic authority.
• Class expectations

II Corinthians 1:1-2

• Paul immediately calls himself an apostle.
  • II Corinthians 8:23 – Titus is called an apostle in Greek, but usually translated “messenger.”
  • Paul was more than just a messenger. He was an apostle in the matter of the original twelve.
• II Corinthians 1:2 - Compare II Corinthians 13:4
  • “Lord Jesus Christ” – this phrase is used a number of times
    • “Lord” – refers to His Deity
    • “Jesus” – refers to His time as a man
    • “Christ” – refers to His role as Messiah

Introduction

• How do we find joy and peace? This is what Isaiah 55 is about.

Prophecies of Isaiah

• God calls out Judah’s rebellion and sinfulness.
  • God has rejected Judah for this.
• God invites them to repent and offers forgiveness and reconciliation.
• God acts to try to make them recognize their sin and convict them to repent.
• God pleads with them.
• God offers hope for those who repent:
  • God’s anger will not last forever.
  • God will restore them.

God’s offer

• Fulfillment and purpose (Isaiah 55:1-3)
  • How much of yourself do you put into things that ultimately leave you unfulfilled?
• Joy and peace (Isaiah 55:12)
  • Matthew 11:28-30
  • Revelation 22:17

What do you have to do?

• Seek God (Isaiah 55:6-9)
  • Acts 17:24-28
  • Luke 15:11-32
  • James 4:1-10
• Listen to God (Isaiah 55:1-3)
• Trade in (Isaiah 55:6-9)
  • Matthew 16:24-27
  • This may be the hardest part of the bargain. It means giving up control.

God’s sales pitch

• God is compassionate, will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-9)
  • Ephesians 1:3-8; 2:1-10
• God’s thoughts and ways are infinitely superior (Isaiah 55:6-9)
• This is the source of joy and peace (Isaiah 55:11-12)
  • Compare II Samuel 22.

Introduction

Tonight, we’ll be continuing our apologetics class. In this section we’re talking about how we got the English Bible.

Last week we discussed the Old and New Testaments, when and how the original books were written, and then talked a bit about the state of Christianity in Britain. We briefly introduced a man named John Wycliffe who would end up playing a pivotal role in creating the English Bible translations we are all using now.

John Wycliffe

Now we must introduce a man named John Wycliffe.

He was born of a squire in Yorkshire about 1328.

Was admitted to Merton College, Oxford in September 1345. College life was very spartan, with meals just bread, beer, soup thickened with oatmeal, and one serving of meat a day (p. 25). The library was under St. Mary’s church in a large chest. Books were scarce and expensive.

Oxford started attracting a lot of people who would later become big names, including Roger Bacon and William of Ockham.

Wycliffe stayed at Oxford as a student and teacher for 35 years, acquiring degrees in 3 different colleges (Merton, Balliol, and Queens).

He survived the Black Death in 1349.

Oxford at the time was full of friars, many of whom would attempt to take advantage of the younger students. some as young as 12. Wycliffe led the fight to exclude friars from honors and degrees and tried to protect undergraduates.

Friar: member of a religious order that has taken a vow of poverty.

Wycliffe was ordained to the priesthood, then given a prebend (collegiate living) in 1362. These two appointments provided income he used to continue his studies.

He then became warden of Canterbury Hall in 1365, gained a bachelor of divinity degree in 1369, and a doctor of divinity in 1372.

Wycliffe’s course of study:

Seven liberal arts:

• The Trivium: Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic
• The Quadrivium: Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy
• The 3 Philosophies: Natural, Moral, and Metaphysical
• Latin literature
• Aristotelian philosophy
• Eight years of theology:
  • 4 years on the Vulgate Bible
    • 2 years on the Sentences of Peter Lombard (a medieval textbook on scripture)
    • 2 years lecturing on Old and New Testaments, one chapter at a time.
• Numerous public disputations and debates

He wrote many works in both English and Latin.

Trevelyan: “He had an eager hatred of what was wicked and could never be kept from denouncing what he regarded as such. Similarly, in matters of belief he invariably exposed what he thought was false.

• You can imagine how well this worked with the very authoritarian Catholic church running things at the time!

Though a dogmatic man, his views on various doctrines did change over time. (p. 28)

Archbishop Thomas Arundel, who would later be an adversary, admitted that Wycliffe was not only a great scholar, but also widely held to be “a perfect liver” - irreproachable in the conduct of his life. (p. 30)

Wycliffe wanted to evangelize the common folk: “The preaching of the Word is an act more solemn than the making of the sacrament.”

Wycliffe was also a bold reformer and started getting in trouble with the church about the time he got his doctorate.

Because of the views he espoused, he is responsible for restarting a spirit of religious inquiry and spiritual freedom.

In 1371, he supported a parliamentary initiative to exclude clergy from secular offices because they monopolized so many of them.

In 1374, he was sent to negotiate with papal representatives about differences between England and Rome. The Catholic church was corrupt in a number of (p. 33) ways at that time. There were many priests and bishops trying to do the right thing, but ultimately everything could be attained for money.

• Despite having many differences of opinion with the authorities, he was used in some capacities.

Corruption in the Catholic church

Pope John assumed office in 1316. He developed the system of selling indulgences. This was based on the doctrine of the superabundant merits of the saints (they were better than they needed to be for their own salvation). Their excess “credits” could be stored in a celestial deposit box called the “Thesaurus meritorum sanctum” (Compendium of the Merits of the Saints). From here, the Pope could draw and make transfers to anyone whose account was deficient. The treasury could never be exhausted because it included the inexhaustible merits of Christ. The pope could sell as many indulgences as he liked. He now controlled the “central bank of salvation.”

• There is no scriptural authority for any of this!
• None of us are as good as we need to be for salvation. We cannot earn salvation by good works.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NASB95)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Pope John XX greatly increased the church’s treasury and set up a whole system of fees.

Wycliffe’s “heretical” beliefs

Wycliffe was watching all this unfold and couldn’t find the church hierarchy in scripture. He thought:

1. “there should be only priests and deacons”
2. the legislative rights of the clergy, including excommunication and absolution of sins belonged to Christ only.
3. The priests’ office was only to preach the word.
4. The ministry of the gospel should only be supported by donations. (He noted that the church is so worried about tithes, but Jesus said nothing about them.) (p. 37)

• As we mentioned in our previous class, all Christians are priests and Christ is our high priest. See Revelation 1:4-6; Hebrews 7:23-28.
• Wycliffe was a bit confused on how the church was to be arranged. This was somewhat understandable because many, many people had been confused on the topic for the last thousand years.
• But he did see that something was wrong and did not match the Bible, so he was on the right track there.
• As we discussed last time, there is no clergy/laity distinction in the Bible. Since there is no clergy, there are no legislative rights of the clergy. God alone can forgive sins.
• We do read something vaguely similar to excommunication in the New Testament in that members of a local church can be disciplined and withdrawn from if they continue to walk in sin. This was only to be practiced at the local church level, though.

1 Corinthians 5:1–13 (NASB95)

1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

• As far as tithing, that was commanded under the Law of Moses, but it is not a commandment for Christians. Instead, Christians are to give of their means on the first day of the week. We see an example of this in I Corinthians 16:

1 Corinthians 16:1–4 (NASB95)

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 4 and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.

Wycliffe’s views were widely held in England, even inside the government.

The Parliament had tried to claw back money and control from the church a number of times, but to little effect. (The Hundred Years’ War in 1338 had something to do with this. The papal court was in Avignon, France at the time and helped fund the war. Any papal fees or taxes the English paid were essentially funding the war against themselves.)

• This is all the more reason why God makes no provision in the New Testament for government and local churches to be intertwined.
• Local churches are to be independent of each other and the government.

Wycliffe prosecuted

Wycliffe had written a number of works attacking the corruption of the church and attracted large crowds. In 1377, he was called to appear before a convocation of Bishops at St. Paul’s Cathedral on charges of heresy.

At the “trial” an argument broke out about whether Wycliffe should have to sit or stand. A melee ensued and the assembly scattered. The next day, an armed mob plundered the palace and set it on fire. (p. 41)

• The acts of the mob were clearly not good, but it shows the amount of pressure that was building up against the Catholic Church at the time. It also shows why the authorities were so scared of Wycliffe’s preaching and teaching.

May 22, 1377: Pope issues five bulls against Wycliffe for “impugning received doctrine.” The Pope ordered Wycliffe to be investigated and that Oxford not allow his theories to be taught. These were enumerated in a number of propositions. The main sticking points for the pope:

• Prop 8, 9: Pope cannot excommunicate anyone - a person can only do that to himself
• Prop 17: Kings can take money away from bishops if they do not behave in a manner befitting the office.
• Prop. 19: The clergy, including the pope could be arraigned and tried for misdeeds.

England kept trying to figure out how not to send money to France and Oxford refused to condemn Wycliffe. Doing so would mean France had control of them. Instead, they put him under house arrest while theologians debated the charges.

• Again, we see how tangled the world becomes when people go beyond what God has commanded. The Catholic Church was involved in the governments of many countries, which made politics extremely thorny and dragged politics into religion and vice versa.

March 1378: Wycliffe again summoned before the bishops. The Queen Mother sent a message just as the trial began that warned not to take any harsh measures against Wycliffe. The clerics were terrified and demoralized and let Wycliffe off with a reprimand.

This trial was important because it prevented the pope’s inquisitorial powers from ever taking root in England. (p. 43)

Two popes!

Pope Urban I tried to move the papal court back to Rome in 1367 at the urging of Emperor Charles IV of Bohemia in 1367, but the city’s churches and cathedrals were in ruins. The former papal residence, the Lateran, was in disrepair, so he stayed at the Vatican instead. He eventually fled back to Avignon.

Pope Gregory XI tried again to move the papacy back to Rome. There he issued five bulls against Wycliffe. When he died the Italians pressed hard to have an Italian pope elected. This was done, but Pope Urban VI started openly rebuking the cardinals for their immorality. This upset them greatly, but rather than change. they went off and wrote an encyclical against the Pope, declaring his election invalid. The pope elected new cardinals to replace ones that had left, but the original cardinals responded by electing their own pope, Robert of Cumbray (the cardinal who had originally told Urban to stop rebuking the cardinals). Now there were two popes and countries lined up to support them based on their political leanings.

The devout Christians were appalled at the two-pope situation. Wycliffe gave voice to the disagreements many had with the church. He didn’t think the papacy was scriptural, nor was:

• papal infallibility
• sale of indulgences
• politics of excommunication
• veneration of saints
• worship of images and adoration of relics
• Masses for the dead (p. 46)

Between 1378-1380. Wycliffe wrote a number of tracts, arguing that the Church had been corrupted by worldly possessions and should return to its apostolic ideals. He argued that the “true church” was the whole body of the elect, not just the clergy. He thought that only a life of piety, morality, and good works could possibly provide assurance of one’s salvation. The source of truth was in God’s word only. (p. 48)

Church doctrine recognized tradition and Scripture equally. but tradition had priority. Wycliffe said no - scripture only. He added that every man had the right to examine the Bible for himself. He thought the church could only be reformed by going back to the scriptures, and that required reading the scriptures.

The sad state of Bible knowledge

In those days, Bible reading was rare, even among the clergy. It was thought sufficient if the priest knew:

• The 10 Commandments
• The Paternoster (Our Father)
• The Creed and Ave (Hail Mary)

Ordinary Christians knew even less. (p. 49)

The cult of the saints was a big deal and public worship was more about ceremonial worship. Most material from the pulpit was from civil and natural history, mythology, and fable. Wycliffe rebuked them for using unscriptural stories and anecdotes in their sermons rather than scripture.

The Wycliffe Bible

In 1380, Wycliffe started a project to translate the entire Bible to English. It was a translation from Jerome’s Vulgate. Nicholas Hereford did the first part from Genesis to Baruch 3:20 (note that the apocryphal books were included in this translation) under Wycliffe’s direction, then had to stop and let others take over. The first version was basically word for word and was somewhat difficult to read. There was not really a standard English at the time (and the language as a whole was in the midst of a great shift), so this was a difficult translation. This translation was then revised by John Purvey, Wycliffe’s personal secretary and a priest. He cleaned up the word ordering and made a more idiomatic translation. (p. 53)

Sample from the Wycliffe Bible

Modern spelling:

Christ stood by the river of Gennesaret … and fishers came down to wash therein their nets; and Christ went up into a boat that was Simon’s, and prayed him to move it a little from the land, and he sat and taught the people out of the boat. And when Christ ceased to speak, he said to Simon, Lead the boat into the high sea, and let out your nets to taking of fish. And Simon answering said to him, Commander, all the night travailing took we naught; but in thy word shall I loose the net. And when they had done this, they took a plenteous multitude of fish, and their net was broken. But they beckoned to their fellows that were in the other boat, to come and help them; and they came and filled both boats of fish, so that both were well nigh sunk. And when Peter had seen this wonder, he fell down to Jesus’ knee, and said, Lord, go from me for I am a sinful man. – Luke 5:1-8, Wycliffe Bible, modern spelling

Sample from the Wycliffe Bible, part 2

Original spelling:

God reiside this Jhesu, to whom we alle ben witnessis. Therfor he was enhaunsid bi the riythoond of God, and thorouy the biheest of the Hooli Goost that he took of the fadir, he schedde out this spirit, that ye seen and heren. For Dauid stiede not in to heuene; but he seith, The Lord seide to my Lord, Sitte thou on my riyt half, til Y putte thin enemyes a stool of thi feet. Therfor moost certeynli wite al the hous of Israel, that God made hym bothe Lord and Crist, this Jhesu, whom ye crucefieden. Whanne thei herden these thingis, thei weren compunct in herte; and thei seiden to Petre and othere apostlis, Britheren, what schulen we do? And Petre seide to hem, Do ye penaunce, and eche of you be baptisid in the name of Jhesu Crist, in to remissioun of youre synnes; and ye schulen take the yifte of the Hooli Goost. For the biheest is to you, and to youre sones, and to alle that ben fer, which euer oure Lord God hath clepid. Also with othere wordis ful many he witnesside to hem, and monestide hem, and seide, Be ye sauyd fro this schrewid generacioun. Thanne thei that resseyueden his word weren baptisid, and in that dai soulis weren encreesid, aboute thre thousinde; and weren lastynge stabli in the teching of the apostlis, and in comynyng of the breking of breed, in preieris. – Acts 2:32-42, Wycliffe Bible, original spelling

As you can see from the second sample, the older English spelling makes this a challenge to read. The English language has changed tremendously over the years. If you think English is difficult to learn and study now, imagine what is was like then!

Response to the Wycliffe Bible

Wycliffe’s translation was called heretical and unauthorized by the church, but never denounced as erroneous. (p. 56)

Wycliffe began training preachers to go out and preach. By 1377 this was already happening, with the men teaching against abuses and preaching a simpler, apostolic way. They wore a simple wool robe with a staff, taking the 70 that Jesus sent out as their inspiration. They came to be known as Lollards, from “lolia,” meaning “tare” or “weed.” (p. 59) The Catholic Church, of course, abhorred their views.

In 1381, the great Peasants Revolt took place in England. The blame for this was partially put at Wycliffe’s feet because the Lollards were reminding everyone of the government oppression they were undergoing (serfdom, heavy taxes, etc.).

The rebels invaded London and beheaded numerous victims. The king appeared to give in to their demands to stop the violence, but then tried and executed hundreds as traitors once he had control again. (p. 62)

After the rebellion, church and state closed ranks. They put together an official condemnation of Wycliffe and some of his associates, preventing any of his “heretical” teachings from being preached. The itinerant preachers were also arrested and prosecuted. It was prohibited under threat of prosecution to even meet to discuss Wycliffe’s theses.

Wycliffe’s death and aftermath

May 10, 1381: Wycliffe publishes Confessio, a Latin defense of his views. The next year, he was partially paralyzed by a stroke. He died two years later, in 1384. (p. 64)

Some of Wycliffe’s associates were hunted down and forced to recant, including Hereford, who had done the first part of the Bible translation. Others continued preaching on foot or on horseback, running from the authorities.

Thomas Arundel (Archbishop of Canterbury) passed the Constitutions of Oxford in 1408, which were designed to suppress freedom of thought in schools. Anyone caught with a Wycliffe Bible could be tried for heresy. All disputations about crosses, saints, imagery, pilgrimages, etc. were forbidden. The 7th of the 13 constitutions forbade anyone from translating scriptures into English or reading Wycliffe’s Bible. (p. 68)

• Note that the Catholic Church is now actively working against the spread of God’s word. This is quite a leap from the original problem of having one bishop over multiple churches, but that’s where it can end up. That’s why it is so important to not stray from God’s word and always go back to the Bible!

Arundel also went after Oxford itself, which destroyed intellectual life there. The student population declined to a fifth of what it was. “Oxford Latin” became “proverbial for a scholarship in which even the knowledge of grammar had been lost.” Oxford turned on Wycliffe and spent its time defaming him. People who kept any of his writings removed his name from them out of fear.

Arundel demanded that Wycliffe’s works be burnt. Remember that this is before the printing press, so these writings were all done by hand. In 1412, he sent a letter to the Pope listing 267 heresies Wycliffe had written. (great quote on p. 69)

That wretched fellow, son of the Serpent, herald and child of Antichrist, John Wycliffe, filled up the measure of his malice by devising the expedient of a new translation of Scripture into the mother tongue.

A number of Lollard preachers and supporters were persecuted and executed, sometimes in grotesque ways. Denying the doctrine of transubstantiation was sufficient to bring on execution. (p. 70)

• The doctrine of transubstantiation had become a big deal to the Catholic Church. Over time, they had come to the view that when taking the Lord’s Supper, the unleavened bread and grape juice literally became the body and blood of Jesus, although physically it still appeared to be food and drink.
• This doctrine came to be dominant in the 12th century and by the time of Wycliffe was thoroughly established within the Catholic Church. They were not willing to hear any debate on the topic whatsoever.
• This is a misunderstanding of the accounts in the gospels:

Matthew 26:26–29 (NASB95)

26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

• Jesus is clearly using a metaphor here. We take of the bread and juice as a reminder of Jesus’ body that He sacrificed for all of us.

After the execution of Sir John Oldcastle (p. 70), the movement lost support among the upper classes and it went underground.

God’s word spreads

Arundel died in 1414, but in persecuting Wycliffe followers, he had essentially split the Catholic Church.

A church counsel later condemned Wycliffe as a heretic and ordered his bones to be removed from consecrated ground. This was done in 1428, when his bones were dug up and burned, then his ashes were thrown into a stream. (“wide as the waters”)

The Avon to the Severn runs, The Severn to the sea. And Wycliffe’s dust shall spread abroad, Wide as the waters be. – poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Wycliffe’s translation continued to be spread. (p. 73) People paid whatever they could to get even a piece of it. Thousands went to secret readings of the scriptures while still publicly worshiping with their local church.

Manuscript Bibles were expensive, so many Lollards committed big sections to memory. (Alice Collins p. 74)

A woman named Alice Collins of Burford was particularly good at this. When people met to discuss the Bible, she was often sent for to recite the Ten Commandments or the epistles of Peter and James.

Alice’s daughter Joan was good at this too and could recite: the seven deadly sins, the seven works of mercy, the five wits bodily and ghostly, the eight blessings, and five chapters of the book of James.

Wycliffe’s views flourished in Bohemia, thanks to Jerome of Prague, a reformer who attended Oxford. The most important Czeck Wycliffite was Jan Hus, who translated a number of Wycliffe’s writings into Czech. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415. Martin Luther would later discover Hus’ writings over 100 years later and was amazed at his agreement with them. “We are all Hussites.” (p.74)