Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIWR
Program Code: IIWR000003A
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01:30 ♪[Theme Music]♪
01:40 ♪[Theme Music]♪ 01:49 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. 01:50 I'm John Bradshaw, thanks for joining me for 500. 01:54 Our special series on the reformation. 01:57 Tonight, you and I are gonna see a television program called 01:59 A Lamp Unto My Feet. 02:01 We're focusing especially 02:03 on the life and ministry of one of the great reformers: 02:06 William Tyndale. 02:07 And in a few moments my special guest will be Dr. Dedrick Blue. 02:11 He is the dean of school of religion at Oakwood University 02:14 in Huntsville Alabama. 02:15 Dr. Blue, thanks for joining me. 02:17 >>Dr. Blue: Thank you very much. 02:18 >>John: Tell me something about this man William Tyndale, 02:20 who was he, what he was like? 02:21 >>Dr. Blue: Uh, William Tyndale 02:22 was the great reformer of England. 02:25 As a matter of fact he brought us the English Bible 02:27 that we have today. 02:28 And if it were not for Tyndale, 02:30 I would not be able to read the Bible in my native language. 02:33 So, what a great man of God who sacrificed all 02:36 for the cause of God? 02:37 >>John: Looking forward to speaking more with Dr. Blue 02:38 in just a moment. 02:39 Tyndale, a Bible translator, 02:42 a giant of a man, 02:44 moved by an impulse that he followed 02:47 and in so doing changed the world. 02:51 There are 66 books in the Bible. 02:54 The Bible contains prophecy, 02:56 life sketches, 02:58 historical information. 02:59 The Bible reveals the plan of salvation to you, 03:04 to the world. 03:05 The Bible connects the mind with the heart of God. 03:09 Matter of fact, the Bible became so pervasive in society, 03:14 there are many phrases that we use today 03:16 that you might not even think of the origin 03:18 that originated in the Bible. 03:20 For instance, 03:21 we say something happened by the skin of your teeth. 03:23 Well, that phrase originated in the Bible. 03:26 And ,actually we can thank translators like William Tyndale 03:30 for bringing it into common English usage. 03:34 Can a leopard change its spots? 03:36 That's biblical. 03:37 There is a fly in the ointment, that's found in the Bible. 03:40 The writing on the wall, it's a phrase we use all the time. 03:43 Where did that phrase come from? 03:45 It came right out of the Bible. 03:46 The Bible is an enormous part of life today, 03:49 even for people who don't have faith in God 03:52 and don't profess any sort of belief in the Bible. 03:56 So imagine a world without the Bible. 04:00 Imagine a world. where theres no Word of God, 04:04 even if there is some kind of knowledge about God. 04:09 What would it be like in a world 04:11 where the Bible just doesn't exist? 04:15 Well, I can tell you something about that, 04:16 because that for many years was my world. 04:20 Well, I was raised in a churchgoing family, 04:23 going to church every Sunday, mine was not a biblical faith. 04:29 Now we had a Bible in our home, 04:32 but it wasn't a book we ever read or consulted. 04:35 So I was raised in a world where the Bible just didn't feature. 04:40 Our knowledge of the Bible was woefully inadequate. 04:43 We had misconceptions and false ideas. 04:46 When I say we, 04:47 I'm talking about my family members and I, 04:49 and perhaps the people I consider my friends, 04:52 people, my circle of influence, 04:53 just didn't have a clue. 04:57 And so for me when I discovered the Bible, 05:00 the Bible was freedom. 05:03 The Bible introduced me to a world that 05:05 I didn't know existed. 05:08 Of course, I knew there was a heaven, 05:09 and I knew there was a God, 05:12 but I did not know how I could get forgiveness for my sins. 05:16 I was guilt ridden. 05:19 I went to confession to confess my sins to a priest 05:23 by the time I got home from confession I had sinned 05:27 again and wondered, in fact, 05:30 I despaired knowing I would never be good enough for heaven. 05:35 Let me tell you a story that would help you to illustrate 05:38 what life is like for people who just don't have the Bible. 05:42 Now I go to confession, 05:44 and our home was just five doors down the street from the church. 05:47 I mentioned by the time I got home I would have sinned, 05:49 and so I wondered to myself, what's the point? 05:53 The only time I'm really right with God is the moment 05:58 I leave confession. 05:59 Now, you might be the sort of theologically geared person 06:04 who says, "John, you don't understand it right." 06:07 What I do understand is what my understanding was, 06:10 whether that was right or wrong. 06:13 And I knew that by the time I got home I would sin. 06:16 I knew that. 06:18 Sta-as a young buy, 06:19 nine years old standing out in front of our church, 06:23 on the little grassy strip between the sidewalk, 06:25 the footpath and the road. 06:28 That road was the busiest section of road in the country. 06:33 It was state high way one. 06:36 Everything going north and south went up and down that road, 06:39 long before they put in the bypass you know. 06:42 I remember standing on that grassy strip 06:45 watching the trucks, the semis go by, 06:48 and thinking to myself about the only chance that I've got 06:52 of making it to heaven is if one of those trucks 06:55 runs off the road, runs me over and kills me. 06:59 And I thought to myself, 07:02 wouldn't that be good? 07:04 I'm 9 years old, 07:06 because at least that way I'd die having been forgiven, 07:10 and I could go to heaven. 07:12 Knowing that that would never happen. 07:14 I thought, "What if I threw myself 07:18 under one of those passing trucks?" 07:21 Isn't that a charming thought for a nine year old to have? 07:23 But nine year olds want to go to heaven too, 07:25 nine year olds want to please God. 07:27 And this nine year old didn't know any better. 07:31 Why not? 07:32 Because no one in my sphere ever read the Bible. 07:36 And I certainly couldn't read the Bible, 07:39 wouldn't have known where to start, 07:42 and wasn't encouraged to do so. 07:45 So, when you think about the importance 07:47 of somebody like William Tyndale and the work he did, 07:49 to translate the Bible and get the Bible before people, 07:53 in a time where doing so would ultimately cost him his life, 07:58 you realize that William Tyndale's contribution 08:00 to the world was absolutely enormous. 08:04 So in a couple of moments we are gonna go to Gloucestershire, 08:06 that's the part of the, the, the county in England 08:08 where William Tyndale was born. 08:09 We'll go to little Sudbury, a tiny little village where, uh, 08:13 William Tyndale ministered, uh, for Sir John Walsh and his wife, 08:17 tutoring their children. 08:18 He worked in a little church. 08:20 Now we were at that church, 08:22 filmed right there at the church. 08:24 You'll see it. 08:25 And here is what's interesting, 08:26 it's an historic church, so historic, Tyndale's church, 08:30 and why we were there, 08:31 a couple of American tourists walked by, 08:33 I thought that was odd 08:34 until they told me they were on a walking tour, 08:37 which I think is probably a good way to spend your vacation. 08:40 We got talking and I said to them, 08:42 "Do you know about this church?" 08:43 "Oh no, we don't know a thing, what is it?" 08:45 And I was just amazed, 08:46 I thought surely they are stopping because 08:48 they know it's the William Tyndale church. 08:51 No, they had no idea. 08:53 The man across the street wondered why we were filming 08:57 on that deserted little lane, a sweet little place. 09:02 Why are you filming here? 09:03 Well, we are at the church, the William Tyndale church. 09:05 He said, "William Tyndale? 09:08 Does he have something to do with this place?" 09:11 The man that lived there for years 09:13 and didn't know that one of the greatest figures in history, 09:18 I don't think that's a stretch, had worked in the church, 09:23 just across the street from where he lived. 09:26 We'll take you to a large kind of impressive monument 09:29 to William Tyndale, 09:30 up on a hill overlooking Gloucestershire. 09:33 It's deserted, while we were there, 09:37 two people visited the monument. 09:40 And they were there because as young and in love they were 09:45 just looking for a place to get away from people. 09:49 They in fact didn't go to the monument itself, 09:51 just to the hill on which the monument stood. 09:54 William Tyndale, 09:56 a forgotten giant but he's not gonna be forgotten in 500. 10:00 We'll be back in just a couple of moments 10:02 with A Lamp Unto My Feet. 10:05 ♪[Music]♪ 10:13 Now here's a question for you, 10:14 can God be trusted? 10:16 And I have the answer for you? 10:18 Can God be trusted? 10:20 That's our offer today, it's absolutely free to you, 10:23 can God be trusted and can the Bible be trusted? 10:26 Call us on (800) 253 3000 10:29 or visit us online at www.itiswritten.com. 10:35 Or you can write to the address on your screen. 10:37 I'd like you receive our free offer, can God be trusted? 10:43 This is It Is Written, in John Bradshaw, 10:46 thanks for joining me. 10:47 In rural England there stands a monument 10:51 to one of the great heroes of the reformation. 10:55 While he grew up a long way from the center of attention, 10:58 he's remembered as one of the giants of history. 11:03 While others formulated doctrine, 11:05 while others were preaching and teaching, 11:08 this man poured himself into translating and printing 11:13 his legacy is the Bible. 11:23 The Bible, one volume, two divisions, 11:26 the old and the New Testaments. 11:29 It's made up of 66 individual books. 11:32 Some of them are very short, 2nd John has just 13 verses. 11:36 3rd John has one more verse, but fewer words. 11:40 The book of Jude, only 25 verses. 11:44 Some books of the Bible are very long. 11:46 The book of psalms has 150 chapters 11:48 including the Bible's longest chapter psalm 119. 11:54 There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, 11:58 more than three quarters of a million words. 12:01 It was written by shepherds, 12:03 farmers, 12:03 merchants, 12:04 scholars, 12:05 statesmen and kings, 12:07 the majority of whom had never met each other. 12:10 And the Bible says some pretty remarkable things about itself. 12:14 1 Peter 1:23 says that people are born again 12:19 through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. 12:23 The early Christian's tested the teachings of the apostles 12:26 by the Old Testament. 12:27 Jesus called God's word the truth in John 17:17. 12:33 Psalm 119 verse nine says, 12:36 "How can a young man cleanse his way? 12:39 By taking heed according to Your word." 12:42 Same chapter verse 130, 12:44 the entrance of Your words gives light. 12:48 It gives understanding to the simple. 12:52 And David said on the 105th verse of the same psalm, 12:56 "Thy word is A lamp unto my feet. 12:59 And a light under my path." 13:02 So if this is true, that the Bible is the truth, 13:07 that it cleanses, 13:08 that people are born again by it, 13:10 that it's a lamp and a light. 13:12 If that's true, then imagine a world with no Bible. 13:17 It's not that hard to imagine. 13:23 Back in Jesus day, the scriptures, and remember, 13:26 in Christ's day they only had the Old Testament scriptures, 13:29 back then the scriptures formed the framework 13:33 or the basis for society. 13:35 The word of God was widely taught, 13:37 and people had a good working knowledge 13:40 of what we today would recognize as the first 13:43 39 books of the Bible, the Old Testament. 13:47 But several hundred years after 13:49 the founding of the Christian church, by people such as 13:52 Peter and James and John, 13:54 non-biblical traditions and teachings 13:56 started to seep into christianity. 14:00 Some of the plainest teachings of the Bible were ignored. 14:04 If the entrance of God's word gives light, 14:08 then the obscuring of God's word 14:10 led to a period of some real spiritual darkness. 14:16 How did it happen? 14:17 In the 4th century AD, the Roman emperor Constantine, 14:22 Constantine the great, he became known as, 14:24 converted to christianity. 14:27 It was a nominal conversion 14:29 and Constantine never really abandoned paganism. 14:33 As a result, a number of pagan practices 14:36 became established within the Christian faith. 14:41 For example, the early Christians 14:43 practiced baptism by immersion, 14:46 but over time, infant baptism found its way into the church. 14:50 The venerating of relics was certainly not practiced by 14:52 the early Christians, but that too found its way 14:55 into Christianity shortly after Constantine was baptized. 14:58 The early Christians did not confess their sins to a priest, 15:03 but that found its way into church practice as well. 15:06 Now, there were some Christians who clung to the Bible 15:11 as their rule of faith and practice, 15:14 but over time the church began to drift more and more 15:19 away from the word of God. 15:23 Now come down to the 16th century, 15:25 by this time, the ruling church had been in power 15:28 for more than a 1,000 years, 15:30 and many non-biblical practices had become deeply entrenched, 15:35 worse than that, the Bible itself had become 15:39 virtually inaccessible to the vast majority of the people. 15:43 In many places, the Bible was banned. 15:46 People were forbidden to read it or to possess it. 15:50 Here in England in Coventry, 15:52 a dozen people became known as the Coventry Martyrs 15:55 after they lost their lives, they were executed, 15:58 because it was known that they disagreed 15:59 with some of the practices of the established church. 16:02 One of them was a woman who was found to have in her possession 16:06 a handwritten copy of the Lord's prayer, 16:09 The Ten Commandments and the Apostles' Creed. 16:12 She was burned at the stake for that. 16:16 There are hundreds of stories just like it, thousands even. 16:21 After centuries of drifting from the Bible, 16:24 the Word of God was out of the reach of the people. 16:28 The darkness that existed was almost palpable, 16:32 but here in England heroes stood tall, 16:35 who would cause the light of the Bible to shine again. 16:44 John Wycliffe who was born in around 1328, 16:47 became known as the morning star of the reformation. 16:51 In the 14th century the peasant class were essentially slaves, 16:54 and the influence of the ruling church was enormous. 16:58 The catholic church essentially controlled the country 17:02 and by later in the 14th century, 17:04 the pope was receiving five times as much 17:07 gold from the government of 17:09 England as was the king. 17:12 And when it came to the teaching of God's word, 17:14 the people were living in superstition and fear 17:17 as priests as well as traveling monks and Friars 17:20 kept the people in spiritual darkness. 17:24 It was a common practice for the monks 17:26 to sell forgiveness of sin. 17:28 They would live in luxury, 17:30 fleecing the flock instead of feeding the flock. 17:33 The people were kept in darkness by monks 17:36 who were barely less ignorant of the scriptures than they were. 17:39 In 1365 pope Urban the 5th 17:42 demanded that England submit entirely to the authority 17:46 of the church of Rome, 17:47 which would have been an admission on England's part 17:50 that the pope was the legitimate sovereign of England, 17:55 as he lay on what people thought was his death bed, 17:58 the monks urged Wycliffe to recant the things that he 18:01 had said in opposition to them and the church, 18:04 but instead Wycliffe propped himself up and said, 18:07 "I will not die, 18:09 but live and declare the evil deeds of the Friars. 18:13 What Wycliffe went on to do was to translate the Bible 18:19 into the English language of the day. 18:21 At Wycliffe's third trial, 18:24 he met his accusers with these words, 18:26 "With whom think you are you contending, 18:29 with an old man on the brink of the grave? 18:32 No, with truth, truth which is stronger than you, 18:37 and will overcome you." 18:39 Wycliffe was hated by the church. 18:41 After his death, his books were burned 18:45 and even his body was exhumed and burned 18:47 and his ashes were cast into the River Swift near Lutterworth. 18:51 His followers were persecuted, 18:53 and it was enshrined in law that to translate the Bible 18:57 into English without a license was a punishable crime. 19:02 110 years after Wycliffe's death, 19:05 another man came on the scene, 19:06 another Bible translator, 19:09 when William Tyndale was born in 1494, 19:12 superstition controlled people's lives, 19:15 kings could sentence people to death for petty reasons, 19:18 popes could issue decrees that had no basis in scripture, 19:23 and yet people accepted that as the will of God for their lives, 19:26 without the Bible they couldn't know 19:27 whether the church was right or wrong. 19:31 As Hosea 4 verse 6 says, 19:33 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” 19:37 By the time William Tyndale was born, 19:39 John Wycliffe's translation of the Bible was out of date, 19:41 because the English language had changed substantially. 19:46 Wycliffe and his followers had been known as Bible men. 19:50 100 plus years later, 19:52 another Bible man was needed. 19:56 Back with more in a moment. 19:57 ♪[Music]♪ 20:05 Now here is a question for you, 20:06 can God be trusted? 20:08 And I have the answer for you. 20:10 Can God be trusted? 20:12 That's our offer today it's absolutely free to you. 20:15 Can God be trusted and can the Bible be trusted? 20:18 Call us on (800) 253 3000 20:21 or visit us online at www.itiswritten.com, 20:27 or you can write to the address on your screen. 20:29 I'd like you to receive our free offer, 20:32 can God be trusted? 20:34 ♪[Music]♪ 20:43 >>John: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 20:46 William Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire England 20:48 in around the year 1494. 20:51 His family moved here during the wars of the roses. 20:54 A series of wars for control of the English throne 20:56 between the house of York and the house of Lancaster. 21:00 Tyndale was educated at Hartford college in oxford, 21:04 and earned a master's degree in theology in 1515. 21:08 He was fluent in eight languages, 21:11 including Hebrew and Greek, 21:14 the languages in which the Bible was originally written. 21:18 In 1521, he moved here to the little village of Little Sudbury 21:23 where he became the chaplain in the home of Sir John Walsh. 21:27 In fact, this church is built from the actual stones, 21:31 and according to the plan of the church, 21:34 Tyndale ministered in when he lived right here. 21:38 He had a deep respect for the Bible, 21:39 much like that which Martin Luther had. 21:42 And it wasn't long, and that respect for the word of God 21:46 got Tyndale in a lot of trouble. 21:49 John Fox, the author of the famous Fox's book of martyrs 21:54 reported on a conversation William Tyndale had. 21:58 Someone said to him, 21:59 “We had better be without God's laws, than the pope's.” 22:03 Tyndale replied, 22:04 “I defy the pope and all his laws. 22:07 And if God spares my life ere many years 22:10 I will cause the boy that driveth the plow 22:13 to know more of the scriptures than thou doest.” 22:17 It was here in Little Sudbury that William Tyndale 22:20 felt the call to translate the Bible into English. 22:24 So he left here the following year for London 22:26 to get the support he needed. 22:28 He was looking for the blessing of a certain bishop, 22:31 a man who had praised the work of a dutch theologian Erasmus. 22:35 When Erasmus translated the New Testament, 22:38 but Tyndale didn't get the support he needed. 22:43 Convinced the people of England needed the Bible 22:45 in their own language, 22:47 Tyndale left England in 1524 for Europe, 22:51 and made his way to Wittenberg where Martin Luther was living. 22:56 Luther had translated the New Testament into German 22:59 a couple of years before. 23:01 And now Tyndale set about working on a translation 23:04 of the Bible that would impact Christianity in Great Britain 23:09 and around the world. 23:11 He was helped by a priest named William Roy. 23:14 And within a year or two the translation was finished. 23:18 After some challenges owing to the opposition 23:21 Luther was facing, 23:22 Tyndale had translated the New Testament into English. 23:26 He had the printing done in Worms, 23:28 the city where Martin Luther's trial, 23:30 before emperor Charles V was held. 23:33 More copies were printed 23:34 in what was then the dutch city of Antwerp. 23:37 And in the months that followed, 23:39 those Bibles were smuggled into England and Scotland. 23:43 But smuggling an English language version of the Bible 23:46 across the English channel wasn't an easy matter. 23:50 That bishop who refused his permission to Tyndale 23:53 to translate the Bible into English back then, 23:56 he stood up a lot of opposition to the project. 23:58 In fact, he commanded that Tyndale's Bible be burned. 24:03 Booksellers were banned from selling the book. 24:06 Now burning the Bible in public, 24:07 what that did was generate a lot of sympathy 24:10 for the whole project, 24:12 even among supporters of church and state. 24:15 People didn't like to see the Bible treated in that way, 24:18 burned in the streets. 24:19 Here's what one historian said, 24:21 “The spectacle of the scriptures being put the torch 24:24 provoked controversy even amongst the faithful.” 24:28 But there was worse to come. 24:31 In January of 1529, the catholic cardinal Thomas Wolsey 24:36 condemned Tyndale as a hieratic. 24:39 This attracted the attention of England's King Henry VIII 24:42 who acted swiftly against this new reformer. 24:46 Henry was even more upset with Tyndale, 24:48 because of Tyndale's public disagreement with 24:50 Henry's intention to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, 24:54 so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. 24:59 Tyndale contained 25:00 that that Henry VIII's divorce lacked biblical support. 25:04 Henry wasn't open to constructive criticism, 25:06 but fortunately for Tyndale he was in the Netherlands 25:09 and Henry couldn't touch him there. 25:12 He continued to speak out, 25:14 not only about Henry VIII's morals, 25:16 but also about the teachings of the Bible as his writings 25:19 would spread news about his convictions spread also. 25:24 Like Luther, Tyndale maintained that the Bible 25:27 should be the supreme authority 25:29 in matters of faith and practice. 25:32 He also believed strongly in the Bible teaching 25:34 of justification by faith. 25:36 He did not believe that people should 25:38 confess their sins to others. 25:41 And like Luther, he also didn't believe the popular teaching 25:44 that when people die they go straight to heaven or hell. 25:48 Like the other protestant reformers, 25:50 it was Tyndale's purpose to direct men and women 25:53 to the Bible as the rule of faith and practice. 25:56 And even though the protestant reformers didn't always agree 25:59 with each other on any number of subjects, 26:02 what they did do was lift up the Bible as supreme, 26:06 helping believers move towards a clearer understanding 26:10 of God's truth. 26:11 William Tyndale's scholarship had a profound influence 26:15 on the translation of the King James version of the Bible, 26:18 as well as the English language itself. 26:21 Translation of the King James began in 1604 26:24 by order of James 1st, king of England, 26:27 and it was completed in 1611. 26:29 It's estimated that 83% of the New Testament 26:33 and 76% of the Old Testament in the King James comes to us 26:38 from William Tyndale, 26:40 Passover, scapegoat, my brother's keeper, 26:44 the salt of the earth. 26:45 It came to pass. 26:47 The signs of the times, 26:49 let there be light, 26:50 a law unto themselves, 26:52 and much more is the result of Tyndale's scholarship. 26:56 Now, ultimately, Tyndale would meet the same fate 27:00 as the Oxford Martyrs, 27:02 Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer who were burned at the stake 27:06 right here by the Roman church, 20 years after Tyndale died. 27:12 But before Tyndale was put to death, 27:14 he prayed a prayer that would change the world, 27:18 that's coming next. 27:19 ♪[Music]♪ 27:26 [Cricketts chirping] 27:30 ♪[Music]♪ 27:38 [Camera equipment rattling] 27:41 [Rustling in bushes] 27:43 [People talking] 27:45 [Wind blowing] 27:53 ♪[Music]♪ 28:03 ♪[Music]♪ 28:10 [Cheering] 28:19 ♪[Music]♪ 28:36 Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 28:39 In Vilvoorde Belgium, 28:41 on the northern side of the capital city of Belgium Brussels 28:45 is a museum dedicated to the 28:47 life and ministry of William Tyndale. 28:50 It's situated here, 28:52 because this location is only yards from the very spot 28:56 where William Tyndale was executed. 28:59 It might not look like much of anything today, 29:01 but if you'd been here 500 years ago, 29:04 you'd have seen a castle standing on this spot 29:07 right behind me. 29:08 The Senne River just over here runs between Antwerp 29:11 and Brussels making Vilvoorde 29:13 a place of real strategic importance. 29:16 That castle was of a line of fortifications 29:19 and William Tyndale who'd been betrayed 29:21 to the holy Roman empire was kept as a prisoner 29:24 for more than a year in the castle right on this spot. 29:28 Eventually he was brought out and executed right here. 29:32 Before he was put to death, Tyndale prayed one last prayer. 29:37 He said, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes." 29:41 His prayer was answered. 29:44 Within four years of his death, 29:46 four English translations of the bible 29:48 had been published, 29:49 all at the behest of king Henry VIII, 29:52 and all of them based on the work of William Tyndale. 29:58 I've come here to this museum to speak to the experts 30:02 on the life of William Tyndale. 30:04 Why was Tyndale held here in Vilvoorde, 30:08 why here of all places? 30:09 >>Speaker 3: Here in Vilvoorde there was a castle, 30:12 and in that castle there was not so many people, 30:16 so there they know if we put him in Vilvoorde, 30:21 he can, he will stay in prison. 30:24 >>John: What do you think conditions were like 30:27 inside the castle prison? 30:28 >>Speaker 3: Uh, as prisons in the 16th, very difficult. 30:32 We know by his last written letter 30:35 that we have in archives that he asked on the authorities 30:41 to have warm clothes, 30:43 to become candles and to become his work, 30:47 his translation work for having the time now in prison 30:53 and he stayed there for the time he had to stay, 30:57 and hoping that he wouldn't escaped, 30:59 they killed him. 31:01 >>John: So why was the church so opposed to Tyndale 31:05 translating the Bible? 31:07 >>Speaker 3: It's, a, a, a way to eliminate all critical 31:13 actions and reactions in church. 31:16 If you have, uh, uh, uh, your people, 31:21 who can criticize your own way to live as church, 31:27 it's very difficult to stay as church. 31:32 They want to keep their own power, 31:38 and don't give the opportunity on all people to understand 31:45 what was the word God's and not the word of the church. 31:50 >>John: Explain for me William Tyndale's 31:54 contribution to the reformation. 31:58 >>Speaker 3: He was the man who, 32:00 uh, who worked on the English speaking people. 32:04 And it's very important because we had a German translator, 32:08 we had a French translator, 32:09 we had still a Swiss translator. 32:12 We had several translators who makes the new world, 32:16 that's very important to know, because we have still, uh, 32:21 in Europe a big difference between the Latin part 32:26 and the non-Latin part. 32:28 So, the English contribution of William Tyndale 32:31 is not only a contribution in let's say 32:35 the English speaking part of Europe, 32:37 but always contribution on the new world, 32:42 because we would travel from this country to the states, 32:48 and making in states also the new world 32:52 with a own translation. 32:57 And it's very important to know that the new American version 33:03 is the most important translation with the biggest 33:10 part of William Tyndale in it. 33:12 ♪[Music]♪ 33:17 >>John: Few people have had so great an impact 33:20 upon the religious faith, 33:21 the cultural heritage, 33:23 even the vocabulary of the English speaking world, 33:27 as William Tyndale. 33:28 Britons voted him 26th 33:31 in the list of the 100 Greatest Britons of all Time. 33:35 And few prayers have been answered as dramatically 33:38 as that prayer Tyndale prayed in the final moments of his life 33:42 when Henry VIII granted permission for the Bible 33:45 to be published in English. 33:47 It unleashed the Bible upon the English speaking world. 33:51 And as a result, the world would never be the same again. 33:56 The core principle of the reformation 33:58 was the role of the word of God in a believer's life. 34:02 Notice, that William Tyndale 34:04 translated the bible into the English 34:06 not long after Johannes Gutenberg 34:08 gave to us the modern printing press, 34:11 which meant the word of God could be distributed to people 34:15 who could read it for themselves, 34:17 understand it for themselves, 34:18 and then follow the leading of the holy spirit in their lives. 34:24 Tyndale's contribution to the reformation was enormous. 34:28 It's one thing to teach or to preach or to write 34:31 as other reformers did. 34:33 It's another thing all together to actually 34:35 give people the Word of God. 34:38 And that's what William Tyndale accomplished. 34:41 Though he's been gone 500 years, 34:44 his influence and his impact lives on in the lives of people 34:47 who continue to be transformed by the power of the Holy Bible. 34:52 ♪[Music]♪ 34:59 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 35:02 inviting you to join me for 500, 35:05 nine programs produced by it Is Written 35:08 taking you deep into the Reformation. 35:11 This is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation 35:15 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door 35:18 of the Castle church in Wittenburg, Germany. 35:20 We'll take you to Wittenburg, and to Belgium, 35:22 to England, 35:23 to Ireland, 35:25 to Rome, 35:26 to the Vatican City, 35:27 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 35:30 who pushed the Reformation forward. 35:32 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 35:34 where the reformers lived and, in some cases, died. 35:37 We'll bring you back to the United States 35:38 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York, 35:41 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 35:44 Don't miss 500. 35:46 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 35:49 Call us on 888-664-5573, 35:54 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 36:00 Welcome back to 500, 36:02 I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written. 36:04 And my special guest is the dean of the school of religion 36:07 at Oakwood University in Huntsville Alabama 36:09 Dr. Dedrick Blue. 36:11 Dr. Blue, thanks for joining me. 36:12 >>Dr. Blue: It's a pleasure to be here with you today John. 36:14 >>John: William Tyndale, tell me, 36:15 tell me something about the man. 36:17 >>Dr. Blue: Well, William Tyndale was one of the greatest 36:21 reformers of the protestant reformation, 36:23 and was so instrumental really in unlocking 36:27 people's understanding of the Bible 36:29 particularly in the English language, 36:30 but the implications of what he did are still 36:33 reverberating around the world to this day. 36:35 >>John: It seems to me that people like Tyndale, 36:37 he wasn't the only translator, 36:38 but seems to me they don't get enough, 36:40 enough credit for what they did, the, the, 36:42 the reformation was all about getting the word of God 36:45 into the hands and hearts, and minds of the people. 36:47 >>Dr. Blue: Oh yeah. 36:48 >>John: That's what he dedicated his life to doing. 36:49 >>Dr. Blue: Oh absolutely. 36:50 I mean, if you stop and think about the time 36:51 which Tyndale was born, uh, around 1494, right? 36:57 Things were beginning to transpire in the world 37:00 that were radically different. 37:01 For example, the fall of Constantinople 37:04 opened up the world to having the Bible in their hands 37:09 in the Greek language, 37:11 which really inspired, a great, great, um, 37:14 Bible translator by the name of Erasmus, 37:17 to take this Greek Bible 37:18 and begin to make it available throughout Europe. 37:22 So for the very first time in centuries, 37:25 people were able to pick up the Word of God 37:27 and begin to look at it, and begin to grap with it, 37:30 and scholars could actually read it for themselves. 37:33 >>John: Now not that the English language is anymore important 37:36 than any other language, 37:36 but wasn't yet available in English. 37:39 It was not an easy matter for Tyndale 37:42 just to go and translate the Bible. 37:43 If you and I wanted to translate the Bible, 37:44 people would cheer us on, 37:46 we could start a, a, a go fund me page, 37:48 folks would help us out. 37:50 >>Dr. Blue: Yes. 37:51 >>John: Then it was different, 37:52 what was the age like in which Tyndale found himself. 37:55 I mean, I mean society and so forth. 37:57 >>Dr. Blue: Well, in society, most, most people were, 38:00 were in absolute object poverty. 38:03 They were, uh, serfs, serving lords and serving kings. 38:07 There was prolific ignorance in the land, 38:10 and in addition to that, the, um, 38:12 most of population was actually illiterate, 38:15 and the only literati were really the priest. 38:19 And, and the priest, uh, would study for years and years, 38:23 uh, philosophy, languages and all these things. 38:26 And then finally after they came to a point of understanding 38:29 they were allowed, at some point after eight, 38:32 nine, 10 years of study to to, to, to see the sacred scripture. 38:35 So, people at that time were, were left in ignorance, 38:39 the church pretty much dictated their lives, 38:42 dictated how they were to respond 38:45 and to perceive the world. 38:46 And so all of a sudden someone comes along and says, 38:50 "Listen, now there is a world that God has for you. 38:54 That is found in the sacred pages. 38:57 If you could only have access to them 38:59 and read them for yourselves, 39:01 you would come to understand the God that I know 39:03 and the God that I have loved. 39:06 >>John: Tyndale has this idea that he wants to, to, 39:08 to translate the Bible, 39:09 what, what, what moved him in that direction? 39:11 Why in the world would a man 39:12 want to do such a thing back then? 39:14 >>Dr. Blue: Well, I think that Tyndale was greatly inspired 39:18 by a previous Bible translator Erasmus 39:21 who we mentioned just a moment ago 39:23 who had began to take the, the, the Greek version of the Bible 39:26 and began to do some work in translation there. 39:28 He was also greatly inspired by Martin Luther, 39:31 and the reformation that was taking place in Europe. 39:34 You know Martin Luther began to, to, uh, read the Bible 39:36 and discover this great biblical truth, 39:39 righteous just by faith, justification by faith, 39:43 you know, saved by grace. 39:44 And these kinds of ideas greatly inspired Tyndale. 39:48 And so Tyndale being, um, uh, an interesting man 39:52 at a quite young age, he actually began his studies. 39:54 So he's born in 1494, by, by 1512 39:59 he's already well deep into his studies, 40:02 mastering so many different languages. 40:04 He was a, he was a gifted linguist, 40:06 being able to speak French, and uh, Latin, 40:09 and read Greek and read Hebrew, and so many, 40:12 all, all these languages, right? 40:14 Seven or eight languages this man mastered. 40:16 And so, as he was beginning to read he said to himself, 40:19 wait a minute, "It seems to me that the greatest thing that 40:23 people need in their life is not the traditions 40:26 and the ceremonies 40:27 of a church for their soul salvation, 40:29 but there is something else that God wants us to know 40:32 and come to understand, and is found within the Word of God. 40:35 And if I could just have the opportunity to translate this 40:39 and get it to the people in their own language, 40:42 then they could come to an understanding of what God 40:45 really has in store for them." 40:46 >>John: You mentioned something a moment ago 40:48 and this really reminds me to understand the reformation 40:53 you've got to take yourself there, uh, as it were, 40:56 look around, see the sites, listen to what's going on. 41:00 >>Dr. Blue: Mm-hmm. 41:01 >>John: Immerse yourself in that, in that time. 41:03 You talked about people were dealing with excommunication 41:06 and death. 41:07 You go to greyfriars church yard or, 41:09 stone throw from there, the monuments in Edinburgh Scotland 41:12 to people were martyred just up at St Andrews, 41:16 people were martyred there, 41:18 you go to Oxford, and they have the great big monuments 41:20 to people who were martyred. 41:22 >>Dr. Blue: Absolutely, absolutely. 41:23 >>John: So, so people were, were dealing with this. 41:25 This was, uh, obedience to the church, 41:27 was a matter of life and death. 41:29 >>Dr. Blue: It certainly was, and we also know there was, 41:32 uh, just around that time that the inquisition 41:35 was in full force, um, in, in Europe. 41:38 And you are absolutely right, there were, 41:39 there were a great number of people who were martyred 41:41 for their, for their faith or their belief or their, uh, 41:44 failure to submit themselves to the authority 41:49 of the church of Rome. 41:50 >>John: So what kind of man does this make Tyndale? 41:52 I don't want to get to the end of the story 41:54 before we get to the end of the story, 41:55 but he wants to translate the Bible. 41:57 I mentioned, you and I we could, we could start today 42:01 and people would cheer us on, 42:03 what did Tyndale have to go through? 42:05 And then I'll get to my next question? 42:06 >>Dr. Blue: Well, when Tyndale wanted to translate the Bible, 42:08 you know, he went to, he went to the presiding bishop 42:12 and asked for permission. 42:13 And he was denied. 42:15 And so the only way that Tyndale could pursue, um, 42:18 this translation is that he had to leave England 42:22 in order to be able to do it. 42:23 >>John: You said the bishop denied him permission, 42:25 what do you think motivated the bishop to say, 42:27 "No, you just cannot do that?" 42:29 >>Dr. Blue: Well, it's hard for me to be able to get 42:30 into the bishop's mind (laughs). 42:32 But if we go back and take a look at the times in which we, 42:35 in which they were living, 42:37 fealty to the church was absolute. 42:40 Um, and so perhaps the bishop out of fear and perhaps 42:45 the bishop out of his own sense of loyalty to the church 42:48 did not want to see the church disrupted. 42:50 There is, there is always people along the way who, 42:52 who maintain the status quo thinking that 42:56 in the maintenance of the status quo, 42:58 that we are not throwing the whole baby out 43:01 with the bath water. 43:02 >>John: You'd think that bishop might have seen 43:04 the writing on the wall, you'd think he might have thought, 43:05 boy if he translates the Bible, and this gets out, 43:08 this could, this could upset the apple cart. 43:10 >>Dr. Blue: Well, it was clear that if the Bible 43:13 were translated and got out, especially when, 43:16 when later reads how Tyndale did some of his translations, 43:21 it was a direct assault to the authority of the priesthood. 43:24 >>John: There was no Bible. 43:25 Wycliffe the morning star of the reformation, 43:27 he'd translated the Bible into English some years before, 43:30 couple of 100, 150 years so before, 43:32 uh, but by now that English was archaic. 43:35 >>Dr. Blue: Right. 43:36 >>John: There was no English Bible. 43:37 >>Dr. Blue: That's right. 43:38 >>John: So it was gonna change things. 43:39 Here is the question I was gonna ask you a moment ago. 43:42 Tyndale looking ahead, he, he, 43:44 he knows that what he's thinking about doing is radical. 43:48 >>Dr. Blue: Mm-hmm. 43:49 >>John: He knows this is radical. 43:51 He maybe motivated by the, 43:52 by the purest motives although he knew that he was 43:54 gonna come to conflict with the church along the way. 43:57 He looks down into the future, he's got to have some idea, 44:04 when the bishop says no, 44:05 but he refuses to take no for an answer. 44:09 He's got to have some idea of where this might end up for him. 44:14 >>Dr. Blue: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 44:15 >>John: So help me understand the mind of someone 44:17 living under the direct authority 44:19 of an absolute monarch, 44:21 the direct authority of an absolute pope, 44:24 in a system that's, uh, pretty rigid, pretty strict. 44:30 He's staying, I got to do this, 44:32 what drives that man? 44:34 >>Dr. Blue: I think it's the same thing that drove, 44:37 um, the apostle Paul, you know. 44:40 The apostle Paul says, you know, "I'm crucified with Christ, 44:43 yet not I, but Christ lives in me." 44:44 It's the same motivation that, that motivated Jesus who said, 44:49 not my will but thy will be done. 44:51 It's the same motivation that has motivated the men 44:54 and women of God down through the ages, 44:56 who knew that although there may be a king, a premiere, 44:59 a prime minister or a president, 45:01 that we answer to a higher authority. 45:04 It's like when the apostles emerged out of the prison 45:06 and said, we must obey God rather than man. 45:09 There is something that motivates the child of God 45:11 when they understand that there is authority 45:13 that is above all other authorities, 45:15 that yes there may be a king, 45:17 but there was the king of kings and Lord of lords. 45:19 And yes, there may be a priest, 45:21 but there was a high priest in heaven who sits 45:24 at the right hand of the throne of God, 45:26 Jesus Christ the righteous. 45:27 And I think when you get a hold of that, 45:29 that changes the way in which you view the world. 45:32 Your life becomes less important, and turn, in, in, in, 45:37 in the grand scheme of things, 45:39 because I now live to glorify Him. 45:41 And I think that motivated Tyndale. 45:43 >>John: Outstanding. 45:44 We'll be back with more in a moment 45:45 I'm with Dr. Dedrick Blue, uh, dean of the school of religion 45:48 at Oakwood University. 45:49 More on William Tyndale in just a moment. 45:52 ♪[Music]♪ 45:59 Now here is a question for you, 46:01 can God be trusted? 46:02 And I have the answer for you. 46:04 Can God be trusted? 46:06 That's our offer today, it's absolutely free to you, 46:09 can God be trusted and can the Bible be trusted? 46:12 Call us on (800) 253 3000 46:15 or visit us online at www.itiswritten.com. 46:21 Or you can write to the address on your screen. 46:23 I'd like you receive our free offer, 46:26 can God be trusted? 46:29 Thanks for joining us on 500 46:31 brought to you by It Is Written. 46:32 My guest is Dr. Dedrick Blue, 46:34 the dean of the school of religion at Oakwood University 46:37 in Huntsville Alabama. 46:38 We're discussing William Tyndale, 46:40 one of the great reformers, who uh, maybe just for reviews sake, 46:46 found himself living and operating 46:48 in pretty difficult circumstances. 46:49 This wasn't the 21st century in the United States. 46:53 >>John: This was then, 500 years ago, 46:56 in an, in an environment where there was an absolute king. 47:00 >>Dr. Blue: Mm-hmm. 47:01 >>John: And an absolute pope, and Tyndale was told 47:03 he absolutely had to do what he had to do, 47:06 but something got a hold of him and he's like, 47:08 "I've got to translate the Bible." 47:10 How do you feel in your, in your study of William Tyndale 47:13 that Tyndale believed, what was his vision? 47:19 I get the Bible translated into English, 47:21 the end result of this is going to be... 47:26 what was he presupposing? 47:28 >>Dr. Blue: I think he was presupposing, um, 47:30 the end of tradition and the emergence 47:35 of a true kingdom of God. 47:37 So for example, one thing that, that, that Tyndale does 47:40 in his translation, instead of using the word priest, 47:45 he uses the word overseer. 47:47 You see, because he did not want to give people any impression 47:51 that there was a priestly class. 47:53 Another thing that he does in his translation 47:55 when he translates Ekklesia, the called out ones, right, 48:00 he translates it congregation, 48:02 rather than translating it as church. 48:05 And he did that particularly because congregation implies 48:08 that the people 48:09 are somehow making up this, this, this kingdom of God, 48:13 engaged in dialogue with God, 48:15 rather than through a structured authority of the church. 48:18 >>John: He was angling for change. 48:19 >>Dr. Blue: He was angling for change. 48:21 And that change was to say, 48:23 "Hey, people, the word of God is here, you can read it. 48:26 And God wants you to be His people." 48:28 That the church is not an institution, 48:30 the church is people who come together, 48:32 who worship God in spirit and truth." 48:34 >>John: So to put it another way, Tyndale translated, 48:37 I could, I could perhps, it might sound negative, 48:40 translated the Bible with an agenda, 48:42 but let me put it in a positive sense, with a vision? 48:45 >>Dr. Blue: Yes. 48:46 >>John: He saw did he? 48:47 This wasn't just I'll translate the Bible 48:49 and let this go where it goes. 48:51 He had a vision for what the Bible could do in the church 48:54 and in the lives of people. 48:55 >>Dr. Blue: Right, right. 48:56 >>John: Well, let's talk about the translating, 48:57 I think many people would be surprised to know 48:59 just how influential Tyndale's translations have been. 49:03 How have affected us down through the years, 49:05 what do we know today of Tyndale's translating? 49:07 >>Dr. Blue: Well, you know, um, uh, some scholars 49:09 have estimated that about 83% of the New Testament, 49:14 and about, uh, 76% of the Old Testament, 49:17 are Tyndale's translations. 49:18 The, the authorized version, the King James version, 49:21 there was 54 scholars get together 49:23 and they decided they were gonna grapple and translate the Bible. 49:26 Well, they borrowed most of that from Tyndale, 49:29 because they couldn't improve upon what Tyndale said. 49:31 Not only that, when you read Tyndale's translations, 49:34 we still hold onto some of the beauty of his language 49:37 to this day. 49:38 You see it was Tyndale who wrote the words 49:40 seek and you shall find. 49:41 >>John: Right. 49:43 >>Dr. Blue: Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. 49:44 Judge not that you be not judged, 49:46 you are the salt of the earth. 49:48 It was Tyndale's translation that says, 49:49 in Him we live and move and have our being. 49:53 Isn't that beautiful? 49:54 >>John: That is beautiful. 49:54 >>Dr. Blue: You know- 49:55 >>John: That's powerful too. 49:56 >>Dr. Blue: Yes, it's very, very powerful. 49:57 So the language that Tyndale used was poetic, 50:02 and elevating, and challenging, 50:06 and inspiring all at the same time. 50:09 >>John: Luther when he translated the Bible into German 50:11 altered the German language. 50:13 >>Dr. Blue: Mm-hmm, yes. 50:14 >>John: And really his work with, with the German language 50:16 changed the way the language was used. 50:18 >>Dr. Blue: Absolutely. 50:19 >>John: So Tyndale as he was translating, 50:20 I, I, I, I suppose most translators, 50:22 when he was translating then and bringing the Bible into English, 50:26 it's evident that he stopped and thought and prayed, 50:29 and chose very carefully words that he believed would, 50:32 would truly the human heart. 50:33 He achieved that, didn't he? 50:35 >>Dr. Blue: Yes he did. 50:35 He absolutely did. 50:36 Um, I'll give you another example 50:38 of a Tyndale translation. 50:39 You know, the word that we have now for passover, right? 50:43 Um, that word didn't exist. 50:44 That was Tyndale, 50:45 Tyndale added that word to our Lexicon passover, 50:47 because before everybody was using the, the Hebrew word. 50:51 But just think about the beauty of, of that word, passover. 50:54 >>John: Sure. 50:55 >>Dr. Blue: You know, the angel passes over. 50:57 >>John: That's right. 50:58 >>Dr. Blue: I mean, I mean Tyndale was absolutely, uh, 51:00 a wonderful and masterful... 51:01 matter of fact, one of his translations says, 51:04 uh, the spirit is, is willing but the flesh is weak. 51:08 Well you know, um, when you read others translations, 51:10 Luther's translations, it says, Luther says, 51:13 the spirit is willing but the flesh is sick. 51:16 >>John: Uuh. 51:17 >>Dr. Blue: You know, but Tyndale 51:19 the spirit is willing but we are weak. 51:22 You know, and so in that translation 51:25 I'm willing but I'm weak, 51:26 it points me back to the source of my strength. 51:28 >>John: Sure. 51:29 >>Dr. Blue: The source of my strength in Jesus Christ, 51:30 he's my Lord and savior. 51:31 So I love what Tyndale did with language, 51:35 and I love how that language, uh, 51:37 throughout the centuries still resonates with Christians today. 51:41 >>John: Tyndale had to leave England 51:43 in order to get this job done. 51:44 The priest, uh, the bishop said no. 51:46 >>Dr. Blue: Yes. 51:46 >>John: Off he went. 51:47 So, so what happened then? 51:49 He's essentially in exile, how did he, 51:51 how did he go about translating a Bible 51:53 into English 500 years ago. 51:55 >>Dr. Blue: Well, he found himself in Wittenberg 51:57 and he found himself in Worms, and he found himself in Antwerp, 52:00 um, all along the way doing bits and pieces of translation. 52:04 Um, when he first, uh, began to publish a portion 52:07 of that New Testament and get it out, um, 52:10 and some of the copies finally made its way back to England. 52:13 You know, those copies were seized and burned and, 52:16 you know, he was, you know, railed as a hieratic. 52:20 But what really got Tyndale in trouble, um, 52:22 apart from his translations was some of his writings. 52:27 So for example, 52:28 when he wrote a book called The Obedience of Man, right? 52:32 In that he rails against the, the traditions of the church. 52:35 And then he wrote another book called The Practice of Prelates. 52:38 And that really got him into trouble with king Henry VIII. 52:41 >>John: Yeah, what did he talk about there 52:42 that fired up the king so much? 52:43 >>Dr. Blue: Well, you know king Henry the VIII 52:46 has gone down the history as, as quite an amorous king. 52:49 >>John: Sure. 52:49 >>Dr. Blue: Right? 52:50 And, uh, he was married at the time to Catherine of, Aragon, 52:55 but he wanted the pope to give him an annulment, 52:58 and the pope refused to give him an annulment, 53:00 uh, so that he could marry Ann Boleyn. 53:02 Um, and so at that time, as Tyndale was watching this, 53:07 Tyndale begins to rail against the king for his amorous ways, 53:13 and, and says to the king that you have no authority 53:17 on scriptures upon which to file for annulment. 53:20 It's against the word of God. 53:21 And for that, the eye of the 53:23 king is, is really raised at that point against him. 53:26 He was already not happy with him, 53:27 but now the eyer of the king is really raised against him 53:30 for that particular point. 53:32 And the king wanted him exiled and brought back to, 53:34 to, England to stand trial. 53:36 >>John: Interesting that he came out against the king, 53:39 because in other ways he's so very, 53:41 Tyndale was so very supportive of the monarchy. 53:43 >>Dr. Blue: Yes. 53:43 >>John: Talk to me about that. 53:45 >>Dr. Blue: Well, that's, that's the great contradiction I think. 53:47 You know, he supports the right of the king to rule, 53:49 and he takes his position that the king 53:51 has been given these powers by God to rule. 53:54 However, um, as it is today, 53:57 most people do not want to have their sins called out. 54:00 >>John: Right. 54:01 >>Dr. Blue: If you want to get someone upset with you, 54:03 then tell them what they are doing wrong. 54:05 >>John: Mm-hmm. 54:06 >>Dr. Blue: And, um, prosecution usually comes 54:08 when you take a position against someone who is entrenched 54:12 in their position that is obviously wrong 54:15 and yours is overwhelmingly correct. 54:19 And if they have the power, they persecute you. 54:21 >>John: And that's what happened to Tyndale ultimately, 54:26 paid for his faithfulness to God 54:27 by being strangled and burned at the stake, 54:30 at a little suburban northern part of Brussels 54:34 not far from the airport Vilvoorde. 54:36 >>Dr. Blue: Yes. 54:37 >>John: And, uh, in a certain sense 54:39 he's a sort of a forgotten figure. 54:41 In a certain sense, I mean there is a publishing house 54:42 named after the man for goodness' sakes, 54:44 that not nothing. 54:45 >>Dr. Blue: Right. 54:46 >>John: I think today if you ask people to recall 54:47 the great heroes of the reformation, 54:49 Luther, some of the other luminaries- 54:51 >>Dr. Blue: Mm-hmm. 54:53 >>John: Tyndale is probably down the list a little bit. 54:54 After all he did was translate the Bible, 54:58 but without his work the work of the other reformers 55:01 would have been almost nothing. 55:03 >>Dr. Blue: I think, I think Tyndale deserves a great, 55:06 uh, place in history. 55:07 Um, not only for translating the Bible into English, 55:10 but look at what ultimately happens because of, 55:13 because of that. 55:14 Uh, the English society was basically illiterate. 55:18 When the Bible gets translated into English, 55:20 now all of a sudden an illiterate mass 55:22 becomes literate. 55:24 >>John: Mm-hmm. 55:25 >>Dr. Blue: That changes forever the trajectory of England, 55:27 and changes the trajectory of the world. 55:29 None of that would have happened without Tyndale. 55:32 >>John: The Bible says the entrance of thy word 55:34 brings light. 55:35 >>Dr. Blue: Right. 55:37 >>John: Bringing the Word of God unto the people brought light 55:38 in lots of different ways. 55:39 >>Dr. Blue: It absolutely did. 55:40 It absolutely did. 55:41 And it, and it changed the way people think as, 55:44 as well about, about, uh, the church and about government. 55:46 >>John: So Tyndale translates the Bible. 55:48 >>Dr. Blue: Yeah. 55:50 >>John: The printing press is, uh, is invented, uh, and, and, 55:53 and the Bible starts to find its way into the hands 55:55 of the people, the price comes down. 55:57 Today you can buy one at the dollar store. 55:58 >>Dr. Blue: Right. 55:59 >>John: How should be relating to the Bible today? 56:01 You couldn't get it 500 years ago. 56:04 >>Dr. Blue: Right, right. 56:05 >>John: And now it's everywhere, bestselling book in the world. 56:08 So, so for us today, Tyndale is dead and gone, 56:10 his work lives on, 56:12 it impacts even translations of the Bible today. 56:14 But we have the Bible, talk about our, uh, 56:18 not a responsibility but our privilege as believers, 56:20 now that this work has been done, 56:23 we have the Bible in our hands. 56:24 >>Dr. Blue: Well, you know, we have this sacred text, 56:27 because there were people who were willing 56:29 to actually lay down their lives to give us that opportunity. 56:32 It sort of reminds me of, uh, of our children. 56:36 If you give them everything sometimes they don't value it. 56:40 And I think sometimes you've been given this great gift 56:42 and we don't value it, 56:43 because we didn't have to pay for it. 56:45 Um, but there are others who did pay for it. 56:47 If we take a look at where the Bible 56:49 is most cherished these days, 56:51 it is not in the western world, 56:52 but it's in those parts of the world 56:55 where people have not had access to the Word of God. 56:57 >>John: Sure. 56:58 >>Dr. Blue: And now as they're gaining access, 57:00 they're seeing these wonderful, 57:01 precious truths that have been hidden for them, 57:04 hidden from them for ages. 57:06 Those of us who have this precious word 57:09 in our hands right now, 57:10 we not only have an obligation to serve 57:12 those who went before us, but to reread it for ourselves, 57:16 to be reintroduced to this God that Tyndale 57:19 was willing to give his life for. 57:21 To catch the same vision that Tyndale had. 57:24 Tyndale was a strong believer 57:26 in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. 57:29 He loved to talk about the imminent return of Jesus Christ. 57:33 We live in a world right now of earthquakes, 57:35 and floods and tornadoes, 57:36 on the verge of war, 57:37 and if there was ever time when the people of God 57:41 need to look beyond this world to something greater it's now. 57:45 That word of God points us to this Jesus Christ 57:48 who loves us so much, he's coming back to get us, 57:51 and it points us to the Jesus Christ, 57:53 who loves us so much he's willing to speak to us 57:56 in our own language. 57:58 >>John: Amen. 57:58 Dr. Blue thanks so much. 57:59 It's been wonderful. 58:00 I appreciate it gratefully. 58:01 >>Dr. Blue: Thank you very much John. 58:02 >>John: And thank you for joining us 58:04 and be sure to join us next time on 500 58:06 for Rome and the reformation. 58:09 We'll take you to Rome and to the Vatican City 58:12 and you'll be blessed, 58:13 and you'll be encouraged in Your faith. 58:16 Let's pray together before we close. 58:18 Our father in heaven 58:19 we are grateful for people like William Tyndale, 58:22 and the men and women of great faith 58:24 who valued Your word, the Bible. 58:28 Uh, contact with you, 58:30 a relationship with Christ, 58:32 more than they valued life itself, 58:33 we today are the beneficiaries of their great commitment. 58:38 I pray Lord that you would let a fire of faith 58:41 burn inside of us, 58:43 that we'd be committed to you. 58:45 Oh, the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. 58:47 So we pray that you'd give us the strength of Jesus. 58:50 The strength of Your Holy Spirit. 58:54 We look forward as Tyndale did to the day when Jesus returns 58:58 we want to go home and experience eternity with you. 59:01 Keep us now, 59:02 keep us until then and let Your word go around this world 59:06 and do Your work in powerful ways. 59:09 And if you can use us to be part of that, 59:12 Lord we would be forever grateful. 59:14 We thank you, 59:14 we love you, 59:15 we pray in Jesus' name. 59:17 Amen. 59:19 Thanks again. 59:20 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 59:21 Until then remember 59:22 it is written, 59:24 "Man shall not live by bread alone, 59:25 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 59:29 ♪[Theme Music]♪ |
Revised 2017-10-20