 Just finished the Heroes of the Faith title "William Tyndale." What a guy: another Oxford (along with C.S. Lewis, student who goes on to influence the coarse of history (and future) by the insatiable desire that the common "ploughman" have a bible that he could read, if he could read.
William determined to translate the bible into common English (by translating the bible, Tyndale standardized the English language just as happened with Luther and the standardization of the German language). Thankless as the England's King Henry VIII was (defender of the church), Tyndale about got his head wacked, so he fled to Wittenburg contemporized with Luther for a while. He used Luther's German and Erasmus' Greek translations of the bible as guildes for translation to English. Without a doubt, Tyndale laid the foundation for the King James Version of the Bible. He was sought by the King Henry who hired spies and assisins to hunt down Tyndale. In the end, Tyndale was taken captive in Catholic controlled territory after being betrayed by a "friend." After a prolonged trial he was found guilty (of course) of heresy and treason. Tyndale was executed by strangling then burned at the stake. His dying prayer: "Lord, open the king's eyes!" Three years after his death, King Henry MANDATED the translation of the Bible into English. Of course, the translaters used Tyndale's bible.
Romans 8:17: - And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us. |