INTRODUCING TYNDALE:
An Extract from Tyndale’s Answer to
Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue
Introduction by John Piper
Epilogue by Robert J. Sheehan
Banner of Truth. 103 pages. £5.50
ISBN 978 1 848 717 558
In 1519, one woman and six men were burned to death in Coventry for the ‘crime’ of teaching their children the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments in English.
People at this time in England were denied access to the Word of God in their own language: a situation which caused a young scholar called William Tyndale to declare to a clergyman in 1521: ‘If God spare my life, I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the Scripture than you do’!
He resolved to translate the Bible into English, working directly from the Hebrew and Greek texts. Some key Roman Catholic teachings rested on the Latin Vulgate translation: for example ‘repent’ was translated as ‘do penance’. This mistranslation helped prop up the whole sacramental system. Translation of the Bible into English was illegal, so Tyndale escaped to the Continent and worked in secret. In 1526 the first copies of his New Testament were smuggled into England. He was arrested in Antwerp in 1535, and burned to death the following year. As he died, he cried out ‘Lord, open the King of England’s eyes’. Two years later, Henry VIII gave permission for the publication of the English Bible.
So, as we celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, we should give thanks to God for William Tyndale. His translation of the Bible not only shaped subsequent translations, but was a significant influence on all subsequent English language and culture.
This short book is worth buying for the brilliant ten-point summary of Tyndale’s legacy, provided by the late Bob Sheehan. It also contains a powerful essay by John Piper on the ‘one note’ Tyndale always sang. In between we have an introduction to Tyndale’s own pungent writing style: part of an answer to one of his fiercest critics, Sir Thomas More.
This little book would have been enormously enhanced by a brief summary of the work by More (Dialogue Concerning Heresies) that Tyndale was countering. It is not possible to fully appreciate Tyndale’s ‘Answer’ without knowing the question he was answering!
