Recent Activity and The 95 Theses

       It's been quite a few months since my last post, but 2017 has been an exceptionally busy year. The school I teach at has moved to a much larger campus, increasing our number of students and my duties as well. While I come on here pretty frequently and stare at my blog, I simply haven't had anything notable to add. Rather, I've been in an intense 'learning mode' this year. With October marking the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, I decided I needed to re-visit the writings of the Reformers (and not just read 'about' them as I have been in the past). I've made my way through many of the writings of Erasmus, More, Luther, Tyndale, and am soon moving on to Calvin. I hope to make some posts about Reformation writings in the near future, but for now I am simply ingesting all I can. 
       On a related note, here's a great post from Luther in Oxford on the three oldest prints of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. With the originals being lost to time, these sheets are probably the closest we'll ever get what Luther nailed to the church door in Wittenberg (if he ever actually did that!). 
https://lutherinoxford.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/the-three-oldest-prints-of-martin-luthers-ninety-five-theses/

A King James Bible from Plymouth

       Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who peruses through here from time to time. I hope your holiday with family has been blessed. Now for a little bit of Bible history: The Geneva Bible has been grandly heralded as the 'Bible of the Pilgrims', which is very true. But - fun fact - the King James Version shown below also landed at Plymouth, owned by non-separatist Mayflower crewmember John Alden. This book now rests in Pilgrim Hall Museum in Massachusetts, alongside William Bradford's personal 1592 Geneva and several other Bibles. Pretty cool!

Happy Reformation Day

Okay, so this post is definitely 16 DAYS late, but better late than never!
Happy Reformation Day!

Despite October 31st being half a month ago, I feel that it's still important to recognise this major turning point in Christian history. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg, sparking theological discussions throughout the town, and later, throughout the nation and throughout Europe. Many of the religious issues brought up and discussed by Wycliffe and the Lollards found themselves right at home in Luther's mind. Why did he choose October 31st, despite the day's negative spiritual connotations? Well November 1st is celebrated as All Saints Day, and Luther knew that the church would be packed the next day. (Good move, Martin.)

The 500th anniversary of Luther's nailing of the 95 Theses will take place two years from now, and as we get closer, the academic and religious world might see rising interest in the modern impact of the Reformation and similar topics.

On a related note, November 1st is pretty neat also. Protestants (and Lollards) follow the Old and New Testament belief that 'the saints' include all true followers of God, and that All Saints Day can be a day spent in remembrance of all Christians past and present.

William Tyndale's Feast Day

        Yesterday, October 6th, was the 478th anniversary of the martyrdom of William Tyndale, one of history's greatest linguists. Giving up an exceptionally promising career in the field of language, Tyndale devoted his life to the creation and translation of the first modern English translation of the Bible. A master of Greek, Latin, German, French, Hebrew, and other languages, when he couldn't find an English equivalent for his writings, he would create new words and phrases - many of which we still use today. His first edition New Testament of 1526 could be bought for less than a month's wages, and had to be smuggled into England in bales of cloth due to the Bible's status as illegal in any language except for Latin.

        Betrayed by a friend to Catholic authorities, Tyndale was imprisoned in Vilvoorde Castle in Belgium, spending over a year of solitary confinement in the dankest, darkest cell imaginable - a vile, rat-infested hellhole where he did not hear one word of English. Tried by an ecclesiastical court and found guilty of heresy, he was handed over to secular authorities and burned at the stake in 1536.

     
        Over 75% of the King James Bible is straight from Tyndale, and many of the verbiage and phraseology found in the ESV, NKJV, and other versions can be traced directly back to him. Tyndale, along with Chaucer and and Shakespeare, are the men to whom we owe much for the modern English language.
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        Paul Pavao, via his "Christian History for Everyman" site, makes a compelling point regarding the martyrdoms of Tyndale and others:

       "If the Roman Catholic Church is just another denomination competing among others, then the slaughter of William Tyndale and others who tried to make the Scriptures available to everyone is forgivable as long as they acknowledge and repent of it. If, however, the RCC wants to claim that they are the lone preservers of apostolic truth, the one true church, then the many stories like Tyndale's prove their claim false."