Everyone knows about the bulletin board message.
Few recall the unfundated mandate.
Frankly, the latter had more immediate, profound impact on the Reformation.
That is to say, on September 3, 1538, the King of England ordered the clergy of the church of England to provide by October 31, 1538,
"One book of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."
Luther posted in Latin, but the King in English: Luther against Indulgences, but the King against all anti-Christian religions.
Praise God for his blessings showered both on German and England in the 16th century!
-Turretinfan
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
5 comments:
Comment Guidelines:
1. Thanks for posting a comment. Without you, this blog would not be interactive.
2. Please be polite. That doesn't mean you have to use kid gloves, but please try not to flame others, even if they are heretics, infidels, or worse.
3. If you insult me, I'm more likely to delete your comment than if you butter me up. After all, I'm human. I prefer praise to insults. If you prefer insults, there's something wrong with you.
4. Please be concise. The comment box is not your blog. Your blog is your blog. If you have a really long comment, post it on your blog and post a short summary of it here.
5. Please don't just spam. It's one thing to be concise, it's another thing to simply use the comment box to advertise.
6. Please note, by commenting here, you are relinquishing your (C) in your comments to me.
7. Remember that you will give an account on judgment day for your words, including those typed in comment boxes. Try to write so you will not be ashamed if it is read back before the entire world.
8. Stay on topic. If your comment has nothing to do with the post, email it to me (my email can be obtained through my blogger profile), or simply don't post it.
9. Don't post as "Anonymous." If you are going to post anonymously, at least use some kind of recognizable "handle," so we can tell you apart from all the other anonymous folks. (This is moot at the moment, since recent abuse has forced me to turn off "anonymous" commenting.)
10. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; and abstain from doing to others what you would not wish upon yourself.
I like that Sept 3 order!!
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther--long may he be remembered with love and admiration! (and imitation)
--Godith
What translation was it that the king's order related to? Matthew's Bible?
ReplyDeleteGood Question: the order did not explicitly specify.
ReplyDeleteHowever the "largest volume" would have made the Matthew Bible the natural choice (the Coverdale Bible was the main alternative at the time, but it was in the smaller "quarto" size).
Tyndale Bibles could - I suppose - have been substituted, but most had already been destroyed, and the translator martyred (apparently by strangulation, followed by a public burning of his corpse at a stake) by the Roman Catholics.
-Turretinfan
Since we are talking about Bibles, what's your view on the Geneva Bible and it's accuracy in the mix of time and chance during that period?
ReplyDeleteI like the Geneva Bible. It's very similar in most places to the KJV. Still, as to translation quality, I think the KJV was an improvement, even if only a minor improvement.
ReplyDeleteThe Geneva Bible is typically the translation that one sees quoted from in Shakespeare.
-Turretinfan