William Tyndale took a stand to reform the Catholic Church. Tyndale followed in to footsteps of Martin Luther to reject Catholic practices. As classmate Holly Gingrich said, “I've seen an slightly changing view of religion. People are becoming more educated and literate in England.” Education had a lot to do with the reformation that was going on. As the common population was becoming more literate and more educated people were able to make their own interpretations of scripture. This is what Tyndale and other reformers did. Before Tyndale was executed he was able to translate the Old Testament and write “The Obedience of a Christian Man” which is a DISCOURSE, in which Tyndale meditates on salvation through faith rather than through the deeds a person had done on the earth. (Tyndale 621).
Tyndale’s take on sin from “The Obedience of a Christian Man” is that through “Christ’s blood our sins vanish away as smoke in the wind” (621). He seems to have the same idea about sin as Julian did but he does not express the love that God must have had for man kind in order to endure such a painful and humiliating death.
Tyndale also wrote about the Bible and how to interoperate it. He says that the bible must be interoperated literally. Even the stories that are told are supposed to be taken in the literal sense because they simulate worldly things. He states that if you “apply [scripture] to our purposes [you will receive] liberty of the spirit” (622). Tyndale argues that ALLEGORIES, or stories, can evoke more thought than plain script.
Protestant forms of Christianity owe much to Tyndale and the other reformers. They retranslated scripture to veer away from Catholic practices and teachings.
Throughout history humans have tried to find a way to answer life’s big questions, find comfort in loss, and find direction in life. Looking at England, Christianity has been prominent since the Middle Ages. As all things do, Christianity went through many changes from the middle ages through the 17th century. It is possible to take a journey back in time, through literature, to capture some of the changes of the Christian religion in Europe.
The Venerable Bede
Julian of Norwich
An Anchoress
William Tyndale
An Allegory of the Reformation
John Calvin
George Herbert
Works Cited
"Bede and Caedmon's Hymn." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. A : Middle Ages. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Alfred David. 8th ed. Vol. A. Boston, MA: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 24-27.
Calvin, John. "John Calvin: The Institution of Christian Religion." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 625-27.
Herbert, George. "The Alter." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 1607.
"Julian of Norwich." Virtual Medieval Church and Its Writings. 2003. University of Saint Thomas “Saint Paul, MN. 30 Oct. 2008.
Norwich, Julian. "Julian of Norwich: A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. A : Middle Ages. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Alfred David. 8th ed. Vol. A. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 371-82.
"The Sixteenth Century: Topics." William Tyndale, Preface to His 1530 Old Testament Translation. 2003. W.W. Norton and Company. 3 Nov. 2008
Tyndale, William. "William Tyndale: The Obedience of a Christian Man." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 621-22.
Calvin, John. "John Calvin: The Institution of Christian Religion." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 625-27.
Herbert, George. "The Alter." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 1607.
"Julian of Norwich." Virtual Medieval Church and Its Writings. 2003. University of Saint Thomas “Saint Paul, MN. 30 Oct. 2008
"The Sixteenth Century: Topics." William Tyndale, Preface to His 1530 Old Testament Translation. 2003. W.W. Norton and Company. 3 Nov. 2008
Tyndale, William. "William Tyndale: The Obedience of a Christian Man." The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. B : The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams and Barbara K. Lewalski. 8th ed. Vol. B. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005. 621-22.
The changes of Christian thinking in England formed modern religion today. Catholicism was the only acknowledged religion in England through the 16th century, but during the 16th century some of the largest changes in the Christian religion were going on. There were transformations in religion that were shown through literature. Literature changed from being “a mixture of Christian and pagan beliefs, to pure Christianity.” (Holly Gingrich). Whether a person claimed to be a follower of Christ or not, Christianity helped to mold English culture and change believes between medieval times and the 17th century.