William Tyndale's Impact On English Reformation

Improved Essays
The English Reformation would not have been the same without William Tyndale, a Protestant who changed the course of the Bible’s English translation. Tyndale’s core beliefs were founded on the idea that the Bible was the highest authority and it was a basic right for everyone to read the Bible in their own language. An idea that came to him as he read the New Testament in Greek as a priest in the Catholic Church. Following his intuition and education from Oxford, he translated the New Testament in English in secret. From the orders of the King, such act was categorized as heresy and punished by death, since it followed Martin Luther’s similar ideas. Once the translation of the new testament was finished in 1525, his copies were smuggled into Europe from his hiding place in the Lutheran City of Worms. Although he never finished the old testament, he became what the BBC referred to as “the …show more content…
His entire life was dedicated to his beliefs even when it all turned for the worst. After being turned in by his friend, Henry Philips, he was imprisoned for 500 days before he was sentenced. Strangled and burned at the stake for his crimes Tyndale paid the ultimate price, but even at that point his impact had been done as thousands of his New Testament copies were in Europe’s streets. Tyndale not only sacrificed his own life but helped the Reformation unravel. As he translated the Bible, into a language and wording most could understand, he gave power to the people to make their decision on the Church of the time. Without him, the reformation would not have held the strength as it did, since the majority of the people were actually oblivious to the scriptures they had blindly followed under the Catholic Church.
Just as William Tyndale became a vital part of the Reformation, John Calvin exceeded such accomplishments as a Protestant theologian. Instead of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    William Tyndale and John Calvin were both essential and influential figures in the Protestant Reformation (when Martin Luther took the initiative to break away from the Catholic Church). Calvin was a pastor and a theocratic ruler of Geneva, and Tyndale was simply a scholar who mastered many languages and translated the Bible so that the common people could read it for themselves. They lived their lives in different parts of Europe, but still both supported and impacted the separation from Catholicism which led to their belief in Christianity. They both expressed their views of God through their works which were in the forms of numerous writings and translations. Though William Tyndale and John Calvin both rejected Catholicism in their works,…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Protestant and Catholic Reformation was a 16th century schism in Catholic Europe. The Protestants and Catholics had different thoughts on how the church should run. Protestants thought that the Church in Europe needed to change and the religion should be based on belief rather than tradition. The Catholic Church tried to protect its traditions, but changed some things such as stopped the sale of indulgences (History.com Staff).…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation was a time period when religious, political, and intellectual beliefs began to change. Many people at that time were Catholic and followed the beliefs and orders of the Church, mainly the Pope. Whatever the Church said, was believed to be accurate and the people at that time would do whatever it took in order to follow these rules and get into heaven. However, during the time of the Reformation, the way people started looking at the Catholic Church began to change after the influence of Martin Luther and King Henry VII. Martin Luther and King Henry VII both lived during the time of the Reformation, and were looking for change in the ways of the Church, but had different beliefs in doing so.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Protestant Reformation was a time in which change ran rampant throughout Europe, both religiously and politically. The idea that rather than there being no salvation outside the Church, and that the way to salvation was merely through the hierarchy of the church, or that rather than seeking God through a "father confessor" one could seek him through prayer instead, became a big challenge on the Roman Catholic Church, one that seemed to be headed by one particular man... Martin Luther. Martin Luther was originally a law student who after being struck to the ground by lightning and calling out to Saint Anne promised that he would commit himself to being a monk in return for his survival, this was only the beginning for him though. Luther…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abolition Of Images

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This essay will focus on the above epigraph from “On the abolition of images and that there should be no beggars among Christians” pamphlet, published in 1522, Lindberg, C. (ed.) (2000) The European Reformations Sourcebook, Oxford, Blackwell, P, 57 by Reformation reformer Andreas Karlstadt (1483-1546). The epigraph will be used as a springboard, which will discuss the theme of authority during this period, and how religion was challenged during the Protestant Reformation in Germany. The significance of the quote will be examined by exploring the background in which it was written.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Recognized by esteemed awards, counting a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the American Philosophical Society, James M. Kittleson used his talent and scholarly successes as an ardent researcher focused on Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. For three decades, he was a frontrunner in the field of Reformation studies, to which he gave generously of his time and talent, serving on the editorial boards of Studies in the Reformation and the Lutheran Quarterly. Kittleson wrote “Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career” in 1986, with the primary purpose, “to tell the story of Martin Luther to readers who are not specialist in the field of Luther studies have no desire to become ensnared in the arguments of specialists (Kittleson, 1986)”. Kittleson does achieve his purpose. Kittleson starts out the book with background information detailing his reason for writing the book.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Act Of Toleration

    • 1746 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Bilal Manzer Mr. Tomasetti Period 1 APUSH September 5th, 2015 Identification #1 1) Act of Toleration: Lord Baltimore granted freedom of religion to Christians of different branches. But, most of the people living in the colonies were Protestant and despised the Catholics wanting to convert theme to their own faith. The Catholics supported the Act of Toleration which was passed in 1649 in Maryland and allowed for them to practice their religion freely. The only drawback was that it only tolerated all types of Christianity so people of other faiths like Judaism and Atheism were killed.…

    • 1746 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the second decade of the sixteenth century, a religious movement began in Europe. This movement, later referred to as the Reformation, was to fix and reform the church, which had turned to corruption. Many leaders came along during the time of the Reformation, but not one so powerful as Martin Luther whose teachings and views played such a large impact in the Reformation. He inspired others with his action and beliefs in a way many others couldn 't do as effectively at the time. Martin Luther had such strong religious views and witnessed corruptions, such as those of John Tetzel led to such a strong opposition to indulgences, that he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, which would spark the Reformation.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tyndale Research Paper

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As a speaker of seven languages, and a man with many intellectual gifts, Tyndale was used mightily in the Kingdom work. Tyndale was born in 1494 in Gloucestershire, and little is known about his early life. Tyndale graduated from Oxford in 1512 and had previously been educated at Magdalen College. After graduating from Oxford, Tyndale began his study of theology in Cambridge. While at Cambridge, Tyndale began to notice the corruption within the Catholic church.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Catholic church has undergone changes in its power and influence. What impact was the Protestant Reformation which originated in Germany. A key figure in the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther. Luther, a German monk, believe in autonomy and Independence and their religion. He was against being dependent on clergy.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever heard of someone who had a burning passion to complete something so important to themselves that they were willing to risk their own life to complete it? A catholic baby was born in the October of 1494, in Gloucestershire, UK(United Kingdom). This baby's name was William Tyndale. He had a regular life, a simple and nothing out of the ordinary lifestyle. His existence had been ignored like most other people, so not much is known about his early life except that he had graduated from Oxford in 1512, after studying at Magdalen College.…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many things that led up to the causes of the religious reformation in the sixteenth century. Some short-term causes are the indulgences that were sold in Germany which were penances that were sold to sinners in order to fill the hole of a sin to make the person complete. This practice was believed to lessen the sinner's time in purgatory and even save the soul of a dead person. Pope Leo X pushed for the sale of more indulgences to get money to rebuild the St. Peter's Basilica. Martin Luther became outraged at the corruption of this practice arguing that the pope was misleading in the issuing of these indulgence, that one cannot conduct enough good deeds get into heaven, and that salvation could not simply be bought.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Tyndale is the first man to write the first English Bible. There was another man who tried to do it but failed because it was banned. William Tyndale's problem with trying to make it was that England only allowed Latin Bibles. He believed that the Scripture should be available to everyone. He worked very hard and tirelessly to write all the languages.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Protestant Reformation is often indicated as just the Reformation. It was the major disagreement within Western Christianity started by Martin Luther. Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses in hopes of just starting a debate between the church, but ended up setting the religious world aflame. In his document, he started by criticizing the selling of indulgence, demanding that the pope had no authority over purgatory and that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in the gospel. The “95 Theses” are a list of questions and propositions for debate and are also known as “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.”…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther is most publically known for starting the Protestant Reformation. His written document, “The Ninety-Five Theses,” justified his disagreement with the Catholic Church. Luther was justified in attacking the Catholic Church because it was “corrupt” with indulgence at the time, Christians were being led astray by paid Christian attractions, and began to corrupt those within the Church as well.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays