It is true to say that "all historians are politicians". In other words, historians use certain historical figures selectively and I would openly acknowledge that I do the same. I commonly endorse John Calvin, the Westminster divines and others, while rarely giving any airplay to advocates of Roman Catholicism or Arminian persuasion. However, we must recognise that our own national histories are greatly influenced politically as well. My wife is Dutch, and it came as a large surprise to me to hear of major Dutch naval victories over the British navy in times gone by, while once visiting a Dutch museum in The Netherlands. These naval defeats at the hands of the Dutch, have been something our own British historians have consciously forgotten about.
Most Western history books have been emasculated and sabotaged in an attempt to purge our past of biblical and Protestant traces. The erasure of the name of William Tyndale is such an example of this. In my view, and others such as the distinguished BBC broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, Tyndale is perhaps one of the greatest Englishmen. From Henry VIII to the current day, leading authority figures have sought to erase his name from the collective British and English speaking memory. Why is that and what did he achieve?
William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536) was born in Gloucestershire, educated at Oxford University, was committed to reformed principles, including the translation of the Latin version of the Bible into the English vernacular (Tyndale translated from Koine Greek and Hebrew, not from the Latin text primarily). He contributed to the translation of the New Testament and many parts of the Old Testament, of which, much of his translation work was later incorporated into the Coverdale Bible which was produced under the authority of Henry VIII, and much of Tyndale's translation was incorporated into the Authorised Version under King James I. Though neither king gave Tyndale any credit. A summary of his life and his betrayal by the Catholic Englishman Henry Phillips is given on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/william_tyndale/
Tyndale was captured and burned alive by the Roman Catholic Church authorities in Antwerp, Belgium. He is one of 1000's of Protestants who have been killed by the Roman Catholic Church. Rome may not be able to purge the world of its church opponents today in such a way, but let the world never forget that Roman Catholic heretical doctrines have never been renounced.
I hope that my brief blog posts spark a renewed interest in such topics as this and that people go away after reading my blog to study more on the life and works of William Tyndale. His two volume works are collated and published by the Banner of Truth Trust. I highly recommend them. Tyndale's life, aim as a fine minister of the Gospel and a linguistic genius, was to translate the Bible into the English language. He famously declared that: “If God spares me… I will cause the boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Bible than thou doest [the Pope]”. Beyond just his greatest legacy of spurring the arrival of the Bible into English, instead of Latin, which few people could read, he gave the English language idioms and turn of phrase which endure to this day. Perhaps only Shakespeare contributed as much to the development of the English language as did Tyndale.
May our reading and devotion to the Bible match that of Tyndale's desire to translate it. Hear the apostle Peter in Acts 3:18 "But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled". Ultimately, Tyndale was not primarily concerned with the Bible becoming a work of literature alone, but that the way of salvation revealed in the Bible, which is only through the Lord Jesus Christ would be known. For anyone reading this blog, let me ask you a question: Do you have salvation from your sins through Jesus Christ alone?
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