What I see in men who changed history was the courage of their calling. What I see in theologians trying (in USA Election 2012 as in prior decades) is simply cowardice. MOST of them are on the coat-tails of the Vatican, although the Bush family line is less than "noble" in its habits and alliances. Five hundred years after William Tyndale, who translated as a fugitive from King Henry VIII, and eventually paid for it with his life (being probably less than 40 at the time) - -- people still can't handle Tyndale, and probably can't touch his talent and backbone with a ten-foot pole.
I also (on this blog) the other day typed an entire "page" and can't locate that page right now. Am probably missing my own calling here -- without support staff to clean up the work, or a copyeditor, or the time to do it right. THAT SAID, I do see an entire (and major) gap in coverage of important matters; and hope against hope to get to it before the end of my lifetime. (Arrgh....)
This post will show my clear rebuttal of the doctrine of the "trinity" and assertion that it had to be imposed by force, necessitated ignoring the clarity of scripture, and that it took hold for the next two thousand years, while competent translators of the scripture, many who risked and lost their lives in so doing -- did not buy into it, and with their work, spread literacy and helped topple entire empires -- or at least force global-domination-empires to regroup.
Many of these reformers also knew the advantage of new technology and used it to advantage.
Their translations were often burned along with them; Huss (it's said) was burned with Wycliffe Bibles as fuel.
Forcing the issue, the church authorities then seek control of position and wealth (i.e., close to political authorities) and then start naming who's a heretic. As a woman and mother, I basically have completely lost respect for the associations and institutions -- as they struggle to determine who is and who is not a heretic, forming clumps (or going "ecumenical") -- somehow they consistently forget to force their membership to stop abusing members of their own family, parishioners, congregants, or in short people who show up within range. Are times less feudal now? Not in behavior and not in intent.
(Arrgh!)
30 A.D. or so.
Being only about 30 yrs old, Jesus, a young itinerant preacher allegedly dies horribly and innocent on a Roman stake, among others, after first being labeled a threat to the state. 1500 years later, William Tyndale, another man about 40 also following his calling -- translation -- was betrayed, strangled, then burned at the stake for the crime of translating Greek manuscripts into his own language, English, which he virtually helped invent in the process.
500 more years later, and a U.S. President by decree (Executive Order) tries again to blend religion and state by opening an "OFBCI" to streamline federal favors to the "right" religious groups.
State has always sought to exploit or control religion;it is a powerful ally or enemy in global control, and its noncompliant prophets are literally dangerous to the status quo. For another, if it didn't, religious groups would tear each other apart by the throats, anyhow, causing civil unrest...
. . . . Fast-Forward a few hundred years after Jesus' death. They still can't agree: Who was he? A Roman emperor settles the bishop's sectarian debate (and power struggles) by decree:
In A.D. 312, Constantine won control of the Roman Empire in the battle of Milvian Bridge. Attributing his victory to the intervention of Jesus Christ, he elevated Christianity to favored status in the empire. "One God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor" became his motto. ...To counter a widening rift within the church, Constantine convened a council in Nicaea in A.D. 325. A creed reflecting the position of Alexander and Athanasius was written and signed by a majority of the bishops.
381 -
"In AD 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of God; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. ..A Turning Point which time Forgot" (Heretics, Pagans and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State / Book review)
Thanks to some of the following men, we can today (via internet) search Bible texts in sites like THIS. or THIS. Moreover Tyndale also contributed in good part to the development of English itself through his work, I hear.
These examples -- as well as of JLC himself -- make me believe there may still be hope for those who understand their times -- and their callings, and commit to it. It may make for a rough life and horrible death, but it CAN change history, topple empires, and by the grace of God, will. Right now, as then, the empires are economic, military, and use traditional religion to encourage compliance of the masses.
Latin was at the top of the linguistic hierarchy – it was the language of literacy and formal education across Europe. Everyday speech was further stratified by class; the aristocracy spoke Anglo-Norman, a dialect of French, while commoners spoke Middle English. Since the Wycliffite Bible was translated into common English during a period of social and political unrest, as well as religious dissent, English-language Bibles became symbols of heretical beliefs. Wycliffe's teachings were condemned in 1382. In 1409, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, issued thirteen Constitutions which prohibited the translation of any biblical text into English as well as the public or private reading of such texts. Violators were excommunicated and charged with heresy, which was punishable by death. English-language Bible manuscripts were pushed underground throughout the next 130 years, kept carefully by lay readers. Over 250 Wycliffite Bibles have survived to the present"
(from a curator at "Early English Bibles")
(from a curator at "Early English Bibles")
1369-1415 John Huss (burned at the stake)
Huss (Bohemia) took up Wycliffe. His murder inspired further resistance.
1450s - Gutenberg. while not the inventor of the printing press definitely popularized it, And yes, printed Bibles. Making it harder to stamp out Huss & Wycliffe, among other things. (see great summary of its effects, and context :
At the height of the Hussite crisis in the early 1400's, when the authorities ordered 200 manuscripts of heretical writings burned, people on both sides realized quite well the significance of that act. Two hundred handwritten manuscripts would be hard to replace. Not only would it be a time consuming job, but also trained scribes would be hard to find. After all, most of them worked for the Church, and it seemed unlikely that the Church would loan out its scribes to copy the works of heretics."
ca. 1494-1536 Prince of Translators, Wm. Tyndale
One of my personal heroes... He translated on the fly.. He fled King Henry VIII --how'd you like to do that?Absolutely unbelievable -- read some of the saga.
1473-1543 Copernicus (classics, law, theology, math, metaphysics, languages and astronomy) puts the sun (not the earth) at the center of the cosmos. But the Church at the time was more, "Aristotle).
1483-1546 Luther (accused of being "Hussite" in 1519, goes to the library to defends himself; realizes he probably was, thereby losing the debate and beginning his break with Rome...),
1564-1642 Galileo, and his telescope (ca. 1610), went with Copernicus, based on the evidence. eventually winning for himself (ca. 1633) from the Inquisition, lifetime house arrest. Copernicus' 1543 book was banned in 1615, and Galileo having published in Italian (not Latin) also caused problems. Like many of these men, Galileo's skills surfaced early in life
WHAT THESE WENT THROUGH -- AND YET TODAY, WHO IS AT THE TOP OF THE POLITICAL HEIRARCHY IN THE UNITED STATES, AT MANY LEVELS? IN MANY WAYS, STILL THE VATICAN. . . . . WHERE'S THE "LJC" IN THAT?
And who better, perhaps, than women who have stood up to their religiously abusive men and been spat out of marriage, or even lost children to the state because of it? I suspect there is a reason the authorities are so afraid of us.
. . .But I suspect that, like the above men, it's not going to be an ancient formula propagated to protect an empire (in A.D. 381 or so) that will save life, or heal, in our dark hours. It will have to be the genuine article, backed by the living God. (Acts 2, Peter, after explaining that David, in Psalm 110, spoke as a prophet of this same Jesus, the time was NOW for that audience):
. . .But I suspect that, like the above men, it's not going to be an ancient formula propagated to protect an empire (in A.D. 381 or so) that will save life, or heal, in our dark hours. It will have to be the genuine article, backed by the living God. (Acts 2, Peter, after explaining that David, in Psalm 110, spoke as a prophet of this same Jesus, the time was NOW for that audience):
"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, andhaving received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth** this, which ye now see and hear Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost...for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.. . .And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized."
It's simple. Those words speak to some, and do not to others. Still true today.
Or, you could go with a theologian's struggle (yr. 2002, 2006) to understand why Tyndale, so familiar with the scripture, failed to talk about the Trinity, but with effort (and repetition), it could perhaps be squeezed into the equation: The man writes, admitting he can't make sense of it, but probably not willing to risk his life -- or social excommunication (being a clergyman) as Tyndale did:
"When I first thought about the Trinity I could not see the validity of any of the explanations meant to help us understand the concept of Three Persons and One God. I could only make sense of the Trinity if I looked at it as a family. The family name is God, and in that family there are three Persons— the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—but it is one Family. Although Tyndale does not have much teaching about the Trinity . . ."
[And then goes on to talk about "God the Trinity" where the Bible consistently talks about "God our Father." etc.]
[Answerbag.com discusses why Tyndale translated Ex 3:14 s I will become what I will become rather than "I AM that I AM" which is then often tied to John 8:58 to justify Jesus having said that he was God.. Among the most intelligent comments is this one:
"Consider the possibility that his translation is more in keeping with the original than more "PC" translations. Perhaps goes some way toward understanding why the infinitely wise church fathers had Tyndale burned at the stake for his unpardonable crime of rendering the Bible accessible to those (not a high number in his time) who had the ability to read in the common tongue.
Read more: Why didn't William Tyndale translate Ex 3:14 as "I AM"? Isn't that an important rendering for the Trinity? Ex 3:14 Then sayde God vnto Moses: I wilbe what I wilbe: ad he sayde, this shalt thou saye vnto the children of Israel: I wilbe dyd send me to you. |
Let's try this again:
"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, andhaving received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth** this, which ye now see and hear
**in Greek, the word "shed forth" is used of things poured out. The audience had just had a dramatic demonstration.
See also I Cor. 12:7. When there is nothing to see, or hear, then people continue to talk (another sample)-- and listen to the sound of their own voices, as opposed to this gospel which -- again, the record is clear -- will create nonconformists likely to be put under lifetime house arrest, and/or simply be killed, as their own ALLEGED leader was.
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