(New) Series 1 Episode 1 - Protestant Beginnings, Revised and Updated.

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Episode 1: Protestant Beginnings, Revised and Updated.

Since I first published Protestant Beginnings, I’ve gone back to the episode and incorporated your feedback.

As the series has grown, I've noticed a few areas that needed improvement or clarification, so I’ve updated parts of the original episode.

The story and purpose are still the same, but I hope returning readers enjoy this updated version.

If you’re new to the series, this is the starting point of our story.

Series 1.

Episode 1.

Protestant Beginnings, Revised and Updated.

Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, Augustinian friar and religious reformer, born in Saxony on 10 November 14 83.

He became the central figure, in the movement that became the Lutheran Reformation, and helped start the wider Protestant Reformation, in the sixteenth century.

After he was ordained in 15 07, Luther began to question parts of Catholic teaching and practice, especially the preaching and sale of indulgences.

In 15 17, the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel, was preaching for an indulgence authorised by Pope Leo X.

Part of the money raised, was intended to help finance the rebuilding of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

According to official Catholic teaching, indulgences did not simply buy forgiveness of sins.

Instead, they offered relief from the temporary punishment, believed to remain, after sins were forgiven.

However, the way indulgences were being promoted, could make people think, that simply paying, could bring spiritual benefits for themselves, or for souls in purgatory.

Luther strongly disagreed with these claims.

On 31 October 15 17, he wrote to Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, to share his concerns, and included his Disputation on, The Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, better known as the Ninety-Five Theses.

At first, Luther presented the theses as topics for scholarly debate, not as a declaration of revolt against the Church.

Still, some of his arguments were very challenging.

For example, in Thesis 86, he famously asked, why the Pope, who was very wealthy, did not pay for the work on St Peter's Basilica himself, instead of using money from the poor believers.

At this point, Luther was not trying to start a new church.

He insisted that true forgiveness came from God, and strongly criticised those, who encouraged Christians to trust in indulgences.

His argument focused on repentance, forgiveness, and the authority of the Church. .

Tradition says, that Luther also nailed the Ninety-Five Theses, to the door of All Saints' Church, the Castle Church in Wittenberg, on 31 October 15 17.

Historians still debate whether this really happened, but the image of Luther standing at the church door, has become a lasting symbol of the Reformation.

Today, the bronze doors of the Castle Church, added centuries later, display the full Latin text of Luther's Ninety-Five Theses.

As Luther gained recognition, students travelled to Wittenberg, to hear him teach at the university, while his writings would carry his ideas far beyond the city.

Archbishop Albrecht, did not give Luther the response he had expected.

Instead, he had the issue investigated locally, before eventually forwarding it to Rome.

What had started, as an academic debate about indulgences, was now at risk of becoming something much more serious.

At first, Pope Leo X tried to settle the controversy by sending theologians and papal representatives.

One of Luther's first opponents was the Dominican theologian Sylvester Mazzolini.

However, his arguments drew Luther into a much broader debate about the Pope's authority.

In October 15 18, Luther met with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan at Augsburg, where their discussions grew more confrontational.

Cajetan demanded that Luther retract his controversial teachings, while Luther insisted, that his position should be answered from Scripture.

The dispute had now extended far beyond indulgences, and increasingly concerned a much greater question: Just where, did ultimate religious authority lie?.

Luther refused to recant, and fearing arrest, he left Augsburg secretly at night and returned to Saxony.

In January 15 19, the papal envoy Karl von Miltitz, attempted to resolve the growing dispute, through negotiation, rather than confrontation.

Luther agreed to stay silent, - as long as his opponents did the same.

Sadly, the truce did not last.

The Catholic theologian Johann Eck, was determined to challenge Luther's increasingly controversial ideas, in a public debate.

Eck was one of the leading Catholic theologians of his time, and became a prominent opponent of the Reformation.

In June and July 15 19, Eck participated in the Leipzig Debate, first facing Luther's colleague, Andreas Karlstadt.

Luther soon joined the debate, and the discussion shifted from indulgences, to the larger question of authority, within the Church.

Luther challenged the idea, that Matthew 16 : 18, gave the Pope supreme authority over the entire Church.

More importantly, Luther argued that popes and church councils could make mistakes, and were not infallible.

In older Catholic tradition, Matthew 16 : 18 states: "And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" .

Eck, quickly saw the implications of Luther's position, and tried to connect some of his arguments to those of Jan Hus, the Bohemian reformer, who had been condemned as a heretic, and burned at the stake in 14 15.

On 15 June 15 20, Pope Leo X, issued the papal bull, Exsurge Domine, which means, "Arise, O Lord".

A papal bull was a formal document issued under papal authority,

Its name comes from the bulla, or led seal, traditionally used to authenticate it.

Exsurge Domine, condemned forty-one of the propositions from Luther's writings, and gave him sixty days to retract them, or face excommunication.

Luther refused.

During 15 20, he published some of his most important works, including, "On the Freedom of a Christian", a copy of which, he sent to Pope Leo X, along with a letter explaining his position.

Then, on 10 December 15 20, Luther made his defiance clear.

In front of a crowd outside Wittenberg, he publicly burned a copy of Exsurge Domine, along with books of canon law and other writings, linked to papal authority.

On 3 January 15 21, Pope Leo X, formally excommunicated Martin Luther, in the papal bull, Decet Romanum Pontificem.

What began as a dispute over indulgences, had somehow, in just over three years, become an open challenge to the authority of the Pope and the Church of Rome.

With Luther now excommunicated, the controversy shifted increasingly from the religious authorities to the political arena of the Holy Roman Empire.

On 18 April 15 21, Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms, an imperial assembly, led by the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V..

Luther travelled under a promise of safe conduct, which he received, thanks to the support of Frederick the Third, the Elector of Saxony.

Standing before representatives of the Empire, Luther was confronted with a collection of his writings, and asked whether they were his, and whether he was now prepared to retract them.

He admitted he wrote them, but asked for time to consider his response.

When he returned the next day, Luther refused to take back his writings, unless someone could prove him wrong, by using either Scripture or clear reasoning.

According to the traditional account, he ended with, "I cannot, and willnot, recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right, to go against my conscience".

The famous words, "Here I stand, I can do no other", are traditionally associated with his speech, although historians are uncertain, whether Luther actually spoke them.

Further talks did not lead to an agreement.

On 25 May 15 21, Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms, which declared Luther an outlaw and a heretic.

Luther's writings were banned, and no one in the Empire was allowed to shelter or help him.

Although he had been promised safe conduct, Luther never made it home.

While travelling back to Wittenberg, he was stopped by armed horsemen and taken away.

It appeared that he had been kidnapped, but the abduction, had secretly been arranged by Frederick the Wise to protect him.

Luther was brought, to the remote Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, where he hid, for almost ten months, using the name Junker Jörg, the Knight George.

While he was in hiding, Luther kept writing and, most importantly, translated the New Testament from Greek into German.

First published in September 15 22, Luther's German New Testament, made Scripture available to a much wider German-speaking audience, and became an important milestone in the German Reformation.

By the time Luther left the Wartburg, his writings were already widely known: more people were open to his challenge to papal authority, and the movement, that would become known as the Protestant Reformation was gaining strength.

During his time at the Wartburg, Luther had also continued to develop his ideas about faith, grace and human nature.

On 1 August 15 21, he wrote to his friend and fellow reformer Philip Melanchthon, urging him to place his confidence in Christ, rather than in his own attempts to find righteousness.

In one of his most famous lines, Luther wrote, "Sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ, even more boldly".

Luther did not mean to encourage people to do wrong on purpose.

He meant, that people can never be perfect on their own, so they should trust in God's grace and forgiveness.

These debates, about grace, salvation and human freedom, would soon lead to a major disagreement between Luther and one of Europe's leading scholars, Desiderius Erasmus.

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Erasmus.

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a leading scholar of the European Renaissance, and played a key role in Christian humanism.

Erasmus lost his parents when he was young, then entered religious life, and eventually became a priest.

In 14 93, he became secretary to Hendrik van Bergen, Bishop of Cambrai in France, a position which gave him opportunities for travel and study.

Two years later, he began studying theology at the University of Paris, where he developed the scholarly interests, that would help make him one of the leading thinkers of his time.

In 14 99, Erasmus travelled to England with his former student and patron, William Blount, Lord Mount-joy.

While visiting England, he spent time at Oxford, meeting the English scholar and theologian John Colet.

Colet’s focus on studying the Bible in its historical and literary context, left a strong impression on Erasmus.

Erasmus would go on to become, one of Europe’s leading Christian humanists.

He criticised corruption, superstition and abuses in the Church, believing that Christianity should be renewed through education, biblical study, and a return to the teachings of the early Church.

After several years of travelling and studying, including time in Italy, Erasmus returned to England.

One of his most famous works was Moriae Encomium, or, "In Praise of Folly", which he wrote in 15 09 and published in 15 11.

He wrote most of the book while visiting England, dedicating it, to his friend Sir Thomas More.

The work uses humour and satire to expose human vanity, corruption, superstition and hypocrisy, criticising churchmen, theologians, monks, princes and scholars alike.

In Praise of Folly, became one of the most celebrated works of the Renaissance, and showed the growing desire among Christian humanists, for both intellectual and religious reform.

In 15 16, Erasmus made a major impact by publishing a Greek New Testament, along with his own updated Latin translation.

By making the Greek text, easier for European scholars to access, Erasmus encouraged people to study Scripture in its original language.

Importantly, he also gave future reformers and translators a valuable resource.

Erasmus was deeply critical of corruption and abuses in the Catholic Church, but stayed committed, to reforming it from within.

He did not support Luther’s more confrontational split from Rome.

In 15 24, Erasmus published, "On Free Will", which challenged Luther’s views about human will.

The next year, Luther replied with "De Servo Arbitrio", also known as The Bondage of the Will.

At the heart of their disagreement was a fundamental question, - what part, if any, does human freewill, play in salvation.?

Erasmus maintained, that although human beings depended upon God's grace, they still retained some freedom to respond to it.

Luther disagreed, saying that original sin had affected humanity so deeply, that people could not turn to God or earn salvation on their own.

He insisted that salvation depended on God’s grace, not on any human merit.

Their disagreement became one of the most important theological debates of the early Reformation.

It raised questions about grace, free will, and human responsibility that continued to divide Protestant thinkers for generations.

Erasmus did not become part of the Protestant Reformation.

He died in Basel on 12 July 15 36, at the age of sixty-nine, and was buried in Basel Minster.

Although he remained within the Catholic Church, his scholarship helped transform the study of the Bible.

His writings, exposed abuses in European Christianity, and helped prepare the intellectual ground for the Reformation.

The Name Protestant.

Meanwhile, the religious movement associated with Luther, continued to spread across the German states.

The word "Protestant", first appeared after the Protestation at Speyer in 15 29.

Speyer is an old city on the River Rhine in south-western Germany, and was an important meeting place in the Holy Roman Empire.

During the Imperial Diet of 15 29, a group of Lutheran princes and representatives from several imperial cities, formally protested, against attempts to restrict the religious reforms, taking place in their territories.

Their statement, became known as the Protestation at Speyer, and over time, those associated with it, were called Protestants.

The term that began as a political and religious protest, would eventually come to describe, a wide range of Christian churches and traditions, around the world.

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Predestination.

At this point, it is useful to introduce another idea, that would become increasingly important within the Reformed tradition: predestination.

Predestination is the belief that salvation ultimately depends on God's will, not on human choice.

Later, Calvinists, including many English Puritans, developed this into the doctrine of election.

This is the belief that before the world was created, God had already chosen who would receive salvation.

This did not mean, that the Puritans thought God chose people, just because they were already righteous.

In fact, they believed that everyone was affected by sin, and that salvation, was given only through God's grace.

For many Puritans, living a godly life was not what caused salvation, but it could be seen as evidence that God's grace was working in them..

Still, the question of human freedom remained very controversial.

Erasmus argued that biblical commandments, warnings, and calls to repentance would not make sense, if people had no real ability to respond.

For Luther however, allowing human choice to play a part in salvation, challenged his central belief, that salvation, depended on God's grace alone.

Their disagreement raised one of the major theological questions of the Reformation..

If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, how much freedom do people really have?.

It was a question, that would continue throughout the Reformation, and later divide, Protestant movements themselves.

William Tyndale.

The renewed focus on Scripture, and studying biblical texts in their original languages, deeply influenced another scholar, who would go on to change England’s religious history: William Tyndale.

Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire around 14 94 and studied at Oxford University, earning his Master of Arts degree in 15 15.

He later continued his studies at Cambridge, during a period when Renaissance humanism and early Reformation ideas were starting to spread among scholars.

England already had a much older tradition of religious dissent.

More than a century earlier, the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe, criticised the wealth and authority of the medieval Church, and argued that Scripture should be central to Christian life.

His followers became known as Lollards.

The term was originally used as an insult, likely derived from a Middle Dutch word, associated with mumbling or muttering prayers.

Lollard beliefs differed, but many questioned the wealth and authority of the clergy, criticised parts of the sacramental system, and especially emphasised the overarching authority of Scripture.

Most significantly for the story that follows, Wycliffe's followers produced and circulated, handwritten English translations of the Bible, copied from the Latin Vulgate, and passed secretly, among sympathetic readers and religious communities..

Their translations were based on the Latin Vulgate, the standard Latin Bible of medieval Western Christianity, largely associated with the work of St Jerome, in the late fourth and early fifth centuries.

Tyndale now set out to do something much more ambitious.

Inspired by the new biblical scholarship associated with Erasmus, and exposed to religious debates in Europe, Tyndale became convinced that ordinary people should be able to read Scripture for themselves.

He questioned established teachings and practices, such as the veneration of saints, and the reliance of ordinary Christians on the clergy, for access to Scripture.

According to a later account, during an argument with an educated clergyman, Tyndale made a statement, that would come to define his life's work, saying, If God spares my life, then before long, I will cause a plough-boy, to know more of Scripture than you.

Tyndale had made a remarkable decision.

He had decided to translate the New Testament into English, not from the Latin Vulgate, but mainly from the original Greek, so it could be read by ordinary men and women.

This decision would eventually cost him his life.

In London, Tyndale found an important supporter in Humphrey Monmouth, a wealthy merchant who supported religious reform.

Monmouth gave Tyndale a place to stay and financial support, allowing him to continue his studies and work on his English translation of the New Testament.

However Tyndale soon realised ,that he could not safely complete or publish his translation in England.

In 15 24, with help from Monmouth, Tyndale left England for mainland Europe and never came back.

He first went to Hamburg, and likely spent some time in Wittenberg, which was at the heart of Luther's Reformation.

He kept working on his translation there, with some help from William Roy, an English Franciscan friar.

By 15 25, the translation was far enough along to start printing.

Tyndale then went to Cologne, where the printer Peter Quentell, agreed to publish his English New Testament.

They had to work in secret because an unauthorised English translation of Scripture, linked to the Reformation, would attract unwanted attention.

But their secret did not last.

Word of the project reached Johann Cochlaeus, a strong opponent of the Reformation, who alerted the authorities, and the printing was immediately stopped.

Tyndale and Roy gathered what they could, of the unfinished printed sheets, and escaped back to Cologne.

From there, they travelled along the Rhine to Worms.

It was in Worms, in 15 26, that Tyndale finally succeeded.

Peter Schöffer, printed Tyndale’s completed English New Testament.

It was made in a small, portable format, so it could be carried and hidden much more easily than the large Bibles of earlier times.

Now, the books had to reach England..

Merchants, secretly carried copies across the Channel, concealing them among ordinary cargo.

From English ports, the books eventually found their way, to eager readers across the country.

However, it was not long before the authorities found out what was happening.

Cuthbert Tunstall, the Bishop of London, condemned Tyndale's New Testament.

Copies were seized and publicly burned at St Paul's in London.

However, the authorities now faced a serious new challenge: the printing press.

Tyndale's New Testament, unlike earlier handwritten Bibles, could be produced in large quantities.

Even if one shipment was destroyed, the text itself could still survive.

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Tyndale translated the New Testament mainly from the original Greek, using Erasmus’s Greek text and consulting other sources, such as Luther’s German New Testament.

This achievement was a turning point.

For the first time, a complete English New Testament, translated from Greek, was printed and could be widely reproduced and shared.

The expression "Tyndale Bible", can therefore be slightly misleading.

Tyndale himself, never published a complete English Bible..

.He translated the New Testament, and later, large parts, of the Old Testament.

His work however, provided much of the language, used in later English Bibles.

Tyndale’s influence did not stop there..

His translations, influenced almost every major English Bible that came after, and left a lasting mark on the English language..

Within a few years, three important English Bibles would appear, each building on the work Tyndale had started, - in different ways..

The English Bible, had now entered a new age..

Thank you for listening.

The accompanying transcript also includes an epilogue with additional historical notes for those who would like to explore the story further.

Epilogue.

The Wycliffite Bible.

Before the invention of printing, Wycliffe's followers, also known as Lollards, made and shared handwritten English translations of the Bible.

These translations, referred to as the Wycliffite Bibles, emerged in the late fourteenth century and were rendered from the Latin Vulgate rather than the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

Although these translations are associated with John Wycliffe, the extent of his direct involvement in the translation process remains uncertain among historians.

In the absence of a printing press, each copy was produced manually.

Due to the high cost of complete Bibles, individuals often copied single books or passages, which they shared with trusted families, friends, and supporters.

Scripture was occasionally read aloud at private gatherings, enabling those who were illiterate to access the Bible in English.

After 14 08, translating and using English Scripture without permission became more restricted and could be risky.

Even so, people kept copying and sharing Wycliffite manuscripts.

Currently, over 250 of these manuscripts survive, either in their entirety or as substantial portions.

A hundred years later, Tyndale had a huge advantage that Wycliffe's followers did not have.

Wycliffe's followers copied their Scriptures by hand, but Tyndale had access to the printing press.

Wycliffite Bibles Today.

It is surprising how many original Wycliffite Bible manuscripts from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are still around today.

You can find major collections at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, the British Library in London, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

The John Rylands Library has early fifteenth-century manuscript copies of both the Wycliffite New and Old Testaments.

The British Library and Bodleian Library also keep other important examples.

Many pages from these manuscripts have been digitised, so you can now view these remarkable handwritten English Bibles online.

Even after more than six centuries, these surviving manuscripts give us a real connection to the people who copied, read, and secretly shared Scripture in English long before the printing press existed.

Five Centuries Later.

Nearly five centuries after Luther broke with Rome, an important step toward reconciliation took place.

In 19 99, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This document expressed a shared understanding of key aspects of justification by God's grace through faith in Christ.

The World Methodist Council formally joined the declaration in 20 06, and other Christian groups followed in later years.

The agreement did not remove the theological differences created by the Reformation, nor did it formally reverse Luther's excommunication, which still remains in effect.

Even so, it marked a significant moment of reconciliation over one of the main theological disputes that had divided Western Christianity since the sixteenth century.

Tyndale and Henry VIII.

Tyndale did much more than just translate the New Testament.

In 15 28, he published "The Parable of the Wicked Mammon," in which he discussed justification by faith and the relationship between faith and good works.

Later that year, he released one of his most influential works, "The Obedience of a Christian Man."

In this book, Tyndale argued that Christians should obey legitimate secular rulers but reject the Pope's authority over them in worldly matters.

The book reportedly caught Henry VIII's attention, and he found some of Tyndale's ideas about royal authority appealing.

However, this did not mean Tyndale supported the religious changes that Henry would later enforce in England.

In fact, their views soon became very different.

In 15 30, Tyndale published "The Practice of Prelates," in which he opposed Henry's attempt to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, arguing that it lacked sufficient support from Scripture.

This situation was quite ironic.

Tyndale had challenged the Pope's authority, but he was just as willing to challenge the King if he thought Scripture required it.

Now, Henry VIII had another reason to see Tyndale as an enemy.