“GOD’S OUTLAW: The Story of William Tyndale”

 

By Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI & TTT Newsletters

Website: www.toughissues.org // January 13, 2009

 

A 1-Page Handout // All emphasis is mine unless otherwise noted.

 

            Several nights ago I watched the movie, “God’s Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale”. Several days later, I did a “google-style search” on the Internet for “Movie God’s Outlaw”. I found out that the length of the movie is 93 minutes; it is in color; it stars Terrence Hardiman as “William Tyndale”; the director was Richard Dutcher; the producer was Barrie Allcott; Vision Video. (I highly recommend that you rent or purchase a copy of this inspiring movie!)

 

            First, a few words about William Tyndale, who has been called “the father of the English Bible”: Tyndale was born circa 1494, and was executed for “heresy” in October 1536. (He was strangled to death at the stake – and his body was then burned.) Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2006), says of William Tyndale: “English religious reformer and translator of the Bible: executed for heresy.” The “heresy” for which William Tyndale was executed was this: He had translated the New Testament into English, and he dearly wanted to get that translation into the hands of the average Englishman!

 

            In 16th century England, possessing a Bible in the English language was a crime! The bishops in England had banned Bibles in the English language since 1408. The bishops continued this ban on English-language Bibles well into the 16th century, because they feared that “Lutheran ideas” might spread to the local population if they were allowed to read Bibles in their own native language, i.e., English!

 

            Here is a description of the movie “God’s Outlaw” – and of William Tyndale – that I found on Internet website www.prayerfoundation.org:

 

“A true story, ‘God’s Outlaw’ is about international politics, church intrigue, cold-blooded betrayal, and false justice ending in a criminal’s death. [Ed.: Tyndale, of course, was not a criminal in the sense that most people think of criminals – e.g., murderers, thieves, etc. He was a “criminal” only in the eyes of the corrupt church and the corrupt government officials that had him executed.] But it’s also about victorious faith and spiritual triumph over some of the greatest political and religious forces known in the 16th century.

            …A simple God-seeking man, William Tyndale somehow became one of the most wanted men in England and all of Europe. Pursued by [Ed.: the agents of] King Henry VIII [Ed.: of England], Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More, and the pope’s personal legate Cardinal Wolsey, he [Ed.: Tyndale] darted across Europe to avoid capture – always pushing to complete the task that obsessed him.

            That task was translating the Bible into English and publishing it for his follow countrymen – Englishmen who lived in a country where the Bible and even prayers in English were outlawed by a corrupt religious establishment.”

 

Men like William Tyndale gave their lives to give us the Holy Bible in our native language. Yet many Christians today fail to read and study their Bibles! This ought not be so! Shouldn’t a real Christian regularly and faithfully study God’s Holy Word? (For more information on the Bible, please read my article, “The Real Bible”, on www.toughissues.org.)