Fires of Faith Episode 3 - Tyndale's Legacy

For Members and Friends who have been following the three-part Fires of Faith documentary series, Episode 3 - covering the legacy of Tyndale's work - is now available to view online.

This concluding part covers the role of Tyndale's work in the genesis of the King James Bible, including:

The impact of King Henry VIII's 'Great Bible'
Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer
Calvin and the Genesis of the Geneva bible - 'a Bible that was meant to be studied' but which encouraged readers to stand up for their beliefs against Church and State.
Bloody Mary's burning of the Geneva Bible and the purge of Protestant heretics and the return to Catholicism.
Queen Elizabeth's 'Bishop's Bible' and the reversion to Protestantism
King James and the pacification of the Puritans - who called for a new translation of the Bible.

Notable quotes from this episode include:

"(Tyndale) gave the translators a model of paying very close attention the the literal meaning of the original text and he also established a level of language for the translation. He looked for it to be a language that would be understood as easily as possible by what he called 'the boy that drives the plough' - what we would call the man in the street. He was a brilliant writer, so if one is looking for a genius behind the King James, he is the genius." David Norton

"A major contribution of Tyndale is to make the Bible sound English." Susannah Monta, Professor of English, University of Notre Dame

"Tyndale's language has become the special language of religion. It goes on existing as a special way of speaking that we use when we want to speak to God or make prayers." David Norton

"William Tyndale translated the Bible passionately believing in the project, even to the point of death. He was asked to and he did invest his whole self. Almost as in any beautiful piece of artwork, the soul of the person is somehow showing through. It has been forged in self-gift and self sacrifice. In Tyndale's case it was readiness for self-sacrifice to the point of death. That's what makes the Bible sing. That's what makes the King James sing - it's that they let Tyndale speak." John C. Cavadini, University of Notre Dame "His soul is in the translation."

To access the full episode online click HERE or on the above image (our apologies for the slightly annoying ad at the beginning but this is quickly over).

Note: for those who enjoy a visual spectacle, watch out for the 'guerilla choir' shopping mall scene 36 minutes in (particularly the 'Caution Wet Floor' man).