God’s Outlaw: The Story of
William Tyndale (1986)
Who is William Tyndale
[1494-1536]? He is the translator of the first English New Testament! Most of
the English Bible translations today owe (of course to God the Supreme first)
to Tyndale, and thus, to know him is to know the Story of the Bible. This movie
(produced in 1986! So, forget about graphic and film quality, just focus on
contents ya) set in the colorful and dangerous days of King Henry VIII when
men were burned, racked and maimed for lesser crimes than that of smuggling
Bibles – especially Martin Luther’s translations – into England. The movie opens
with a young child reciting The Lord’s Prayer in English and thus her parents
were taken to jailed and killed for teaching their children to pray in English
instead of Latin.
Once when someone said to
Tyndale, “We are better to be without
God’s laws than the Pope’s.” He replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws.
If God spares my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow
to know more of the scriptures than you!” When Tyndale set out to
provide the first printed New Testament in English (based on Erasmus's Greek
Bible) he was forced to defy the king, the Roman Catholic pope, and all other
authorities. Thomas Moore, his archenemy (but a bit soft in the movie) once
said about Tyndale translation: “not
worthy to be called Christ's testament, but either Tyndale's own testament or
the testament of his master Antichrist."
Compelled to flee from
England, he continued with his work of translating the Scriptures while hiding
out in several cities in Germany, Holland, and Belgium – always trying to keep a
step ahead of the agents who were sent from England to arrest him. For the rest
of the story, you got to read Tyndale’s biography. I suggest for a start to read 1) Heroes of Faith: William Tyndale,
and 2) God’s Outlaw by Brian Edwards
and/or watch this movie. You’ll appreciate your Bible – free-to-own-Bible! –
more.
Tyndale was betrayed by
his friend Henry Phillips, thus in 1536 he was arrested and was tried and
convicted of heresy and treason and put to death by being strangled and burned
at the stake. In the movie, his last words before his death were “Lord, open the King of England's eyes.”
Just 3 years later Henry VIII published his English ‘Great Bible’ based on
Tyndale’s work. His work formed the basis of all subsequent English
translations of the Bible, including the King
James Version of 1611. William Tyndale wrote: “I perceived how that it was impossible to establish the lay people in
any truth except the Scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their
mother tongue.” His dreams came true but not without a cost. So, what it
cost you to not read the Bible?
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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