John Wycliffe: Forbearer To The Reformation Movement
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John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (1335 – 1384) - Forbearer to the Reformation Movement
John Wycliffe was born 1335 in England and he was a Theologian, University Teacher, English Scholastic Philosopher, and Reformer. His followers were called Lollards which were the forbearers to the Protestant Reformation. He was one of the first protestors of the Catholic practices and corruption within the Catholic Church. He stated the Bible to be the sole authority of the Christian religion and questioned the authority of the Pope. He was critical of the wealth of the Catholic Church and wanted to see a reduction of the Catholic influences and interferences in secular affairs.
The Wycliffe Bible
The Wycliffe Bible came into existence with Wycliffe revising…show more content… Tension instigated by his works made it impossible to do the translation work in England, and he set out to Germany in 1524. It is possible that he could have translated the New Testament in Wittenberg under the aid of Martin Luther. He translated the Bible into a modern “English of the day”, and he was the first person to make use of the Gautenberg’s movable press in printing the scriptures in English. Tyndale also published his views and commentaries on Scripture which offended the Catholic Church and also the Church of…show more content… In 1529 he entered the University of Bourges and studied Greek which was necessary for studying the New Testament. He broke away from the Catholic Church in 1530. In 1532 Calvin received his academic degree (licentiate) in law and his first book was published. Tension broke out at the College Royal (College of France) between the reformers and the Catholic faculty members. Nicolas Cop, a friend of Calvin and rector of the College was one of the reformers. He fled France and went to Basel Switzerland, because of his inaugural address in favor of reform and renewal in the Catholic Church.
Calvin’s personal religious conversion - 1533
In 1533 Calvin returned to Paris, but because of the tension relating to reformation and his friend Cop’s inaugural address, Calvin was implicated and he had to go into hiding. In the autumn of 1533, John Calvin experienced a religious conversion. The next quotation is from his writing “Commentary on the Book of Psalms” where he wrote about his religious experience.
“God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies, yet I pursued them with less ardor (enthusiasm).”