Letter to Tyndale

Dear William,

I visited your monument this evening. I don't think you'd like it, by the way ... There's a bit of Victorian over-the-top-ness about it, and I always had the impression that you were the self-effacing type. Anyway, I wanted to see it and there's a marvellous view from that hill. You lived in a nice part of the world and it must have hurt to find yourself banished to the flatlands of Belgium.

Did you hear what happened here in England after they killed you? You remember how you prayed, "open the king of England's eyes"? Well, that fat tyrant, Henry, actually let the Reformation into the country. I don't think you'd approve of his reasons, but it happened, and it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't done all that work on translating the Bible. You did a pretty good job I must say, because a lot of your words and phrases still get quoted today (over 450 years later).

The real reason I wanted to write to you is because seeing your monument set me thinking about what you did. You were never a terrorist, and you never attacked or threatened anyone; you were just a serious minded, hard working scholar. But you believed in what you were doing and got killed for it. Was it worth it? Is that what you expected when you started asking questions about the faith you'd been brought up in? You were a priest at first, but when you translated the Bible into common English you undermined all the power that used to go with priesthood. I admire your bravery, even if you didn't know you were risking your life. You needed to be brave just to ask the questions, and it must have been hard to face up to the disintegration of your own original faith system. It is easier just to accept what you're told than to set out on a personal search for truth.

I think you should know that you started a trend, which went much further than you would have expected. Once people understood the Bible they started to look into it much closer and, after a while, they began to ask more questions. For a while the Bible reigned as the supreme authority and that led to more persecution much as you had to face. Eventually people started to ask questions again.

I am a scholar in a small way myself, though I don't have your skills and qualifications. It's just that I am interested in the Bible and I like to study - and I don't mind looking into controversial issues. I couldn't do it if it hadn't been for people like you; but, unlike you, I don't believe the Bible implicitly. The more I studied the more I questioned the accuracy of the precise text; but at the same time I became more convinced of the reality of the God behind it all. Don't despair of me yet! After all, when you searched for the truth you moved a long way from where you'd started out, as a simple, obedient priest. I started out as a fundamentalist but moved on to discover new mysteries in God. I had to ask questions, just as you did. The we-have-all-the-answers brigade were using bible authority just as ruthlessly as men used Church authority in your day, and you understand what damage those attitudes can do.

Just a final thought before I sign off ... You paid a high price for your efforts, and please don't ask me whether I would do the same; but, since I don't believe what you believed, do I think your sacrifice was worth it?

Yes I do; and thank you.

©Derrick Phillips
August 1994