William Tyndale (1494-1536), an English Lutheran who translated the Bible into English in 1506, defended Protestantism thus:
'In this they be all agreed, to drive you from the knowledge of the scripture, and that ye shall not have the text thereof in the mother-tongue, and to keep the world still in darkness, to the intent they might sit in the consciences of the people, through vain superstition and false doctrine, to satisfy their proud ambition, and insatiable covetousness, and to exalt their own honour above king and emperor, yea, and above God himself... Which thing only moved me to translate the New Testament. Because I had perceived by experience, how that it was impossible to establish the lay-people in any truth, except the scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mothertongue, that they might see the process, order, and meaning of the text.
Questions:
- What do you know about William Tyndale?
- What were his objectives to translate the Bible into English?
- What were the issues on which the Protestants criticised the Catholic Church? Write any two issues.