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More than a century and a half prior to Luther's historic act at Wittenberg, the University of Oxford's distinguished scholar John Wycliff was engaged in his own full-scale war on the institutions and practices of medieval Christendom. This vitriolic theologian from Yorkshire blasted the Pope as anti-Christian and a devil . . . the father of lies; the cardinals were full of foul pride, the Caesarean secular clergy were traitors of God and his people, the monks were in love with their own belly, and the friars were hypocrites guilty of stinking covetousness. Although defenders of the Church struck back with devil's instrument, heretics' idol, flatteries' sink, admirers subsequently hailed him as the Morning Star of the Reformation. The result of so much passion on both sides has been that even today a balanced view of Wycliff is difficult to obtain. This book is one of the first attempts to steer between the extremes, to find the real man and the place he occupied in the movement toward Reform. Actually, a full and comprehensive account of Wyclif's character is almost impossible to achieve. His own writings reveal virtually nothing of a personal nature; his face cannot be studied because no authentic portrait survives. Weighing the evidence of all the widely varying partisan biographies, Mr. Stacey does construct a reliable, if incomplete, impression of Wyclif based on certain characteristics that no assessment can reasonably reject. Painting the great Bible translator into the total picture of Reform is the more fruitful task to which the author devotes the major part of this book. He discusses the validity of Wyclif's judgments of the Church, the increasingly nationalistic climate that encouraged him, his belief in the supreme authority of Scripture and insistence on its literal meaning, his theology, and the perpetuation of his thought in the doctrines and practices of the Lollards. Mr. Stacey appraises both the success and failure of Wyclif's activity, concluding that theologically and practically his contribution revolved around the precise issues that concerned the sixteenth-century Reformers. He was on the scent and going strong even if he was not to be in at the kill. Here, for all readers, is a significant new study developed with an objectivity rarely accorded one of the most baffling and controversial personalities in history.
This beautifully-produced, illustrated book is a very readable account of John Wycliffe, "The Morning Star of the Reformation," and his contribution to English Protestantism.
Chronicle of the time John Wycliffe walked two hundred miles to attend Oxford in the summer of 1345, through his life as a religious leader.
John Wyclif is known for translating the Vulgate Bible into English, and for arguing for the royal divestment of the church, the reduction of papal power and the elimination of the friars and against the doctrine of transubstantiation. His thought catalyzed the Lollard movement in England and provided an ideology for the Hussite revolution in Bohemia. Wyclif's Trialogus discusses divine power and knowledge, creation, virtues and vices, the Incarnation, redemption and the sacraments. It consists of a three-way conversation, which Wyclif wrote to familiarize priests and layfolk with the complex issues underlying Christian doctrine, and begins with formal philosophical theology, which moves into moral theology, concluding with a searing critique of the fourteenth-century ecclesiastical status quo. Stephen Lahey provides a complete English translation of all four books, and the 'Supplement to the Trialogue', which will be a valuable resource for scholars and students currently relying on selective translated extracts.
Overview: This work draws on recent scholarship situating John Wyclif in his fourteenth-century milieu to present a survey of his thought and writings as a coherent theological position arising from Oxford's "Golden Age" of theology. It takes into account both Wyclif's earlier, philosophical works and his later works, including sermons and Scripture commentary. Wyclif's belief that Scripture is the eternal and perfect divine word, the paradigm of human discourse and the definitive embodiment of truth in creation is central to an understanding of the ties he believes relate theoretical and practical philosophy to theology. This connection links Wyclif's interest in the propositional structure of reality to his realism, his hermeneutic program, and to his agenda for reform of the Church.
*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading In the mid-14th century, the Vatican called upon England and sought financial aid in the hopes of boosting papal defenses against French forces. It was then that a man named John Wycliffe boldly stepped forth and appealed to the John of Gaunt, urging the Duke of Lancaster and Parliament to repudiate Rome's demands and citing what he believed to be the Church's abundance in wealth. According to Wycliffe, Christ's disciples, particularly clergymen, must aspire to live modestly and shun all material pleasures. Such was the word of the Lord. Despite the growing tensions between Wycliffe and the Catholic Church, he was invited to partake in a religious committee that aimed to find solutions for the apparent failings of the institution in 1374, but progress was slow, impeded by the corruption of the priests who readily accepted bribes and immoral incentives. Wycliffe, on the contrary, was equipped with a cast-iron will and refused to cave in to temptation. His strength of character earned him the approbation of the Duke and members of Parliament. The same could not be said about his fellow clergymen. Wycliffe's relentless criticism of the Church only continued to escalate, and eventually he was summoned to London and charged with the unforgivable crime of heresy. To the dismay of his detractors, the hearing was anything but black and white, and heated verbal exchanges soon spiraled into physical altercations. This resulted in a temporary deadlock that was broken only three months later when Pope Gregory XI published five papal bulls that unequivocally banned all of Wycliffe's teachings and found the heretic, dubbed the "master of errors," guilty of 18 counts of heresy. The end, it appeared, was nigh, but Wycliffe remained unfazed, declaring, "I profess and claim to be by the grace of God a sound...Christian and while there is breath in my body, I will speak forth and defend the law of it." Wycliffe told the archbishop at Lambeth Palace, "I am ready to defend my convictions even unto death...I have followed the Sacred Scripture and the holy doctors." While Wycliffe's critics rejoiced at the news of his demise, they soon discovered that his influence was far more difficult to extinguish than they initially anticipated. In 1427, a whole 43 years after Wycliffe's passing, his corpse was exhumed by local authorities and cremated, and the ashes were dumped into the River Swift, but Wycliffe's indelible ideas had taken on a life of their own The revival of Wycliffe's ideas, many believe, was ignited by receptive Bohemian students who were introduced to the reformer's works at Oxford University and became so moved by his thoughts that they felt it absolutely imperative to spread the good word in their own kingdoms. Questioning Christians quietly perused compilations of Wycliffe's books and were, at the very least, intrigued by the nonconformist's opinions. One curious mind, however, was supposedly so inspired by Wycliffe that he was at once galvanized into action. Instead of simply parroting Wycliffe's seditious ideas, he launched an entire movement and remained fervidly true to his cause, even when his own life was at stake. This fearless firebrand was none other than Jan Hus, the father of the Bohemian Reformation and one of the most infamous heretics in all of Europe. Hus started as a Czech priest, but he quickly became notorious for debating several Church doctrines such as the Eucharist, Church ecclesiology, and many more topics. Today, he is viewed as a predecessor of the Lutherans, but the Church viewed him as a threat, and the Catholics eventually engaged Hus' followers (known as Hussites) in several battles in the early 15th century. Hus himself was burned at the stake in 1415, but his followers fought on in a series of battles known as the Hussite Wars.
William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament is one of the most influential works in English literature. His unauthorized translations of the entire New Testament and a substantial part of the Old Testament were smuggled into England, where an eager public risked their lives to read them.
This is a modern-spelling version of the 14th century middle english translation by John Wycliffe and John Purvey, the first complete english vernacular version, with an introduction by Terence P. Noble. Also contains a glossary, endnotes, conclusion and bibliography.
This volume in the Library of Christian Classics series offers fresh translations of works by several early reformers. Inlcuded among the authors is John Wyclif, whose work is often characterized as a precursor to the Protestant Reformation. Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.