Dr Paul Allen

English: Statue of William Tyndale in the Victoria Embankment Gardens, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) William Tyndale 's final words before the chain around his neck strangled him to death were, "Lord, open the king of England 's eyes." That dying prayer was answered two years after Tyndale's death, when King Henry VIII ordered that the Bible of Miles Coverdale was to be used in every parish in the land. The Coverdale Bible was largely based on Tyndale's work. Then, in 1539, Tyndale's own edition of the Bible became officially approved for printing. Tyndale's translation inspired the great translations that followed, including the Great Bible (1539, also compiled by Coverdale), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops' Bible (1568), the Douay-Rheims Bible (1582-1609), and the Authorized or King James Version (1611). A complete analysis of the King James shows that Tyndale's words account for eighty-four percent of the New Testament and

In 1603 James VI and I became the first monarch to rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland together. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Have you ever attended a frustrating meeting where nothing much seems to get done? The Hampton Court conference , held in 1604, was like that. When James VI of Scotland rode south to London on the way to the coronation that would make him James I of England, Puritans presented him with a petition, pleading for freedom from man-made rites and ceremonies in worship. Since over 1,000 leaders of these reform-minded Christians signed the petition, James could not ignore it. He called for a conference of churchmen and theologians to be held at Hampton Court , one of the royal palaces. But his attitude toward the event was signalled by the wording of the summons, "for the hearing, and for the determining, things pretended to be amiss in the Church." [our italics] The Puritans thought that the Church of England had kept too many Catholic practices.

A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In 1553, Queen Mary ascended the British throne, which began a period of intense persecution of Protestants in England . More than 700 people fled England to escape persecution and settled in and around Geneva, Switzerland , in 1555. The refugees included Miles Coverdale , John Knox, and William Whittingham. Geneva in the 1550s was the center of Reformed Protestantism . And because of the presence of Theodore Beza , it was also a growing center of biblical scholarship. While there, the exiles began to see the need for a new translation of the Bible in their own language. The New Testament was finished in 1557, and the complete Bible—along with a revised New Testament—was finished in 1560. The Geneva Bible became the Bible of the common people The exiles began returning to England in 1558 when Elizabeth I ascended the throne, and they brought their Bible with them. The Geneva Bible soon became the prominent Bible tr

Post Tenebras Lux  — “After darkness, light” This  Latin phrase  found on the  Reformation Wall  in  Geneva, Switzerland , encompasses the purpose of both the original 1560  Geneva Bible  and our goal at Hope College namely, to bring the light of Scripture to a darkened world. Hope College offers a range of ministry courses from Certificate IV to Advanced Diploma and Graduate Certificate and Diploma Courses.  The college is located on the Gold Coast of Australia . Courses are offered in English and Korean language . Course fees are very reasonable. Hope College has 85 available spaces (filling fast) for international students to join the entry classess in the new year 2015. Enrol today.   www.hopecollege.com

Post Tenebras Lux — “After darkness, light” This Latin phrase found on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland , encompasses the purpose of both the original 1560 Geneva Bible and our goal at Hope College namely, to bring the light of Scripture to a darkened world. Hope College offers a range of ministry courses from Certificate IV to Advanced Diploma and Graduate Certificate and Diploma Courses.  The college is located on the Gold Coast of Australia. Courses are offered in English and Korean language. Course fees are very reasonable. Hope College has 65 available spaces for international students to join the entry classess in 2013. Enrol today.   www.hopecollege.com