Reformation 500: How the Greatest Revival Since Pentecost Continues to Shape the World Today

By BH Publishing Group

In a church rocked by controversies over vernacular Scripture, iconoclasm, and the power of clergy, men and women arose in protest. Today we call this protest movement the Protestant Reformation. At its heart, the Reformation was a great revival of the church centered on the recovery of biblical truth and the gospel of free grace. This movement continues to instruct and inspire believers even into the present day.

Reformation 500 celebrates the Reformation and probes the ways it has shaped our world for the better. With essays from an array of disciplines, this book explores the impact of the Reformation across a wide range of human experience. Literature, education, visual art, culture, politics, music, theology, church life, and Baptist history all provide prisms through which the Reformation legacy is viewed. From Augustine to Zwingli, historical figures like Luther, Calvin, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Rembrandt, Bach, Bunyan, and Wycliffe all find their way into this amazing 500-year story. From Anglicans to Baptists, scientists to poets, Reformation 500 weaves these many historical threads into a modern-day tapestry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BH Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781433684999

Book preview

Evangelicals delight in celebrating the Reformation, even though we recognize it was not a perfect movement. This is a book that will help you understand and appreciate why we do.

—Daniel L. Akin

President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"The first of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses states that the ‘entire life’ of believers is to be one of repentance. At the time, Luther could hardly have known the impact his recovery of the gospel would have on the entire lives of people beginning with the individual, family, church, and society, while working its way through literature, science, politics, and education. Reformation 500 ably explores the influence of the Reformation in all of these areas of life and more. Without repeating the obvious or uncovering the obscure, the contributors to this volume demonstrate that the power of the gospel is life-changing indeed."

—Anthony Chute

Professor of church history and associate dean, School of Christian Ministries, California Baptist University

"We gladly salute Ray Van Neste and J. Michael Garrett for their skill in pulling together this treasure of thoughtful essays on the importance of the sixteenth-century Reformation. The first-rate contributions, written by capable thinkers from various fields, help readers not only understand the primary issues of history and theology surrounding the Reformation, but they enable readers to think deeply about the significance of many wide-ranging matters for today. In various ways, the Reformation remains an unfinished project for all aspects of the work of the church. Reformation 500 provides wise guidance for all who desire to explore the meaning, importance, and implications of this influential movement for serious Christian thinking as well as for faithful Christian living in our day. It is a joyful privilege to recommend this fine volume."

—David S. Dockery

President, Trinity International University/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the launch of the Protestant Reformation, there will be many books and articles released relating to that topic. One that is destined to rank among the most useful and significant of those volumes is Reformation 500, edited by Ray Van Neste and J. Michael Garrett. This substantial volume includes an outstanding series of essays on a variety of topics relating to the nature and significance of that historic movement that began with Luther and which continues to impact today’s church. Any student of church history—indeed, any pastor who cares about how today’s church was shaped—will find these essays to be both interesting and useful in understanding the Reformation and its influence."

—Michael Duduit

Founding dean, College of Christian Studies and the Clamp Divinity School and professor of Christian ministry, Anderson University, and executive editor, Preaching magazine

Reformation 500

Copyright © 2016 by B&H Publishing Group

Published by B&H Academic

Nashville, Tennessee

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4336-8498-2

Dewey Decimal Classification: 270.6

Subject Heading: REFORMATION \ PROTESTANTISM \ CHRISTIANITY

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.

Printed in the United States of America

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VP

Editors and Contributors

Editors

J. Michael Garrett is the assistant director of the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies. He previously served as librarian for Beeson Divinity School and the director of libraries for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Ray Van Neste is director of the Ryan Center for Bible Studies and professor of biblical studies at Union University. He has published in the areas of biblical studies, history, and pastoral ministry. His most recent publications include John Calvin’s Sermons on 1 Timothy and Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship.

Contributors

Justin D. Barnard is professor of philosophy in the honors community at Union University. His scholarly interests include issues in bioethics, technology, and human flourishing, and the philosophical legacy of C. S. Lewis.

Jimmy H. Davis is the Hammons Chair of Pre-Medical Students and University Professor of Chemistry at Union University. He serves as a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation. He is the co-author, with Hal Poe, of four books integrating science and faith, most recently God and the Cosmos: Divine Activity in Space, Time and History.

Gene C. Fant Jr. serves as provost and professor of English at Palm Beach Atlantic University and previously served as the executive vice president for academic administration at Union University. He has written or contributed to a dozen books and has been an essayist for The Chronicle of Higher Education and First Things.

Bradley G. Green is associate professor of Christian thought and tradition at Union University. Green is also the author of The Gospel and the Mind: Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life and Covenant and Commandment: Works, Obedience and Faithfulness in the Christian Life.

Timothy George has been the dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University since its inception in 1988. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Theology of the Reformers, John Calvin and the Church, and Reading Scripture with the Reformers. He also serves as the general editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, a twenty-eight volume series of sixteenth-century exegetical comment. He serves on the editorial advisory boards of First Things, Christianity Today, and Books & Culture.

David Lyle Jeffrey has been distinguished professor of literature and humanities at Baylor University since 2000, and since 2012, a senior fellow of Baylor’s Institute for Studies in Religion and director of manuscript research in Scripture and tradition. His books include A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature, The Law of Love: English Spirituality in the Age of Wyclif, and People of the Book: Christian Identity and Literary Culture.

Peter J. Leithart is president of the Theopolis Institute, a leadership training institute based in Birmingham, AL, and a teacher at Trinity Presbyterian Church. He is author, most recently, of The End of Protestantism: Pursuing Unity in a Fragmented Church.

Christopher W. Mathews is dean of the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts and professor of music at Oklahoma Baptist University. He has published essays on the influence of the King James Bible on music and on music education from a Christian perspective.

John T. Netland serves as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of English at Union University. His teaching and research interests include British romantic and Victorian literature, particularly the intersection of religion and literature in the nineteenth century.

James A. Patterson is associate dean of the School of Theology and Missions and University Professor of Christian Thought and Tradition at Union University. He has written widely on church history including his book James Robinson Graves: Staking the Boundaries of Baptist Identity.

Harry Lee Poe holds the Charles Colson Chair of Faith and Culture at Union University. Poe has written more than fifteen books about the intersection of faith and culture that deal with issues as diverse as science, literature, history, and higher education. He served for ten years as president of the Poe Museum, and is a past president of the American Scientific Affiliation. His book Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to his Tell-Tale Stories, won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2009.

Gavin Richardson is professor of English at Union University, teaching courses in classical and medieval literature. His most recent research has addressed Anglo-Saxon precedents for early modern vernacular Bible translation, as well as the form and reception of revenge narratives in late medieval writing.

Carl R. Trueman is Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and pastor of Cornerstone Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Ambler, PA. He blogs regularly at FirstThings.com, is co-host of the Mortification of Spin podcast, and is author of a number of books including Luther’s Legacy: Salvation and English Reformers, 1525–1556 and The Creedal Imperative.

John D. Wilsey is assistant professor of history and Christian apologetics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea and One Nation Under God: An Evangelical Critique of Christian America. He is also editor of Democracy in America: A New Abridgment for Students.

Taylor Worley serves as the associate vice president for spiritual life and university ministries and as associate professor of faith and culture at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. He has edited Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture: Conversations with the Work of David Brown and Dreams, Doubt, and Dread: The Spiritual in Film.

Acknowledgments

A project like this does not come to fruition without help and encouragement from many sources. In the early stages, David Dockery, past president of Union University, provided support and sage advice. Dub Oliver and Ben Mitchell, respectively president and provost of Union, have continued to encourage and support the work. This book is a reflection of the academic life of Union University and is thus indebted to the labors of the faculty, staff, and administration with whom we are blessed to serve. We are especially appreciative of the eleven current and former Union University faculty members who have contributed to it.

We are also deeply grateful to a group of community leaders who were willing to serve as the steering committee for this book project and our REF500 Festival that was held on the campus of Union University from March 9 to 11, 2017:

Mr. Robert Caldwell, Partner, Caldwell & Bryant Financial Advisors

Mr. James Kirkland, Senior Project Manager, H&M Construction Co., Inc.

Dr. Walton Padelford, Porter Family Professor of Business and Economics, Union University

Mr. Landon Preston, Executive Recruiter, Allygn

Dr. Linda Shoaf, Co-owner, Cindryn Group, Ltd.

Dr. Justin Wainscott, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jackson, Tennessee

Each of these friends willingly gave of their time, effort, and resources to make this project possible. Other supporters have offered significant gifts, including the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Tennessee and Foundation Bank of Jackson, Tennessee, under the leadership of its president, Chad Wilson.

Introduction: Why Are We Celebrating the Reformation?

Ray Van Neste and J. Michael Garrett

Five hundred years ago an obscure German monk, distinguished perhaps only by his zeal and the deep wrestling of his guilty soul before God, took an ordinary step, which unintentionally launched a movement that changed the world. He had been appointed to teach the Bible at the new university in Wittenberg. Inflamed by the methods used by ministers to sell indulgences in a neighboring city (" As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul out of purgatory springs ") , he called for a debate on the practice. Though he had not yet fully worked out his understanding of justification by faith and had no intention of challenging the pope or breaking away from the Roman Church, the time was ripe, and this monk sparked the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. ¹

The Reformation Is Worthy of Celebration

A half millennium has passed since the monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. His critique of the Church’s practices and theology has continued to resonate from Europe to the entire world over five centuries. His work and that of his fellow reformers has been celebrated annually with heightened festivities each centennial.² This volume commemorates the momentous 500th anniversary of Luther’s courageous, and, we believe, Spirit-led actions that precipitated the reforms and revivals that, in turn, birthed the Protestant churches of Europe.

The Protestant Reformation is worthy of celebration for three reasons. First, it sparked a radical recovery of three things that should always be precious to God’s church: the Bible, the gospel, and its mission. Second, the active remembrance of this titanic movement forces modern Christians to find our place in history, acknowledging that we have not begun the world anew. Third, the spirit of the Reformation is extraordinarily relevant to our contemporary world and the problems it faces.

Recovery of Scripture, the Gospel, and the Church’s Mission

The sweeping cultural movement of the European Renaissance, beginning in the fourteenth century, renewed interest in ancient texts. The cry of the scholars was "Ad fontes! (To the sources!"). As they discovered seminal texts in literature, philosophy, history, and science, they were passionate to learn their original languages, including Greek. Bible scholars’ new knowledge of Greek propelled them beyond the Church’s official Latin translation, the Vulgate, in order to recover and read the New Testament text in its original language. In 1516, Erasmus published his Greek New Testament. With all of its deficiencies, it was revolutionary, enabling scholars throughout Europe to access a unified manuscript for the first time.

As they studied this new ancient text, they noticed discrepancies between the Greek and the Latin Vulgate and subsequently with the church’s doctrine and practice. This fresh and direct interaction with Scripture revived the notion of Scripture’s primacy, causing the Reformers to argue that the authority of Scripture overruled all of the church’s traditions. They did not jettison tradition, but they taught that the final arbiter of all churchly matters must be Scripture alone. Scripture’s authority came from God, so the Reformers trusted in the absolute truthfulness of Scripture when it was contradicted by church fathers and church councils, which could and did err.³

Through his study of the Greek New Testament, Luther discovered that the righteousness of God in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, meant not the purity of God by which he will judge us but rather a righteousness which he will impart to all those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ. This led him to his treasured recovery of justification by faith, the doctrine, Luther says, on which the church stands or falls.

The good news of how people could be made right with God by faith alone, not through rituals or regulations, had to be proclaimed to the people. They needed to hear the Word proclaimed in their own language, so the Reformers made preaching central to the gathered worship.⁴ Of course there was preaching in the medieval church, but it was not central to worship and the sermons were often written by church authorities and read by the local clergy. Hughes Oliphant Old, the preeminent historian of Christian preaching, says that while there was some good preaching in that era, there was also much preaching which had become too theatrical and too melodramatic, preaching that had lost contact with the Word of God and aimed at worldly success and popularity.⁵ But the Reformers desired to show people how to use the Bible in a disciplined way and still love it . . . so that everyone could make Reformation their own, rather than merely passively accepting what their betters decided for them.⁶

When Huldrych Zwingli began his ministry at the Great Minster Church in Zurich on January 1, 1519, he announced that he would not follow the prescribed lectionary texts but would preach expositional sermons chapter by chapter through books of the Bible.⁷ John Calvin also followed this practice. When he returned to Geneva after being exiled, he resumed preaching from the exact chapter and verse where he had left off three years before.⁸ The Reformers preached through the Bible so that the Word might have its proper prominence.⁹ The exposition of Scripture in course became one of the biggest planks in [the Reformers’] platform of Christian revival.¹⁰ Previously, the ignorance of the people had served the interests of those in power, but now the clear and direct preaching of the Bible disturbed the powerful. While this message stirred foment amongst the structures of society, the Reformers could not compromise the gospel to appease anyone. And neither would the authorities bend. Though no division was desired, this central disagreement would lead to fractures within the institutional church. This fresh awareness of the gospel would not fit in the old wineskins of the late medieval church.

This message could not even be contained geographically. Luther, Calvin, and others trained preachers and sent them around Europe with the gospel message, knowing that they risked their lives in going. Luther taught his people to pray for the conversion of unbelievers and for the gospel to be preached throughout the whole world.¹¹ The conversion of the heathen was a significant theme in a number of Luther’s hymns, including this one based on Psalm  67:

Would that the Lord would grant us grace, with blessings rich provide us,

And with clear shining let his face, To life eternal light us;

That we his gracious work may know, And what is his good pleasure,

And also to the heathen show, Christ’s riches without measure

And unto God convert them.¹²

Luther called for the gospel to be carried to the Bohemians, the Russians, and the Muslim Turks. Within a short time after his death, Luther’s disciples had set out on mission work to all of these groups.¹³

Geneva, in particular, served as the heart of the Reformation in Europe, pumping out the lifeblood of trained ministers into all areas, inspiring them to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. They departed Geneva with the knowledge that some of them would not return alive. Calvin’s sermons reveal a pastor who regularly and earnestly urged his people to seek the salvation of others. In his sermons on 1 Timothy, he consistently concluded with a prayer for the conversion of all peoples.¹⁴ In fact, the church in Geneva under Calvin’s leadership sent a mission team to Brazil.¹⁵ Sadly, treachery thwarted this effort, but the work itself testifies to the missionary impulse within Calvin’s church. Martin Bucer, a mentor to Calvin who ministered in Strasbourg, rebuked the churches of Europe for failing to mount a more serious missionary attempt aimed at the Jews and Turks and stated that the military threat from the Turks at that time was God’s judgment for their failure!¹⁶ Bucer called for earnest, zealous, evangelistic labor. To pastors he said, True carers of souls and faithful ministers of Christ are not to miss anyone anywhere out with the word of salvation, but diligently to endeavor to seek out all those to whom they may have access in order to lead them to Christ our Lord.¹⁷ This missionary passion came to its fullest expression in William Carey and the launching of the modern missionary movement. A large part of Carey’s work in India was given to translating the Scripture into the language of the people, thus allowing the Word of God to do what only it can.

Rooted in History

In addition to the vital recovery work it accomplished, the Reformation also reminds us of the church’s rootedness in history. This is important for all evangelicals and particularly for Baptists. Baptists did not simply appear out of thin air in 1612 when Thomas Helwys founded the first Baptist church in England. Neither is there an unbroken line going back to John the Baptist. Instead, Baptists grew out of the Reformation, sharing the commitments to Scripture and the gospel. If the Reformation had not happened, Baptists would not be. Thus for Baptists, as well as all Protestants, Reformation history is our history.

For this reason, we need to remember this movement and learn from it. Baptists arose from the conversation with and critique of Reformation voices, so we need to continue to listen and to challenge. Our purpose should not be to reenact any specific church of any era, but to hear from them again, to weigh what they say against Scripture (which is exactly what they would want us to do since they had a Berean spirit themselves).

The Reformation changed the world in the sixteenth century and continues to shape our world today (as demonstrated in the essays which follow). What began as a theological recovery rapidly spilled over, significantly affecting every area of life. Sadly, however, in our ahistorical culture, fewer and fewer people are aware of or care about the past. As a result, many are ignorant of what God has done and are thus bereft of the lessons this past can give us today. Now is the time to look back thoughtfully so that we might see ahead more clearly. Appreciation of the past bodes well for the health of the future.

Relevant for Today

In one sense, the Reformation was the result of the conviction that Scripture was the ultimate authority over the consciences of believers. The Reformers did not reject the value of tradition or the voice of church leaders from the past. We ourselves live with multiple authorities in our lives at all times. But the Reformation contention is that Scripture is the authority over all other authorities. Everything else bows to Scripture. Yet, too often today the churches birthed by such a Bible-centered movement pay little attention to Scripture. Statistics continually show Protestant church members, while giving assent to biblical authority, give little time to reading the Bible and know less and less of its contents. If we are not aware of the Bible’s teachings, it is not functioning as the authority in our lives. Our profession of love or reverence for the Bible means little if we don’t read it or attend carefully to the regular teaching and preaching of it.

The Reformation also restored awareness of every Christian’s privilege of communing with God directly, without needing the direct mediation of a human priest. The Reformers did not devalue the role of pastors or the church but reemphasized the New Testament doctrine that all believers are priests. Yet, today, this teaching is often forgotten or twisted beyond recognition. Many evangelicals today seem to think only the pastor can pray or interpret the Bible. Whereas people in the sixteenth century rejoiced at the awe-inspiring privilege of reading the Bible for themselves, too many Western Christians today can’t be bothered.

The Reformers were passionate to ascribe to God the glory that was due to him. Their byword was Soli Deo Gloria (To God alone be glory). If we follow their lead, we must renounce reveling in a celebrity culture within the church. We must not confuse growth of the kingdom with the growth of membership, which often depends on the growth of the pastor’s fame. Instead we must recognize that the church is to be the theater for the display of the glory of God (Eph 3:21), and there is only room for one show in this theater. Any church which features the glory of man will be destitute of the presence of God. The Reformers were animated by a zeal to preserve the glory of God against attempts to exalt man.

Many today see the gospel and daily life as separated. They think the gospel deals with spiritual life and the rest of life is something completely different. During the Reformation, the division between sacred and secular was demolished with helpful effect. The Reformers encouraged common workers that their labor, no matter how humble, mattered to God and contributed to his kingdom. What Alister McGrath has stated about Calvin’s theology is true of the Reformers in general: Calvin’s theology led directly from a view of work as a socially demeaning, if pragmatically necessary, activity, best left to one’s social inferiors, to a dignified and glorious means or praising and affirming God in and through his creation, while adding further to its well-being.¹⁸ William Tyndale said that while preaching and washing dishes were different tasks, there was no difference between them in terms of pleasing God.¹⁹ Calvin, preaching on 1 Timothy 2:15, spends a great deal of time on the fact that God is pleased with mothers as they faithfully care for their children. Fools may despise and scorn such labor, yet they are sacrifices which God accepts and receives, as if they were things of great price and honorable.²⁰ We would do well to hear such voices again.

The Reformation Was Necessary

Today, some Christians (even among Protestants) have doubts about celebrating the Reformation. They point to the subsequent wars and animosities which resulted in the fragmentation of the church. Any human event is, of course, mixed. There were lamentable excesses. However, we maintain that on balance the Reformation was the greatest revival in the history of the church since Pentecost. The pure gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, which had been largely obscured, was now recovered and preached with clarity and vigor. The Bible was translated into common languages so that people again had direct access to the Scriptures. This, in turn, launched a missionary imperative, which saw preachers sent all over Europe and even to South America at great risk to themselves. The result was an increased harvest of souls as people heard and believed the gospel message. The arguments for the importance of the Reformation also tell of its necessity. Surely an event which prioritizes the translation of Scripture into the language of the people, recovers the gospel, leads to the conversion of many, and spreads that gospel around the world was necessary.

We acknowledge, however, that this involved a radical shift in ideas affecting all of society and that such a change never comes easily. Wars resulted, there was the awful Peasants’ Revolt, and deep divisions within the church surfaced. It was a messy and difficult time. So, was it worth all this? If so, why?

First, none of these lamentable things were new to the European experience. Wars—long, grinding wars—had been going for some time before the Reformation. Peasant revolts had been erupting and being cruelly put down with some frequency in the fourteenth century. Those conflicts (wars and revolts) were the result of much more than the Reformation. The fabric of medieval society was already tearing when the Reformation arose.²¹

Second, what about dividing the church and breaking its unity? The Reformation did not divide the church. The Reformation came because the church was already splintered.²² From the fourteenth century into the fifteenth century, the Western church had two and then three popes simultaneously with various ones excommunicating others. Centuries prior, the Eastern and Western churches had divided from one another. The medieval air was rife with deep theological disagreement. The church was not a harmonious, unified entity. It was corrupt, factious, and had lost its way. Others had already seen that the church was in need of reform, but they had failed to see that the problem was deeper than simply behavior or structure. They did not see the ultimate doctrinal problems, and that is what Martin Luther began to expose and others followed. They had to choose faithfulness to Scripture over institutional unity.

Finally, the Reformation was necessary because it recovered the gospel. The fundamental question of humanity is, What must I do to be saved? and the answer was muddled in the medieval church. While we would always hope for peaceful means of reform, the gospel must be retained or recovered at all costs. How many entered eternity thinking they were right with God due to their performance of rituals or the purchase of indulgences? The Reformation brought back the clear proclamation that you can be forgiven, made right with God, and adopted by him through faith in Christ.

The Reformation is to be celebrated as a great revival and renewal of the church, which resulted in fresh gospel power and proclamation leading to the salvation of countless souls. There were indeed excesses and much to lament. But in spite of all that, we remain grateful for the recovery of the gospel, the provision of access to Scripture for all people, and the wonderful advances to which these realities led.

If it was worth all this trouble to have a clear articulation of the gospel, we dare not lose such clarity today. It will be worth any trouble or labor for all believers to be able to clearly state the gospel. If it was worth the upheaval of all of Europe, certainly it is worth significant attention in our churches today.

Conclusion

Why should we celebrate the Reformation today? If you appreciate having a copy of the Bible in your own language, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you’re a pastor and you are blessed with a wife, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you’re encouraged to know your mundane daily tasks are spiritual when done for God’s glory, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you appreciate congregational participation in worship, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you appreciate the expository preaching of the Scriptures, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you are accustomed to hearing the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone, you should celebrate the Reformation. If you rejoice in seeing this gospel going around the world, you should celebrate the Reformation.

1

Reform our church all out of joint: The Lollard Movement and the Medieval Origins of the Reformation

Gavin Richardson

This is our message that Christ has commanded us to pursue, at this time most acceptable for many reasons. And though these matters are here briefly gathered, they and many other matters are fully presented in another book in our own language, which we hope would be communicated to all true Christian men. We pray that God in his endless goodness reform our church all out of joint to the perfection of the first beginning. Amen.²³

It would be tempting to interpret this prayer to reform our church all out of joint to the perfection of the first beginning as an expression of the English Reformation in its fluorescence. However, this plea dates not from the 1530s but from the 1390s and comes from the final paragraph of the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards , a tract nailed to the doors of Westminster Hall in London, much in the same way that Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses would be published upon the Castle Church doors in Wittenberg over a century later. The Twelve Conclusions criticized a host of Church practices and beliefs—empty sacramentalism, priestly celibacy, abuse of the confessional, excessive church ornamentation, and even the doctrine of transubstantiation. The Twelve Conclusions did not quite have the impact of Luther’s manifesto; it only survives in orthodox refutations of the Lollard heresy and must be reconstructed from them, much in the same way that early anti-Christian polemic must be pieced together from hostile quotations in patristic writings. But the Twelve Conclusions is only one tract among hundreds of surviving documents in Latin and the English vernacular that testify to a vigorous nonconformist movement whose particular brand of heresy resembled early Protestant doctrines. Indeed, it has become commonplace to refer to the Lollard movement as the Premature Reformation, and Anne Hudson, the movement’s most learned and prolific contemporary scholar, affirms the appropriateness of the designation: Directly, Lollardy prepared the ground for the reformation in England, by establishing groups of men who were accustomed to radical ideas on the church and authority within it, and who regarded the text of the Bible in the vernacular with special reverence. ²⁴

While some aspects of Lollard belief and