Question #1ebc8

1 Answer
Aug 15, 2017

Putting the words of the Bible into the languages of the common people so the common person could read the Bible for themselves.

Explanation:

When the Bible was available only in Latin the Church authorities had control over what the Bible teaches. The priests were the only people who could read the Bible and many of those not well.

In 1200 AD the Waldenisans and Peter Waldo (Valdensius) translated the Bible into provincial French. The lay preachers of this movement started many home churches. This cause a huge reduction in the support of the official Catholic Churches and clerics. The Catholic church declared the Waldensians heretics and called for a Crusades to destroy the movement. The followers of the movement were killed in mass, all copies of the translation of the Bible in the common language were burned. As the all the copies had to be hand written it was possible to eradicate this translation.

John Wycliff translated the Bible into English. His followers the Lombards were persecuted. Being found with an English bible was punishable by death. Wycliff was exiled and his bones powered and thrown into a river Again all of the copies of the Bible in the common language being hand written were destroyed, and the reform movement crushed.

Jon Hus suffered the same fate as other translators of the Bible in the common language. He was burned at the stake and all copies of his translation also were burned.

The printing press is what made Martin Luther's revolution successful. Luther's writings and Bible were printed in mass. It was impossible to find all of the copies that were being made by the printing press. Luther's translation of the Bible in the common language of the Bible caused a revolution in the Church. The printing press made it impossible to find and destroy all of the copies of the translated Bible.

Having the Bible in the language the people could read was essential to a revolution in the church. When the people could read the Bible for themselves the Church authorities and priest no longer had complete control over the church.