SHARE Magazine January 2017 | Page 24

Tyndale died so we could have the English Bible

by C . Richard McCaw
You are a newspaper reporter . It is Friday , October 6 , 1536 . William Tyndale sits in the cold dungeon of the castle of Vilverde in England . You are there to interview him before his execution .
YOU : And why are you here , Mr . Tyndale ?
TYNDALE : Because I believe in the Bible .
YOU : What do you believe about this book that caused the Church to have you thrown into prison ?
TYNDALE : Sir . I am challenged by its very history .
YOU : What about its history challenged you ?
TYNDALE : No other book took so long to be written !
YOU : How long did it take ?
TYNDALE : Over sixteen hundred years !
YOU : Sixteen hundred years ! That ’ s a very long time , Mr . Tyndale ! Hmmm … It must have been written by several men . I ’ ve never really examined it .
TYNDALE : Over forty authors , sir . Kings , peasants , philosophers , poets , a doctor … some were scholars and statesmen and believe it or not , some were just humble fishermen .
YOU : Did they all come from the same town or country ?
24 | SHARE | MAGAZINE January - March 2017