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The English Reformation

2018 Autumn Lectures

‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’
2 Timothy 3:16-17(NIV)

The English Reformation was foundational in establishing the biblical and Protestant faith in England. At its heart lay both the recovery of the authority of the Bible and religious liberty. The English Reformation also shaped our culture, our laws and our national sovereignty. We have lost sight of these great truths and yet their importance for us today cannot be overstated.

These lectures take the English Reformation as their theme. We seek to look through the eyes of some of its key figures at the vital truths that changed the lives of countless individuals and, through them, changed a nation.

We celebrate the Reformation in this land. As we do so, we pray that the Lord would revive his Church today, and that we would not forget how he has used those who have gone before us.

 

1. John Wycliffe and early English Protestantism

By Revd Dr Richard Turnbull

 
  • 1hr 1min

Protestantism in England began centuries before Henry VIII. John Wycliffe was an early challenger of the authority of the Papacy with his devastating critique. His belief that the Bible should be available in English was seen as radical and dangerous.

 

2. Thomas Bilney: A forgotten hero

By Stuart Fisher

 
  • 1hr

A curiosity of the English Reformation is that so little has been written about Thomas Bilney of Cambridge. He was converted through reading Erasmus’ edition of the New Testament in Greek.

 

3. The reforming strategy of Thomas Cranmer

By Revd Dr Richard Turnbull

 
  • 59mins

Cranmer is a giant. He survived 15 erratic years under Henry VIII despite the King’s vacillations. Cranmer, though, was also a strategist and his opportunity came with the accession of Edward VI in 1547. He moved quickly to reform the worship of the Church of England with increasing Protestant emphasis.

 

4. Reforming the Church: Elizabethan Puritans; Moderates and Radicals

By Revd Dr Andrew Cinnamond

 
  • 1hr 5mins

As the Reformation progressed it seemed to many that the Established Church still oppressed religious liberty. There were many varieties of Puritans in Elizabeth’s reign, both within and outside the Church of England. Some were moderates patiently seeking further reform, others were radicals, distributing tracts and petitioning Parliament for religious liberty.