Conferences Books

When it was announced that the Catholic University of America Press would publish a portion of William Tyndale�s works, there was skepticism as to their intent. After all, why would a Catholic press publish the writings of the man who struck such a fatal blow to Papal power in Europe; and who provided the world with the English Bible, which the Papacy had tried to prevent by tortures and murders? A review of Word, Church, and State edited by Anne M. O�Donnell, S.N.D. (Sisters of Notre Dame) shows this skepticism was well founded.

The book is 343 pages and consists of papers presented in Washington, D.C. at a Tyndale conference convened by Miss O�Donnell in 1994. Of the 30 papers presented at the conference, 20 were selected, and then edited for publication by Miss O�Donnell and two scholars she selected.

In the book�s introduction, Miss O�Donnell gives an overview of the book�s contents. Here the reader is informed that the papers selected will provide the reader with a scholarly review of various aspects of William Tyndale�s writings. The papers are presented as taking the reader to the �grammatical depths�, �the theoretical heights� and finally to �the aphoristic levels� where �we breathe more easily.� We read comments such as �McCutcheon sensitively contrasts the thirteen letters of More and Tyndale�, and �with this thorough assessment of Tyndale�s opinions on English foreign policy�. In fact, the papers, for the most part, are neither thorough nor sensitive. As �Biblical scholars� have developed the Documentary Hypothesis to tear down the Word of God, so Miss O�Donnell has denigrated the writings of William Tyndale under the guise of scholarism.

The only valuable paper this reviewer found was the first paper by Mr. David Daniell and Mr. Daniell�s writings can be found elsewhere. By the time the reader finishes the book he will have been told that Mr. Tyndale�s writings are arrogant; that his arguments for providing the English Bible are �hypocritical�; that Mr. Tyndale made himself a �mediator� between God and man; that his doctrine is �contradictory�; that he was completely �ignorant� of English foreign policy; and that there are ��gaps and inconsistencies� between Tyndale�s theory and practice.� Not surprisingly, Mr. Tyndale�s view that the Pope is the antichrist is denigrated. Tyndale�s translation of the word �ecclesia� as �congregation� and his theological position on the �bread and wine� are undermined with sophistry. Finally , we are told that Tyndale �regularly appropriated [plagiarized] the words of others� &c.

This reader is left with the conclusion that the little praise Tyndale receives is feigned to appear as though the scholars are �fair� in their treatment of Tyndale. If you enjoy the writings of William Tyndale, save your money for writers such as Mr. David Daniell.