Page 59 - Bibliology - Textbook w videos short

“certain stranger”. The Culdees were a secret society, and the remnant
of the true Christian faith was kept alive by these men during the
many centuries that led up to the Protestant Reformation.
In fact, the first man to be called a “Culdee” was Joseph of Aremethia.
The Bible tells us that Joseph of Aremethia gave up his tomb for Jesus.
Tradition tells us that he was actually the Uncle of the Virgin Mary, and
therefore the Great-Uncle (or “half-Uncle” at least) of Jesus. It is also
believed that Joseph of Aremethia traveled to the British Isles shortly
after the resurrection of Christ, and built the first Christian Church
above ground there. Tradition also tells us that Jesus may have spent
much of his young adult life (between 13 and 30) traveling the world
with his Great Uncle Joseph… though the Bible is silent on these years in the life of Jesus.

The first person to divide the Bible into chapters in a systematic way was Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro
from 1244 and 1248 A.D. The chapter divisions that are commonly used today were developed by
Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in
around 1227 A.D. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since
the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions.

In the late 1300’s, the secret society of Culdees chose John Wycliffe to lead the world out of the Dark
Ages. Wycliffe has been called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” The Protestant Reformation was
about one thing: getting the Word of God back into the hands of the masses in their own native
language, so that the corrupt church would be exposed and the message of salvation in Christ alone, by
scripture alone, through faith alone, would be proclaimed again.

John Wycliffe was an Oxford professor, scholar,
and theologian. Wycliffe, (also spelled “Wycliff” &
“Wyclif”), was well-known throughout Europe for
his opposition to the teaching of the organized
Church, which he believed to be contrary to the
Bible. With the help of his followers, called the
Lollards, and his assistant Purvey, and many other
faithful scribes, Wycliffe produced dozens of
English language manuscript copies of the
Scriptures (To the right is a translation of John 1:1
by Wycliffe). They were translated out of the Latin
Vulgate, which was the only source text available to
Wycliffe. The Pope was so infuriated by his
teachings and his translation of the Bible into English, 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the
bones to be dug-up, crushed, and scattered in the river!

John Hus, actively promoted Wycliffe’s ideas: that people should be permitted to read the Bible in their
own language, and they should oppose the tyranny of the Roman church that threatened anyone
possessing a non-Latin Bible with execution. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s
manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, “in 100 years, God
will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” Almost exactly 100 years later, in
1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention (a list of 95 issues of heretical theology
and crimes of the Roman Catholic Church) into the church door at Wittenberg.

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