As an Armenian Orthodox Christian, should I read Wycliffe's Bible?

[Contarini]

In 1395, John Wycliffe, the first Protestant, translated the Latin Vulgate into English. However, because it is based on the Vulgate, it doesn’t have as much of a Protestant bias as other Protestant versions of Scripture. Here are some examples:

“And whereof is this thing to me, that the mother of my Lord come to me?” (Luke 1:43)
“And the angel answered, and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come from above into thee, and the virtue of the Highest shall overshadow thee; and therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
“that that the Father hath hallowed, and hath sent into the world [which the Father hallowed, and sent into the world], ye say, That thou blasphemest, for I said, I am God’s Son?” (John 10:36)
“Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, that is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:16)
“And a great sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and in the head of her a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation 12:1)
“But after that the fulfilling of the time came, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” (Galatians 4:4)
“And the angel entered to her, and said, Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed be thou among women.” (Luke 1:28)
“My sister spousess, a garden closed (al)together; a garden closed (al)together, a well asealed. (My dear spousess is a garden altogether enclosed, yea, a secret garden; a garden altogether enclosed, and a sealed well.)” (Song of Solomon 4:12)
“And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be closed, and shall not be opened, and a man shall not pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel entered [in] by it, and it shall (also) be closed to the prince.” (Ezekiel 44:2)
“For this thing the Lord himself shall give a sign to you. Lo! a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son; and his name shall be called Immanuel. [Lo! a maid(en) shall conceive, and bare a son; and thou shalt call his name Immanuel.]” (Isaiah 7:14)

Well, one explanation is that Wycliffe wasn’t the first Protestant.

Protestants like to claim this, but it isn’t true. He was a medieval Catholic with some dissenting views that foreshadowed aspects of Protestantism. I suppose in a sense it’s a matter of definition, but neither he nor any of the other late medieval dissenters taught Luther’s key doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Edwin

 

[sehacopian]

Well, one explanation is that Wycliffe wasn’t the first Protestant.

Protestants like to claim this, but it isn’t true. He was a medieval Catholic with some dissenting views that foreshadowed aspects of Protestantism. I suppose in a sense it’s a matter of definition, but neither he nor any of the other late medieval dissenters taught Luther’s key doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Edwin

“It is not enough realised that, well before Luther, Wycliffe also recognised the other major Reformation doctrine, that of justification by faith, though not in fully worked out form as Luther achieved. In Christ stilling the Storm he wrote: “If a man believe in Christ, and make a point of his belief, then the promise that God hath made to come into the land of light shall be given by virtue of Christ, to all men that make this the chief matter.””
en.wiki2.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe

 

[patrick457]

Well, one explanation is that Wycliffe wasn’t the first Protestant.

Protestants like to claim this, but it isn’t true. He was a medieval Catholic with some dissenting views that foreshadowed aspects of Protestantism. I suppose in a sense it’s a matter of definition, but neither he nor any of the other late medieval dissenters taught Luther’s key doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Edwin

On a side note, John Milton apparently considered Wyclif the first Protestant because he apparently couldn’t imagine a German like Luther or a French guy like Calvin beat the English to it: Milton wanted an Englishman to take the credit. If the bishops did not persecute Wyclif, Milton said “the glory of reforming our neighbours had been completely ours.”