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KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural
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¶What the church is
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Thys worde church hath dyuerse significacions. First it
signifyeth a place or housse / whether christen people were wont
in the olde time to resorte at tymes conuenient / for to heare
the worde of doctryne / the lawe of God and the faith of oure
sauioure Ihesus christ / and how and what to praye and whence to
axe power and strength to
lyue goodly. For the officers therto appoynted
preached the pure worde of god onlye and prayed in a tonge that
all men vnderstode. And the people herkened vnto his prayers /
and said therto Amen and prayed with him in their hertes / and
of him lerned to praye at home and every where / and to
instructe euery man hys howsholde.
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10/2
Thys . . .
significacions. CWM 8/1.145/18.
10/2–6
signifyeth . . .
praye. Summarized at CWM 8/1.145/20–23.
10/2–7
it . . . goodly.
Quoted almost verbatim at CWM 8/1.148/ 15–18.
10/7–8
the officers ...
vnderstode. Cf. CWM 8/1.150/13–14, 161/14–15.
10/11
instructe . . .
howsholde. Cf. 1 Tim. 3.4.
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Where now we heare but voyces with out significacion and
buzsinges / howlinges and crienges / as it were the halowenges
of foxes or baytinges of beres / and wonder at disguisinges and
toyes wheroff we know no meaninge.
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10/12–14
buzsinges . . .
beres. Cf. CWM 8/1.150/10–12.
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By reason wherof we be fallen in to soch ignorauncye / that we
know of the mercie and promyses which are in christe
nothynge at all.
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10/17
promyses . . .
christe. Cf. 2 Cor. 1.20.
10/16–18
we . . . all.
Cf. CWM 8/1.148/21–22.
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And of the lawe of god we thinke as do the turkes / and as did
the olde hethen people / how that it is a thinge which euery
man maye doo of his awne power / and in doynge therof becometh
good and waxeth rightuouse and deserueth heven: ye and are yet
more mad then that. For we ymagen the same of phantasyes and
vayne ceremonies of oure awne makynge / neyther nedefull vn to
the tamynge of oure awne flesh / neyther profytable vn to oure
neyboure / neyther honoure vnto god.
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10/20
olde hethen
people. Tyndale names Aristotle the
chief of philosophers because of his great learning (Obedience H6v). Tyndale rejects as
works-righteousness Aristotle's definition of
virtue as the habit of performing good acts, the foundational principle
of the Ethics (Mammon
G5r—v, Obedience B8v—C1), as well as Aristotle 's position on the eternal
existence of the world (On the Heavens
1.3; Obedience B8v). Tyndale also
makes general references to Aristotle's Logic
(Obedience C2v) and Metaphysics (152/32n, Mammon
G5, Obedience C2v). A sidenote to Deut. 4
urges subordinating
Aristotle to Scripture and not vice versa
(Mombert 536; TOT 262). Tyndale alludes to Socrates and Plato (Mammon G4v) reduces
Plato and Aristotle
to the same level as Robin Hood (Obedience
H8v), and notes with approval that Augustine corrected his early attachment to Plato by
diligent study of Scripture (Obedience B8v).
10/19–21
And of the lawe .
. . power. Cf. CWM 8/1.149/15–17. Tyndale attacks Catholic
works-righteousness by likening it to Turkish, i.e. Muslim, and pagan
beliefs in the natural power of free will to obey God's will, supposedly
without the intervention of God's grace and help. For an account of
Luther's critique of works-righteousness, cf. Wicks, Luther's Reform 7–9,16–21, 30–33, and 63–70. (JW)
10/24–26
neyther . . .
god. Cf. CWM 8/1.149/31–32, 159/32–33.
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