Translating Resurrection : The Debate Between William Tyndale and George Joye in Its Historical and Theological Context

By situating it in its historical and theological context, Translating Resurrection presents an original look at the fascinating but little-known debate between William Tyndale and George Joye about their beliefs concerning post-mortem existence at the beginning of the English Reformation. Contents 7 Acknowledgments 11 List of Illustrations 13 Abbreviations 15 Chapter One The Tyndale–Joye Debate in the Literature 19 A Tumultuous World 19 The Pamphlet and Its Author: The Debate on the Doom of the Dead between George Joye and William Tyndale 30 William Tyndale 30 George Joye 34 The Sources for the Tyndale–Joye Debate 45 A Status Quaestionis 46 The First Biographical References by Joye’s Contemporaries 46 The Conservative Consensus and Some Exceptions to It 51 A Shift in the Study of Joye 73 Charles Butterworth and Joye’s Only Biography 74 William Clebsch 75 Recent Studies 79 Conclusion of the Status Quaestionis 83 Methodological Considerations and the Structure of the Book 84 Chapter Two Views on Post-Mortem Existence Prior to the Reformation 89 Views on Post-Mortem Existence in the Bible 90 Belief in the Afterlife in the Old Testament 90 Belief in the Afterlife in the New Testament 95 Post-Mortem Existence in the Church Fathers 104 Post-Mortem Existence in the Theology of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance 119 Chapter Three Views on Post-Mortem Existence in the Early Reformation Period 143 Introduction 143 Wessel Gansfort 144 Erasmus 150 Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples 170 Martin Luther 182 Andreas Karlstadt and Gerhard Westerburg 198 Philipp Melanchthon 206 Huldrych Zwingli 211 Martin Bucer 226 Heinrich Bullinger 244 Bartholomäus Westheimer and Otto Brunfels 252 William Roye, Simon Fish, and William Tracy 262 John Fisher and the Defenders of Purgatory 271 Thomas More 278 John Frith 284 The Anabaptists 294 Conclusion to Chapter Three 300 Chapter Four The Tyndale–Joye Debate in Antwerp 305 Tyndale’s Worms New Testament and Its Antwerp Reprints (1526–33) 305 A Common Protestant Basis 313 Diverging Opinions: Tyndale’s Position on Soul Sleep 318 Joye’s Letter to Latimer and the Letter to Brother William (29 April 1533) 324 Joye’s First New Testament (August 1534) 339 Tyndale’s Second Foreword in His First Revised New Testament (November 1534) 345 Joye’s Second New Testament (November 1534–January 1535) 360 Joye’s Apologye (February 1535) 369 Joye’s Non-Theological Arguments 371 Joye’s Theological Arguments 384 Joye’s Scholarship and Sources 417 Joye’s Style 428 Joye’s Translational Strategy 432 Aftermath 439 Chapter Five Conclusion 445 The Inappropriateness of the Conservative Consensus 445 An Exegetical Debate in Its Context 446 The Legacy of the Tyndale–Joye Debate 447 Appendices 451 1. George Joye to Hugh Latimer (29 April 1533) 451 2. John Coke to Brother William (29 April 1533) 453 3. The ‘Attached Paper’ 454 4. Joye’s Address ‘Unto the Reader’ in His Second New Testament 455 5. Biblical Texts where Joye Changed ‘resurreccion’ into ‘lyfe after this’ 458 Bibliography 471 Index of Biblical References 543 General Index 550 Translating Resurrection examines the debate between William Tyndale and George Joye at the beginning of the English Reformation. Occasioned by Joye's coining 'life after this' for Tyndale's 'resurrection' in Joye's 1534 edition of Tyndale's New Testament, this fascinating but little-known debate provides unique insights into the reformers' beliefs concerning post-mortem existence, such as the question of immortality of the soul, soul-sleep, prayers to saints and the doctrine of Purgatory. By providing a thoroughgoing historical and theological context, the book presents an original look at this important episode from the life of the exiled protestant English community. The result will realign scholarship on Tyndale as well as centuries of neglect of Joye's contributions to early modern Bible translation. (Publisher).