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Torchbearers
William Tyndale: The Smuggler's Flame
William Tyndale lived a life of adventure and danger, dodging the king’s men, fleeing from his enemies and meeting with smugglers in the dead of night. What brought a well–educated young English man to such a state? Was he an outlaw? Was he a thief? No – he was a Bible smuggler and a brave one at that. Tyndale wanted other English speakers to be able to read God’s word in their own language but there were many who tried to put a stop to that. However, Tyndale’s work was God’s work and it would not be stopped – even after Tyndale’s death. One day there was a translation of the Bible in the English language and it lit a fire in people’s hearts that would not be put out. Read and learn about how God wants us to be brave and courageous and to stand up for the truth!
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
7 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 18, 2020
William Tyndale lived in England in the early 1500’s, during the reign of Henry VIII, and at the beginning of the Reformation. By the age of 27, Tyndale was already very passionate about the lack of English Bibles for the English-speaking people. Even the priests were ignorant without the Word of God, and many false teachings prevailed. Tyndale was a scholar who loved to teach, but he sacrificially exchanged his life of ease to live as a fugitive in Germany, where he could translate, print and then smuggle his English Bible back to England. Ten years later he was caught, imprisoned, then burned at the stake at age 42.
How sad, we are tempted to think, that such a wonderful man was silenced so early. Oh, but he wasn’t silenced, and his efforts paid off in untold stories of people in the church who, after being able to read a Bible in their own language, finally came to understand God’s wonderful plan of salvation. Through his translation work, his legacy continues to our day. In reality, his story is a story of victory and one you will want to read and make sure your children read.
This little book is only a part of a series of more than 30 little mini biographies, approximately 150 pages each, designed for young adult readers but equally enjoyed by adults. Each book focuses on a different great Christian – a Trail blazer – and thus the name of the series.
How sad, we are tempted to think, that such a wonderful man was silenced so early. Oh, but he wasn’t silenced, and his efforts paid off in untold stories of people in the church who, after being able to read a Bible in their own language, finally came to understand God’s wonderful plan of salvation. Through his translation work, his legacy continues to our day. In reality, his story is a story of victory and one you will want to read and make sure your children read.
This little book is only a part of a series of more than 30 little mini biographies, approximately 150 pages each, designed for young adult readers but equally enjoyed by adults. Each book focuses on a different great Christian – a Trail blazer – and thus the name of the series.
September 21, 2017
I read this to my nine-year old son and found it really worthwhile. He was amazed that it used to be illegal to translate the bible into English.
This book is aimed at tweens and makes the life of Tyndale accessible to them. He was an incredible man.
His story is very much based in the current events of his time so King Henry the eighth and the situation with Anne Boleyn is mentioned as well as burnings at the stake.
This book rightly honours William Tyndale for all the sacrifices he made so that people could read the bible in their own language.
This book is aimed at tweens and makes the life of Tyndale accessible to them. He was an incredible man.
His story is very much based in the current events of his time so King Henry the eighth and the situation with Anne Boleyn is mentioned as well as burnings at the stake.
This book rightly honours William Tyndale for all the sacrifices he made so that people could read the bible in their own language.
October 20, 2021
Easy read and good reminder for us of how the Bible was translated and influenced the world. Written from the imaginary perspective of Tyndale, and written in a way to be engaging for kids.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
September 9, 2023
What does a man from the 1500’s have to do with my life? Read this engaging short work and find out. A little mini bio. The name Tyndale is still at the forefront as evidenced by Tyndale.com.
An amazing man of God.
An amazing man of God.
January 30, 2024
Such a great read aloud! My 11 year old daughter and I both agree it deserves the full 5 stars. We learned a lot about Tyndale and amazingly, after our history lesson about Henry VIII, we opened the book to continue and it was talking about the king. It brought history to life as the best history read alouds do. We were inspired by Tyndale and grateful for all he did so that we can read the King James Bible in our own language.
Included at the end are additional questions to make you ponder what Tyndale has to do with your life, a timeline, and four bible studies. It also has a historical note to the reader, which I appreciated, as it pointed out which parts were fiction and who were real people in the story.
Included at the end are additional questions to make you ponder what Tyndale has to do with your life, a timeline, and four bible studies. It also has a historical note to the reader, which I appreciated, as it pointed out which parts were fiction and who were real people in the story.
September 15, 2019
This was an excellent telling of the life and work of William Tyndale. We listened to it as a family as an audiobook, and though it’s geared more for youth, I found the writing rich and moving.
January 1, 2025
It's 2024 now. 500 years ago was 1524 and that's in the timeline when this book took place (1522-1539). At this time in England, the church taught from the Bible in Latin according to the uncontestable interpretation of the priest who could read in Latin and had the only copy of the Bible. It was illegal to translate the Bible to English and unprecedented for the people to have their own Bibles. William Tyndale wanted to make English Bibles available to everyone. He is the main translator for the Bible in English. We have had English Bibles now for almost 500 years. This book does a good job telling his story. I also appreciated the timeline and historical note at the end.
I was fascinated by some of the wording used to refer to places. They say "going to the Continent" pp. 50-51 since England is not actually on the European continent. Also, they referred to Netherlands and Belgium as "The Low Countries" p. 54.
The following are editorial critiques of this book.
There are numerous instances of incorrect punctuation. The space between the end quotation mark and the next word is missing on pages 39, 40, 46, 53, 54... Ironic for a book featuring the printing press.
A man named Humphrey Monmouth became Henry Monmouth and reverted back to Humphrey again. (P. 46)
The cover of the book has two men rowing a boat. I don't know what this picture is supposed to be as it isn't something that happens in the book. It might be William Tyndale and William Roye. On pages 70-71, they flee on a boat down the River Rhine, but there are others on the boat. It sounds like the kind you pay for passage - not a boat they row themselves.
I'm not an expert, but the reference to school in the 1500s made me curious whether this was out of place or a fascinating tidbit. In one chapter, there are a couple of pages (p. 56-57) where a conversation is overheard between an old man described as 'a typical Englishman' and his grandson, described as a 10-11 year old 'pudgy' schoolboy. The man uses a modern cliché about walking uphill both ways to school. The boy says: "I'm in school and I hear things", which sounds like a classroom setting rather than a monk tutor setting. The grandpa says: "Hey, they do teach you a lot in school these days", which furthers the picture of a more modern school setting. According to Wikipedia, free grammar schools for all classes of children existed since Edward VI, which is shortly after this time.
Here's a nice quote:
"He reminded himself that the smell of roasted meat was real. Good food always did something for you and this morning he needed something good." P. 25
I was fascinated by some of the wording used to refer to places. They say "going to the Continent" pp. 50-51 since England is not actually on the European continent. Also, they referred to Netherlands and Belgium as "The Low Countries" p. 54.
The following are editorial critiques of this book.
There are numerous instances of incorrect punctuation. The space between the end quotation mark and the next word is missing on pages 39, 40, 46, 53, 54... Ironic for a book featuring the printing press.
A man named Humphrey Monmouth became Henry Monmouth and reverted back to Humphrey again. (P. 46)
The cover of the book has two men rowing a boat. I don't know what this picture is supposed to be as it isn't something that happens in the book. It might be William Tyndale and William Roye. On pages 70-71, they flee on a boat down the River Rhine, but there are others on the boat. It sounds like the kind you pay for passage - not a boat they row themselves.
I'm not an expert, but the reference to school in the 1500s made me curious whether this was out of place or a fascinating tidbit. In one chapter, there are a couple of pages (p. 56-57) where a conversation is overheard between an old man described as 'a typical Englishman' and his grandson, described as a 10-11 year old 'pudgy' schoolboy. The man uses a modern cliché about walking uphill both ways to school. The boy says: "I'm in school and I hear things", which sounds like a classroom setting rather than a monk tutor setting. The grandpa says: "Hey, they do teach you a lot in school these days", which furthers the picture of a more modern school setting. According to Wikipedia, free grammar schools for all classes of children existed since Edward VI, which is shortly after this time.
Here's a nice quote:
"He reminded himself that the smell of roasted meat was real. Good food always did something for you and this morning he needed something good." P. 25
March 30, 2023
Read to my kids. Decent historical fiction but the quality of the writing waxes and wanes - very good some chapters, not so much in others. Timeline also skips around a bit and takes leaps without informing the reader, which could be confusing. But overall only minor complaints - my kids enjoyed it and I did, too.
February 4, 2024
There are so little books about Tyndale. It is good to know this one. But somehow I was left wondering which part was true and which conversations were fiction. I would like a shorter biography that I know is all true for sure.
July 8, 2023
Awesome book....
March 31, 2024
Yes, a book written for tweens.... but well told, nonetheless. A basic and entertaining story of a heroic priest, scholar, and martyr.
January 20, 2025
It was a quick read, I actually listened to it on a road trip. But, it’s a great story of his life and work. I’m so thankful for William Tyndale’s work and his dedication to God and His word!
February 19, 2019
It is definitely worthwhile to read this book, stopping to consider the price paid to get the Bible into the hands of the common people. This dramatic retelling was difficult for me to get into for some reason, no fault of the writer. A story that needs to be told, retold and remembered.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews