Tuesday, August 19, 2025

It is the 19th of August 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

The story of the Reformation in England has long fascinated the world beyond the church- whether Henry or Elizabeth or even “bloody” Mary (who, personally, was said to be the nicest of them all), there has been a long fascination with this tumultuous period in English history. Not only was Henry VIII known for his wild vacillations, but the Kingdom underwent whiplash as subsequent monarchs and their chosen church ruled the day.

 And while Henry would eventually break from the Catholic Church, this wasn’t until 1530, and so much of the Early Reformation in England had to proceed with extreme caution.

We know of one such group- the so-called “Scripture Men” in the 1520s- Alums of Cambridge (it was the radical hotbed for the English Reformation) met in the nearby White Horse Inn… how regularly? We don’t know- John Foxe, of the Book of Martyrs’ Fame, tells his stories with a flair for the dramatic- but nonetheless, a group of Cambridge men would meet to discuss the various Reformation ideas coming out of the continent.

And one of those men, perhaps the first protestant martyr in England, and certainly one of the first, might also have the distinction of being the shortest Reformer- he was Thomas Bilney, known as “Little Bilney,” one of the often overlooked Giants of the English Reformation.

We don’t know much about him —such is the problem of the age —and when things are written, they are written with a goal larger than “informing” —they are written to persuade, and we do well to remember that with this remarkable story.

He was born around 1495 somewhere in Norfolk. We get our first record in 1510 when he enrolled at Cambridge to study Canon Law. In 1519, he is ordained a priest, but, being prone to depression, he considers quitting his Holy Orders.

In his own telling, it was a copy of Erasmus’ New Testament which saved this life (and then ultimately cost him that life). One of his first realizations was that the gospel is good news for sinners- like him. In fact, if Paul could call himself “the chief of sinners,” perhaps there was a place for Bilney.  

Secondly, Bilney was not only associated with the Scripture Men (the likes of Hugh Latimer, Matthew Parker, and Robert Barnes) but he took a license to preach in the diocese of Ely so that he could bring this good news to the people.

There has been some discussion as to where Bilney fits on the Reformation spectrum- one historian has suggested that he was “more Lollard than Lutheran”- that is, more at home with the group from 14th-century England led by John Wycliffe. In 1525, Bilney was required to take an “anti-Luther” oath in which doctrines like “faith alone” and “the priesthood of all believers” had to be denied. Bilney signed the oath but kept preaching, by now attacking the system of relics and the monasteries. He was little more than an annoyance until repeated complaints (from the beneficiaries of the system) led to his arrest in 1527.

Given the chance to recant, lest he be put to death, he recanted. But this would soon eat at his conscience, and so, by 1531, he resolved to keep preaching until he was arrested. Which he was, pretty quickly.

Given a chance to recant from the Tower of London, he refused. His story is recounted in the Book of Martyrs and should be weighed accordingly, but he is visited the night before his execution. Matthew Parker- a friend (and future Archbishop of Canterbury) visited him and recounted the story of them reading from Isaiah, “when you walk through the fire you will not be harmed”. Bilney was said to have put his finger over a candle to burn it as practice for his martyrdom.

And it came, on this the 19th of August in 1531, Thomas Bilney was led to the “Lollard’s Pit”- an old site for disposing of heretics. He was bound and set aflame- refusing to recant, and allegedly his last word was ‘Credo’, “I believe”.

In a couple years Bilney would not only have not been punished he may have been rewarded for his evangelical position- but such was the whiplash of the English Reformation Thomas Bilney, little Bilney, one of the “Scripture Men” associated with the mythical White Horse Inn died on this the 19th of August- he would have been roughly 46 years old.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the first 5 verses of Psalm 31.

Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,

    whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one

    whose sin the Lord does not count against them

    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent,

    my bones wasted away

    through my groaning all day long.

For day and night

    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped

    as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you

    and did not cover up my iniquity.


I said, “I will confess

    my transgressions to the Lord.”


'And you forgave

    the guilt of my sin.

  

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 19th of August 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who reminds you that the “tower” of London is many towers- it’s more like a castle- he is  Christopher Gillespie. 

The show is written and read by a man who is interested in the Lollard’s Pit but loves Piper’s Pit… Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.