And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Revelation 12:11

"The smoke from Patrick Hamilton infected as many as it blew upon" --John Lindsay James

The distribution of Wycliffe's Bible began in Scotland around 1525. But until the written Word mixed with the Prophetic Voices of many martyred Gospel preachers, the Reformation could not fully take hold. Hamilton's death, and the deaths of his successors, seeded the garden of Christianity for men like John Knox, whose ministries flourished in the years which followed.

These martyrs lived as true Prophetic Voices. Even their deaths became powerful prophetic messages. They were God's Prophets, not only proclaiming the Gospel, but pointing out the ideological heresies of the apostate Church of their time. Though their boldness cost them their lives, it awakened multitudes to the true message of salvation, turned the course of human history, and marked a new direction for the Church.

But in this dynamic era known as the Reformation, as the Church began a resurgence in vibrancy and power, anti-Gospel forces also engaged the culture with their ideas. Like always, the enemy had his own set of powerful Prophetic Voices on the move. Here are three:

Erasmus (1459-1536) was a Dutch, Roman Catholic Reformer. He was a Humanist contemporary of Martin Luther and a close friend of Sir Thomas More (see below). He believed reform could be achieved by exposure to good works of literature. His most widely acknowledged trait was an unswerving trust in human reason.

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) was an English statesman, scholar, and martyr for the Catholic faith. He is most widely known for his book entitled Utopia, taken from two Greek words meaning "not place" or "nowhere." The book criticized social problems of the day and painted an idyllic picture of a world where no such problems existed. More blamed the social ills on "the unreasonable covetousness of a few." Although More was devoutly religious, Utopia conveyed an anti-Gospel message, idealizing a non-Christian socialist society.

René Descartes (1596-1650), a French philosopher, is best known for the following statement: "cogito ergo sum," which means, "I think, therefore I am." Descartes questioned everything, even his own existence. He set out to discover something he could be sure of. And after eliminating everything else - he even questioned if his senses might be lying to him about the corporeal world - he realized that he could be SURE he was thinking. He conclued that since he could be SURE he was thinking, he knew that one thing, at least, existed - himself. From that bedrock moment of discovery, he went on to develop an elaborate chain of reasoning to prove the existence of God. But Descartes' struggle to understand and define his own existence and the existence of God denied Scripture and the element of faith, and elevated human reason as the sole source or foundation of truth.

The phrase "sola scriptura" or "by Scripture alone" emerged as one of the key idea-earmarks of the Christian Reformation. For the Reformation Christian, God's written and Holy Word became the standard against which all ideas were to be judged. But in the parallel world of the anti-Gospel, as demonstrated by the men described above, the idea of human reason, and not the Holy Scriptures, became the standard.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Have you ever considered that ideas have prophetic power? Have you ever considered the Gospel itself as an idea? Was creation an idea? How about the Father's decision to send His Son as a Savior? Where do our ideas about God, man, sin, family relationships, the world, and even government, come from? Send in your thoughts.

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We live in a world of messages. Prophetic Voices from many sources, both true and false, speak to us daily, imparting values and shaping our viewpoints. Next week's article, Everybody's Talkin', will look more closely at the world of ideas and messages.

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GroundWorks is an imprint of Reconciliation Press. The name has been chosen to reflect the biblical idea of roots and foundations in Christian life and culture. As you read these weekly articles, look for words and imagery in the text that illustrate these themes.

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