Christianity Before Reformation
Story★★★★It is no exaggeration to say that tor three centuries before the Reformation Christianity in England seems to have been buried under a mass ot Ignorance, superstition, priestcraft, and immorality. The likeness between the religion of this country and that ot the apostolic age was SO small, that it St. Paul had risen from the dead he would hardly have called it Christianity. As to ignorance, there wereno English Bibles in the land.
The facts which were brought to lighl on Bishop Hooper’s visitation to the diocese of Gloucester, even so late as in the time of Edward VI, are sufficient proof of what I say. Out of 311 clergy of his diocese, he found 168 unable to repeat the Ten Commandments. The worship, so-called, consisted of services in Latin (which hardly anybody understood), masses, and prayers to the Virgin and saints. The practical religion of most lay people was made up of occasional alms-giving, mass-attending, penance, absolution, and extreme unction at the last.
Preaching there was hardly any, and what there was, was unscriptural rubbish not worth hearing. In short, it was a period of darkness that might be felt.
The point
A man receives ten apples from God: three to eat, three for shelter, three for clothing, one to return in gratitude—but he eats all ten and gives back only the core.