The Obedience of a Christian Man

By William Tyndale

Published in 1528

Reference #0212

It is known best for “advocating that the king of a country was the head of that country’s church, rather than the pope, and to be the first instance, in the English language at any rate, of advocating the divine right of kings, a concept mistakenly attributed to the Catholic Church.

The central themes of the work are: “concept of experiencing God through the reading of scripture; the second discusses the church’s disobedience (of God) in teaching ecclesiastical law rather than scripture.”

‘Obedience’ “contains three overall topics: God’s laws of obedience, how one should obey and rule in life (addressed to all of English society), and a discussion on the literal interpretation of scripture. Throughout the text, Tyndale also discusses the intrusion into daily life, on both local and national levels by the church and, especially, the Pope, and how the church is actively distorting scripture to fulfill its own needs.”

“Despite being officially banned, ‘Obedience’ was still widely read throughout England and, later on, was even mentioned in the works of Shakespeare.”