Friday, September 23, 2011

A Forgotten Reformer

Luther. Calvin. Zwingli. These men and others dominate the discussion about the Reformation. And for good reason. Their work outlived them. They left an unmistakable legacy that the Pope couldn’t eradicate.

Yet there were others who don’t get as much press in the history books. Men and women from Italy, France, Spain, and other places that didn’t see as much fruit from their labors. But they left a legacy.

Cipriano de Valera, a Spaniard, was one Reformation voice of many to his people. Born just 15 years after Luther tacked his 95 theses to door the Wittenberg Cathedral, he stood on the shoulders of giants in his own day. He fled Spain as a young man and studied under Calvin. Shortly after Elizabeth I came to power he moved to England. It was there that he began editing and revising his late friend Casiodoro de Reina’s Spanish translation of the Bible. In 1602, at the age of 70, the first complete Reina-Valera Bibles began rolling off the press. Shortly thereafter, it is believed, he died, his magnum opus done.

Such a man should not be forgotten. Today on sbcIMPACT! I’ve published an article about the man, briefly translating the conclusion to one of his works. I pray that you read it, enjoy it, and learn something from the man known to his enemies as the Spanish Heretic.

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