Thinking Faith Seminar
The Dangers of Translation: William Tyndale and the English Bible

Reverend Canon Professor Loveday Alexander

Sunday 13 September 2026

There are so many English translations of the Bible around these days that it is difficult to believe producing one could have ever been judged subversive and revolutionary. But things have not always been so. Back in the days of linguist and biblical scholar, William Tyndale (1494–1536), it was an offence to give ordinary people direct access to the Bible through translating it into a language they could understand. Yet this is what Tyndale dared to, becoming the first person to translate the New Testament from the original Greek into English, and it cost him his life. 2026 is the 500th anniversary of the publication of his New Testament. Come along to learn about this remarkable achievement and its enduring legacy.
 
Loveday Alexander is a former Professor of Biblical Studies at Sheffield University and a distinguished biblical scholar whose work has combined academic excellence with a deep commitment to the life and ministry of the Church. Trained as a classicist at Oxford University, she spent her academic career exploring the relationship between the New Testament and its literary, social and cultural world. An ordained minister within the Church of England, Dr Alexander is a former Canon Theologian at Chester Cathedral, distinguished theological educator and serving non-stipendiary priest in Cheshire.

Click here to access Loveday's lecture (please note, the sound quality is largely satisfactory, but there are one or two brief quieter sections)