Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!
Here is an article by an unknown author. Enjoy.
The Morning Star of the Reformation, John Wycliffe (1320-1384) had died but his ideas did not. As a group called the Lollards kept his doctrines alive. Wycliffe died peacefully in 1384, but the Roman church at that time condemned him posthumously. In 1428, forty-four years after Wycliffe was dead, they dug up his body and had it burned; his ashes were thrown into the River Swift. As one historian said, his ashes spread down the river into the sea and touched the banks of countries all over the world, and everywhere his ashes touched so did his teachings.
In England, the Lollards (meaning “mumblers”) continued Wycliffe's teachings. Historian Phillip Schaff said the Lollards were so prevalent in England by the end of the 14th century that “of every two men found on the roads, one was sure to be a Lollard.” After severe persecution, many Lollards moved out of England, as a result, their ideas spread all over Europe. Jon Hus, for example, was influenced by Wycliffe’s teachings all the way across Europe in Czechoslovakia.
Here is an interesting summary of the teachings of the Lollards, called the Twelve Conclusions, as presented to the English Parliament of 1395. You can clearly see the seeds of the Reformation here, 120 years before Luther.
(excerpt from gotquestions.org):
1) The Church of England has become subservient to the Church at Rome.
2) The ordination ceremonies for bishops and priests have no biblical support.
3) Celibacy of the clergy has encouraged sodomy among the clergy.
4) The doctrine of transubstantiation leads to the idolatrous worship of the wafer.
5) Exorcisms and consecrations practiced by the priests are more in line with witchcraft than Christianity.
6) Men who hold powerful church offices should not simultaneously hold powerful secular offices.
7) The practice of praying for the dead should be rejected, and accepting money to say prayers for the dead corrupts the church.
8 ) Making pilgrimages and venerating relics are ineffective for spiritual growth and can lead to idolatry.
9) Confession of sin to a priest should be stopped because only God can forgive sins, and, if priests had the power to do it, they should forgive everyone regardless of whether or not they had confessed.
10) Christians should not participate in warfare, especially warfare that purports to have a spiritual basis (such as the Crusades).
11) Vows of celibacy among women have led to all kinds of sexual sin among those women.
12) Christians are spending too much time producing things, not being content with what they have.
Lollards also believed that the primary duty of priests should be to preach and that every person should have access to the Bible in his/her own language.
