The Spiritual Impact of the Religious Tract Society
THE SPIRITUAL IMPACT OF THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. A Preliminary Survey of the History of the Religious Tract Society, Founded in London, 1799, and of its Spiritual Impact. Introduction. Good quality literature has always been an important feature in the strength and propagation of heart-felt Christianity since the invention of printing in Europe, and there have been certain special times when literature has played an outstanding role in the life of the Church. For example, the impact of Martin Luther in Germany was greatly increased by the spread of his various writings, and especially by his translation of the New Testament in the vernacular. Professor Lindsay says that the “Reformation movement may almost be said to have created the German book trade.” 1 The number of books which were published in Germany before 1518 was very few, and they were not of any great importance. From 1518 to 1521 there was a sudden increase which was created by Luther almost alone, mainly in the form of sermons, tracts and controversial writings. After that he had many disciples, who also wrote and published, and the total figures increased steeply. Luther’s translation of the New Testament appeared in September, 1522. The translation had been completed in only eleven weeks. Other translations had previously been made by other people, all based upon Saint Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. But in 1516, Erasmus had published a Greek New Testament, and Luther used this, translating it into the official German of the Saxon chancery, rather than into his own colloquial Saxon dialect. In this way “he helped create a standard German for all Germany.” Five thousand copies were sold in two months, and two hundred thousand copies in twelve years.
[Show full text]