The Geneva Bible Fosters Hope for Church Reform That Will Transform Society

Historians often discuss the role of Christianity in the rise of Western Civilization. An important distinction must be made when embarking on any such discussion though. This distinction is necessary because of the many counterfeits that are attempting to hitch their horse to the Christian name. The statement concerning the impact of Christianity on Western Civilization must read Biblical Christianity.

Christianity's affect on Western Civilization was strong in the fourth century as the church was purely Biblical, because to be a Christian before Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire meant persecution. As the centuries passed The church calling itself Christian began to be perverted by anti-Christian influences. As the practice of Christianity became more perverted the influence of Christianity on society began to wain.

With the return to Biblical Christianity during the 16^th and 17^th centuries and you saw a resurgence of progress in Western Civilization and a reform of church and society. This new progression in society can be directly associated with the placement of God's Word in the hands of the common man. As Marshall Foster states in The History and Impact of the Geneva Bible, “the Geneva Bible inspired those who championed self-government, free enterprise, education, civic virtue, protection of women and children, and godly culture.” The free societies that developed because of this church reform were largely influenced by the publication of The Geneva Bible. In fact, King James ordered the creation of what has become known as the authorized version of the Bible as a direct result of the Geneva Bible. This opened access to God's Word for more commoners. King James wanted the notes of the reformers out of the hands of his people and when he was presented with the authorized version of the Bible he was told that he would love this Bible because the word tyrant did not appear in it anywhere.

Over the last two centuries, as Biblical Christianity has slowly given way to pagan pretenders you have again seen a decline of Western Civilization. In response to a weakening church and a decaying society a group of ministries teamed up to reproduce the 1599 version of the Geneva Bible, complete with the notes of the original reformers. There is nothing intrinsically magical about the Geneva Bible, but the fact that there is a growing number of organizations dedicated to the principles of the reformers of Geneva and a growing number of laymen that are hungry for those teachings is telling.

As more Christians dig into God's Word, bringing it to bear on every area of life you will see the church begin to transform society to godly ethics once again. You do not have to read the Geneva Bible in order to affect church reform. It is encouraging to have the notes of the “Marian Exiles” in Geneva to confirm that your thinking is in line with scripture. These men believed that the Kingdom of God would continually increase until the second coming of Christ. The republishing of their translation of God's Word and their notes will ensure that His kingdom will advance for the present.