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{{Economics_Lectures}}

{{Economics_Lectures}}

Only one miracle during Jesus's ministry is mentioned in all four Gospels, and it is mentioned even twice in Mark.  It is the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish to feed the thousands.  It illustrates God easily '''''overcoming''''' scarcity.  Think about it: does scarcity really exist, or is its significance greatly exaggerated away from God?

Only one miracle during Jesus's ministry is mentioned ''in all four Gospels'', and it is referenced even twice in Mark.  It is the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish to feed the crowd of thousands.  It illustrates God easily '''''overcoming''''' the scarcity in food.  Think about it: does scarcity really exist, or is it the result of turning away from God?  Scarcity seems to be exaggerated the further away a society is from God.  The devout Puritans thrived with nothing in the cold New England winters.

As a student astutely suggested last class, economics is the study of the '''''transfer''''' of goods and services.  The first obvious question is this: what determines the '''''price''''' and '''''quantity''''' of goods transferred?  In other words, how much must a buyer pay for the good (the price), and how many units of the good (the quantity) will the seller be able to sell at that price?

As a student astutely suggested last class, economics is the study of the '''''transfer''''' of goods and services.  The first obvious question is this: what determines the '''''price''''' and '''''quantity''''' of goods transferred?  In other words, how much must a buyer pay for the good (the price), and how many units of the good (the quantity) will the seller be able to sell at that price?

== Example:  The Tyndale Bible ==

== Example:  The Tyndale Bible ==

The Tyndale Bible was an illegal translation of portions of the Bible into English, the first high-quality English translation that was based on the ancient Greek.  King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church prohibited translations of the Bible into English, preferring instead continued use of the Latin Vulgate, the translation into Latin done by Jerome A.D. 400.  William Tyndale, however, studied the Bible in its original Hebrew and Greek, and by the age of 30 he vowed to translate it into English so that, in his words, "a boy that driveth the plough" knows "more of Scripture than" the clergy.  Tyndale fled England to Germany and secretly completed his translation of the New Testament from Greek into English in 1525 (shortly after Martin Luther translated the Bible into German).  Then Tyndale arranged for the printing of his translation in Germany, and the sale of the printed copies of his English translation to the public in England.

The Tyndale Bible was an illegal translation of portions of the Bible into English, the first high-quality English translation that was based on the ancient Greek.  King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church prohibited translations of the Bible into English, preferring instead continued use of the Latin Vulgate, the translation into Latin done by Jerome during A.D. 400.  William Tyndale, however, studied the Bible in its original Hebrew and Greek, and by the age of 30 he vowed to translate it into English so that, in his words, "a boy that driveth the plough" knows "more of Scripture than" the clergy.  Tyndale fled England to Germany and secretly completed his translation of the New Testament from Greek into English in 1525 (shortly after Martin Luther translated the Bible into German).  While in Germany, Tyndale arranged for the printing of his English translation, and for the sale of his printed copies to the public in England.

Demand by the public in England was high for this Bible, but the supply was low due to limitations of the printing press and the opposition by the authorities.  High demand and low supply cause this:  a high price.  The King and church authorities began buying up copies of this Bible in Europe to keep it out of the hands of the public, but often had to pay the "market price" to buy up the copies.  This money then went to the printers and provided the funds for them to pay for the printing of more Tyndale Bibles, and 15,000 copies were printed between 1525 and 1530.  This effect of supply and demand made it difficult -- perhaps impossible -- to censor and suppress this English Bible.

Demand by the public in England was high for this Bible, but the supply was low due to limitations of the printing press and the opposition by the authorities.  High demand and low supply cause this:  a high price.  The King and church authorities began buying up copies of this Bible in Europe to keep it out of the hands of the public, but often had to pay the "market price" to buy up the copies.  This money then went to the printers and provided the funds for them to pay for the printing of more Tyndale Bibles, and 15,000 copies were printed between 1525 and 1530.  This effect of supply and demand made it difficult -- perhaps impossible -- to censor and suppress this English Bible.

Supply and demand comprise a very powerful force, stronger than any individual or government.  Over time, supply and demand prevail, and ultimately the authorities endorsed the idea of an English translation of the Bible, leading to the printing of the magnificent King James Version (which was very similar to the Tyndale Bible) less than a century later, in 1611.  But the unstoppable effect of supply and demand did not occur soon enough to help Tyndale himself.  He kept improving his translation of the New Testament (his final version was completed in 1635) and also worked on completing his own translation of the Old Testament.  But he was captured in what is now Belgium, before he could translate all of the Old Testament.  His last words were "Lord, open the king of England's eyes" before he was executed as a heretic in 1536.  His assistant, Miles Coverdale, finished Tyndale's translation of the Old Testament and published the complete English Bible in 1537.  The King then approved it.

Supply and demand comprise a very powerful force, stronger than any individual or government.  Over time, supply and demand prevail, and ultimately the authorities approved an English translation of the Bible, leading to the printing of the magnificent King James Version (which was very similar to the Tyndale Bible) less than a century later, in 1611.  But the unstoppable effect of supply and demand did not occur soon enough to help Tyndale himself.  He kept improving his translation of the New Testament (his final version was completed in 1635) and also worked on completing his own translation of the Old Testament.  But he was captured in what is now Belgium, before he could translate all of the Old Testament.  His last words were "Lord, open the king of England's eyes" before he was executed as a heretic in 1536.  His assistant, Miles Coverdale, finished Tyndale's translation of the Old Testament and published the complete English Bible in 1537.  The King then approved it.

But years ''after'' King Henry VIII split from Rome and founded the Church of England, the English Parliament passed a law in 1543 that censored English Bibles again, prohibited unlicensed reading of Scriptures in public, and caused English Bibles to be burned in London and translators to be arrested (one translator was executed, but Coverdale fled to Geneva, where John Calvin was).  The free market had more work to do before it prevailed.

But years ''after'' King Henry VIII split from Rome and founded the Church of England, the English Parliament passed a law in 1543 that censored English Bibles again, prohibited unlicensed reading of Scriptures in public, and caused English Bibles to be burned in London and translators to be arrested (one translator was executed, but Coverdale fled to Geneva, where John Calvin was).  The free market had more work to do before it prevailed.