The courage of reformers in the Middle Ages inspired the next generations. Later reforms enjoyed more widespread success because the times had changed. The Renaissance had opened minds to freer thinking and fresh research that valued original sources. In the case of Christianity, this meant going back to the Bible. A newly built ship is clean and sleek. After many years at sea, the ship becomes heavy, encrusted with barnacles, deposits and seaweed. In the same way, the passing centuries had burdened religion with much that had nothing to do with Christ or His Christianity. The Renaissance encouraged fresh attitudes toward cleaning up the ship of Christianity. Proper research was aided by Erasmus who published the New Testament in its original language, Greek. Reuchlin made similar progress for restoring knowledge of Old Testament Hebrew. Translators like Wycliffe made the Scriptures available for ordinary people. Increasing knowledge of the Bible made clear the wrongs of the clergy.
Such knowledge spread much faster after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in about 1440. (The Chinese had invented moveable type in 1040, but that technology was not available to the West. Before 1440, all copying in the West was done by hand, making copies expensive.) The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. With increased distribution of the Bible, the seed of God’s kingdom was entering more and more hearts. At the same time, the changing politics of Europe benefited reforms. Small states were joining together, eventually forming today’s European nations. Some new rulers wanted independence from the pope’s domination and taxation. They offered protections that reformers had not enjoyed previously. Under these new conditions, reformation efforts flourished.