How important was the invention of printing?
Printing was vitally important to the beginning and development of the Reformation. It certainly speeded up the pace of reform and made the prohibition to translate the Bible unworkable. Church historian Philip Schaff underscores the importance of printing when he gives the following evaluation: The art of printing, which was one of the providential preparations for the Reformation, became the mightiest lever of Protestantism and modern culture. (History of the Christian Church, Vol 7,p. 560) Printing was discovered around 1450 and the new technology of printing spread throughout Europe very quickly. In no time there were numerous printing presses in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. The Protestant Reformers understood the importance of this new technology. The Reformation is all about the printing of books and especially the Bible. The first book that rolled of the press in 1456 was a Latin Bible, followed by many other translations in European languages. The invention
