Martyr
by Thomas Ray
James Bainham was born about 1500 in Gloucestershire, England. His father, Alexander Bainham, was a man of wealth and influence; he was a knight and the sheriff of Gloucestershire. Young James was provided with an excellent education, excelling in Latin and Greek. Probably due to his father’s influence, young Bainham chose to study law. Foxe (of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs) says he was, “ … a man of virtuous disposition, an earnest reader of Scripture, a visitor to the prisoners, merciful to the poor, diligent in giving counsel to all the needy widows, fatherless, and afflicted without money or reward.”
Bainham’s actions and his criticism of the Catholic Church brought him to the attention of the ecclesiastical inquisitors. He was accused of possessing Tyndale’s New Testament and attending illegal meetings in a warehouse on Bow Street. He became even more suspect when he married the widow of the notorious Simon Fish, who had died of the Black Death while awaiting trial for heresy. Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor of England, had James Bainham arrested and brought to his home. He wanted to know the location of Tyndale’s New Testament and other forbidden books, plus the names of the men and women who met on Bow Street. He attempted to obtain this information through persuasion and kind words, however, when he saw his efforts were futile he had Bainham tied to a tree in his garden and he personally severely lashed and cut his body. He then ordered the prisoner to be taken to the Tower of London to be racked.
More attempted to obtain the location of Tyndale’s books from Bainham’s wife. When she refused to cooperate, she was arrested and thrown into prison, and all their personal goods were seized. Bainham was severely tortured, and even though he was partially crippled, he refused to provide Sir Thomas More with the information he sought. More, who was a sadistic religious fanatic, sent Bainham to John Stokesley, the Bishop of London, for further interrogation. After days of grueling questions, Stokesley and his inquisitors were able to learn that Bainham approved of Tyndale’s New Testament and had stated it should be made available to all Englishmen. He did not believe the wine and bread was the blood and flesh of Christ. He confessed he did not believe in purgatory and that repentance and faith should always precede baptism.
Stokesley informed Bainham that if he did not renounce his heresy, and return to the Mother Church, they were going to have him burned at the stake. Bainham, broken in body and fearing death by burning, lost his courage and agreed to renounce his beliefs and return to the church. After signing a statement renouncing his beliefs, he was required to stand before the people at St. Paul’s and acknowledge his heresies. Shortly after his release, he was convicted of the enormity of his failure and, like Peter, he wept bitter tears of repentance. Unable to live with his failure he went before the congregation that met on Bow Street, confessed his sin, asked the church for their forgiveness, and urged them to be steadfast in their faith.
The next Sunday he attended St. Austin’s and stood before the people with Tyndale’s New Testament in his hand, confessing with tears that he had denied God and that he preferred death to the hell he had experienced. He proceeded to write letters to Sir Thomas More, Bishop Stokesley, and his family reiterating his faith. He was immediately arrested and for several weeks he was severely tortured, but all their efforts ended in failure.
Finally on April 30, 1532 James Bainham was led to the place of execution. Just before the fire was ignited, he turned to Master Pave, the town clerk, saying, “God forgive thee and show thee more mercy than thou showeth me.” He also prayed for God to forgive Sir Thomas More. And thus died James Bainham, the man who preferred death to life if it meant he must deny his faith. As a footnote to this story, one year later Master Pave, Bainham’s tormentor hung himself. Sir Thomas More refused to renounce the Pope and recognize King Henry the VIII as the sovereign head of the Church of England, and he was arrested and thrown into the Tower of London. He was beheaded in April 1534 for treason.