History / Evolution of Civilization 19-THE REFORMATION Prof.Dr. Halit Hami ÖZ Kafkas Üniversitesi/Kafkas University Kars, Turkey [email protected]
Transcript
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History / Evolution of Civilization 19-THE REFORMATION Prof.Dr.
Halit Hami Z Kafkas niversitesi/Kafkas University Kars, Turkey
[email protected]
Slide 2
THE REFORMATION The Renaissance was a time of tremendous
achievement in the arts, in music, and, to a certain extent, in
spiritual life as well. Nevertheless, despite all these
achievements, Europeans during the Renaissance period were not able
to solve the many problems created by disasters that had hit Europe
in the 14th century. Social tension if anything became worse.
Economic tension if anything became worse. Wars like the Hundred
Years' War gave way to new rounds of wars. And the leadership
problem was by no means solved.
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THE REFORMATION During the 16th century, reformers of various
types tried to correct the many problems of their society, trying
especially hard to fix problems withing the church. Unfortuantely,
many of these attempts at reform often only increased the turmoil
of the century, and the the next period of history we talk about,
the Reformation (1517-1648) is that there is a right way and a
wrong way to work for societal change.
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THE REFORMATION It's easy to see why there was such a strong
desire for reform in the 16th century. In addition to the problems
mentioned above, the church seemed particularly in need of reform.
There were all sorts of problems: simony (the buying and selling of
church office), pluralism (the same individual holding more than
one church office and not necessarily doing either of them
particularly well), clerical concubinage (priests, bishops, and
monks with live-in girl friends and fathering lots of illegitimate
kids), and a generally immoral lifestyle among the clergy
(drunkenness a particular problem).
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THE REFORMATION Now none of these problems were particularly
new. The difference was that the corruption had gotten all the way
to the top. Whereas earlier centuries had from time to time seen
great reforming popes, men who would work to weed out the immoral
and ineffective priests, now the popes themselves were as corrupt
as they could be. Alexander the VI a particularly good example--or,
rather, a particularly bad example. Such popes had turned the
church into a money-making machine, introducing simony on a more
massive scale than ever before.
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THE REFORMATION An additional money-making scheme was the sale
of indulgences. An indulgence was permission from the pope to be
readmitted to the sacraments before the normally proscribed period
of penance had been completed. It was reasonable enough, for the
pope to grant exceptions to the usual rules. But what began to
happen is that the popes gave "blank check" indulgences to
indulgence sellers who then, for a commission, began selling these
indulgences to raise money for the pope's building projects. The
indulgence sellers, in order to boost their profits, began claiming
that the indulgences would not only allow one access to the
sacraments, but would get you (or a deceased loved one) out of
purgatory and straight into heaven. This, of course, undercut
ethical guidance in the same way that selling the Book of the Dead
had tended to destroy ethical guidance on New Kingdom Egypt.
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THE REFORMATION One of those who was particularly concerned
about the problems the sale of indulgences was creating was Martin
Luther. Luther (1483-1546) was from a working class family, but he
was obviously so bright and talented that his ambitious father made
the sacrifices necessary to get him a good education. He hoped
probably that Martin would become a lawyer or choose some equally
lucrative profession. Instead, however, Luther, because of a vow
made to St. Anne during a thunderstorm, decided to become a monk.
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THE REFORMATION Luther was the best monk he could be, fasting
all the time, praying all the time, and making a pilgrimage to
Rome. He became an expert Bible student and teacher. And Luther's
study convinced him that there was something fundamentally wrong
with thes sale of indulgences. In 1517, he nailed his famous 95
Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. This was simply a
challenge to debate. The 95 theses were simply a list of Luther's
objections to one contemporary practice, the sale of indulgences.
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THE REFORMATION Nevertheless, this even is usually held to mark
the start of the Protestant Reformation--and, with good reason.
Luther got his debate, and, during the course of the controversy
about indulgences found, much to his surprise, that he was agreeing
more with Wyclif and Huss. He began to question, not just
indulgences, but the whole of Catholic sacramental theology and the
church hierarchy associated with the administration of the
sacraments. But if salvation didn't come through the sacraments,
where did it come from? http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm9
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THE REFORMATION The problem for Luther was that, despite all
his efforts to be the best Christian he could be, he felt he was
headed to hell. But then the great turning point. One day, as
Luther was studying the book of Romans, he came across Paul's words
(quoted from the prophet Habakkuk), "The just shall live by faith."
For Luther, this mean he had been going about things the wrong way.
He had been trying to earn his salvation through works: from now
on, he would rely on faith. http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm10
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THE REFORMATION [This is called his tower experience. It's
worth looking through Luther's own account of what happened
here.]Luther's own account Luther now began to make more
fundamental challenges to current Catholic teaching, and because
this was now the age of the printing press, his ideas spread widely
and rapidly. [particularly important three 1520 works: Luther's
Address to the German Nobility, his "Babylonian Captivity of the
Papacy," and his "Concerning Christian Liberty] Address to the
German Nobility http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm11
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THE REFORMATION Charles V, the newly elected Holy Roman
Emperor, was troubled by the divisions Luther's teaching were
creating in the empire. Charles and his Habsburg family had lots on
his plate: they had to see to the governing of Spain, the
Netherlands, and much of Italy. They had to oversea Spanish
colonies in the New World. They had to deal with potential war with
France, and with a new wave of Moslem attacks in southeaster
Europe--and, in order to goven effectively, they needed to make the
title of Holy Roman Emperor something more than just a title.
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THE REFORMATION In 1521, Charles called together the Diet of
Worms, a congress which would help him deal with finances, war
preparations, and other issues confronting his vast dominion. Among
the problems he dealt with, the problem of Luther. Luther came to
the Diet expecting to be able to defend his ideas. Instead, he was
basically told his ideas were heretical, and that, if he wanted to
avoid trouble, he better renounce his books and promise not to
teach such things again. He asked for a day to think over the
matter. He got that day, and was asked again what his decision
would be. Luther said it was neither safe nor right to go against
one's conscience, and that he was bound by the scriptures he had
quoted. No, he wouldn't recant
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THE REFORMATION Forunately for Luther, he had close friends
among the German nobles who made sure the promise of safe conduct
made to him would be kept. Luther goes into hiding for a time, but
his supporters go on to implement the reforms he recommended
regardless of the emperors wishes--and the pope's condemnation.
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Among the Lutheran reforms: 1. Luther's translation of the
Bible into German. Luther's translation becomes the standard German
Bible and, in a way, creates the modern German language, giving the
German people a standard, near-universal dialect. A great thing for
Germans to have the Bible in their own language! 2. Luther makes
major modifications the worship service. The idea of the mass as a
sacrifice is gone. He adds extra emphasis on the scripture. He also
changes the music, writing and arranging songs himself, and making
the changes that lead to the hymn-singing churches we have today.
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Among the Lutheran reforms: 3. Clerical celibacy is eliminated,
with Luther himself taking a former nun as his wife. It's a very
happy marriage, and, to an extent, the model for that
pastor/pastor's wife partnership that's typical in Protestant
churches today. 4. The sale of indulgences is ended.
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THE REFORMATION The problem is that, once one begins reform,
it's hard to know where to stop. Luther's more radical followers,
inspired by Bible teachings against exploitation of the poor by the
rich, want major social change as well. They want to end noble
privileges, and go so far as to lead a new round of peasant revolts
(the Bundeschuh 1525, 1526). Luther himself denounced the
"murderous, thieving horde of peasants," but he was the one who had
opened the door--and some of the peasants had it as their goal to
make Luther the head of the German nation!
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THE REFORMATION Another problem was that Luther's teachings
soon led to religious civil war in the Holy Roman Empire. Some
nobles converted to Lutheranism because they sincerely thought
Luther was right. Others converted because Lutheranism offered a
convenient justification for resisting the growing power of the
Habsburg emperors. In 1530, Charles V, having failed to find an
acceptable compromise, determined to crush the Lutheran movement.
There followed 25 years of religous civil war, ended at last by the
Peace of Augsburg (1555). http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm18
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THE REFORMATION This treaty acknowledged to right of German
nobles to choose the religion of their people. If they wanted their
people to by Lutheran, then Lutheran they would be. If they wanted
them to be Catholic, then Catholic they would be. There followed 60
years of religious peace--but the compromise wasn't going to last,
and one of the most horrible wars in history would soon break out
in the HRE. http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm19
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THE REFORMATION Luther's reforms led to peasant revolt and
civil war in the German speaking areas of Europe and in Sweden as
well when Lutheran ideas took over there. Also leading to conflict
were the changes made by other reformers including Ulrich Zwingli.
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THE REFORMATION Zwingli was a Swiss priest, first in the small
town where he was born, and then in the larger Swiss city of
Zurich. He was a powerful preacher, placing great emphasis on the
scripture. Like Luther, he began to question some of doctrinces and
practices of the Chruch. He was also stirring up trouble, preaching
against the way the wealthy and powerful exploited to poor. Well,
wealthy and poweful people don't like hearing themselves denounced,
and so they tried to get Zwingli silenced as a heretic. They took
their case to the Zurich town council, and Zwingli was called on to
defend himself. He admitted teaching exactly what his accusors said
that he did--and then he explained why he taught those things. The
council was impressed! Zwingli was right, they thought--and so,
instead of condemning Zwingli, they got behind the reforms he
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the reforms he suggested no more mandatory tithes no more
mandatory fasting allowing priests to marry no more images in the
churches no preaching of purgatory no recognition of papal
supremecy the supremecy of scripture affirmed the mass abolished
and replaced with a protestant communion
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the reforms he suggested Zwingli's ideas began to spread to
neighboring Swiss cantons, and opponents of these ideas wanted to
cut them off at the source. This led to war in Switzerland, the
Kappel wars. Zwingli himself accompanied Zurich troops into battle,
and he himself was killed during the course of the fighting. The
death of Zwingli did not mean the end of the Swiss Reformation. The
refomers there soon get a new leader: John Calvin
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THE REFORMATION Calvin was a French priest and a very
accomplished Bible scholar and theologian. His most important work
is the "Institues of the Christian Religion," a great work of
systematic theology like Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, but with
a *very* different theology underneath. Many of Calvin's followers
today follow what's called "Five Point" Calvinism, stressing in
particular the doctrinal points hinted at by the word TULIP.
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TULIP. Total depravity Unconditinal election Limited atonement
Irresistable grace the Perseverance of the saints
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Calvin five points Now Calvin did teach all of these things,
but to emphasize these five points is misleading. The above points
suggest a do-nothing attitude toward life. Those who are going to
be saved or going to be saved no matter what. Those who are going
to be condemned will be condemned no matter what. So just mind your
own business, right? Well, that's not the philosophy Calvinists
adopt. Calvinism is the ultimate in busy-body religion, and
Calvinists work fervently to change every aspect of society. Why?
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Calvin Well, the number one idea of Calvin is his insistence on
the sovereignty of God, the idea that God is the boss. And
everything ought to be done the way the boss wants--in economic
life, in social life, and in our personal lives as well. Calvin was
invited to Geneva to help the reformers make changes there, and
from his base in Geneva, Calivin spread his ideas around
Europe--including back to his native France. Many French nobles
converted to Calvinism, some because the sincerely thought Calvin
right, others because it was a convenient excuse to resist the
growing authority of the French kings. Eventually, this lead to a
round of religious civil wars in France (French wars of
Religion:1562-1589). http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm27
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English reformation In England too, religious change led to
instability. The English reformation began with an extraordinarily
unlikely reformer, Henry VIII. Henry was at first an ardent
defender of the Catholic church, but a personal issue led him to
separate the Church of England (the Anglican church) from Rome. The
issue was Henry's marriage. Henry wanted an annulment of his
marriage to his wife Catherine. The fact that Catherine had given
him only a daughter rather than the much-desired son made Henry
think God was punishing him for a marriage he shouldn't have made
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English reformation But Catherine's family had too much
influence in the papal court for Henry to get the annulment he
wanted. He wanted his annulmnent, and he wanted it immediately.
Why? Well, Henry had a pregnant mistress, Anne Boleyn. He had to
get his marriage annuled so he could marry Anne so that the baby
would be legitimate and (if a boy) the long awaited heir. So Henry
simply went to his parliament and got their ok to separate the
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English reformation Henry wasn't trying to make theological
changes: he just was changing the authority structure of the
church. So who now was the head of the church? Henry, of
course--and, following him, whoever happened to hold the English
throne. What this meant was a horribly unstable religious
situation. Every time the ruler changed, religion would change as
well. Henry's son Edward succeeded him and pushed England in a
protestand direction. Edward died young and was succeeded by his
older sister Mary, daughter of the divorced Catherine.
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English reformation Mary led England back towards Catholicism.
Mary died and left the throne to her half-sister Elizabeth
(daughter of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn who Henry had beheaded for
adultery, hypocrite that he was). Elizabeth found a temporary
religous compromise, but eventually England too went through a
religious civil war--a war which cost King Charles I his head. Even
the most peaceful of religious reformers ended up involved in
violent episodes. An example: the Anabaptists.
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Anabaptists. The anabaptist movement was an attempt to get back
to New Testament Christianity. They advocated the following
changes: 1. Adult baptism only. Baptism in infancy didn't count,
and, if one had been baptized as an infant, it was necessary to be
baptized properly as an adult. 2. Pacificim. Christ had said to
turn the other cheek, not to take up the sword. 3. Millennialism.
Christ would come back soon to establish his thousand- year reign
on the earth. Time to be ready! 4. Communalism. The early
Christians had held "all things in common," and we too should
return to communal ownership (no private property). 5. The
separation of church and state. ("My kingdom is not of this world"
meant that the spiritual and earthly authorities should be
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Anabaptists. Anabaptists were hated and persecuted by both
Protestants and Catholics. Many of their leaders were put to death.
Unfortunately, this opened the door to less qualified leaders and
to somewhat strange attempts to imitate Bible practice, e.g.,
adding multiple wives, taking hot coals into their mouths or
"streaking" in supposed imitation of the prophets.
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Anabaptists. The Anabaptists found refuge in the city of
Munster, and, eventually, they took over the city, expelling the
bishop and other leaders. The Anabaptists declared Munster to be
the "New Jerusalem." Their leader declared himself a "new
David"--and took some 16 wives. Eventually, the expelled former
leaders attacked the city, slaughtering the Anabaptists, torturing
the leaders, mutilating their bodies, and hanging the mutilated
corpse in cages from the church steeple.
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Anabaptists. Why so much violence? It's important to understand
that these conflicts were about far more than religion: or, rather,
about more than what we consider religion today. Religion was bound
into the whole fabric of society, and religous change meant social
change, economic change, and political change as well. Now for
centuries, the Roman Catholic church had helped to smooth over
social, economic, and political tensions: but now, the religious
unity of Europe had been destroyed, and religious differences
tended to agravate the other problems.
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Anabaptists. Question: wouldn't it have been possible to carry
out religious reforms within the Catholic church itself, to fix the
church's problems without destroying the religious unity of Europe?
Well, certainly it was possible: and during the 16th century there
was a powerful reform movement within the Catholic Church itself.
This reform movement is often called Counter Reformation, though
Cathoics of course see it a the true reformation. Basically, what
happens here that, in response to Protestant challenges, the
Catholic church gets its act together.
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reformation Question: wouldn't it have been possible to carry
out religious reforms within the Catholic church itself, to fix the
church's problems without destroying the religious unity of Europe?
Well, certainly it was possible: and during the 16th century there
was a powerful reform movement within the Catholic Church itself.
This reform movement is often called Counter Reformation, though
Cathoics of course see it a the true reformation. Basically, what
happens here that, in response to Protestant challenges, the
Catholic church gets its act together.
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St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius Loyola. One important figure
in the Counter Reformation: St. Ignatius Loyola. Loyola was a
Spanish soldier. He was wounded in one skirmish, and took a long
while to recover. During the recovery, he read accounts of the
saints lives and the Bible. This inspired in him what seemed to be
a wonderful idea. He had been a dedicated soldier: disciplined,
well-trained, fervent in his service. Wouldn't it be wonderful,
thought Loyola, if people could be just as dedicated to Jesus
Christ, if they could be soldiers for Jesus? And Loyola decided
that he would become such a soldier--and, in fact, create a band of
such soldiers. This led to Society of Jesus--the Jesuits--a new
order within the Catholic Church.
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St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius Loyola. Loyola's order
provided discipline true soldier for Christ needs. Discipline in
prayer (give thanks/request knowledge/examine yourself for sin/ask
pardon/ask for God's help in change). Discipline also in scripture
study. The Jesuits ended up knowing the scripture every bit as well
as Protestant preachers: but they came to different conclusions
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St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius Loyola. Loyola, like Calvin,
emphasized the depravity of man and our great need for Grace. But
unlike Calvin, Loyola and the Jesuits believed that God's grace was
transmitted through the sacraments of the church: confession and
the mass were particularly important, but fasting, reverence for
the relics of the saints, decorating churches and respect for the
church heirarchy were seen as very important as well.
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St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius Loyola. The Jesuit's
discipline made them effective soldiers for Christ: Loyola placed
the services of these soldiers at the disposal of the Pope: they
basically became a Papal army: wherever Protestants were making
headway, Pope sent in the Jesuits. Into territory lost by Catholic
church, Pope sent Jesuits to reclaim it. And the Jesuits were in
many ways successful. The old, corrupt Catholic clergy had been no
match for the protestant leaders either in terms of intellectual
ability or in terms of the examples of their own lives. But with
the Jesuits it was a different story.
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St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius Loyola. And the Catholic
Church as a whole was reforming during this period. From 1545-1563
a great church council was held at Trent. This was a turning point
in Church history. At Trent, the Catholic Church got its act
together. No more drunken priests, no more live-in girl friends, no
more simony. But Trent also tried to reform by clarifying Catholic
doctrine, deciding where Christians should stand on issues like
purgatory, indulgences, transubstantion, and baptism. Prior to the
Council of Trent, there had been: much room for disagreement within
Catholic church: but now a good Catholic had to affirm belief in
purgatory, transubstantiation, infant baptism, etc.
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Catholic church The Catholic church emerged from Trent purified
and reformed: but far narrower than it had been in earlier
centuries. This made reconciliation with the Protestants all but
impossible. The Calvinist position in particular was at sharp odds
with this narrowly defined Catholicism. Trent denied the Calvinist
idea that we cannot do good if we choose to. It denied the
Calvinist idea that once one was saved one could never fall. It
denied the Calvinist idea that we could not by saved by our works.
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Catholic church And so what happened was that, after Trent, you
had the Catholic Church convinced that it was the only true church,
and that it was man's only hope of salvation. On the other hand,
the protestant sects were convinced that they were the true
churches and they were the only hope of salvation. A sure recipe
for conflict! Catholics believed that the growth of Protestantism
was sending people to hell. And Protestants believed that the
continued presence of Catholicism was sending people to hell. And
it's no wonder the wars the resulted were so bloody.
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Catholic church The worst of these, the Thirty Years' War that
already mentioned briefly. This war (1618-1648) involved much of
Europe and caused the death of millions of people.
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Europe Europe was about to dominate the world: Columbus' 1492
discovery was leading to a great age of exploration and expansion.
Had Europe been truly Christian and united, the world would have
been a happier place. Question: what went wrong? Was it wrong to
try to reform? No--reform was badly needed. Unfortunately, however,
reform was carried out in the wrong way. Was there a better way?
two 16th century figures show clearly exactly what that way was,
Sir Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus.
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Europe Both of these men were deeply influenced by Brethren of
the Common Life. The Brethren started in late Middle Ages. It was
an informal society of people who simply wanted to live as
Christ-like as possible. The most famous book to come out of this
movement is Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, a book that was
for years and years a perennial best-seller, read by everyone.
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Europe The spirit of the Brethren is clear in Sir Thomas More.
More was a great scholar and writer and (also) chancelor to Henry
VIII of England. More wrote a famous book that he called Utopia
("no place"). In the book, More describes imaginary society that we
might well strive to imitate. In Utopia, everybody works. There are
no nobles, priests or monks. Because all work, no one has to work
too much--six hours a day is sufficient. The rest of time, one
spends learning. Not interested in learning? That's ok too. You
spend your time on other tasks and no one thinks the worse of you
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Europe As far as religion goes, the Utopians are tolerant. They
believe in religious truth, but if one doesn't agree, one uses
peaceful means to try to convince them of that truth. What More
suggests in Utopia are radical changes: changes in some ways even
more radical than those advocated by the Protestant reformers. But
More is more Christ-like in the way he advocates these changes.
Typical is his reaction to Henry VIII.
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Europe More didn't approve of Henry's divorce and break with
Catholic Church. But More didn't say anything: he simply resigned
his Chancellorship. Henry didn't like this: More's resignation
implied that what Henry had done was wrong. Henry wanted More to
say that it was right, but More refused.. Henry imprisoned More,
and put more pressure on him. More still wouldn't say anything
against Henry, but he wouldn't say he approved either. What he did
say was this: "I do nobody no harm, I say none harm, I think none
harm, but wish everybody good. And if this be not enough to keep a
man alive, in good faith I desire not to live."
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Europe And More died a martyr's death--a death that made his
lasting impact probably greater than it would be otherwise. Even
(or especially) the agnostic 20th century playwright Robert Bolt
found More a figure to be admired. He borrows a line from one of
More's cotemporaries and calls More, "A Man for all Seasons,"
portraying More as the model of letting conscience by one's guide.
Similar to More: Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus was one of the
greatest scholars of the 16th century. He taught Greek and produced
beautifully edited editions of Greek works including the New
Testament. Erasmus gave Europe the first printed edition of Greek
New Testament--and a very fine edition too.
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Europe Erasmus saw need for reform every bit as much as Luther
and Calvin. If anything, he understood more clearly what was wrong
with society. But Erasmus didn't launch a direct attack on societal
instututions the way Luther and Calvin did, seeing (rightly) that
this might lead to even worse problems. But this didn't mean
silence on Erasmus' part. He wrote plenty of things exposing the
weakneses of his society and suggesting improvements, using as his
chief weapons satire and humor. One example: Erasmus' Praise of
Folly. The title itself reflects Erasmus' sense of humor. The Latin
title is a pun. Folly (moria) is foolishness, and the book is a
praise of foolishness. But it's also a book in praise of another
"moria"--Thomas More to whom he dedicated book.
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Slide 53
Europe In this book, the goddess Folly claims she's most
worshipped of gods: and then goes on to prove it. Worshippers of
folly include lawyers who pay more attention to clever words than
truth, theologians who spend their time investigating questions
like how many days Christ was in Mary's womb, and monks who care
more about rituals and ceremonies than about love of Christ.
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Slide 54
Europe Also foolish are people who rely on indulgences for
pardon of their sins, thinking that gold can get them into
heaven--and even more foolish the priests who encourage such
thinking, not stressing the importance of prayer, repentance, and
leading a godly life. All this really stings: but it also makes us
laugh. This is the key to getting people to change. Confront
someone directly and they simply get billigernent and more set in
their ways. But make them laugh at themselves, and maybe they'll
begin to change. And Erasmus succeeds in part because he is willing
to laugh at himself, too. http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm54
Slide 55
Europe One of his dialogues is called "Cyclops: or the Gospel
Bearer." There's a great passage where one character asks another
about signs of the end times. The list of signs hunger, war,
thirst, war, plague, poverty, Eramus writing dialogues. Yes!
Disasters everywhere! Surely a sign of the end times! But there's
even better another passage in that same dialogue. There's a man
here who considers himself a great Christian. Why? Is he generous
to poor? No. Moderate? No. Chaste? No. A keeper of God's commands?
No. Then why does he think himself a follower of Christ?
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Slide 56
Erasmus "A certain Franciscan in our neighborhood kept babbling
from the pulpit against Erasmus' New Testament. I met the man
privately, grabbed him by the hair with my left hand, and punched
him with my right. I gave him a hell of a beating; made his whole
face swell. What do you say to that? Isn't that promoting the
Gospel?" http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo ry121.htm56
Slide 57
Erasmus Erasmus is really on to something here. He sees that,
over and over again, men consider themselves to be righteous, not
because they themselves do what's right, but because they try to
force *others* to do what's right. But there is a fundamental error
here: and Erasmus sees it clearly. The human tendency when
confronted with sin to shove it on to someone else. Adam blamed
Eve. Eve blame the serpent. http://www3.northern.edu/marmorsa/histo
ry121.htm57
Slide 58
Erasmus In our study of history: looked at lots of societies,
examining their strengths and weaknesses. I hope you have realized
that in looking at these societies we're not just studying people
long dead. As we look at these societies, we are looking into a
mirror. "History makes us wise," said Francis Bacon--and it makes
us wise by showing us what we really are. It shows us the forces we
can control, and the forces we can't. And it does suggest ways we
might go about societal change, and warns of mistakes we ought to
avoid. But as we look at the changes that need to made, we ought
always remember where it is that we need to start the process.
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