Church History 2Lesson 1

Factors making the Reformation Possible

The School of Athens - fresco by Raffaello Sanzio (w)

Objectives from COS Modules:• What was the intellectual and cultural climate of Europe on the eve of

the Reformation? Was it conducive for religious reform?• How did the political and economic situation in Europe—including

trade with Asia—contribute to the Reformation?• Was the Catholic Church capable of reform from within? Was a

schism necessary? On this topic, compare the views of Protestant and Roman Catholic historians.

• What are the similarities and differences between Renaissance humanism and other forms of humanism present in our times?

• We Protestants place a high premium on the individual privilege and responsibility of reading, studying, and interpreting Scripture. How can we effectively facilitate this in our places of service?

• What are some potential dangers resulting from taking this view to an extreme?

• Erasmus sought to get “back to the source,” that is Jesus, primarily through a study of the revealed Word of God. What is a healthy way of viewing the relationship between the Written Word (Scriptures) and the Living Word (Jesus Christ)? How do we avoid “bibliolatry” or worship of the Bible?

Catholicism

Middle Ages

Map of the approximate political boundaries in Europe around 450

Peasant King

Duke

Lord

Noble

Knight

Peasant

Serf

Slave

Middle Class

Middle class

• It was once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry of Europe.[by whom?] While the nobility owned the countryside, and the peasantry worked the countryside, a new bourgeoisie (literally "town-dwellers") arose around mercantile functions in the city. Another definition equated the middle class to the original meaning of capitalist: someone with so much capital that they could rival nobles. In fact, to be a capital-owning millionaire was the essential criterion of the middle class in the industrial revolution. In France, the middle classes helped drive the French Revolution.[3]

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.[1][2] The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning "act of sending" or mittere, meaning "to send".

Divine right of kings

Holy Roman Empire962–1806

Renaissance

"What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!" — from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Emphasis on the human and reason rather than “fideism” (non-thoughtful belief) or tradition.

Humanism

• Humanism is a group of philosophies and ethical perspectives which emphasize the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers individual thought and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism).

Papal States

Protestant Reformation

Luther(Lutheranism)

Calvin(Presbyterian/Baptist)

Zwingli(Reformed)

Henry 8 &Elizabeth 1

(Anglicanism)

John Knox(Scottish Presbyterian)

Reformation Map

Sola fide"Justification by faith"

Tradition

ProcessorEvent

TypeofAction

PermanenceJustification&Sanctification

Roman Catholic Process SynergismCan be lost via mortal sin

Part of the same process

Lutheran EventDivine monergism

Can be lost via loss of faith

Justification is separate from and occurs prior to sanctification

Methodist Event Synergism Can be lostDependent upon continued sanctification

Orthodox Process SynergismCan be lost through sin

Part of the same process of theosis

Reformed EventDivine monergism

Cannot be lostBoth are a result of union with Christ

Sola scripturaby scripture alone

Law and Grace, by Lucas Cranach. The left side shows our condemnation under God's law, while the right side presents God's grace in Christ.

Protestantism

Martin Luther’s95 Theses (Statements)

Iconoclasm in Holland(Smashing statues)

Rapid spread of Protestantism

Global Protestantism.

Global Protestantism.   Dominant religion (over 50%) (Dark)

  A large religious minority (over 10%) (Light)

Protestant branches

Jan Hus

Desiderius Erasmus• The Catholic

Counter-Reformation movement often condemned Erasmus as having "laid the egg that hatched the Reformation." Their critique of him was based principally on his not being strong enough in his criticism of Luther, not seeing the dangers (from their perspective) of a vernacular Bible and dabbling in dangerous scriptural criticism that weakened the Church's arguments against Arianism and other doctrines.

Martin Luther

John Calvin

Calvin preached at St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva. Calvin = Reformed

(Presbyterian/Baptist)

Huldrych Zwingli

John Knox

Thomas More

• Thomas More later opposed the King's separation from the Roman Catholic Church and refused to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, because such disparaged Papal Authority and Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Tried for treason, More was convicted on perjured testimony and beheaded.

Anabaptist

• The burning of a 16th-century Dutch Anabaptist Anneken Hendriks, who was charged by the Spanish Inquisition with heresy.

Dirk Willems saves his pursuer in this etching from the 1685 edition of Martyrs Mirror.

“Baptism should be will-full, not in infancy.”

LutheranismTopic Calvinism Lutheranism Arminianism

Human will

Total Depravity without free will

permanently due to divine sovereignty

Total Depravity without free will

until spiritual regeneration

Depravity does not prevent free will

Election

Unconditional election

to salvation with those outside the elect foreordained

to damnation (double-predestination

)[168]

Unconditional predestination to salvation

for the elect

Conditional election in view of foreseen

faith or unbelief

Justification

Justification is limited

to those predestined to

salvation, completed at Christ's death

Justification by faith alone,

completed at Christ's death.

Justification made possible for all

through Christ's death, but only

completed upon choosing faith in

Jesus

Conversion

Monergistic, through the inner calling of the Holy Spirit, irresistible

Monergistic, through the

means of grace, resistible

Synergistic, resistible due to the common grace of

free will

Preservation and apostasy

Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect

in Christ will necessarily

persevere in faith

Falling away is possible, but God gives assurance of

preservation.

Preservation is conditional

upon continued faith in Christ; with the possibility of a

final apostasy.

Presbyterianism

Anglicanism

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the foundational prayer book of Anglicanism. The original book of 1549 (revised 1552) was one of the instruments of the English Reformation, replacing the various 'uses' or rites in Latin that had been used in different parts of the country with a single compact volume in the language of the people, so that "now from henceforth all the Realm shall have but one use".

John Wesley was an Anglican priest that believed in a lifestyle of Holiness and discipline – a “method” of knowing God better.

Anglican World Map

A world map showing the Provinces of the Anglican Communion (Blue). Shown are the Churches in full communion with the Anglican Church: The Nordic Lutheran churches of the Porvoo Communion (Green), and the Old Catholic Churches in the Utrecht Union (Red).

Council of Trent

Catholic meetings to reform the church and stop Protestantism.

Counter-Reformation• The Counter-Reformation (also the

Catholic Revival[1] or Catholic Reformation) was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War (1648), which is sometimes considered a response to the Protestant Reformation. The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort composed of four major elements:

• (1) Ecclesiastical or structural reconfiguration,

• (2) Religious orders, • (3) Spiritual movements, • (4) Political dimensions

Jesuits (Society of Jesus)• The Society of Jesus (Latin:

Societas Iesu, S.J., SJ or SI) is a Christian male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents. Jesuits work in education (founding schools, colleges, universities and seminaries), intellectual research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes and promote social justice and ecumenical dialogue.

InquisitionGalileo before the Holy Office

Social factors leading to the Reformation

• Rise in the importance of philosophers that taught of human abilities to discover

• Science, Astronomy, Anatomy, Chemistry - because God is orderly, we can follow His order and therefore live at greater harmony and understanding with His Universe

• University = many disciplines coming together and pointing to God - the great ordered One.

Economic factors leading to the Reformation

• Riches from new world giving more freedom to "middle class" people

• More freedom = to think, to study, to break away

• Perhaps contributes to the "conciliar movement" seeking more democratic and less authoritarian/controlled from the top.

Political factors leading to the Reformation

• Italy became less important as Spain and Portugal became rich.

• Wealth associated with church positions led to ungodly people being placed into church leadership. This led to decreased respect for religious leadership.

• The rise of nation-states (France/ Spain/ England/ etc) meant that the Pope had to deal with powerful kings that had their own opinions – thus there was more compromise – good and bad.

Geographic factors leading to the Reformation

• Islamic influence decreased in the West, increased in the East

• Made Germany more important• Forced Popes not to deal with a heavy

hand to upset the Germans• Probably gave Luther some room to start

the Reformation• Germany = remote, England / Spain /

Portugal / France / Italy not so

Cultural factors leading to the Reformation

• Rise in the appreciation of the arts led to focus on externals

• Paintings / Cathedrals / Sculpture / • Poor understanding of the Bible led to practices

focused on creation of wealth rather than internal transformation of the heart.

• Indulgences• Selling of church positions• Church land holdings• Priests being exempt from regular laws made

people feel less respect for religious leadership• No one able to be critical of leadership actions

led to corruption and decreased morality.

Objectives from COS Modules:• What was the intellectual and cultural climate of Europe on the eve of

the Reformation? Was it conducive for religious reform?• How did the political and economic situation in Europe—including

trade with Asia—contribute to the Reformation?• Was the Catholic Church capable of reform from within? Was a

schism necessary? On this topic, compare the views of Protestant and Roman Catholic historians.

• What are the similarities and differences between Renaissance humanism and other forms of humanism present in our times?

• We Protestants place a high premium on the individual privilege and responsibility of reading, studying, and interpreting Scripture. How can we effectively facilitate this in our places of service?

• What are some potential dangers resulting from taking this view to an extreme?

• Erasmus sought to get “back to the source,” that is Jesus, primarily through a study of the revealed Word of God. What is a healthy way of viewing the relationship between the Written Word (Scriptures) and the Living Word (Jesus Christ)? How do we avoid “bibliolatry” or worship of the Bible?

• Discipleship: Many believed so strongly that they were willing to die for their belief. Many were burned at the stake so that you could read a Bible in your own language - how do you feel about that? How do you think the Lord feels about that?

• Discipleship: Is it really that important to read the Bible? Why and why not? From today's lecture, was there any proof one way or the other?

• Leadership: If you have division in the church, is splitting the easiest way? From today's lecture, what would you say about splitting up a church? Any ideas on how to avoid a split in the first place?

Bibliography

• Pictures and quotes from Wikipedia