The Reformation Class Notes
October 39, 2001
Prof. Richard Keating
The Reformation was not the Reformation - but a series of reforms, counter reforms, more changes and still more changes that were often times cultural in nature
the great religious based empires and nations were beginning to break down
a time when people where examining their faith and their politics and their ethics
the Reformation Period of 1500 - 1700 is filled with stories of wars, personalities, intellectual debates, religious revelations, intrigue, political maneuvering, attempts to mold people into cookie cutter duplications where they all looked, acted, thought, and prayed alike.
it was also a time of increasing diversity with many new ideas about the dignity of the human being
it was also a time of sacred hatred
James Carrol’s term in speaking of anti-semitism
but I also think it is a wonderful term of speak of much of what happened during he RP
the RP was a time when sacred hatred was prevalent in much of what was happen
many of the various groups that were forming during the reformation thought and believed that their “way” was the only way
if you didn’t think and believe and practice your religion the same way that they did then it was okay to have this sacred -god sanctioned hatred towards others
and you could do just about anything to get them to believe your way because you believed if they did not believe you way they were damned anyway
so you did whatever you needed to do to get them to “convert”
sometimes the differences that were fought over were as trivial as how many candles you had on the altar and where the candles were placed
now remember candles in this time period where not just decorations but a form of interior illumination
The Results of the Reformation Period
Whether or not you are a Christian person
Whether or not you are a religious person
You have been effected by the RP because you are product of the history that has gone preceded you
this is particularly true if you are living in this nation
(sacred hatred theme is once again becoming a national political policy)
1. A large diversity of Christian Expressions that often are not compatible with each other -- competition between
2. Rising Nationalism often times pitting one nation’s version of Christianity against another’s version
3. Increased emphasis on literacy and education
Printing Press (60 years before Luther, but only
used to print mostly legal papers)
You had to be able to read the Bible yourself for revelation
publication of tracts -- little persuasive papers
4. A Great Shift in the understanding of what it means to be a Christian
monk/nun/priest as norm to other models
households become the primary unit of prayer
5. Growing outrage to Papal State corruption
Pope and the Vacatin political system
6. The culmination of individualism i piety that had been evolving since the middle ages
7. More emphasis on ethics in every day life
8. Ability to question the historic interpretation of the Church
could now read scripture, a early church writing
9. A period of springing forth of new ideas and cross fertilization of these ideas
10. New Understanding of Grace
God loves me because God loves me, not because I
am able to live by a rule book
11. Everything is in process
12. Religious, political, sacred, and secular are all mixed together always in human society
The tilled prepared ground for the Reformation, or in Silicon Valley Terms -- the code behind the OS
1. Agicultural Crisis, Famine, and Plague
urbanization - shift to money economy - no longer able to feed populations (bad weather pattern) famine, weaken population hit by plague and other diseases - questioned how could God do this? - why are we being punished --(jews) prayers didn’t help - changed behavior
2. Town and Cities
one fifth of population how in towns and cities, Germany and Netherlands even higher -- rapid growth - change in economy - people not responsible for each other -- Reformation mainly a town phenomena,
3. The European Printing Press
cities - communication - education -- rag paper (from the dead and Marco Polo from China) -- took “scribes” replaced, change in power of who controled the written material - very rapid spread of ideas
4. Minning
silver in Germany, new techniques, more coins, shift of power from Italian paper bankers to Germany Silver Bankers -
more coins, - inflation -
a German minning engineer named Luther earned enough money to send his son Martin off to get a good education --
5. Stable Gun Powder
cannons - Da Vinci (wored on improving artillery) - being of industrical war complex --
people (nations, religious fanatics) where not able to dream of conquests
money purchased cannon and gun powder
4. Social Tensions
5. Crisis of Values
the church = papacy
beginning to loose power -- didn’t control all european kings,
ex-communication wasn’t an effective threat --
talk of reforming the papacy (not the church)
a bureaucriatic mentality and materialism clouded th espiriutal vision of the papcy
Instead of responding to the philosophical, theological and literary critiques against it, the papcy developed increasing efficient administrative machinery to collect more and more taxes
and shuffle thoughsand of papges of documents concerned with blessings and indulgences and politics.
clergy -- not pastoral, but attempting to feather their own nests -- materialism and power
Jesus - told Peter (1st pope) to feed my sheep --- not fleece them.
Reformation was in the air --
William of Occam
Duns Scotus
John Wyclif
Jan Huss - Hussite Rebellion in Bohemia
brought some changes -- but would later be rescinded by later pope
The Reformation - The Protestant Reformation
reforming movements -- not necessarily the birth of denominationalsim
all thought they were reforming “the church”
The church didn’t reform -- it only reacted as seen in the Council of Trent where the church attempted to define itself again
it wasn’t until the Second Vacatin Council in the 1960’s that we see some reformation
reformation --
re-formatio -- to recreate, remake, redo
by 1600 no expression of western Christianity looked the same as it did in 1500 - it had been reborn into something new
Martin Luther
upwardly mobil miner sent his son off to college to be a lawyer to help their family amass more wealth
Martin stuggles with his relgious education and wonders if he is worthy
near miss by a lighting bolt sends make him a monk
only makes his interior struggle worse -- gets doctorate
preparing lecture notes over the years -Romans, Galatians and Psalms
has a religious experience while ready a section of Romans
which cause him to re-imagine the role of faith and grace
Grace is not something you earn -- but something that is given to you
October 31st post 95 Propositions on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg in 1517
the last thing he wanted to do was to break up the Catholic (universal) Church
nor was he doing anything out of the usual
he was a professor at a new university and he wanted to start a debate
today - publishing an article in a learned journal -
some scholars even debate if he really did post them on the church door
he did, however, make copies of them and sent them off to friends
they resonated and they made copies and his ideas were circulated
Luther had an uneasy surprise when he received a printed copy from Southern Germany
the importance of the printing press -- Luther’s reform probably would had foundered like many other in the previous 200 years had it not been for the printing press
tracts - pamphlets could now be printed quickly, easily, and cheaply circulated in the language of the people (not Latin)
famous artists of the day provided the wood blocks --
propaganda was born
people read to each other (no TV)
What did Luther wanted to debate? --
in his own words -- he “only wanted to elicit the truth about the sacrament of penance.”
An innocent question, but timely, because of the current sale of “indulgences”
These were sort of a certified check drawn by the pope on the “treasury of merit accumulated by the saints”
In popular belief, buy one enable the holder to manipulate their penance and shorten their time in Purgatory
or that of a friend or relative
Luther wanted to know whether any substitute for true remorse and activie penance could be bought in the open market - why didn’t the pope just give them away?
He thought that the only treasure of the Church was the Gospel -- The Good News of Jesus Christ
Luther also turned things up side down when he realized that people didn’t really have to have a middleman between them and God
each “man” is a priest and has direct access to God
expanded --
A Christian man is a perfectly free lord, subject to none”
later balanced this out by reminding that they are also a perfectly dutiful servant of all and subject to all
that is to the secular society and their rulers
things don’t go well for Luther -- Pope not happy.
great debate
refuted
made a hero -- demonized
church leaders ask him to recant -- take it back - he refuses
protected by Frederick Wise
Emporer dies -- Pope needs to select a new one -- several canidates
didn’t want to alienate Frederick Wise so Pope “chooses” Charles V
Now back to Luther
Dominicans set up a debate in Leipzip 6/1519 where Luther doesn’t have much support
Eck and Karlstadt to debate Luther’s ideas
Karlstadt not that great of a debater so Luther joins in to defend his own ideas
in the heat of the debate - gets tricked into saying he like Hus and dug himself deeper into a hole
Eck finally says “BINGO” you are a heretic
give 60 days to recant
Luther refuses -- burns papal bull of excummunication
Pope wants him sent to Rome -- Frederick Wise says no way
Keep those Italians and pope out of Germany
Charles V --teenage Emporer agrees to try Luther at the next council -- Diet of Worms
told to recant
refuses
Frederick Wise (patron, friend, ) kidnaps him and hides him in a castle in Wartburg
decides to defend himself to the lower nobility and common person - translate New Testament into German assured if people can read it for themselves they will see it his way
Evangelicals {pertaining to the Gospel and it’s teaching) (Protestant Label to come later)
Luther from Wartburg addresses the German people on every issue of religious, moral, political, and social importance
the revolution is on........
Switzerland - Zwingli
about 8 years of activity that really stirred the soup
Swiss nationalist
preaches against indulgences
appointed to a large church in Zurich
ignores lectionary -- preaches through books of the bible
reject scholasitc biblical intrepretation
says lent is unbiblical -- eats sausages and break fast
clerical celibacy is not scriptural
Gets involved in city politics
says they have the authority not the pope
reform - 67 theses
rejected pope, saints, etc
comes up with a blueprint to mismantle the medieval church
each point backed up by saying “it is not in scripture”
18 months of reform
if it is not in the bible we get rid of it
organs nailed shut
church decoration removed
Latin mass replaced with a German communion service
Eucharist Theology very different -- not physical presence - bread does not physcially become flesh
reform spread very quickly in Switerland and Southern Germany
He and Luther did not agree with each other
write tracts against each other
Some Politicans (Philip of Hesse) tried to bring reconcilation between them (14 out of 15 not not eucharist)
ends hope of pan protestant league and begins separation between these two reform movement
Zwingli dies in a battle with Catholics and becomes a martyr
Other Reforms
Zwinglians moving too slowly
rejection of infant baptism (Anabaptists)
taking scriputre as literal guide to reform church
Anabaptists spread trhough Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland
threaten Catholics, Lutherans, Zwinglians
everyone unites against Anabaptists
communal owership of property
polygamp
no dissenters
John Calvin
Geneva (Strasbourg) 1532 Conversion Experience
his reform theology is also backed up with a new polity called Presbyterian
breaks down hierarchy of the church
and mixes it with city councils and the formation of ecclesiastical courts which ended up attempting to control many aspects of people’s lives and beliefs
theologically - the idea of the “elect”
prosperity theology - you are doing well , you are elected,
if you are poor, you must be damned
Christ died only for the elect
Sacraments are signs not power in the action itself
trains 120 preachers and sends them out ito France
go to Northern Europe and America
polity influences Constitution
Calvin Theology influences
western work ethic
much of the western mindset
England
Henry the VIII
wanted a male heir -- several wives -- divorce and remarriage by papal blessing only
Island mentality --
Broke from pope
England not excummunicated until Elizabeth I
back and forth
continential ideas influenced
extreme matters
cahtolic, protestant, purtian (calvin)
ended up Catholic but Reformed
the via media -- the middle way --
English Worship -- BCP (Thomas Cranmer)
English Bible
Richard Hooker - Theolgocal Framework for reforming ideas
married priests
kept sacraments but different understanding of real presence
king as head of church
American expression -polity- more presybertian - democratic