A Sign to the Heavens

1. A Sign to the Heavens Chapter 13 Notes…Part I

2. Christian Humanism Is Just Like Regular Humanism…Only Different • The Reformation is called such because it is a reform movement • The Classical learning from the Italian Renaissance humanism spread to northern Europe and began a movement called Christian Humanism • They focused on the sources of early Christianity, Holy Scriptures, and the writings of church fathers like Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome • They believed their simple religion had been distorted by the complicated by the complicated theological arguments of the Middle Ages • They also believed man had the ability to reason and improve themselves through Classical religious doctrine and get that inward religious feeling so many people are looking for

3. You Wouldn’t Know Erasmus from a Hole in the Ground… • Christian humanists believed that to change society, they must first change individual humans • Some say they’re naïve; others say they’re optimistic • Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) formed and popularized the reform program of Christian humanism • The Handbook of the Christian Knight (1503) reflected his preoccupation with religion • Believed Christianity should be a guiding philosophy for the direction of daily life rather than a system of dogmatic beliefs and practices • Just be a good person; don’t worry about every rule • De-emphasized sacraments, pilgrimages, fasts, adoration of saints, and relics • To return to the simplicity of the church, Erasmus believed you must understand the original Scriptures • Erasmus also believed that the Latin version of the Bible (known as Vulgate) contained errors so he edited the Greek text of the New Testament (his book Annotationswas a commentary on it) • Reform of church to Erasmus meant understanding the philosophy of Jesus, having enlightened education in sources of Christianity, and making common-sense criticisms of the abuses of the Church (see The Praise of Folly)

4. We Want More, We Want More… • Thomas More (1478-1535) had a good education and was proficient in both Latin and Greek • His career led to him becoming the lord chancellor of England…but he was more interested in religion • More spent many hours in prayer and private devotion and he was considered a shining model of Christian family life • The controversial Utopia (1516) told of idealistic life and institutions in the fictional community of Utopia (which is fictional for “nowhere”…making it awesome) • The book was written to express his concerns with the economic, social, and political problems of his day • In the text he talked of a new social system in which cooperation and reason replaced power and fame as the proper motivating agents for human society • This would be controversial today…imagine how it’d be viewed in the 16th century • It addressed More’s problems with the economic, social, and political problems of his day • His solution was a society based on communal ownership rather than private property • All would work 9 hours a day regardless of occupation and were rewarded according to their needs…who and what does this sound like? • Was fully devoted to the Catholic Church and faced abuses of it while serving King Henry VIII, but he did not allow his idealism affect the realism of the job • Still, his belief in the Catholic Church and intolerance of heresy led him to advocate persecution of those who would fundamentally change the Church…he’d not be a fan of Martin Luther…

5. Trouble is on the Horizon • Pluralism (taking more than one church office, often to increase their personal revenues) existed throughout the Catholic Church in the 14th and 15th centuries • The highest positions among the clergy were held by either nobles or wealthy members of the bourgeoisie • The pluralist aspect led church officeholders to ignore their duties and/or hire underlings to serve where they were qualified or not • To most Christians, salvation is an inward spiritual feeling; in the 14th and 15th century Catholic Church the process of achieving salvation started to become mechanical • For example, Frederick the Wise had amassed over 19,000 relics to which indulgences were attached that could reduce your time in purgatory (the place between Heaven and Hell) by nearly 2 million years • An indulgence is a remission of sin after death • Still, the Christian humanists strictly believed in the orthodox beliefs of the Catholic Church • Despite disillusionment, people still wanted to believe in the Divine message Catholicism had always brought them—just without the corruption

6. Luther’s Super • Martin Luther was at the forefront of the Protestant Reformation • Disillusioned with the focus of the Catholic Church, Luther split from it and, with his followers, destroyed the religious unity of Western Christendom • The goal was to transform the Church into a more pure ideal; the ultimate result was a structure of new religions due to the entangled social, economic, and political forces of the day • Luther was initially a monk, but struggled with the concept of the assurance of salvation through confession • He felt he couldn’t confess fully and therefore could not be fully forgiven • Therefore, he wondered how a hopeless sinner could be accepted by God • While studying theology to cope with this hopelessness, he became a professor in the theological faculty at the University of Wittenburg • He lectured on the Bible from 1513-1516 and during this study found his answer

7. Luther’s Super Answer • Catholic doctrine had emphasized that both faith and good works were required for a Christian to achieve personal salvation • In Luther’s eyes, humans were weak and powerless in the sight of an almighty God and could never do enough works to merit salvation • This is the concept of “Up” religion, where you need to prove your worthiness to God • Luther believed in “Down” religion, where you need to only fully believe in Him to be saved • He believed humans were saved based upon their faith in the promises of God, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross • In fact, the primary doctrine of justification of the Protestant Reformation is the concept of GRACE THROUGH FAITH ALONE • Since Luther had studied the Bible so much it became the chief guide to religious truth for him and all other Protestants • Two Pillars of Protestantism • Justification by faith • The Bible

8. Jinglin’ Change Yields Catholic Pain In 1517, Pope Leo X issued a special indulgence to finance the ongoing construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome The slogan sent around Germany was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” The Catholics were once again saying you could buy your way into heaven Luther thought they were assuring themselves eternal damnation instead of salvation Angered, Luther issued his 95 Theses, which is considered by most the beginning of the Reformation (though to Luther it was simply a response to Johann Tetzel’s abuses in selling indulgences) And we’re going to take a closer look at them now…