3: The Reformation Period

A. A marriage couldn’t be arranged between a woman of seventy and a man of twenty-five.

B. A woman couldn’t say “rest in peace” over her husband’s grave.

C. People couldn’t sing songs that made fun of Calvin.

D. Bread had to be baked in the shape of a cross.

A. They were all whiteB. They were all warmC. They were all alleged relics contained in

medieval churchesD. They were found last year in a cave in

Israel, neatly labelled and in a remarkable state of preservation.

John Wycliff (1324-1384) was an Oxford scholar and Roman Catholic priest

Rejected transubstantiation, purgatory, pilgrimages, worship of saints, veneration of relics and the infallibility of the Church because he couldn’t find these things in scripture

Declared the Pope to be vicar of anti-ChristSaw the wealth of the Church as a curseTranslated Bible into English (from Latin)His followers were called Lollards; lay preachers

A humanist scholar who sought to reform the Church from its abuses

Satirised the Church in works like “Praise of Folly”

His great work was producing the first printed text of the Greek New Testament, as well as a new Latin translation

This enabled people to evaluate the Vulgate and to undertake vernacular translations

This was the springboard for Luther’s German translation as well as the King James version

Corruption had reduced the ability to provide spiritual leadership

It became rampant in the reign of Innocent VIII (1484-92) and with Alexander VI who followed.

Popes commissioned art works and spent huge sums; to raise money they sold indulgences and land

Popular piety surged in the face of the Church’s failure

By 1500, there was a strong groundswell desperate for true reform in the Church

In 1500, Europe could still be thought of as Christendom, i.e. a Christian Kingdom.

Almost everyone recognised the Pope’s authority on spiritual issues, but a few years later, this changed

Partly due to: rising literacy, the printing press, urbanisation, universities, growing awareness of ways the Church distorted scripture

Crusades damaged Papal credibilityGrowing anti-clericalism due to corruption

An Augustinian monk, desperate to find peace with God, but could not, no matter how he tried

Breakthrough with Romans 1:16-17 (cf. the genitive tense) A Christian is a free lord, subject to none. A Christian is a

perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all ... We are justified (made right with God) by faith alone; salvation cannot be earned by good works. Good works follow from that faith. The tree bears fruit, the fruit does not bear the tree.

First came to public attention in 1517 with 95 theses, a reaction against Tetzel & indulgences

These focused on: papal exploitation of the German people, the Pope’s jurisdiction over purgatory, and problems with indulgences

In essence, there was nothing substantially new here. What was new was that the theses were printed and rapidly distributed, thereby having quick and widespread influence

These were: On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church; To the Christian nobility of the German nation; On the Freedom of a Christian

Together, these attacked the exclusive right of the Pope to interpret scripture, compared Rome to Babylon, argued for 2 sacraments instead of 7, and the priesthood of all believers

In the middle of the year, the Pope announced his intention to excommunicate Luther

Power play between Pope and Emperor Charles V

Excommunicated January 1521Summoned to Diet of Worms and went at great

risk (despite guarantee of safe conduct)Challenged on his teachings, he replied: Unless I

am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. According to tradition, Luther then said the famous words: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

Kidnapped by friends for his own safety, taken to Wartburg Castle. Karlstadt stirs controversy in his absence

Translates the Bible into German while in Wartburg. New Testament printed in 1522

1525 controversies with Erasmus over “going too far” and with Thomas Muntzer over peasant demands cf. Twelve Articles

Luther writes against the violence of the peasantsThe Peasants’ Revolt led to Luther being blamed by both

sides and inhibited the progress of the ReformationThe German Reformation became dependent on the rulers

The term “Protestant” originated in 1529 when the reformers protested against Catholic action at the Diet of Speyer

Luther published 9 hymnals between 1520s and 1540s

Luther marries Katherine von Bora in 1525, the same year the Battle of Frankenhausen sees 100,000 die

Religious warfare continued until the 1555 Peace of Augsburg: the religion of the ruler is the religion of the State

Surfaced in an early form as the Zwickau prophets, emphasising believer’s baptism and charismata; opposed by Luther

There are different varieties, but all were seen as radical in 16th century

One group arose from Zurich from Zwingli’s followers

In general, they opposed infant baptism, oaths, State compulsion over religious belief, warfare, and Christians holding civic office

They were the first to propose separating Church & State for 1,000+ years. Everyone else persecuted them

A French lawyer whose greatest work is The Institutes of the Christian Religion, alongside many commentaries

While studying law, experienced conversion and broke with the Roman Catholic Church

Was seen as heretical and moved to places of relative freedom, especially associated with Geneva

Like Luther, a magisterial reformer, i.e. comfortable with close Church-State ties

Was quite comfortable with executing heretics, e.g. Servetus

Grounded in God’s absolute sovereignty; God is ultimately in charge of everything, even evil serves his purposes. Cf. Acts 2:22-23; Acts 4:27-28

Therefore God chooses (elects) whom he will save: the initiative is his; the response is ours. Therefore salvation is predestined

While no-one can really say who is elect or not, the signs are participation in the sacraments, an upright moral life and public confession of faith

The elect can stand against earthly rulers

Error can be clearly perceived because it can be evaluated by scripture

Error needs to be corrected and kingdoms based on error should be opposed

Therefore Calvin’s thought empowered people to rise up against rulers perceived as ungodly; it encouraged social activism

This happened in the Netherlands, where they rebelled against their Spanish rulers

The Church was only subject to secular government in clearly secular matters, but had the job of guiding government on spiritual matters

Previous attempts to reform the Catholic Church, e.g. Conciliar Movement, Erasmus, etc. There were others in the early 1500s also

By 1540s, Roman Catholicism seemed endangered by Protestantism, then other forces came into play

Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540 placed heavy emphasis on education and missionary work. Took an oath of loyalty to the Pope, no matter what. “That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity with the Church herself, if she shall have defined anything to be black which appears to our eyes to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black.” [Spiritual Exercises]

One of the most important Councils of the ChurchMet in 3 sessions between 1545 and 1563,

considering Protestant doctrine. Protestants attended the 1st session

Aquinas made the “official” theologian of the ChurchAuthority based on scripture and traditionLatin Vulgate + OT apocrypha affirmedVernacular translations discouragedSalvation included faith and worksIndulgences would continue but improvedSeven sacraments retained

Bishops were directed to establish schools and seminaries

Jesuits took the initiative in this system and they remain prominent in Catholic education today

An Index of prohibited books was establishedThe Inquisition was reinvigoratedTrent was a reformation that changed

Catholicism and made it into a disciplined and modern institution.

It was now ready to confront Protestantism

In one sense, England had 2 Reformations: a politically-driven one under Henry VIII and a theological one in the next century

Wycliffe & Lollards were precursorsErasmus had been encouraged to his Greek New

Testament by John Colet of OxfordWilliam Tyndale was a student of Colet’s and

translated the Greek NT into English (printed in Germany in 1525)

Bishop Cuthbert opposed Tyndale by buying up and burning all the copies he could get, thereby financing the 2nd edition!

Tyndale was helped by merchants to distribute his illegal publication

Completed Pentateuch by 1530Revised the NT and completed Joshua to 2

Chronicles before being arrested and burnt at the stake in 1536 with the final prayer, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”

The complete Bible published the year after his death (finished by others)

4 years later, the King of England was authorising English Bibles

Married to his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, but wanted a son

Asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage so he could marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused but Archbishop Cranmer processed the divorce anyway

Furious, the Pope threatened Henry with excommunication, and Henry responded by drawing up the 1534 Act of Supremacy formally separating the English Church from the Pope

Although Cranmer was more of a Reformer, Henry was not

10 Articles of Faith drawn up, still including purgatory, prayers for the dead, etc

Henry sold the monasteriesAlthough there was a brief possibility of alliance

with Lutherans, it didn’t happenEngland stayed very Roman in its theology, with

transubstantiation, celibate priesthood, etc.England’s Reformation was enacted by

Parliament

Under Henry’s heirs: Edward, Mary and finally Elizabeth, England swerved between Catholicism & Protestantism

Elizabeth reigned from 1558-1603: a “Golden Age” during which a tone of moderate Protestantism was struck. It was the age of Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and Shakespeare

During Elizabeth’s long reign, Scotland became thoroughly Presbyterian and Reformed. Many English looked at this longingly, thinking Elizabeth too moderate. They wanted to “purify” the Church, hence the name Puritans

After Elizabeth’s death, James VI of Scotland became James I of England. Puritans rejoiced, thinking he would bring Presbyterian polity with him. However, James dislike Presbyterianism, thinking it undermined his monarchy

The Puritans presented the newly-arrived James with a petition of their requests. They were annoyed by things like: priestly robes, marriage rings, sport on Sunday, etc. They also wanted a new Bible. Only the latter was granted, for personal reasons. It became the King James Version of 1611

The frustrated Puritans were left with three choices: they could stay within the Church of England and lobby for change; leave and join dissenting groups; or leave the country. From the 1620s, many went to America

Charles I succeeded his father James. Firmly believed in divine right of Kings; drawn to Catholicism

Parliament was becoming increasingly Presbyterian. Civil war broke out in 1640s between King and Parliament (nearly 200,000 people died)

Parliament won, installing Oliver Cromwell as Protector of a Republic

Charles was executed: for the first time, people could conceive of a monarch being guilty of treason against the people (esp. inviting the Scots to invade England)

With the rise of the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church ceased to be an authority for many; the scriptural text replaced it

Protestant theology (esp. Calvinism) encouraged revolt against ungodly rulers. These rulers ceased to be authorities in their own right; the voice of the people replaced them

We can see here the link between Church and State operating in reverse, i.e. its dissolution

These factors were key factors in the rise of Modernity

Monarchs were no longer unchallengedKings could be guilty of treasonScripture was a new authority: privately read

and interpretedPopes and bishops could be defiedIndividuals had much greater powerTreaty of Westphalia ended the 30 Years’ War

with a grudging acceptance of religious plurality.

The Church-State alliance was effectively dead