History of the Church

Part II

Re-Cap of Part I: Forces that Weakened the Catholic Church’s

Stronghold in Europe

• Crusades – “Holy Wars” not so holy• Great Schism – Bitterness between East/West• Inquisition – Only True Believers Club• The Plague – Death Comes to Everyone• Great Western Schism – Will the real Pope

please stand up?

And some other factors. . .

• Rise in Nationalism – Don’t tell us what to do!

• Selling of Indulgences – Pay your way to Heaven?

• Popular Preachers • Reformers within the Church – Jean

Gerson, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa• Humanists – Thomas More, John

Fisher, John Colet, Erasmus• Protesting Men who went public

with their grievances. . .

Protestant Reformation: Many voices want Reform!

Martin Luther - Germany

• From priest (Augustinian Monk) to Protestor

• Sin really bothered him• Felt like a “dung hill”• Only grace could redeem• Indulgence selling REALLY

bothered him!• Faith or Good Works?• Justification by Faith Alone

Tetzel – Indulgences for Sale]

Dominican Friar sent to Germany to raise money to re-build St. Peter’s

"As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory [also attested as 'into heaven'] springs.“

Luther hated this! Wrote a long letter to the Bishop

Sampling of Luther’s Main Gripes : Became the “Ninety-five Theses”

• FAITH ALONE SAVES, Not good works• Forgiveness comes only from God, not from the

church (granting indulgences)• Church “happens” wherever and whenever the

Gospel is proclaimed purely• No Need for Pope/Hierarchy – Authority comes

from Scripture, not Clergy• No Need for sacraments except Baptism and

Eucharist

Luther – Wittenburg Castle – Posted The 95 Theses and He was Done!

Excommunication – 1521 – Pope Leo Xat Diet of Worms, Germany

Guttenberg’s Revolutionary Invention: The Printing Press

LUTHER’S VICTORIES

• Used the printing press to circulate his 95 Theses – everyone in Germany had them

• translated the Bible into German, printed, into the hands of anyone who wanted it

• Wrote a catechism, composed hymns, created liturgies and spirited theological writings

• Many priests/nuns left the monasteries and convents to follow him

• Ideas embraced quickly throughout Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia

Luther’s Opponents• Argued with Luther : Are we

dung hills or are we divine? • Humanists like Erasmus were

adamant that FREE WILL is the greatest of human gifts

• Stayed faithful to the church and worked to reform from within

• Condemned Luther for throwing out Sacred Tradition

• Not even the reformers could agree!

Erasmus

Meanwhile. . . Huldrych Zwingli – Switzerland – Luther Didn’t Go Far Enough

Zwingli’s Main Gripes – Luther Plus More

• Fasting during Lent – Hated It!• Statues and Images – Hated Them!• Religious Music and Art – Hated them!• Sacraments, mass, Eucharist – Hated

Them!• Hierarchy – Really Hated it!

Meanwhile. . .John Calvin – France/Switzerland. . .continued the split

Calvin’s Main Gripes & Ideas ~ Luther plus a little Zwingli and More

• “Sola Scriptura” - Scripture is the ONE and ONLY authority (NOT the Pope)

• Unity of Church realized through representative assemblies (individuals canNOT be trusted!)

• Though there are titles, there is NO hierarchy

• People have the right to choose their own leaders• Church is SUPREME over the State

More Calvinistic Ideas. . .• Wrote “Institutes of Christian Religion” - the first

written down theology of the new thought

• NEW DOCTRINE: PREDESTINATION – LOVED IT!

• Thriftiness, cleanliness, prosperity – Loved them! Signs of God’s presence and blessing

• Capitalism, individualism, democracy – Loved it!

• Influenced Puritanism, Presbyterianism, Reformed Churches and MANY churches in America

And then there wasKing Henry VIII - England

Henry’s Main Gripes and Actions:

• Wanted an annulment from his wife, Catherine of Aragon – Pope hated it! Excommunication for his marriage to Anne Boleyn

• Act of Supremacy – 1534 – Parliament declared him head of the Church

• Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury• Ruled Henry’s marriage to Catherine invalid and

their child, Mary, not an heir to the throne• Separation from Church -NOT DOCTRINAL THIS

TIME! But Church and State are ONE AGAIN

Further Splintering: Radical Ecclesiology of the Left Wing

• Evangelicalism: Restore the First Century Church and make it separate from the world!

• Spiritualists – Spirit alone constitutes; no need for Scripture, structures, voluntary community

• Anabaptists – rebaptism into early church; no organization, no infant baptism, highly moralistic, pacifistic, nonviolent;

• Unitarians - Some denied Trinity

Counter Reformation: Council of Trent1545-63 (A long Process)

• Called by Pope Paul II – Reactionary?• Re-fined the Catholic position on sacraments, clergy, Scripture,

doctrine of faith and grace, salvation• Established a seminary system• Reformed the Liturgy into a “Grand Spectacle;” No Laity involvement• Revised the Latin “Vulgate” version of the Bible• Reinforced hierarchy • At the Heart: Society of Jesus (Jesuits)• Emphasized Devotions and Practices (ex: Veneration of the saints,

Marian devotions, Eucharistic Adoration)

Reforms Shaped the Church for 400 years!

Ignatius of Loyola – Society of Jesus(the Jesuits) began the Missionary

Movement All Over the World

Influence of The Enlightenment: A Superfluous Church?

IN EUROPE 1789 • Rene Descartes, Immanuel

Kant, Diderot, Voltaire. Rousseau

FRENCH REVOLUTION’s 3-Point Agenda: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity

• Freed Church from feudalism

• Destroyed monasteries, churches, art

IN AMERICA: 1770’sBen Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,

Thomas Paine, other Founding FathersAMERICAN REVOLUTION

• Individualism, Freedom of thought, action, pursuit of happiness

• Separation of Church and State

• Anti-Catholicism in the colonies

Influence of Science and Philosophy on Religion

Complexity• Galileo and Copernicus

declared heretics!• Science “debunks” what

was being taught as Truth• No more superstition!• Rise in Secularization –

people identified more with society than church

Polarization• The Missionary

Movement – religion or culture?

• Individualism and Democratic ideas counter to Church hierarchy

• Education and Modernism Push Back

American Catholicism: The Carroll Brothers: John and Charles

• Charles a patriot –signed the Dec. of Ind.

• John the first Bishop of Baltimore

• Desired to make the American church more democratic – denied!

• Helped establish the church’s legitimacy

The Modern Church of 19th Century

19th Century Influences• Democratic Ideas of

Freedom of Speech, Press, due process, etc.

• Papal States stripped• Question: What is the

role of the church in society?

First Vatican Council 1869 or: It’s All About the Pope!

Papal Primacy (apostolic succession, vicarship, ministry)

Papal Infallibility –immunity from error on matters of faith and morals; “ex-cathedra”

Down with Modernism! 20th Century Developments

• Influence of modern thinking about nature of Truth

• Some Catholics wanted reform! Modern church needs modern ways

• Ideas were condemned by Pope Pius X (1907)• Upheld the foundations of the faith in all

matters – DOGMA DOES NOT CHANGE!• (Later. . .but our understanding of it does)

Pre-Vatican II ( 1940’s – 60’s)• A Great Divide – Protestants and Catholics did NOT

dialogue• Catholics still in the “fortress mentality,” defending the

faith like soldiers of Christ• Era of “Pay, Pray, Obey!” Formula Catholics

• Laity NOT involved. . .only Clergy• Is the Church irrelevant? Left Behind? Superstitious?• New Theology Emerges ecumenically: Dietrich

Bonhoeffer, Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeecks, Heri de Lubac, Hans Kung, etc.

• And then, most importantly:

Pope John XXIII – 1958-1963

Second Vatican Council: 1962-63• Called to “renew the Church” – “A New

Pentecost”• Diplomats, Press, Non-Catholics, ecumenical

observers and Women were all invited to be there• Church re-defined from the inside out (twin

documents: Lumen Gentium and Gaudiem et Spec• Church called “people of God” as sacrament and

servant• Televised; First council to have electricity!

Vatican II Summary Chart

Pre-Vatican II Ecclesiology• Church as institution

• Church as hierarchy

• Mission: word and sacrament

• Church as absolute monarchy

• TriumphalismChurch = Kingdom

Vatican II Ecclesiology• Church as mystery/sacrament

• Church as People of God

• Mission: word, sacrament, servant

• Church as a communion• Church as ecumenical

community

• Church as eschatological community

The Church of the Future:Where will we be in 2020 and beyond?

Pondering the Future! Driving Forces• Growing number of people with no

religious affiliation• More people who are “spiritual” but

not “religious”• Declining Participation in Churches• Increasing Diversity and Pluralism• Influence of Individualism• Changing Structures of Family Life• Declining Social Influence of Church• Increasing Impact of Internet and

Social Media

Church of the Millennium

• Great Values Shift (See handout)• What are your values?• When you die, what do you want to leave as a

legacy? What will be said of the time you had here on earth?

Jesus Said:

“I will be with you until the end of

time. . .”

Special Event: Interfaith Story of Courage and Compassion

San Francisco Bay Area Author and Speaker Marty Brounstein

will speak and sign his book:

Two Among the Righteous Few: A Story of Courage in the Holocaust.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in Knight Hall

ALL ARE WELCOME!