Ambassador College
Church History
Lecture 21
The Reformation Period
I. World prepares for religious reform.
A. Gutenberg’s Bible -1450.
1. People now educated in theology and philosophy.
2. Printing press developed.
B. Britain developing into a world power (c.1588).
1. Break from Catholicism.
2. Protestant movement now able to exist.
3. Within these groups exist members of the true church.
4. Discovery of the New World; colonization.
II. Major Reformers of the Reformation Period.
A. John Wycliff (1320-1384).
1. Reformer within confines of the church for a while.
Walker writes in his book about the Protestant reformation:
"Wyclif attacked the mendicant friars, the system of monasticism, and
eventually opposed the authority of the pope in England. He also wrote against the doctrine of transubstantiation
and advocated a more simple church service according to the New Testament pattern. He taught that the scriptures
are the only law of the church. Yet, he did not utterly reject the papacy, but only what he regarded as its abuse."
P.299
2. Translated the Bible into English.
Fisher writes in The Reformation:
“The greatest service which he did the English people was his translation
of the Bible, and his open defense of their right to read the Scriptures in their own tongue." P. 274
3. Foremost scholar at Oxford.
4. Believed in commandment keeping.
Neander writes in General History of the Christian Religion:
"Wycliff clearly perceived the need to restore obedience to the Ten
Commandments. He never employed the characteristic devices of the later reformers in evading this apostolic doctrine.
The learned historian, Neander, describes this frank approach. He states that one of Wyclif's first works as a
reformer 'was a detailed expositions of the Ten Commandments in which he contrasted the immoral life prevalent
among all ranks, in his time, with what these commandments require...and that it was his design to counteract a
tendency which showed greater concern for the opinions of men than the law of God. But at the same time we cannot
fail to perceive an inclination to adopt in whole the Old Testament form of the law, which shows itself in his
applying the law of the Sabbath to the Christian observance of Sunday.'" P.200
B. John Huss (1373-1415).
1. Student at Prague.
2. Studied works of Wycliffe.
3. Tried to reform within Catholic church.
Fisher states:
"When he was appointed to investigate some of the alleged miracles of
the church he ended up pronouncing them spurious and told his followers to quit looking of signs and wonders and
to search the scriptures instead. At last, 'his impassioned condemnation of the iniquitous sale of indulgences
called down upon him the papal excommunication." P.275
4. Condemned to be burned at the stake at the Council
of Constance in 1415.
Hurbut explains in The Story of the Christian Church:
"...unfortunately, he later agreed to appear before the Council of Constance
after having received a pledge of save conduct from the emperor. He defended his teachings as in accord with scripture,
but he was condemned by the council and delivered over to the civil power for execution. This method was always
used so as to preserve the ‘innocence' of the Roman church in such matters. The emperor's safe conduct pledge was
broken upon the Catholic principle that 'faith was not to be kept with heretics.' The cruel sentence passed upon
Huss was that he was to be burned at the stake." P.143
5. Laid the foundation for Sabbatarians.
C. *Martin Luther
1. General Information:
a. Thought to be third greatest
man ever to live, ranked with Christ and Paul
b. Several experiences helped
shape Luther’s thinking
1).
In his childhood he experienced severe discipline by authority figures
The Book Here I Stand says:
"...a recent work by Roland Bainton: 'Luther is reported to have said
-- My mother caned me for stealing a nut, until the blood came. Such strict discipline drove me to the monastery,
although she meant it well.... My father once whipped me so that I ran away and felt ugly toward him until he was
at pains to win me back. (At school) I was caned in a single morning fifteen times for nothing at all. I was required
to decline and conjugate and hadn't learned my lesson.'" P. 17
2.
Luther was very moody
Bainton writes in Here I Stand:
"There is just one respect in which Luther appears to have been different
from other youths of his time, namely in that he was extraordinarily sensitive and subject to recurrent periods
of exaltation and depression of spirit. This oscillation of mood plagued him throughout his life. He testified
that it began in his youth and that the depressions had been acute in the six months prior to his entry into the
monastery." P.20
3. Roman Catholic doctrine mad him feel a strong sense
of guilt
Bainton continues:
"The explanation lies rather in the tensions which medieval religion
deliberately induced, playing alternately upon fear and hope. Hell was stoked not because men lived in perpetual
dread, but precisely because they did not, and in order to instill enough fear to drive them to the sacraments
of the Church. If they were petrified with terror, purgatory was introduced by way of mitigation as an intermediate
place where those not bad enough for hell nor good enough for heaven might make further expiation." P.21
4. He and his companions were struck by lightening, and
only Luther survived--he decided to be a priest
c. Entered prominent university,
received doctorate in Theology
1).
His studies and religious exercises failed to give him grace
2).
Became disillusioned with the clergy of the church in Rome
A History of the Reformation relates:
"D'Aubigne relates 'One day when he was officiating he found that the
priests at an adjoining altar had already repeated seven masses before he had finished one. 'Quick, quick!' cried
one of them, 'send our Lady back her Son,' making an impious allusion to the transubstantiation of the bread into
the body and blood of Jesus Christ. At another time Luther had only just reached the Gospel, when the priest at
his side had already terminated the mass. 'Passa, passa!' cried the latter to him, 'make haste! Have it done at
once.' His astonishment was still greater, when he found in the DIGNITARIES OF THE PAPACY what he had already observed
in the inferior clergy. He had hoped better things of them.' Returning home, he pondered over the scenes of the
pious pilgrims in Rome seeking salvation through various endeavors. And he shuddered as he recalled the frivolity,
the moral wretchedness, and the lack of real spiritual knowledge in that city--supposedly 'the capital of Christendom.'
(History of the Reformation, p. 68)"
c. Tacked his 95 theses on the
door of the church
d. (c.1529) was excommunicated;
German nobility supported him and protested the catholic decision to excommunicate him; granted Luther sanctuary
e. Translated the Bible into
German
f. He set the pace for the
reformation
g. More nearly catholic than
any other reformer
2. Doctrines he developed;
a. Kingdom of God not a literal
return
1)
Referred to as chiliasm
2)
1,000 year reign had occurred in the church
3)
Christ's return would be to do away with the anti-christ
b.
Book of Revelation, and I, II, & III John considered not as inspired as the rest of the scriptures, Jude should
end the Bible
Walker comments:
"Few services greater than this translation have ever been rendered
to the development of the religious life of a nation. Nor, with all his deference to the Word of God, was Luther
without his own canons of criticism. These were the relative clearness with which his interpretation of the work
of Christ and the method of salvation by faith is taught. Judged by these standards, he felt that Hebrews, James,
Jude, and Revelation were of inferior worth. Even in Scripture itself there were differences in value." (Walker,
p. 349)
c. Wrestled with Catholic doctrines
1)
Infant baptism, idols, trinitarianism
2)
Concluded with catholic doctrines
d. Acknowledged Catholic church
as the church of God
Hausser quotes Luther:
"Luther said, 'if I am convicted of error, I shall willingly retract
it, and not weaken the power and glory of the holy Roman Church.' We notice that Luther still regarded the Roman
church as 'holy.'" P.22
Alzog's Universal History continues:
"As late as March 3, 1519, Luther wrote the Pope: 'Now, Most Holy Father,
I protest before God and his creatures that it has never been my purpose, nor is it now, to do ought that might
weaken or overthrow the authority of the Roman Church or that of your Holiness; nay, more, I confess that the power
of this church is above all things; that nothing in heaven or on earth is to be set before it. Jesus alone, the
Lord of all, excepted." (Alzog's Universal History p. 195)
1) Believed
he was not separate, but was reforming it
2)
Referred to his church as the 'church of God' several times
e. Major doctrine: Law vs.
Grace
1)
Salvation by faith not by works only, what you do has no bearing
Fisher continues:
"Fisher relates Luther's feeling: 'Through the Gospel that righteousness
is revealed which avails before God -- by which He, out of grace and mere compassion, justifies us through faith.
'Here I felt at once,' he says, 'that I was wholly born again and that I had entered through open doors into Paradise
itself. That passage of Paul was truly to me the gate of Paradise.' He saw that Christ is not come as a lawgiver,
but as a Savior; that love, not wrath or justice, is the motive in his mission and work; that the forgiveness of
sins through Him is a free gift; that the relationship of the soul to Him, and through Him to the Father, which
is expressed by the term faith, the responsive act of the soul to the divine mercy, is all that is required. This
method of reconciliation is without the works of the law.' (The Reformation, p. 91)"
Bainton shows that Luther hater God as lawgiver:
“He wrote: 'I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans and
nothing stood in the way but that one expression, the justice of God, because I took it to mean that justice whereby
God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood
before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore
I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and
had a great yearning to know what he meant.' (Bainton, p. 49)"
2) Jas
2:21-24 justified by works; Luther he wrote the book; called it an "epistle of straw"
3)
Rom 3:20 added word "alone" to German text; not present in original Greek
f. Reasoning for infant baptism:
1)
Baptize children into the faith of the church
2)
Philosophy, if a child can believe, they can believe because infant baptism is right and valid
g. On predestination: God
pre-determined who would be saved
D. Zwingli (1484-1581)
1. Same time period as Martin Luther.
2. No credit for any reformation movement; though
he paved the way for Calvinism.
3. Was a humanist:
a. Concerned for the welfare
of others
b. Humanism, a common leftist
movement on the catholic church
c. In 1525 published a commentary
on true and false religion
d. Once others left Catholic
fold doctrinal views began to differ
From R.C. Meredith's Protestant Reformation:
"'Although in most points he held the ordinary Protestant views, he
differed from them in the doctrine of the Sacrament, as will hereafter be explained. He held to predestination
as a philosophical tenet, but taught that Christ has redeemed the entire race. He considered original sin a disorder
rather than a state involving guilt. He believed that the sages of antiquity were illuminated by the Divine Spirit,
and in his catalogue of saints he placed Socrates, Seneca, the Catos, and even Hercules,' (The History of the Christian
Church, by Fisher, p. 308)"
2. Other Protestants agreed with this
R.C. Meredith continues:
"Of course, many Protestant writers acclaim Zwingli for his 'broad'
views on the heathen speculators. Hastie lauds Zwingli's view: 'With a breadth of thought and feeling rare in his
age, he recognized a divine inspiration in the thoughts and lives of the nobler spirits of antiquity, such as Socrates,
Plato and Seneca, and hoped even to meet with them in heaven' (Hastie, The Theology of the Reformed Church, p.
184)."
3. Transubstantiation became a source of contention and
debate between Zwingli and Luther
4. Both declared the other not Christian over this
controversy
Walker tells us:
"Luther declared Zwingli and his supporters to be no Christians, while
Zwingli affirmed that Luther was worse than the Roman champion, Eck. Zwingli's views, however, met the approval
not only of German-speaking Switzerland but of much of southwestern Germany. The Roman party rejoiced at this evident
division of the Evangelical forces' (Walker, p. 364)"
E. Calvin (1509-1564)
1. Second in reformation movement after Luther.
2. Developed in Switzerland.
3. Protestant religion formed; made into state religion;
completely separate from RCC
a. Wrote 1st systematic presentation
of Christmas doctrine in reformation
b. His work entitled Institutes
of the Christian Religion
4. Became no better than catholic predecessors.
5. His personality:
a. Extremely harsh, and severe
person
b. Aesthetic in nature
c. Ruthless methods
d. Became more dictatorial
than any catholic pope
1. He stressed that men are to forsake all pleasure
in this life
2. As a result he punished people severely, for even
trivial things
Schaff's History of the Christian Church Vol. VIII 490-492 Shows examples
of Calvin's theocracy:
"Let us give a summary of the most striking cases of discipline. Several
women, among them the wife of Ami Perrin, the captain-general, were imprisoned for dancing. Bonivard, the hero
of political liberty, and a friend of Calvin, was cited before the Consistory because he had played at dice with
Clement Marot, the poet, for a quart of wine. A man was banished from the city for three months because, on hearing
an ass bray, he said jestingly: 'he prays a beautiful psalm.' A young man was punished because he gave his bride
a book on housekeeping with the remark: 'This is the best Psalter.' A lady of Ferrar was expelled from the city
for expressing sympathy with the Libertines, and abusing Calvin and the Consistory. Three men who had laughed during
the sermon were imprisoned for three days. Another had to do public penance for neglecting to commune on Whitsunday.
Three children were punished because they remained outside of the church during the sermon to eat cake...A person
named Chapuis was imprisoned for four days because he persisted in calling his child Claude (a Roman Catholic saint)
instead of Abraham, as the minister wished, and saying that he would sooner keep his son unbaptized for fifteen
years. Bolsec, Gentilis, and Castellio were expelled from the Republic for heretical opinions. Men and women were
burnt for witchcraft. Gruet was beheaded for sedition and atheism. Serverus was burnt for heresy and blasphemy.
The last is the most flagrant case which, more that all others combined, has exposed the name of Calvin to abuse
and execration; but it should be remembered that he wished to substitute the milder punishment of the sword for
the stake, and in this point at least he was in advance of the public opinion and usual practice of his age' (Schaff,
History of the Christian Church, vol. VIII, p. 490--4920."
"The official acts of the Council from 1541 to 1559
exhibit a dark chapter of fines, imprisonments, and executions. During the ravages of the pestilence in 1545 more
than twenty men and women burnt were burnt alive for witchcraft, and a wicked conspiracy to spread the horrible
disease. From 1542 to 1546 fifty-eight judgments of death and seventy-six decrees of banishments were passed. During
the years 1558 and 1559 the cases of various punishments for all sorts of offences amounted to four hundred and
fourteen -- a very large proportion for a population of 20,000' (Schaff, p. 492)"
6. Five points of Calvinism:
a. Man totally depraved
b. Unconditional predestination
c. Redemption granted to the
elect
d. Grace irresistible
e. Once saved, always saved
Walker explains Calvin’s view:
"'Man's highest knowledge, Calvin taught, is that of God and of himself.
Enough comes by nature to leave man without excuse, but adequate knowledge is given only in the Scriptures, which
the witness of the Spirit in the heart of the believing reader attests as the very voice of God. The Scriptures
teach that God is good, and the source of all goodness everywhere. Obedience to God's will is man's primary duty.
As originally created, man was good and capable of obeying God's will, but he lost goodness and power alike in
Adam's fall, and is now, of himself, absolutely incapable of goodness. Hence no work of man's can have any merit,
and all men are in a state of ruin meriting only damnation. From this helpless and hopeless condition some men
are undeservedly rescued through the work of Christ. Since all good is of God, and man is unable to initiate or
resist his conversion, it follows that the reason some are saved and others are lost is the divine choice-- election
and reprobation. For a reason for that choice beyond the will of God it is absurd to inquire, since God's will
is an ultimate fact' (Walker, pp.392-394)."
Calvin explains his views about predestination:
“In the section on predestination in his 'Institutes of the Christian Religion,'
Calvin dogmatically states: 'No one who wishes to be thought religious dares outright to deny predestination, by
which God chooses some for the hope of life, and condemns others to eternal death.... By predestination we mean
the eternal decree of God, by which he has decided in his own mind what he wishes to happen in the case of each
individual. For all men are not created on an equal footing, but for some eternal life is pre- ordained, for others
eternal damnation...' (Bettenson, Documents, p. 302)."
F. John Knox (1514-1572).
1. A Calvinist in Scotland.
2. Established Scottish branch of Protestant reformation.
G. John Wesley (1703-1791).
1. Founded Methodist church in England.
2. Took major hold in U.S.
H. John Huss:
1. Attempted reform, but remained within confines
of the Catholic Church.
2. No indication he was part of the true church.
3. Located in Czechoslovakia, then known as Transylvania.
4. Put strong emphasis on the Ten Commandments.
5. Made it possible for other groups to exist - Sabbatarians.