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| Vatican City 2009 |
Say the word Reformation, and immediately many people have different ideas.
Images of burning pyres and running nuns as the Protestants led by Martin Luther fled the Catholic church immediately fill the minds of some of the ill-informed. Some history buffs may portray it as an historic reactionary movement against the corruption of the church. Others may say it was just an European power play against authority of Rome.
While the mentioned views are slightly true, they are mere caricatures of what the Reformation was. For us to fairly understand what the Reformation was, we must go back in time.
Note: Before I start, I must add I am not a professional theologian or historian (I am a biology student finishing his Masters course), so bear in mind whatever I write is not authoritative. That said, I have read roughly around the issue, and there is a list of recommended readings below.
Before the Reformation
Like most events that changed society, the Reformation (also known as the Protestant Reformation or Protestant Revolt) was not a knee-jerk reaction that began in 1517 when monk Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses, a list of objections to Roman Catholic practices. Dissent against the Pope had been brewing for years, and perhaps centuries.
The French Popes
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| Pope Clement V |
In the time of the Medieval Europe, all Christians looked to Rome as the Mother Church, and the Pope as the Father or Christ's representative on earth. (There was the Eastern Orthodox Church, which had broken ties with the Roman Catholic Church in the twelfth century, but for the sake of being concise, I will not mention them further).
In 1305, the Archbishop of Bordeaux was appointed Pope (Pope Clement V). Instead of relocating to Rome (as expected of Popes), he stayed in Avignon. This delighted the French king-- the residence of the Pope meant that God had shown his favour to France. Unsurprising, the next few Popes were French. Outside of France, the people were not as delighted-- the Pope was supposed to be the Bishop of Rome, the Mother Church. Had the Pope forgotten his duties?
In 1378, the people of Rome were fed up, and besieged the College of Cardinals. Naturally they elected an Italian Pope-- Pope Urban VI. However, Pope Urban VI's aggressiveness and arrogance led to many to voice their dissent (Pastor and Antrobus, 1906), and a new Pope Clement VII (aka Antipope Clement VII) was elected. This led to the division of the church now known as the Western Schism, where the kingdoms of Medieval Europe was divided in their papal alliances. For instance, France supported the French pope (Antipope Clement VII), while England would support another one.
A divided Europe was seen as a disaster for the church, so a new pope was elected (Antipope Alexander V). However, the two existing Popes would not go down easily, and eventually, a more determined council, the Council of Constance which met from 1414-1418 managed to get the two of the three Popes to resigned (Antipope Benedict XIII, who was Antipope Clement VII's successor, refused to step down).
Although the schism had ended, the people of Medieval Europe were genuinely confused. Who had more authority over the Church? Was it the Pope, who was Christ's representatives? Or the council, who elected the Pope?
To add to this problem, the next few Popes were of dubious reputations (eg: Pope Alexander VI had mistresses, while Pope Julius II had an aggressive foreign policy)-- it was a bad time for the Church to lose its respectability.
John Wycliff
Brought in the time of the Western Schism, an English priest named John Wycliff began to publicly identify with the Bible. He argued that the papacy was a human invention, and that the Bible had supreme spiritual authority. As he argued against several Roman Catholic practices and doctrines, he irked the English and drew the attention of Rome, and was forced to retire.
Still he commissioned preachers and started a secret project to translate the Bible (which was written in Latin) into English. At that time, sermons were only preached in Latin (and the general public did not understand them). After dying in 1384, the Council of Constance declared Wycliff a heretic and exhumed his remains.
However Wycliff's ideas and works were received eagerly by Jan Hus, the rector of the University of Prague. He began to critique the Pope and the Church on issues such as indulgences (paying a way into heaven) and the existence of purgatory. Summoned to Council of Constance to defend his views, he was instead imprisoned and eventually burnt for heresy (despite being promised safe passage).
This led to an armed revolt in Bohemia, where Hus was well-respected. A series of crusades were launched against the Hussites, but the Hussites held on. This allowed an independent church to be established. Hussites preachers were free from the control of the papacy.
Printing presses
In 1440, a scholar named Lorenzo Valla published his findings on the document Donation of Constantine. He challenged the claim that this fourth-century document detailing Emperor Constantine's handing over the lordship of the Western Roman Empire to the pope was actually written in the 700s. This was vital as that document was the basis in which the medieval popes asserted their authority over Europe. The implications were huge-- if such a key papal claim was forged, was anything else?
Inspired by Valla, Erasmus of Rotterdam published a Greek translation of the New Testament in 1516. Erasmus did not place the official Latin translation along side it, but used his Latin translation. Erasmus meant to bring a healthy reform to the church by drawing more attention to the Bible, and even had the Pope's blessing. However as with Valla, his works had big consequences for the future of Christianity. For instance, in Matthew 4:17, the official Latin version had 'do penance' while Erasmus had 'be penitent'. If Erasmus was right, it challenged a Roman Catholic belief of the external sacrament of penance. Again, if the theologians of Rome were reading the Bible wrong, what other beliefs were wrong?
But the seeds of the Reformation were just ready to sprout as the printing presses (developed by Johanns Gutenburg) became commercially available around 1450s. Now not only were these books printed faster and in greater numbers than ever before, the first book was Gutenburg's Latin Bible. It was time of the medieval world to be broken by the Word.
The History of the Reformation
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| Martin Luther |
Martin Luther
Born on 10th November 1483, Martin Luther was raised to be a lawyer. However, at the age of 21, Luther had a near-death experience and decided to become a monk. And a pious monk he was. Still, there were many things that troubled him as a monk-- he was constantly working to be right with God, and as a result was never really joyful. He was worried of his inattentiveness during sermons, his wandering eyes and poor singing. Worst of all, he wondered if he was truly repentant of his sins, or just trying to avoid damnation (Kittelson, 1986)?
Posted to be a teacher of theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1508, Luther came into conflict with Johann Tetzel, a monk who was selling indulgences. (Indulgences were remissions of sins). Luther argued that forgiveness was for God to give, and was horrified that Tetzel was raising money for the rebuilding of St Peter's basilica. As a result, Luther nailed his famous Ninety-five Theses to a church door on 1st November 1517 (All Saint's Day). Contrary to popular belief, it was not a call to reform, or even a Reformation manifesto. It was simply an academic challenge over the issue of indulgences.
Luther's challenge gained him many enemies, and Johann Eck (a theologian) famously accused of having more in common with heretics Wycliff and Hus as Luther placed the Bible as superior to the Pope. Such an accusation fertilised the seeds of the Reformation in Luther's mind-- if the Pope was always superior to God's word, then the church cannot be reformed by the Bible. This made Luther doubt the papacy more.
But it was not until 2 years later that Luther himself came up with ideas of reforming the church. For the first time Luther realised the good news that God gave His righteousness for sinners. The Christian life was not about moral perfection by the sinner's own effort, but accepting God's perfect divine righteousness.
Then Luther began to write-- not in Latin (only academics could understand Latin), but in ordinary German, so that commoners would understand it. He challenged the supremacy of the Pope (that only the Pope could interpret the Bible, only the Pope could reform the church etc) and the traditions (such as the sacraments) of the Roman Catholic Church. Most importantly, in his work On the Freedom of a Christian he asserted that faith was simply trusting in God's promises and that was all that was needed for salvation (justification by faith).
This provoked Rome, and he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X after refusing to recant his works. The Holy Roman Empire (not to be mistaken for Rome, or the Roman Empire) summoned him to a council in the town of Worms. At that event, now known as the Diet of Worms, Luther again refused to renounce his works, causing Emperor Charles V to declare Luther an outlaw, and banned anyone from providing him food and shelter.
Luther fled to Wittenberg, but he was kidnapped by unexpected allies en route. Elector Frederick the Wise had decided to place Luther under safe custody to protect him from the wrath of Rome and the Holy Roman Empire. Staying at Wartburg Castle, he translated Erasmus's New Testament into ordinary German (and arguably became the Father of Modern German).
Returning to Wittenberg after 10 months, Luther was careful in executing his reformist ideas. It could not just be simply doing everything opposite the Roman Catholic Church does. Some, inspired by Luther's defiance, started to destroy images of saints and eating on fast days. No, Luther was certain that if the Word of God was to be spread, it would be through preaching, and not by force. The Word of God itself would convince. He started congregational singing (before that only priest sang), trained preachers and even advised kings interested in the Reformation. He wrote catechisms (basic explanations of faith) and encouraged his congregation to memorise them.
The Reformation had begun. So essential was Luther to the Reformation that when he was thought dead after the Diet of Worms (he was kidnapped instead), the famed artist Albrecht Ducher wrote that if Luther was dead, "who will teach us the holy gospel so clearly?"
However, Luther was not the only person who initiated the Reformation. Almost independently, other Reformers had started their reforms at about the same time.
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| Battle of Kappel |
Ulrich Zwingli was born 1st January 1484 in a small alpine village called Wildhaus in Switzerland. One of Switzerland's key exports of that time were mercenaries, and Pope Julius II (who had an aggressive foreign policy) often sought the Swiss to provide the backbone for his armies.
At 22, Zwingli was a priest at Glarus, and decided to join the Pope's army as an army chaplain. At the Battle of Marignano, over 10, 000 Swiss died, shocking Zwingli from the glories of war and bloodshed. He realised he had misunderstood warfare and the Pope. If he was mistaken about that, what else was he wrong about?
Returning to Glarus, Zwingli realised all he had read was Bible commentaries and not the Bible itself. Buying a copy of Erasmus's translation of the New Testament, Zwingli made the revolutionary step of attempting to understand it. At that time, understanding the Bible required the Pope's guidance, and attempts to otherwise implied that the Pope was not God's appointed interpreter. After a near death experience (with a plague in 1519), Zwingli attributed his survival to God's mercy and decided to spend more time mediating on the Bible.
Unlike Luther, Zwingli had little problems with the papacy and continued to receive a papal pension (for his military service). He even accepted the appointment of Great Minister of his canon. However, as he began to preach directly from the Bible, demands for reform were made from Zurich. Yet Zwingli turned the people down-- he was concerned that any poorly executed reform would be a simple cosmetic, political change. No, he had to change people's hearts. Thus, Zwingli preached, instead of campaigning for change.
Not everyone in Zurich liked the changes. Rumours began to spread that Zwingli was a heretic, or at worst, the Antichrist. To clear matters, Zwingli wrote his 67 theses, but again unlike Luther who focused on the issue of indulgences, Zwingli critiqued the theology of church. He argued that Christ rules the church via His word rather than the Pope, and that at the cross, our redemption is complete (challenging the need for Mass). The first shot at Rome had been fired.
To combat Zwingli, a public debate was organised in 29th January 1523. The city hall of Zurich was packed to see the debate. Zwingli was no pushover-- not only did he bring copies of the Hebrew Old Testament, Greek New Testament and the Latin Bible, he was able cite passages in their original from memory. So prominent was his victory that the city council of Zurich ruled that only preaching that was biblical would be allowed in Zurich.
Soon, schools for Bible studying were set up and monasteries were closed down. Relics and images of saints were removed from the churches. Finally on Easter 1525, bread and wine were served in church instead of Mass. The preaching was given in Swiss German, rather than Latin. No longer receiving sacraments from Rome, the break from the Catholic church was complete, and the Reformation in Switzerland had begun.
In 11 October 1531, the Swiss Catholics fought the Protestants at the battle of Kappel in an attempt to convert Zurich back to Catholicism. Despite winning the battle and slaying Zwingli, the invading forces failed in their efforts to suppress the Swiss Reformation.
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| The cover page of the 1559 edition of Institutes of Christian Religion |
John Calvin
Although considered one of the leading reformist, John Calvin was very much unlike the provocative Luther or the brawny Zwingli. Calvin instead was often described as a "timid scholar". Born in 10 July 1509 in Noyon, France, Calvin was much younger than Luther or Zwingli too (they had just began their priesthood around then).
When he was 12, Calvin was dispatched to Paris to study theology, but his father decided there was better prospects in law, and moved Calvin (when he was 17) to Orleans to study law. Here Calvin learnt (and enjoyed) the world of the Renaissance humanism, where he appreciated the beauties of Greek and Roman classics. In his new social circle, he made friends that would changed his life. His cousin Pierre Robert translated the Bible into French, allowing easy access to the Bible for Calvin. Melchior Wolmar taught Calvin Greek, which was the language of which the Reformation works were in. Wolmar also lent Calvin some of Luther's works. And soon, Calvin (who rarely wrote about himself) began to experience a conversion. In his Commentary on the Book of Psalms, he wrote that "God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame". Ideas for reform had started in his mind.
Yet France was not ready. In 1528, a statue of the Virgin Mary was defaced, prompting the Pope plea with King Francis I to persecute the followers of Luther (even though Luther had condemn such behaviour in Wittenburg). In 1534, placard attacking the Mass were posted across France. One of the placards was even nailed to the king's bedchamber in Chateau d'Amboise. Soon, the word "reform" became closely related to sedition.
When the Rector of University of Paris, Nicholas Cop expressed Lutheran sympathies, attempts to arrest him were made (Cop escaped to Switzerland). Even Calvin was not spared. A warrant was made for him and his house was ransacked. Calvin was grieved-- while he agreed with the theology of the placards, he was strongly against the provocative defacing and the insensitive placard postings. These people were giving the Reformation a bad name, and Calvin joined Cop and his cousin Robert in Basel, Switzerland. There, Calvin wrote Institutes of Christian Religion, and dedicated it to King Francis I. Other than explaining that Lutherans were not dangerous heretics, Institutes also gave an introduction to the evangelical faith.
Business called Calvin back to France. As France and the Holy Roman Empire were at war at that time, he went South to Geneva. A city at the border of both nations, Geneva had allied itself with the Reformation-- it had driven out its bishops and ceased Mass. Guailluame Farel, the instigator of the Reformation in Geneva recruited Calvin to aid the reforms of the city in 1536.
Even though, Geneva was receptive to the Reformation, Calvin's and Farel's reforms proved too much for the city council (one of the preachers called the city council "drunk"), and when Calvin and Farel refused to use the old school wafer-style bread during Communion, they banned the duo from preaching. However, Calvin and Farel continued to preach, they were then banished from Geneva in 1538.
Calvin moved to Strasbourg, France as he originally intended. Again, he was recruited to aid the Reformation in Strasbourg, this time by Martin Bucer, the leading Reformist in Strasbourg. Unlike Geneva, Strasbourg was more established in its reforms, and Calvin found himself enjoying his time there, getting a glimpse on what a reformed church should be like. He even got married there.
But the Roman Catholic Church was not sitting on its hands. Upon hearing that Geneva had banished Calvin, Cardinal Sadoleto wrote a letter to the Genevans in 1539, urging them to return to the Roman Catholic Church. Sadoleto described the reformists as self-centred, trusting their own righteousness rather than the church. This was evident as the reformists had divided the church unnecessarily. Although still in exile, Calvin was asked to write a response to the cardinal's letter.
Calvin explained that the reformists sought to reform the church, rather than divide it. Such reforms sought to restore the ancient form of the church, more genuine than what the Roman Catholics had made up. While Soldoleto had trusted in the church, the reformists had trusted Christ Himself for their righteousness.
As the politics in Geneva changed, the Genevans wanted someone they respected back into the city-- Calvin. Persuaded by Bucer and Farel, Calvin reluctantly returned in 1541. During his first sermon, he was expected to critique Geneva's rulers for exiling him. However, he simply preached where he left off three years ago-- Calvin was determined to set personal methods aside and be a preacher of God's Word.
Calvin knew the the city council would be a problem for the new church-- while it had effectively replaced the Pope. It had control over the ongoings of the church. Hence, Calvin would propose his reformist policies as soon as possible while he was still welcomed. While some of his policies encouraged his preachers to care for the congregation, many were unhappy about some of his disciplinary suggestions (such as banning taverns). Anti-Calvin parties soon formed, and once again, Calvin was expected to be banished again.
In 1555, the unexpected happened. Anti-Calvin parties executed a coup on the newly elected city council. The Genevans rallied against the Anti-Calvin participants, and soon Calvin found himself in a city full of allies. With huge support behind him, Calvin launched an ambitious plan-- to let the world know about the Reformation. Already considered the leader of French Protestantism, Calvin turned Genevan into an centre for the global proclamation of the gospels. Not only did he dispatch missionaries to as far as South America, he also set up a theological college in Geneva in 1559. The world would now hear about the good news of the Bible, thanks to the Reformation.
The theology of the Reformation
While Erasmus wanted to merely clean out corruption in the church, and the radicals wanted to simply revolt against the old ways, Luther's experience with Romans 1 summed up the theology of the reformists-- justification (or being righteous before God) was an unmerited gift from God. Justification made the Reformation the Reformation.
Unlike the Roman Catholics, Calvin and Luther viewed works of love as the consequence of justification, rather than the cause of it. This distinction could not be clearer when the Council of Trent convened in 1545 to establish the Roman Catholic church's position on this issue.
Firstly, the Council of Trent rejected the Reformation idea of sola scriptura (the principle that the Bible alone had the highest authority), and equal regard should be given to the Bible (now to include the apocrypha) and the oral traditions of Jesus and his apostles. From there, the council defined justification to not only be the remission of sins, but the sanctification and renewal of the inner man.
In other words, the Reformers viewed that justification as the divine declaration that the sinner (while still a sinner) is given the righteousness of Christ, the Council of Trent treated justification as a process of becoming more holy and thus more worthy of salvation. In addition, the council also listed a string of statements defining heresy (eg: Canon 9 of the Council of Trent condemned anyone who said justification is by faith alone).
The Council of Trent also affirmed tradition Catholic beliefs such as sacraments and purgatory and made attempts to remove corruption from the church. Fresh orders of monks and nuns were set up (such as the Jesuits) and missionaries were dispatched. The Roman Catholic Church would thus experience a sense of renewal (known as the Counter Reformation)
Wait-- what's the difference?
Professor Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystorm (2005) argued that there was no significant difference in the theology of Roman Catholicism and evangelicalism. After all, to bicker whether we are saved by faith (as Rome argues) or by faith alone (as evangelicals believe) seems to be rather petty and uncharitable in this day and age.
In this sceptical era, we do not trust mere words-- language can be used as a tool for manipulation, and it seems to be far better to seek reconciliation by defining as little as possible.
That said, we must question ourselves-- are we seeking for peace, or truth? Defining something as major as justification has a major effect on our fates. Is salvation based on Christ righteousness, or is our own holiness needed also? Far more is at risk than just mere words.
Worst still, if we are unwilling to engage with deeper doctrines, we will always be doomed to be prisoners to spirit of the age. It was exactly what Luther accused Erasmus of doing -- choosing to ignore truth for the sake of peace. Hence any change effected by Erasmus's views would have been purely cosmetic.
Conclusion-- rediscovery, not reinterpretation
Although some may portray the Reformation as simply another reinterpretation of the Bible, one must remember that the Reformation involved interpretation after rediscovery of the original texts, and was an effort to increase the accessibility of people to Scripture (via translations and distributions). Contrast that with what was happening in Turkey, where Islamic scholars are attempting to update their interpretations of the Koran to be more relevant today.
In other words, the Reformation was not about progress, as in progressing away from the gospels, but regress, in which the Reformers wanted to unearth the old Christianity that had been buried under years of human tradition.
Yet the Reformation is not over. After all, the Reformation is not simply a historical reaction, but a programme to get closer to the Bible. And this programme is needed more than ever. In Western societies, we see many are cultural Christians-- while they enjoy Christian music and art, their hearts are not transformed by Jesus. In South America, we see Christianity mixed with traditional superstition.
In this age, we are also bombarded with the message that in order to be loved, we must make ourselves more attractive. It may not be God-related, but it is still works-related. A culture of self-esteem and positive-thinking has supposedly replaced the issue of justification, making the message of the Reformation seemingly less relevant for us today. But ignoring the issue of justification succumbs to the old problems of guilt and self-blame that Luther faced before.
Yet the message the Reformers worked so hard for the future generations provide a solution for the goal-orientated, results-driven world today -- we sinners are attractive because we are loved; not loved because we are attractive. And if we don't get that, we lie in the danger of having the Bible, but no gospel.
So let's try to rediscovery the gospel today.
References
Kittelson, J. (1986) Luther the Reformer
Noll, M., Nystorm, C. (2005) Is the Reformation over?
Pastor, L., Antrobus, F.I. (1906) The History of Popes
Recommended readings
Bainton, R. (1950) Here I Stand: A life of Martin Luther
Parker, T.H.L. (2006) John Calvin: A Biography
Potter, G.R. (1976) Zwingli
Reeves, M. (2009) The Unquenchable Flame
Recommended sites
Wikipedia
does a great job of summarising the event in the historical perspective, but is OK in theological impliactions. I find it unnecessary lengthy in some parts also. Still, a great primer!
TheologyNetwork
a fantastic selection of articles on the Reformation, catering to those with limited understanding of the issue to those who read widely around it.
CatholicEncyclopedia
a look at the Reformation from the side of the Catholics. While it does a commenable job of covering what happened before and after the Reformation, it failed to mention how the Reformation resulted due to the increasein accessiblity of the Bible to the common folk. It doesn't really represent John Calvin well (eg: he did not start Calvinism; but rather Calvinism was a development of the ideas of Calvin's followers to counter the views of Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius).
Postscript
There was much more I wanted to write about such as additional details about Luther (such as his conversations with Eramus and Zwingli), Zwingli (like the account of his fall at Kappel) and Calvin, the Reformation in UK and Italy and how the Catholics attempted to curb corruption in their own church. Maybe next time I'll write more about the after effects of the Reformation, such as the Counter-Reformation and Jesuits.
