Over the course of his life, Erasmus established himself as one of the most impactful Christian humanists of his time. His writings challenged many of the traditions and beliefs established by the medieval church. In his work, The Handbook for the Militant Christian, one of the topics Erasmus discusses is the importance of Classical texts. According to him, “a sensible reading of the pagan poets and philosophers is a good preparation for the Christian life” (Erasmus, 36). He believed that the Classical authors taught the reader how to think well and speak well, which in turn helped them to behave well. Erasmus greatly admired the writings of pagan philosophers, particularly the work of Plato. At one point, he refers to Plato as being “divinely inspired” (Erasmus, 44). Erasmus believed that along with prayer, knowledge was one of the greatest weapons had against the enemy. To him, “Knowledge, or learning, fortifies the mind with salutary precepts and keeps virtue ever before us” (Erasmus, 35). Unlike the leaders of the medieval church, who did think that individuals should read the Bible, fearing that they would interpret it incorrectly, Erasmus encouraged his readers to read the works of pagan authors so that they could better understand Scripture. Plato’s works …show more content…
were written as dialogues, presenting multiple sides to each discussion. This taught the readers how to reason; they were forced to look at issues from multiple angles and how to fully support their beliefs. In addition to better understanding the Bible, Erasmus believed that learning to think well led to speaking well.
He believed that the pagan philosophers and poets treated knowledge and revelation with elegance and charm. Those who do not study these works, like the medieval theologians, spoke like logicians, and “[strangled] the beauty of revelation,” (Erasmus, 63). These Pagan works were read by the Fathers of the church, such as St. Augustine, and Erasmus believed that, along with their content, the Father’s style was far superior to that of the medieval scholars. Therefore, Erasmus believed that it was beneficial to study the works of Pagan authors, as they taught their readers to communicate
well. Furthermore, Erasmus believed that if a person thought well and spoke well, they would behave well. To him, a critical part of being a Christian meant imitating Christ and behaving ethically. That did not mean following the ceremonies established by the medieval church, but imitating the actions of Christ from the Bible. Reading the works of the pagan authors allowed people to better understand the Scriptures, which in turn taught them how to behave well. Additionally, Erasmus found that the Pagan writers were themselves “very good teachers of ethics” (Erasmus, 36). Reading their works not only allowed a people to learn from Scripture but also encouraged Christ-like behavior on their own. Erasmus believed that the medieval church was far too focused on external ceremonies, and distracted people from a faith centered on Christ and the Bible. He believed that reading Pagan philosophers and poets would enable people to return to the faith as was established by the Fathers of the Church. After reading the works of pagan authors, a person would be able to understand the Scriptures, be able to speak about the elegance of revelation and ultimately be able to act upon this knowledge as an ethical, Christ-like individual.
Everyone has aspirations; whether they are ginormous or microscopic, they hold a great deal of importance in our lives. They become so important that with adherence and diligence, a person has the ability to set their mind to anything. It is absolutely true that when a person tries to reach a goal, they are going to experience a few obstacles here and there; this is the time when they must step it up a notch and fight their way to the top. In this particular book, a man named Desiderius Erasmus must fight to keep the worldwide body of Christians united as Catholicism attempts to tear the people apart, limb-by-limb.
The Essentials Erasmus. New York: The new American Library Publisher, 1964 Internet. Plato (circa 428-C.-347 B.C) Plato Page. http://www.connect.net/ron/plato.html.
Overall, Peter Abelard, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Dante and the Chartres Cathedral all showed a world that placed faith and reason at the center of man’s search of the truth. Their ideas and contributions helped synthesized and reintroduced classical thought to the philosophical and religious aspects of the middle age. They all portrayed that the universe is the reason of God’s existence and that through God and his will there is truth.
Peter Abelard was one of the new thinkers that applied scholasticism to his theological aspects. According to the excerpt "Scholastic thinkers assumed that some teachings of Christianity, which thy accepted as true by faith, could also be demonstrated to be true by reason" (238). Peter Abelard's famous literary work was Sic et Non (Yes or No). He collected a list of about 150 philosophical and theological questions. He then produced quotations from the Fathers [Church] on one side, and on the other side their contradictory statements. From this work he used rational argument to discover truth. He believed that through reason, man could gain a greater knowledge of God. His greatest achievement was dialect, he created a new method of logical analysis. "Although he never intended to challenge the Christian Faith, Abelard raised, with critical scrutiny, fears that the dialectical approach would undermine faith and foster heresy"(238). His goal was to simplify theological works to logical analysis. A Cistercian monk, later known as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, opposed Abelard's logical views. Because of St. Bernard, Abelard was forced to quit his teachings, shortly after he died in 1142. Ideally, Abelard wanted prospective thinkers to search for the underlying truth about Catholicism....
The relationship between Peter Abelard and Heloise failed to be established with strong bonds between the young couple, allowing lust to be the sole, capricious foundation of the relationship. Peter Abelard was a 12th century philosopher who after beginning to lecture on the Scriptures began to gain more notoriety throughout France and much of Europe. This newfound fame soon developed into conceit, Abelard thinking himself “the only philosopher in the world” (Historia Calamitatum 9). This attitude gave way to a lifestyle of flesh, prostitutes, and inability to focus on philosophy. Peter Abelard met Heloise, a young woman with great promise of being a student, while traveling through Paris (9). Rather than establishing a relationship based on a strong foundation, Abelard bases his interest on Heloise through more extraneous factors; Abelard bases ...
Perry, Marvin, Peden, Joseph, and Von Laue, Theodore, eds. “Medieval Learning: Synthesis of Reason and Christian Faith.” Sources of the Western Tradition. 5th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003. 239.
The next step in the progression seems to be Beowulf, drawing from mythologies and various pagan sources but still containing a strong Christian backing. Though this work was merely twenty years after the pious Catholic works aforementioned, it seems to be a noticeable step toward English paganism.
Averroes begins by analyzing the Book of God in order to prove that philosophy, or intellect, is a vital aspect of religion, and that it is necessary for complete comprehension of the Law. “Since it has now been established that the Law has rendered obligatory the study of beings by the intellect…therefore we are under an obligation to carry on our study of beings by intellectual reasoning”(165). He goes on to instruct that intellect should be collected by means of gathering all previous knowledge of its kind since one person cannot discover everything about one particular subject. Of course, not all people will interpret text the same way, and some might even make wrongful interpretations by accident. When this happens, the original texts from which the interpretations come from should not be prohibited because more competent individuals will come along that will be able to infer the proper meanings to pass on to the people.
Erasmus demonstrates the value of humor by making fun of insignificant issues and teaching us how to laugh at ourselves. “Jokes of this kind . . . which aren’t lacking in learning and wit” (4) help us put the less significant aspects of life in perspective. They also aim to moderate the level of his criticism making it more constructive than insulting. For it is “the ridiculous rather than the squalid” (7) to which his humor applies. He reserves a more serious voice for more serious wrongdoing. We see this parallel between humor and subject clearly as Erasmus progresses from constructive criticism of insignificant folly to harsh indictment of religious pretension and most of all in his solemn praise of Christian folly.
...ch are the wisdom of God that seems foolishness to men. He referred to Paul's teachings of the folly of the Gospel, asserting that "the Christian religion has a kind of kinship with folly in some form, though it has none at all with wisdom" (128). If "by stoic definition wisdom means nothing else but being ruled by reason; and folly, by contrast, is being swayed by the dictates of the passions" (29), then the central teaching of Christianity, love for God and one's neighbor, was truly akin to folly, for love is a passion. This love, along with compassion, sacrifice, and the other doctrines of Christian foolishness, was what Erasmus sought to defend in his criticism of a society corrupted in the service of Mammon rather than God.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.
The renaissance allowed for many of the people to begin to find their own interests. Most people in Europe developed love for art, architecture and a desire to expand their vocabulary. This can be observed by one of the famous history painters, “Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) a renaissance artist whose work was mainly religious but inhabited his own creative skills (Viault, 27)”. The Catholic Church popes and other authoritarians despised the idea that people were not fully focusing on God but rather on secular activities. However, to the renaissance artists and writers, this new skills gave them an insight of what it is like to see God in their life. Their ability to read in other formal languages broadened their mindset. At the start of the renaissance, most people did not condemn the popes nor did the feel like they were above the teachings of the church. This shows that the renaissance writers and artists were submissive to the church despite their new
Some of the best-known writers that explore religious writings are Augustine and Dante. Augustine's Confessions is a spiritual autobiography. Augustine talks directly to God and he includes a constant sense of awe at the grace and mercy of God. (Norton, 1004) "…Since all good things are from You, O God, and from God is all my health… let Your truth assure me… Thy gift who hast mercy on whom Thou wilt and wilt have compassion on whom Thou wilt" (Norton, 1005, 1008, 1031) Augustine's writings are a clear example of the common literature of this time. This form of literature carried on into what became known as the High Middle Ages, where Dante was prominent. Dante's writings are another example of religious writings. His work b...
In the Northern European Renaissance lived a scholar by the name of Erasmus. Erasmus was particularly concerned with the corruption going on within the Church. Since he was so intrigued by the abuses of the church, he decided to write an essay titled, “In Praise of Folly”. In this essay, Erasmus describes many different hypocritical actions and thoughts played out by the church. One of these included looking for guidance and intersession through statues, relics, specific prayers, idols, and saints. Erasmus did not this was necessary because it was only distraction someone from finding Jesus. One of the things the church did that Erasmus thought was hypocritical was being a part of Holy Orders. Erasmus saw this at hypocritical because though you were supposed to be humbled and help others, being a part of this typically only made one more self-absorbed. Most of the people in Holy Orders got consumed in the power and wealth received from being in this position, and forgot why they became a part of Holy Orders in the first place. Another issue Erasmus saw within the church had to do with the Pope. The Pope was supposed to be the leader of the church and a complete representation of Christ, yet the Pope was holding huge parties and spending ample amounts of money. Erasmus believed the church needed to reevaluate what it was doing and use the Spirit as guidance and defense instead...
Renaissance humanists shared a common philosophical core. Humanists were characterized by their interest in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and philosophy from the fifteenth century onward. The most mainstream humanist goal was the perfection of classical Latin in the art of persuasive speaking and writing as well as grammar. With this, an ideal humanist educators aimed for was that of Latin being like a native tongue to the student. Going on, passages were interpreted by Renaissance humanists with the belief that the work was a product of a living man who was part of a particular time period, whose opinions and views were connected to their biographies and histories. With all this in mind, the Renaissance humanist used the literary and historical context of a piece to interpret it. Moreover, the movement is often characterized by a widely supported interpretation of the humanist movement during t...