This post is a continuation of a series on Phyllis Tickle's book, The Great Emergence. If you are new to the series, you can read the introduction
here. I've linked to a lot of wikipedia articles in this post. This is not because I think you've never heard about Luther or Copernicus or because I'm trying to suddenly cite observations. I spent some time reading up on this time period while I was writing this post and I kept finding more and more interesting events and connections. You should really check out some of the articles and see what jumps out and where those wandering mouse clicks lead you. You never know where you'll end up on wikipedia!
If asked what started the Great Reformation, probably a lot of us would point to
Martin Luther and his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517. This event is certainly a turning point, but Luther was only responding to pressures that had been building for almost a century and a half. This next section will focus on some of the key contributing factors of the Reformation, the most recent "rummage sale", and also examine some of the results. It obviously isn't a full list, but will hopefully give you a better understanding of just how significant the impact of the Reformation was.
Phyllis Tickle points back to
1378, when two Popes were simultaneously elected- one from France and the other from Italy. Europe was just coming out of the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance. Nations as we think of them didn't exist- the land was split into little city-states ruled by merchants or feudal lords. The Black Plague had just killed close to one-third of Europe's population. At this time, the single unifying voice throughout all of Europe was the Pope. In fact, the Church, through the voice of the Pope, was considered the ultimate authority on all matters of Christianity. So who is the authority if there are two popes?
Another significant blow to the Christian status quo was dealt by a clergyman (and after hours astronomer) named
Copernicus. To us it is absurd to think of a flat earth topped by layers of crystal domes (to hold the sky, clouds, moon, sun, and stars, of course), at the very center of the universe. But in the 16th century, this construct was commonplace, and more importantly, fully backed by the Church and (supposedly) the Bible. It was considered heresy to believe that the earth wasn't the center of all things, with heaven right above and hell just beneath. Copernicus seemed to understand the conflict his discoveries would cause, and he hesitated in publishing his writings until just before his death. But once his findings reached the public, it wasn't too long before people were left questioning the accuracy of the teachings of the Church and the Holy Scripture. If they are wrong about the structure of the universe, what else are they wrong about?
I'm sure we've all heard about the many abuses that lead the Reformers to challenge the Roman Catholic Church, so I won't spend time on that. The important thing is to understand just how devastating the Papal civil war was to the general worldview of western Europeans. For centuries Europe had trusted that the voice of the Pope was the voice of God, and suddenly that faith was cracked. How can God have two conflicting voices? How can the church fathers and leaders have been wrong about fundamental structure of nature? Where now is the authority? The question of authority is precisely what the Reformers set out to solve, and their answer should surprise none of us: Scripture, and Scripture alone. Luther believed that the Bible should have the final say, not the Church, and that the only way to prevent corruption in the future would be if everyone could read the Bible for themselves. He translated the Bible into the vernacular and placed great emphasis on the priesthood of all believers. Previously literacy was considered a luxury for the wealthy or clergy- now it was a necessity for all.
Of course, it would have been impossible to even dream of each person reading the Bible on their own without the
Gutenberg Press, which made mass production of books possible for the first time in world history. This phenomenal breakthrough (which Time-Life magazine named the greatest invention of the millennium) occurred in 1450, only 33 years before Luther's birth. Tickle also points out that without the printing press, Luther's 95 Theses could never have circulated throughout Germany and on to the rest of Europe within two months. For the first time, ideas were able to be shared quickly throughout the western world. The growth in literacy, the ability to share ideas, and the understanding that individuals have intrinsic value eventually led to the birth of modern science, the Industrial Revolution, and the Enlightenment. We'll spend more time looking at those events later, but for now just recognize that they are intimately connected to the changes caused during the time of the Reformation.
As a side note, I thought I should mention that this time in history featured a resurgence in Christian-Muslim tension throughout Europe- almost 300 years after the Crusades. The Moors were pushed out of Spain just before Luther's birth, the Ottomans occupied the southern rim of the Mediterranean Sea, and Muslims conquered Hungary by 1524. They would eventually strike as far as Vienna before being pushed back. It appears that the most common Christian response was once again aggression, war, and hatred. I don't have any more thoughts about this now, but I can't help but notice the trend and think of it as significant for today.
This upheaval and unrest in political, social, and religious spheres lead to a restructuring of all areas of life. Driven by fear of invaders and the beginnings of industry, the scattered populace began to gather in cities. Nations rose to bring order to the new structure. Gone were the days of knights with swords fighting for a lord. In there place rose armies with guns, fighting for their king. Industry began to take power away from hereditary bloodlines, placing it instead in the hands of those who could make enough money to buy it. A new middle class rose to fill take advantage of this new opportunity, since a man could control his own destiny with good ideas and hard work. Capitalism was born. And to go along with all this, a new social religion, one which gave value to individuals and their ability to read God's authority on their own, flourished.
