I was intrigued by Dr. Conway’s question in class about the Reformation in light of Humanism. Dr. Ivanonva replied that Humanism and the Reformation had the common link of the emphasis on ancient texts, which would, in this case, be the Bible. I wondered if there were any other connections, so I read up on it a bit.
I found that even though the foundations of Humanism and the Reformation are incompatible, some aspects of the Humanist Movement equipped the Reformationists. Erasmus, a humanist, noted that the early Christians relied on direct study of the Bible. In Luther’s day, the reading of the Scriptures was controlled by the Church. It was very difficult for the average person to have access to the Bible. An important aspect of Humanism that affected the Reformation was that learning should be available to everyone. Its application advocated that manuscripts of all types be translated and put in the hands of the people. To the Reformationists, this meant the access to the Bible, and the power to interpret it firsthand instead of relying on the dogma of the Church.
I think another inspiration from the Humanists may have been to give people the push they needed to question the norm and to act on their convictions. By hearing the Humanism praise of the virtues of man, Luther may have been reminded that he was “gloriously and wondrously made” and had the courage to go ahead and nail the 95 Theses on the door. His was one protest that would never be forgotten.
Here are some interesting websites I read on this subject:
http://www.edwardtbabinski.us/sheldon/humanism.html
http://atheism.about.com/od/abouthumanism/a/reformation.htm
The Humanists clearly opened the doors for Enlightenment thinkers. I agree that one of their best contributions was making the classics and other literature available to the common people. That was surely the beginning of creating an educated populace, and surely laid the foundation for future democratic governments which rely on an informed public in order to be successful.
Thanks for the links. I will check them out.
The revival of Greek also allowed Bible scholars to study the Greek manuscripts of the Bible which preceeded the Latin Vulgate in an attempt to arrive at the most original form of the Biblical text.
Definitively, the movement has some influence on Luther’s decision. However, Luther practices a theistic humanism. Luther’s concern was to learn what God has to say to mankind about life in the world He has made. Therefore, he decided to return to the original texts to discover the truth for himself and for others. His humanism view is completely different from modern humanism which seeks a new other within mankind without God.
I think it is funny and ironic that the Christian right today fights humanistic thinking in schools etc. but do they realize that this type of thinking was what initiated the reformation? I am not saying that one is better than the other……today’s humanistic thinking is the “downfall of the USA” is far from the humanistic contribution to that very Bible they use….of course, I am talking about the only Bible…the King James version of course my horse