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HISTORY of Christian Theology

Early Reformers and Pre-Modern Thinkers

Four years after Thomas Aquinas died, the bishop of Paris published The Condemnation of 1277, listing 219 philosophical and theological theses that he claimed were heretical. He threatened to excommunicate anyone who read or listened to them.
This drastic pronouncement was made to dampen intellectuals’ enthusiasm for Greek philosophical ideas that had been reintroduced to the West. The bishop wanted to emphasize the omnipotence of God and the supremacy of revealed religion over rationality.

Aristotle, painting by RembrandtThis injunction was a drastic move in a broader debate between the Franciscan order, which followed Augustine, and the Dominican order that followed Aquinas and Aristotle. Augustine understood that our minds were always active and illuminated by God’s divine light. The West, however, became reacquainted with Aristotle through the Muslim scholars, who stressed the sovereignty of God. To them, our minds were passive and acted upon by outside influences. This perspective informed Aquinas’s teaching that we each have an agent intellect that perceives outside stimuli through our senses. Augustinian scholars found it increasingly difficult to defend their belief in an active mind against the concept of a passive mind in which knowledge comes from the outside and is created by the action of this divine light. The Franciscan tradition began to abandon Augustine’s illumination theory in favor of Aquinas’s approach, stressing the sovereignty of God.1

Duns Scotus

Franciscan Monk, Duns Scot

This new attitude is reflected in the writings of the Franciscan monk, John Duns Scotus (1256/66–1308). He claimed that God had ultimate power, except that He could not contradict Himself or self-evident moral truths. Everything else, including creation, was the sole prerogative of God. But Scotus maintained that humans had free will. Unlike the Dominicans who stressed reason and intelligence, Franciscans emphasized free will and love of God. Scotus disagreed with the Dominican Thomas Aquinas who taught that human will was a product of the intellect which sought fulfillment through a natural appetite for truth (“intellectual appetite”). Scotus argued that we have free will to decide what is right and not just what will make us happy. Otherwise, humans are not free, and sin becomes a matter of faulty reasoning or ignorance, not a deliberate choice with eternal consequences.2 Scotus made a major contribution to the debate regarding free will and the sovereignty of God that continues to this day.

Occam's Razor

William Occam (1285–1347) taught two revolutionary ideas that are hard for people to understand and appreciate today. This is because most individuals do not understand how medieval people thought, so they cannot grasp the issues that are being addressed. It is like explaining breathing to fish. We exist in two radically different worlds. In the Middle Ages, people understood life and the universe based on Aristotle’s harmonious geocentric system that integrated the natural world, ethics, and the purpose of existence into one comprehensive arrangement based on a metaphysical realm that was more real than our physical world. Indeed, this temporal existence was an imperfect reflection of this alternative reality. Philosophers refer to this concept as realism and idealism because people believed the idea of the metaphysical world was real. Aristotle’s unified vision of existence made perfect sense to observations to the naked eye. It had been the accepted understanding of reality for two thousand years, so every institute had built up bulwarks to strengthen it. It was so entrenched than any suggestion of something that did not fit into this worldview seemed ridiculous. But Occam challenged this system with two radical ideas: the principle of ontological parsimony more commonly known as Occam’s Razor, and the even more groundbreaking concept called nominalism.

Occam took exception with Aristotle’s list of ten irreducible categories that he used to organize the world. Occam believed reason only called for two, substance and quality. Substance was something that had independent existence, while quality was any characteristic of the substance. But he also recognized that we needed a third category of relationship, otherwise we could not explain the theological concepts of the Trinity, the incarnation and the Eucharist. Occam’s razor which cut off Aristotle’s other entrenched categories, and destabilized the medieval synthesis of faith and reason. Without these categories tying faith and reason together, the medieval worldview began to unravel. Occam’s metaphorical razor has expanded in modern times to apply to any extraneous idea that can’t stand on its own.

Occam’s concept of nominalism had an even greater effect. Up to this time, Western thought as based on the reality of Plato’s and Aristotle’s concepts of universal forms. Even though many people think that Occam’s rejection of universal metaphysical entities was a biproduct of his razor, he simply thought that the idea of realism was nonsensical. Instead of referring to the existence of some universal horse, circle or chair in a metaphysical realm, Occam asserted that we are really just giving names to these universal concepts, hence the term, nominalism (derived from the word name). This was the very first dramatic challenge to Aristotle’s harmonious system and was the first step toward modern thought.

Occam’s razor and nominalism derailed the medieval project attempting to combine faith and reason. It destroyed the millennia-old Platonist, Christian tradition of a world of forms in the mind of God. Classical Christianity based on intellectual vision (seeing God with the mind’s eye and the agent intellect) began to fall out of favor. The need for revelation to understand God became apparent. The importance of the revelation of God recorded in scripture increased, along with a growing emphasis on God’s sovereignty. Thus began the modern critique of classical theism. Indeed, many people point to this divestiture of the certainty of universal entities in the intelligible realm (alternative universe that exists in your or God’s mind) as the conception of modernity with its skepticism.3

John Wycliffe

The most influential early reformer was John Wycliffe (1328–1384). He was born in England where he became a brilliant scholastic philosopher, revered priest, and respected professor at Oxford. His clear, no-nonsense teachings resonated with the laity. He developed strong relationships with powerful members of Parliament and the nobility, who protected him from the pope, the local bishop, and the archbishop of Canterbury.

Almost all the controversial issues he pioneered were adopted by Protestants two hundred years later. This included his attacks on the legitimacy of the papacy, transubstantiation of the Eucharist, monasticism, the veneration of saints, the selling of indulgences, the sacrament of penance, requiem masses, and the wealth and corruption of the Church. He held that the Bible was the only authority to resolve doctrinal disputes, and as a follower of Augustinian theology, his teachings strongly leaned toward predestination. All of these issues became core precepts of Protestantism.

Wycliffe first got into trouble with the Pope in 1377 when he wrote that the Church had fallen into sin and should divest itself of its property and that the clergy should live in poverty. He wrote this soon after the black death had devastated the clergy throughout England because the priests who filled the vacuum were woefully untrained and corrupt. He also wrote treatises arguing against the pope and the clergy’s role in temporal matters. This came at a time when the legitimacy of the papacy was damaged by the Avignon papacy and a resurgence of royal power throughout Europe. Pope Gregory XI sent a bull (public decree) condemning Wycliffe’s writings. He was called to appear before the Bishop of London to defend himself. However, after a crowd of vocal supporters gathered and a powerful noble defender made a veiled threat that the state would divest the Church of its property, the proceeding ended. This pattern of public and noble support enabled Wycliffe to remain relatively independent during his lifetime.

After his death, he was declared a heretic and his body was exhumed and burned. The Council of Constance declared that all Wycliffe’s writings were to be burned, but most of them escaped this fate, including the Bible he helped translate into English. His devoted followers went underground but remained active for two hundred years, until they embraced Protestantism when it arrived in England. This underground movement became known as the Lollards. In the meantime, Wycliffe’s writings had spread widely and caught the attention of a Czech theologian, Jan Hus.

Jan Hus

Johannes Huss also known as Jan Hus and John Hus ( 1369–1415), picked up the torch of reform Wycliffe had lit and defiantly carried it in the region encompassing modern Czechoslovakia, until he was burned at the stake for heresy.

Hus was born to a peasant family in a small rural town in Bohemia. At age ten he was sent to a monastery. When he was older, his teachers recommended that he move to Prague to study, and he was eventually admitted to the University of Prague. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, began teaching in 1398, and soon thereafter was ordained to the priesthood, becoming a dean and rector at the university.

Hus became familiar with Wycliffe’s writings and openly defended most of them. This was a period of rampant immorality and corruption among the clergy, which Hus publicly denounced. He also took exception to the doctrine of transubstantiation of the Eucharist and the practice of the laity only partaking of the host and not the wine. He opposed the Roman Catholic position that the body of the Church consisted of the clergy and more specifically, the cardinals, instead of also including the laity. This new Catholic perspective began when the process of having cardinals select popes was implemented. Hus believed that the body of God’s Church consisted of all the Christians whom God had predestined to go to heaven, and that no clerical position, including that of pope, ensured that any individual was part of that divine body.

At this time, the papacy was divided among three competing popes: Benedict XIII in Avignon, Gregory XII in Rome, and Alexander V, who had been selected pope in 1409 by the Council of Pisa in an effort to end the schism. Not surprisingly, neither Gregory nor Benedict submitted. The dispute was later resolve at the Council of Constance (1414–1418), which declared all of them anti-popes and elected an entirely new pope.

Prior to the Council of Pisa, the Bohemian king Wenceslaus IV ordered neutrality, but transferred his allegiance to Alexander V when the Council declared its 1409 decision. Hus and his followers followed suit. Regardless of this support, Alexander issued a bull condemning Wycliffe’s writings. Hus appealed the decision and was excommunicated, but the decision was largely ignored by the Church and the king in Bohemia. Alexander V died in 1410 and was succeeded by John XXIII. John authorized the sale of indulgences to fund his crusade against the antipope Gregory. Hus vigorously preached against the validity of these indulgences, proclaiming that sins were not forgiven by the payment of money.

Hus’s teachings were widely accepted throughout Bohemia. Even the king supported Hus instead of Pope John XXIII and the archbishop. When John put all of Prague under an interdict, Hus left the city for the countryside and declared that Jesus Christ was the one and only head of the Church, thus he appealed directly to Christ. After further political wranglings, a new council was convened in the city of Constance to address the papal schism, among other issues.

Once the Council of Constance had assembled, they requested that Hus attend to present his views regarding the papal schism and dissension within the Church. At first, he refused to attend, but he later consented when he was promised safe passage. When he arrived, he was unjustly arrested and ordered to recant his views. On multiple occasions, he said that he would only recant if the council could convince him of his error with scripture. Shortly before his execution, he fell to his knees and softly prayed that God would forgive his executioners. He was burned at the stake for heresy on July 6, 1415, and his ashes were dumped into the river to avoid the possibility of his followers venerating his remains.

Jan Hus, execution

The leaders and populace of Bohemia were outraged by Hus’s death and rejected every attempt to install a Catholic ruler, even after popes issued a total of four crusades against them. After repeatedly being defeated by Hus’s followers, the Catholic Church finally agreed to end the Hussite wars in 1436 with the Basel Compacts, which allowed Bohemia to continue to practice their Hussite version of Christianity. A century later when Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation, approximately 90 percent of the residents of Czechoslovakia were still following Hus’s reformed Christianity.4

The fire Hus lit in the hearts of the Czechoslovakian people could not be extinguished and remains to this day. Indeed, Hus’s influence on modern Protestantism cannot be overemphasized. Martin Luther said he was a Hussite. Hus’s followers became known as the Moravians, who inspired John Wesley and the evangelical movement. Mainline liberal Protestant theology also has roots that go back to the Moravians.

Erasmus and Northern Humanism

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536), who is also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was the face of northern Christian humanism at the time Martin Luther came on the scene. Erasmus was a Catholic priest who embraced the Renaissance’s new humanistic approach of discovering the original meaning of scriptures and of the writings of the early Christian fathers. He traveled to Italy where he was trained by Petrarch, the founder of the humanist movement. He brought this training back to northern Europe, where this movement spread rapidly.

As previously mentioned, the essence of this approach was to return to the original sources to ascertain their true meaning. This required examining the earliest versions available in Hebrew, Greek and early Latin and not relying on Jerome’s Vulgate translation of the Bible into Latin. For example, the Vulgate Bible, which the Church used, translated Matthew 3:2 (in which John the Baptist was preaching about repentance) to read “Do Penance,” but a more accurate translation was “Be turned to me.” The meaning was quite different. Jerome’s translation referred to a specific Catholic sacrament while the original message denoted a change of heart and the soul returning to God. Thus, one of the goals of Christian humanism was to translate the Bible into the vernacular languages of the people so they could hear and understand the actual words and meaning of scripture.5

The humanists felt that the Church and society at large needed a revival to create a moral, educated and engaged citizenry. They were dismayed by the abysmal ignorance of the laity and appalled by the avarice and immorality of the clergy which they believed undermined the legitimacy of the Church. Humanists felt that the key to reform the Church and society was education. They had an optimistic view of human nature derived from early Greek philosophical teachings, which held that human fulfillment was realized through rational thinking.

The humanists held a long-term view and believed they could transform an immoral, superstitious populace into a devout, productive community through their consistent efforts to educate them in the word of God. Instead of total human depravity brought on by original sin, Erasmus and the other humanists ascribed to a

Platonist view of man as a rational soul struggling to transcend the baser nature of his body, and doing so by turning to Christ as the exemplar of all virtue. . . .” What will seem unattainable at the outset will become more accessible as you approach it, easy when you use it, and delightful, when you get accustomed to it.” There’s a real sense of the confidence in human capacities for self-improvement; of Christianity as a gradual process, the incremental growth in the practice of virtue and the love of neighbor.6

Erasmus’s confidence that human nature would be converted through this long arduous path contrasted greatly with the Protestant reformers’ pessimistic view of human nature and their message of free grace that burst on the scene in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed a list of ninety-five theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany.

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The revival of Wycliffe’s ideas, many believe, was ignited by receptive Bohemian students who were introduced to the reformer’s works at Oxford University and became so moved by his thoughts that they felt it absolutely imperative to spread the good word in their own kingdoms. Questioning Christians quietly perused compilations of Wycliffe’s books and were, at the very least, intrigued by the nonconformist’s opinions.
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Despite the growing tensions between Wycliffe and the Catholic Church, he was invited to partake in a religious committee that aimed to find solutions for the apparent failings of the institution in 1374, but progress was slow, impeded by the corruption of the priests who readily accepted bribes and immoral incentives. Wycliffe, on the contrary, was equipped with a cast-iron will and refused to cave in to temptation. His strength of character earned him the approbation of the Duke and members of Parliament. The same could not be said about his fellow clergymen.
Wycliffe’s relentless criticism of the Church only continued to escalate, and eventually he was summoned to London and charged with the unforgivable crime of heresy. To the dismay of his detractors, the hearing was anything but black and white, and heated verbal exchanges soon spiraled into physical altercations. This resulted in a temporary deadlock that was broken only three months later when Pope Gregory XI published five papal bulls that unequivocally banned all of Wycliffe’s teachings and found the heretic, dubbed the “master of errors,” guilty of 18 counts of heresy. The end, it appeared, was nigh, but Wycliffe remained unfazed, declaring, “I profess and claim to be by the grace of God a sound…Christian and while there is breath in my body, I will speak forth and defend the law of it.” Wycliffe told the archbishop at Lambeth Palace, “I am ready to defend my convictions even unto death…I have followed the Sacred Scripture and the holy doctors.”
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The New York Times bestseller and definitive history of Christianity for our time—from the award-winning author of The Reformation and Silence. A product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill, Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity goes back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and encompasses the globe. It captures the major turning points in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox history and fills in often neglected accounts of conversion and confrontation in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. MacCulloch introduces us to monks and crusaders, heretics and reformers, popes and abolitionists, and discover Christianity's essential role in shaping human history and the intimate lives of men and women. And he uncovers the roots of the faith that galvanized America, charting the surprising beliefs of the founding fathers, the rise of the Evangelical movement and of Pentecostalism, and the recent crises within the Catholic Church. Bursting with original insights and a great pleasure to read, this monumental religious history will not soon be surpassed.

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The Story of the Christian Church

The Story of the Christian Church

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

No institution has spanned more centuries and more continents than the Christian church. Its dramatic story is one of bloodshed and peace, corruption and purity. Here Dr. Hurlbut retells this story in an objective, concise, and clear style, emphasizing the spirit of the church, its growth and maturation, and the causes leading to historic events and their resulting influence. Accurate, up-to-date, and vividly presented, Hurlbut's Story of the Christian Church traces the six general periods of church history from A.D. 30 to the present day. A concluding section, covering the period since Dr. Hurlbut's death, has been added in this revised edition, thus giving the reader a complete, easily understood overview of the Christian church. Designed for two audiences, this book contains outlines and references in the margins to aid the student or teacher along with a continuous narrative and numerous illustrations for the general reader. It is ideal for Sunday school use, since it includes suggested outlines and review questions for each chapter at the end of the book.

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The Story of Christianity, Vol 2

The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2: The Reformation to the Present Day

by Justo L. Gonzalez

From Justo L. Gonzalez, author of the acclaimed three-volume History of Christian Thought, The Story of Christianity Volume II: The Reformation to the Present Day is the fully revised and updated second volume of The Story of Christianity. Gonzalez’s astute scholarship, lucid prose, and impassioned focus tell the narrative history of Christianity, beginning with the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century and leading all the way up to present day.

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History of the Christian Church, 8 volumes

History Of The Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes In One)

by Philip Schaff

A monumental work tracing the development of Christianity from its inception to the modern era. Spanning eight volumes condensed into one comprehensive edition, Schaff meticulously examines the growth of Christian doctrine, the evolution of church institutions, and the profound impact of key figures and events on global religious history. Through detailed scholarship and engaging narrative, Schaff provides readers with a thorough understanding of Christianity's journey through the centuries, making this work an essential resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike.

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The Lessons of History

The Lessons of History

by Will and Ariel Durant

A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research from Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Will and Ariel Durant. With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durants reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

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1 Phillip Cary, Religion and Philosophy in the West, (The Teaching Company), Lecture 15.

2 Thomas Williams, Reason & Faith: Philosophy in the Middle Ages, (The Teaching Company, 2007), Lecture 22.

3 Williams, Reason & Faith, Lecture 22; see also Cary, Religion and Philosophy in the West, Lecture 15.

4 William R. Cook, The Lives of Great Christians, (The Teaching Company, 2007), Lecture 15.

5 Brad S. Gregory, The History of Christianity in the Reformation Era, (The Teaching Company, 2001), Lecture 6; see also Andrew C. Fix, The Renaissance, Reformation and the Rise of Nations, (The Teaching Company, 2009), Lectures 4, 5 & 15.

6 Brad S. Gregory, The History of Christianity in the Reformation Era, (The Teaching Company, 2001), Lecture 6.

IMAGES:

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, Rembrandt (1563), Metropolitan Museum of Art, [PD-old-100]

The Franciscan Giovanni Duns Scotus in his cell, by Giacomo Favretto (1872), [PD-old-100]

Burning of Jan Hus at the Council of Constance 1415. , Color picture postcard., Muttich, Kamil Vladislav, Abt 1920, [PD-US]

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