The Protestant Reformation partook so much of past and future theology that it may best be viewed as a transition between the medieval and modern periods in church history. As such, it was a significant break with the past. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Reformation’s break with the past was its emphasis upon the Scriptures as the sole source of authority and rule of faith in the believer’s life. This was a radical departure from the medieval attitude that tradition, as well as the Scriptures, as interpreted and promulgated by the Roman Catholic hierarchy is the rule of life. Although the early Reformation leaders did not fully appreciate or apply the implications of their principles, the effect of their movement was to unfetter man’s mind and allow him to think for himself. No longer was it enough for man to simply obey what he was told God’s word said; he had to understand God’s word for himself. No longer was his faith to be in a hierarchy of men but in Jesus Christ and His written revelation of Himself.
The consequences of this new attitude were immediately evident in the proliferation of sects within Protestantism. Not realizing that freedom to interpret and follow the Scriptures involved religious freedom, early Reformation leaders worked almost as hard to suppress what they considered heretical sects as the Catholic Church had worked to suppress them. They failed to see that the only weapon given to Christians for the eradication of error is the word of God (Acts 17:2,3; II Cor. 10:3,4; Eph. 6:17).
The Term Paper on Concept Of God One Life Man
Zarathustra by Me Published 1895 translation by Gerardo Published 1999 PREFACE This book belongs to the most rare of men. Perhaps not one of them is yet alive. It is possible that they may be among those who understand my "Zarathustra": how could I confound myself with those who are now sprouting ears? -- First the day after tomorrow must come for me. Some men are born posthumously.The conditions ...
In any event, they had opened the door, and slowly but surely the idea and practice of religious freedom spread and in its wake increasing realization of the truth.
The broadening of man’s horizons in science, philosophy, and geography also influenced, and was influenced by, Reformation thinking. With men’s advances in exploration came an awareness of other cultures which Europeans had to fit into God’s scheme for men. Likewise, scientific discoveries opened men’s eyes to the fact that natural law ruled the workings of nature. Natural phenomena occurred because they were dictated by natural law. They were predictable, to a degree. Nature seemed to be edging God off his throne. A remarkable instance of men’s reaction to new and threatening scientific discoveries was Galileo’s enforced abjuration of his heliocentric theory. Medieval thought had tied man’s importance to the belief that the earth was the center of the universe.
New scientific discoveries not only enhanced man’s comfort in life but also his appreciation of human potential and reason. It was becoming increasingly evident that it was to man’s benefit to reason and understand. With this realization came the need to determine the proper place of human reasoning in man’s life. The philosophies of the early post-Reformation period dealt with this issue—how to relate and balance faith and reason. Gone was the blind, unquestioning faith of the medieval period. Men were now free to doubt and deny. Those who believed in Christ and His claims found themselves increasingly shifting to a defensive stance and trying to accommodate human reason.
II. Deism
Perhaps the strongest and most prominent attack upon orthodox religion from the philosophical community of this period was Deism. Deism took a variety of forms, some moderate and some extreme. Most Deists were theists and some even believed in continuing divine providence, while others approached atheism, to say the least. Deism’s greatest impact was in the place it gave to human reason in religion as opposed to revelation. The central idea of Deism is that every man is born with a certain religious knowledge or may acquire it through the use of reason. This is sometimes called “natural religion.” Written revelation and ecclesiastical instruction are unnecessary and may be misleading and hurtful. Hence, Deism essentially ejected revelation, God’s word, from its place of supremacy and put human reason in its place. Revelation could still be important and helpful but because traditional religion and its Scriptures, including the Bible, had become corrupted with errors it was necessary for human reason to sit in judgment and sift through it and extract that which was worthy of acceptance. Religion had digressed far from its primitive purity. Religious leaders had added corruptions to benefit themselves, though from time to time certain religious leaders, such as Socrates, Buddha, Muhammad, and Christ, arose to call men back to simple, primitive religious faith. Some Deists viewed God as the “master clockwinder” of the universe who, having set His creation in order, left it running under its own energy and laws never to interfere again.
The Essay on Human – Religion
I really have to give credit for my religion & beliefs for my search on the meaning of life. I’m a fully baptized Catholic, and a part of God’s Church. 17 years of being a Catholic and in search of the meaning of life, I have always thought it is about the Call to Holiness. My religion taught me that being a part of God’s Church is no accident, but because God wanted to share in His own ...
