Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Humanism
- Scholars who were interested in
studying ancient writings, in as
near an original text as possible
- Their aim was to discover the
true meaning of the Bible,
rather than accepting
interpretations based on
incomplete or inaccurate texts
and translations
- Encouraged challenging
old ideas and a search
for the truth
- This was
generally
unwelcome by
the RCC as the
idea was that if
you didn't follow
the Church you'd
go to hell
- Not all Church people were against it -
some realised that it was a chance to
revitalise the Church and make a fresh
start
- As long as they didn't
challenge the existing
power structure within
the Church, they were
allowed to continue their
studies
- Erasmus
- His reputation as a thinker
and researcher was
unsurpassed - his speciality
was the study of the New
Testament. Also insisted on
studying the earliest
manuscripts
- Highlighted that some of the
Church's teachings were
based on translations which
were inaccurate and worked
hard to make it clear it was
riddled with errors
- Encouraged people to live
Christ-like lives rather than teaching
them to seek salvation through the
practice of empty formalities
- In Praise of Folly: ridiculed churchmen and the
practices of the Church sarcastically. Became a
bestseller and gained him admirers in all over
Europe
- Claimed that Erasmus created
an atmosphere for change that
Luther could exploit
- Erasmus and other humanists refused to join
Luther, preparing to stay in the Church and to
campaign from within. He said: 'I laid a hen's
egg but what Luther hatched was a bird of
quite a different sort'
- Erasmus' feelings weren't as strong
as Luther's but he became severely
annoyed with Luther's attacks
- He only wanted to reform the Church, not challenge it
- Some, including More,
were prepared to die
rather than renounce their
allegiance to the Church