Early Modern Authors and Christian Humanism
Early modern authors owe a lot of things to Christian Humanism. Christian Humanism is taking a religious spin to humanity and the way people have transformed the world from Jesus’ teachings. There are many people in the reformation that contributed to Christian Humanism, Sor Juana, Margaret Fell, Martin Luther and John Calvin, to name a few. Christian Humanism was able to begin in a whole new way in the reformation because of the new advances in paper, the way people were able to write, and new ink. This led people to a whole new scholarly level, therefore, able to dig deeper than ever, which led to important tributes to Christian humanism.
First, Sor Juana owes a lot of her work to Christian humanity;
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In “Treatise on Christian Liberty” and “On the Jews and Their Lies” he is very focused on spiritual equality and that no one has authority over your self but yourself. Being a Christian humanist is about finding out what it means to be human through the lenses of being a Christian. Luther, who is eager to learn about the bible, is described as a Christian humanist. One of his claims is that works do not matter, because if you are saved they come naturally, and that works are a real representation of what is going on in your heart. Luther was big on communicating with God and human spirituality; he says, “Therefore there is need of the prayer that the Lord may give us and make us theodidacti, that is, those taught by God”.
Calvin and Luther are similar in that they both helped to reform the church as it is now. They both agreed that the path of wisdom starts with God. John Calvin probably owes the most to Christian humanism as anyone does. He wrote a commentary on many books in the New Testament after studying it for many years.
Sor Juana, Margaret fell, Calvin, and Luther all owe Christian Humanism plenty. Each one of these authors hit on the Humanity of Jesus and his teachings. Without Christian humanism, some of the texts we have today that made such a dent on literature could be completely
According to Nicholas Mann, "Humanism is that concern with the legacy of antiquity, and in particular but not exclusively with its literary legacy... it involves above all the rediscovery and study of Greek and Roman texts, the restoration and interpretation of them, and the assimilation of the ideas and values they contain." The Studia Humanitatis (Studies of Humanity) is a Latin term used by Roman writers describing a cycle of studies in the humanities including, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. Francesco Petrarch, an Italian scholar and poet of the fifteenth century, is considered by many to be the father of humanism. Petrarch 's influential texts had circulated widely throughout Florence and made their way into the government. Thus, humanist learning began to shape political ideologies in Florence. By inspiring humanist philosophy, Petrarch helped pave the way for the start of the Renaissance.
John Calvin and Martin Luther felt that the Catholic churches were doing wrong. The popes would try to control the churches and did wrong by taking the churches’ money. They both believed that truth comes from the Bible. They didn’t swear or use God’s name in vain. One big similarity was that they didn’t believe in the teachings of the Catholic churches.
Humanism is a philosophy that involves the search between truth and morality, through humans means in support of human interests. Humanism rejects transcendental justifications, such as the supernatural and divine disclosure. A common form of this rejections would be The Bible. This philosphy also tends to be even-handed, seeking to make all people equal in terms of wealth and social status. The movie advocates all of these features of humanism.
Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search.
In these Thesis’ Luther basically criticized the church’s wrongful practices and exposed the church’s corruption in order to bring about change in the church. Luther is quoted in Document 3 from his 95 thesis’ “Christian’s should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does better if he bought pardons.” Luther believed that actions, such as helping others did way more toward saving a person’s soul than buying a pardon did. He saw through the idea that one could by their way into heaven. He brought about new ideas such as God’s grace is the only way into heaven, not buying indulgences, or simply participating in church activities. His ideas eventually spread out all over Europe and his followers formed a group calling themselves Lutherans. This eventually became a protestant denomination, where Luther preached ideas, and his version of christianity. Also other reformist such as John Calvin had their own ideas, like predestination, and that everyone was full of sin until they were saved by christ. “We must resist the lust of the flesh, which, unless kept in order, overflows without measure.” (Document 6) Calvin believed that everyone was filled with this sinful “lust” that could not be kept in order without the power of christ. Calvin also started a sect of christianity nicknamed Calvinist after their leader. Both Luther and Calvin inspired others such as George Fox, who created quakerism, and Ulrich Zwingli who started anabaptism. Overall a huge force that drove the Protestant Reformation was reformers such as Martin Luther and John
I don’t think that humanism can be applied to religion because humanism itself is a philosophy. It taught people to be their own person and think independently, not supernatural forces controlling history. A belief that people should have the right to think and make decisions freely cannot be applied to
Humanism was the main idea of the Renaissance and was influential to people with its ideas. One of its main ideas was education and an importance to the classics, and that plays into the printing press for the reason that people could now learn to read and write more easily and a thirst for education was born. Any person could now learn and this opened a door way that had been locked for the middle class people because now they had the ability to learn and thrive with great minds just as much as the rich. This leads into Scientific Revolution, a major aspect of the “Modern Era” because people wanted to learn more about the world they live in and not just what the Church says, thus creating a curiosity in the people that wasn’t there before.
The expression of Northern humanism did not follow the exact path as humanism in the Italian states. The ideals of humanism and humanist education were incorporated into the European countries according to their own experiences, which is in itself a humanistic approach. This gave rise to what is termed Northern humanism, which embraced not only the classics but the early Church writings as equally of educational importance. As a Northern humanist, Thomas More also embraced these beliefs in an effort to attain deeper piety and a reformed Church and society, and this was apparent in his life and writings (Wilcox, 1975; Rice & Grafton, 1994; Thompson,
...at teach students about rhetoric and how to speak and write eloquently. These courses also include classical works as an essential part of their curriculum; students study ancient Greek and Roman mythology and dissect their ideas, themes, and structures. People strive to reach perfection in their school work, jobs, sports, and relationships. Aspects of humanism are woven into today’s society, as well as the society of the past. Humanism turned the population’s method of thinking and outlook on life on its head during the renaissance. Throughout the renaissance, humanists preached of the perfectibility and infinite potential of humanisms, and revived classical works and figures. These characterizing ideals of humanism can be found in the letters of Petrarch and orations of Pico della Mirandola, and they are reproduced in the poems and plays of Shakespeare.
John Calvin was a leader of the Protestant Reformation. He started out as a Catholic, but he converted to Protestantism in 1533 (“Reformation”). He took issue with the teachings of the Catholic church, such as the idea that people can determine or change God’s will. Calvin disagreed with this concept; rather, he believed that everyone’s fate is predetermined by an omnipotent God and no mortal can know or alter the fate God sets for him or her (“Reformation”). In addition, Calvin “rejected the elaborate ceremonies and sacraments of the Catholic Church” (“Reformation”). Instead, he believed that people should live simple, strict, and moral lives. John was a very important man, as was King Henry
A central focus of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that claimed the heart of the Renaissance. Humanists studied the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. They used their newly acquired knowledge to develop a better understand of their own times. Humanists, although they were mostly Christian, did not focus of religion. Instead they were fixated on worldly subjects. It was believed that education should stimulate one’s creative mind. Humanists emphasized humanities, which are classic subjects such as grammar and poetry.
Humanists had been calling for reform in the Catholic Church long before Martin Luther penned his Ninety-Five Theses. Humanism was an intellectual and cultural movement of the Renaissance that emphasized the expansion of mans’ capacities. “[Humanism] was an attempt to discover humankind’s own earthly fulfillment. . . [it] developed an increasing distaste for dogma, and embraced a figurative interpretation of the scriptures and an attitude of tolerance toward all viewpoints” (Sporre 310). This perspective could not differ more from the Church’s strict reliance on tradition. People’s outlook on the world changed, but the Church continued on with what had previously worked. It soon became clear that reform in the Church was not in the foreseeable future, so people decided to take matters into their own hands. As humanism spread throughout Italy and northern Europe, more and more people agr...
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.
Many diverse ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a lasting impact on the world. Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. The aspect of humanism first thrived in 14th century Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Initially humanistic ideas about education were quickly adopted by the Italian upper class. The Italian ideas and attitudes towards life and learning impacted nobility in other parts of Europe. They were able to accept and adapt to this new lifestyle. Humanism during the Renaissance helped to spread ideas about the basic nature of human beings, how people should be educated to become well rounded individuals, and how education impacts an individual’s life.
Encarta Dictionary says that Humanism is a system of thought that centers on human beings and their values, capacities and worth. Encarta also goes on the say that, in philosophy, humanism is an attitude that emphasizes the dignity and worth of an individual. A basic premise of humanism is that people are rational beings who possess within themselves the capacity for truth and goodness. I see myself as a being a humanist through everyday life. I always try to see the good in a person when he/she makes me angry or sad, and say I to myself that maybe that person has had a bad day and living life is difficult at the moment. Socrates was even an early humanist of sorts. He can be quoted as saying, "to know the good is to do the good." He believed that nobody voluntarily commits an evil act because evil comes from ignorance, ignorance being not stupidity, but having a lack of knowledge. If all people thought as humanists, would peace be spread across the globe?