According to Tannenbaum (2013), The Protestant Reformation “movement incorporated a basic reformulation of institutions that transformed established religious and political relationships and powered the transition from medieval to early modern political thought” (p. 107). The Protestant Reformation was brought about by a German monk, named Martin Luther, who had become disenchanted with the behavior of the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the years 1503-1505, Luther faced a religious crisis that changed his path in life from that of a lawyer to one of monkhood. Thus in July 1505, he entered a monastery of Augustinian friars, made his vows in 1506, and became an ordained priest in 1507.
Prominently known for his role in the Reformation of the 16th century, Luther accomplished what many before him could not; to bring about change in the church and effect political transformations. History states that the second prominent figure of The Reformation, John Calvin experienced an unexpected religious conversion in 1533 and subsequently disavowed Catholicism in 1534. Calvin wrote “The Institutes of the Christian Religion,” a solemn declaration of his Protestant faith, including a set of religious values and political ideologies. “Calvin’s aim was to found a regime in which both religious and secular authority was dedicated to the service of God” (Tannenbaum, 2013, p. 110).
Calvin’s significant contribution to The Reformation was in running and then becoming the sole ruler of Geneva, Switzerland. The Scientific Revolution was not a “revolution” as it is known today; it was an epistemological and intellectual revolution that significantly impacted how individuals perceived the world. A time of changes in thinking and knowledge in addition to the established order of social and institutional organization. Thus, it is believed that there is a connection between the Reformation and the questioning of the Roman Catholic Churches practices and the Scientific Revolution, questioning the beliefs of natural philosophers.
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What was Martin Luther to the Reformation, how was he influential in it and the resulting political transformations? According to Tannenbaum, (2013), “Luther launched an attack on medieval philosophy based on his deep study and rejection of that tradition. He was convinced that it twisted the meaning of Biblical text and supported the invalid spiritual and temporal claims of the papacy” (p. 110). Although Luther was not the originator of The Reformation, he was one responsible for instigating its occurrence. For centuries before the eruption of The Reformation or the schism as the Roman Catholics refer to it, there had been many dissidents concerning the practices and authoritarian rule of the Catholic papacy who permitted no other method of worship.
As a result of religious self-discontent and the desire to “right” himself with God, Luther spent much time studying scriptures, this he did in conjunction with his theological studies and representation of the monastery. On one particular trip to Rome, his eyes were opened to the secular rule that had taken over the church. No longer was the church interested in the people’s souls and spiritual wellbeing, they appeared more interested in the power of authoritarianism and making as much money as possible, any way they could. Luther was angered at the Catholic papacy for their deceptiveness of the people, leading them to believe that their forgiveness or pardons for their sins and those of their deceased loved ones were purchasable from the church.
Such practice was referred to as the “selling of indulgences,” or as Luther saw it, the selling of salvation or grace. Due to the churches “role” as the intermediary linking the people and God, they had convinced the people that indulgences, remission from sin or a way to escape punishment in the afterlife, would ensure them entry into heaven. Moreover, Luther was angry with Pope Leo X, who wanted to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome but did not wish to spend his own money to do so. He sent Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, traveling throughout Germany to collect the necessary money by taking advantage of the people through the selling of indulgences. Luther’s response to this outrage was to write his Ninety-five Theses criticizing and questioning the secular and immoral practices of the Catholic papacy and whether they indeed had the power and authority that they claimed.
On October 31, 1517, Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the church, which he intended to be addressed in the forum of debate to get the Catholic papacy to stop their secular and immoral practices, particularly that of selling indulgences. Luther did not intend to undermine the church, but when his Ninety-five Theses spread all throughout Germany and Europe, inspiring and stirring the people to repudiate the Catholic papacy, in less than two months, he found himself in the midst of what became known as The Reformation. Luther’s entire mindset during the whole of The Reformation was that the separation between followers and God should be dispelled, reverting to the purity and simplicity of a direct faith-based fellowship between the individual and God, according to Scripture (Tannenbaum, 2013, p. 108).
Calvin was of the conviction that the reason for humankind’s presence on earth is to be on personal terms with and glorify God. In so doing, humanity ought to adhere to His directives and desire to live honorably as individuals and together as Christian peoples. Following a combination of Martin Luther and St. Augustine’s beliefs, Calvin formed his own beliefs and theology. The model of St. “Augustine’s two cities: a kingdom of God and a kingdom of the world” (Tannenbaum, 2013, p. 112) are the basis for Calvin’s spiritual government and political government. The basis of these two governments are the internal qualities of humankind, ruled by spirituality, and external traits of earthly life, ruled by politics or civil government. To this end, Calvin believed that everyone has two purposes in life; living virtuously, serving God and living as we should according to the laws of man or natural law. It was Calvin’s theory, as it was Luther’s, that natural law was the entirely innocent nature found in Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden before the Fall.
Furthermore, this natural law offers essential benchmarks in distinguishing true leaders, residents, rules, and government. An alternative understanding of Calvin’s two types of government is that they are different branches of natural law in that spiritual is responsible for guiding humanity in living virtuous lives while political or civil law influences the propensities of civilization in refraining from corrupt and illicit actions. “Positive or civil law is enacted by legitimate authority and promulgated by the secular ruler of the state. Its function is to enforce moral behavior and the peace that enables society to function
Before the mid-16th century, Christian cosmology maintained and trusted that the earth was at its center; however, contemporary science came along and altered the equilibrium of Christianity as well as modern society, political principles, and political beliefs. Until this point, scientific theories were made up of Christian and Aristotelian characteristics; it was now turned upside down as modern science began questioning established theories through reason. The Polish astronomer, Copernicus, wrote the book “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres” whereby he discussed making slight modifications to the geocentric model of the universe; accidentally damaging the ideals of the ancient and Christian world, prompting the beginning of the modern scientific world. After much research and speculation, he concluded that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe which thoroughly upset the perceived natural balance of the Christian foundation.
The structure of Medieval Christian theology was developed upon the supposition that earth is the center of the universe thus relating the geocentric model to the relationship between God and man. To challenge the reality of the geocentric model is to put the pope and the central position of the church out of place by calling into question the Christian position, structure, and stability. According to Tannenbaum (2013), “Copernicus ultimately forced a rethinking of the universe, away from one that was God-directed to one run differently somehow” (Appendix III, p. 149). The English philosopher and scientist, Francis Bacon, continued the research and speculation started by Copernicus regarding the universe and how it, God and man interconnect. Bacon dispels ancient Greek deductive reasoning as they are likely to have a lot of inaccuracies and misrepresentations. He disagrees with the ideals of the ancients and Christians in that God is a necessary element to explain nature or man.
Therefore, he declares that developing human awareness and the ability to interpret the universe are better left to the doctrine of theology. Bacon’s ideas undermined the foundation of authenticity used to back up the pope’s authority. Moreover, by challenging the concept of final causes, he shattered the basis of Christian cosmology thus disbanding support for the pope’s claim that his authority is straight from God. The French philosopher, Rene Descartes continued developing Bacon’s scientific arguments as he too proposed new beginnings for science and knowledge (Tannenbaum, 20113, Appendix III, p. 152).
Descartes’ opinion was that because the human mind is more than capable of making mistakes there must be a means to check them. He then concluded that reason is what should determine the truth of something, and as he did not want to adversely affect ethical and political beliefs, he reasoned that there should be “provisional code of morals” until reason could support and uphold a new set of guidelines. Consequently, while not criticizing final causes in the way of Bacon, Descartes demotes God to subordinate status behind the self because scientific deduction is the only means required for each person when inquiring and considering the world.
According to Tannenbaum, “Descartes’s legacy, then, was to create a scientific epistemological individualism that supported the individualisms of Protestant theology and Machiavellian politics” (Appendix III, p. 153). The English mathematician and physicist, Isaac Newton’s contribution to the Scientific Revolution was regarding the laws of gravity. Because of Newton’s description of the universe through mathematical calculations and physical powers, the idea that religious final causes are essential to understanding everyday events was disproven. Adding to the downfall of religious final causes that Copernicus initiated, Newton claimed that morality had nothing to do with the natural laws of the universe as they were mathematical. Therefore, nature could be explained through correlations amid force, mass, and acceleration not the reference to God.
The Protestant Reformation may have begun as a result of Martin Luther’s ideals, beliefs, and dissuasion with the Catholic papacy, as evidenced in his Ninety-five Theses, yet the Reformation was ultimately about individual religious freedom and the ability to make one’s decisions regarding his or her spirituality. Calvin was unique or innovative for his time in discerning that his “aim was to found a regime in which both religious and secular authority was dedicated to the service of God” (Tannenbaum, 2013, p. 110), definitely not a typical thought process in the 16th century. The Scientific Revolution and its effects on the political authority of the Pope and the Church became increasingly devastating as Copernicus, Bacon, Descartes, and Newton continually disregarded the beliefs of the ancients and Christianity; regarding the correlation between the universe, God, and man. Instead they were claiming that science and reasoning are all that is necessary to prove or disprove the wonders and curiosities of the world.
