Desiderius Erasmus Roterdamus is not a lately discovered dinosaur; he was a reformation era scholar. Erasmus was arguably the greatest scholar of the sixteenth century. His work in languages was instrumental in the first published Greek New Testament, which led to more accurate translations of the Bible in English and German. Both as a linguist and as a scholar of theology, Erasmus represents one of the most important figures in reformation history.
Theologically, or should we say politically-religiously, Erasmus was a non-combatant in the reformation. He represents one of the few figures of his day who refused to become embroiled in most of the doctrinal divide. (He would later become involved in Free Will discussions). All of his critiques were more or less aimed at actions, not the idea of a hierarchical Church or the Pope. In the truest sense of the word, Erasmus was a reformer (unlike Luther) because he believed that the Catholic Church was worth saving.
Initially Erasmus praised Luther, calling him “a mighty trumpet of gospel truth” and said that “it is clear that many of the reforms for which Luther calls are urgently needed.”1 As a result, Luther praised Erasmus for his scholarship and asked him to join the Lutheran Party. After being rejected, Luther claimed that Erasmus was a coward. Erasmus was called many names by both sides because of his position of neutrality. He believed that to join either the Catholic or Reformation’s doctrinal debate would harm scholarly community. He said, “I detest dissension because it goes both against the teachings of Christ and against a secret inclination of nature. I doubt that either side in the dispute can be suppressed without grave loss.”2
Though Erasmus did not involve himself in most of the doctrinal debate, he did believe many of the tenets of the Catholic tradition, claiming that Mary was a perpetual virgin and that the apocrypha was a part of the Bible. For these beliefs, Luther called him “the very mouth and organ of the devil.”3
Erasmus’s work De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio (Of free will: Discourses; or, Comparisons) was a response to Luther’s views on predestination. Erasmus argued a middle ground between grace and free will. This would lead to a rather interesting addition to the formation of Protestantism. Luther’s response, De Servo Arbitrio (On the bondage of the Will) would become his most well-known writing.
Application:
How do we use Erasmus' example to apply to our own lives? In order to understand this we must begin with his book Enchiridion militis Christiani (Handbook of a Christian Knight) where he tells soldiers to live by the Christian faith and not the rites of religion. He claims that we are all soldiers for God from baptism. This idea is essential to our lives as Christians and, even more so, as intellectual Christians because we are like soldiers in a small army facing an enemy with many soldiers. Essentially, we are entering the territory of Satan by engaging in Christian intellectual issues.
We must also sometimes take Erasmus’ stance on issues facing the Church. We cannot fight everything we disagree with; neutrality is sometimes necessary and advantageous to the Church. But when certain issues face us, we must fight as Erasmus did in the case of free will. It’s also better to respond to contention as Erasmus did. “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:39, NIV)
1. Galli, Mark, andm, Olsen, Ted. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000, p. 344.
2. Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953, p. 661.
3. D. Martin Luther. Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. Briefwechsel, vol. 7, Weimar: Böhlau, pp. 27-40.
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