Reformation Final Flashcards
What were the 3 basic goals of the Reformed confessions?
- Provided a framework for Reformed Theology to flourish by standardizing a set of theological beliefs.
- Served as a platform to refute false teaching and respond to controversies.
- Provided a basis for summarizing major doctrinal developments.
- also, ensured that Biblical teaching was handed down from generation to the next.
What are the different views of tradition and Scripture?
Two source: scripture is equal with tradition.
Single source: tradition is subordinate to scripture.
No source: tradition is irrelevant to scripture.
Tradition infinity: scripture is relativized by tradition.
What are the three forms of unity?
The Belgic Confession
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Synod of Dort
What is the Belgic Confession?
It is a defense of the reformed faith amidst a season of persecution in the Netherlands.
King Phillip II of Spain was persecuting Protestants.
Guido De Bres sends a copy of the confession to King Phillip to show that the reformed were loyal subjects, but their allegiance is to Christ first.
De Bres admits they would die before denying the truths of the confession.
What is the Heidelberg Catechism?
It is a Q&A format divided into 52 sections.
- one section for each Lord’s day of the year.
It is intended to teach lay people the essence of the faith.
- it follows the basic outline of Romans and focuses on the three things:
1. Guilt of our sin
2. Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
3. Our gratitude
What was the Synod of Dort?
This was an international gathering of delegates to refute the teachings of Jacob Arminius and his followers.
Refuted the five Articles of Remonstrance.
Responded with the five Points of Calvinism.
What was the Primary point of the Five Articles of Remonstrance?
God’s prevenient Grace foreknew those who would believe and those who would not “believe and persevere.”
Jean-Alphonse Turretin and the enlightenment
- Was son of Francis. Both were theology professors at the Academy of Geneva founded by Jean Calvin.
- 1) led a movement to abolish the creedal formulation of the Helvetic Formula Consensus.
2) questioned much of the scholasticism of reformed orthodoxy.
- pointless to speculate on order of things like supra or infralapsatianism.
- also rejects Calvin’s argument on the internal witness of the HS.
3) wanted to wed Christian theology with the methods of the enlightenment.
- reason, not revelation is the foundation for all theology and epistemology.
The Radical Enlightenment
Written by Jonathan Israel
- Israel comes up with the phrase “crisis of the European mind.”
> in this work he states that from the mid 17th century there was a general process of secularization in which theologies hegemony over the world was overthrown.
> the shift from revelation to reason as basic foundation of knowledge was due to:
1) religious upheaval in the history of Christendom, pre and post reformation.
2) constant state of war in the west.
3) spirit of capitalism and democracy gaining force
How did Capitalism and Democracy help shift to secularization over religion?
According to Jonathan Israel:
Theology becomes just a category among others such as science.
From the 17th century on we see major developments in math and science.
4 individuals who are integral in this shift:
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Johannes Kepler
- Galileo Galilei
- sir Isaac Newton
Nicolaus Copernicus
1473 - 1543
Outlined a theory that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe.
Johannes Kepler
1571 - 1630
An astronomer
Concluded that the sun emitted a magnetic force that moved the planets in their courses.
Galileo Galilei
1564-1642
Carried forward the work of Copernicus and Kepler to develop a complete heliocentric cosmology.
Early pioneer of telescopic technology.
Sir Isaac Newton
1642-1727
Argued that the planets are kept in order by gravity.
Developed law of gravity in his mathematical principles of natural theology.
Sets in motion ideas that explain reality without reference to God and providence.
4 Basic characteristics of the modern world based on political and scientific changes:
- ) modern ideal holds that the universe is an impersonal phenomenon, governed by natural laws, and understandable in only physical and mathematical laws. ( as opposed to created and sustained by God)
- ) stresses the supremacy of material and concrete world over the spiritual and transcendent.
- ) science replaces religion as the source of authority. (Reason and empiricism replace doctrine and revelation)
- ) radical autonomy and independence of the self. (As opposed to dependence on God)
Definition of rationalism
Is the pursuit of knowledge through the pathway of reason.
Renee Descartes
1596-1650 (know this date)
Father of Modern Philosophy.
Crisis of knowledge: “can believe nothing too certainly of which I had only been convinced by example or custom.”
Set out on a quest for intellectual certainty based on his own reason through a process of intuition and deduction.
Discourse on Method (1637)
Discourse on Method
Written by Descartes and published in 1637.
Sets out 4 rules in the quest for knowledge:
1) principle of certainty - never accept anything to be true which I did not clearly know to be such.
2) Rule of division - divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible for adequate solution.
3) principle of ascension - order of thought that ascends from the simple to the complex.
4) principle of universality - to make details so complete and reviews so general to be assured nothing was omitted.
What is Descartes’ one certainty that makes knowledge possible?
Cogito Ergo Sum - I think therefore I am.
Descartes’ proof of God’s existence:
working out from the rational of his own existence he acknowledges that he lacks certainty.
To lack certainty is to discern the existence of something imperfect.
If something is imperfect then something external to you must be perfect. (Only a perfect being can cause the idea of perfection in an imperfect being)
(Similar to Anselm’s “being of which nothing greater can be thought.”
Baruch Spinoza
1632-1677
A rationalist
Rejected the idea of God as a personal being who exists over and above the world and of which the world depends on.
Deus Sive Natura -“God or nature.”
- God and nature are the same entity.
- nothing can exist apart from God. He is in all things. (Not the cause of all things but IS all things)
Wrote “The Theological Political Treatise”
The Theological Political Treatise
Written by Spinoza (1670)
Paved the way for the modern understanding of the world and also Biblical criticism.
Rejected Biblical authority for the universal laws of science and nature.
(Instead of order of salvation now we are talking about the laws of science and nature).
God would never act against his nature. Therefore miracles are impossible.
John Locke
Wrote “Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
Tabula Rasa (blank slate) - what can be known is what can be empirically verified.
To Locke reason is what the mind arrives at by deduction, which it gains as a result of sense perception.
Definition of Empiricism
We have no source knowledge of anything other than through sense experience.
Experience becomes the foundation for knowledge.
David Hume
1771-1776
The ultimate skeptic of the enlightenment.
Wrote; An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
What did David Wells have to say about the Enlightenment?
- we made ourselves the center of the world.
- we leaned on our own goodness and reason.
- allowed us to perceive illusion as reality.
- “the real outcome of the enlightenment, has not been the preservation of noble values but their collapse into complete relativism.”
* the promises of the enlightenment are dead, however, the premises of freedom from God, authority, the past, from evil … simply refuse to die.
When was the beginning of American Colonization?
The colonial period in America began in 1607, in Jamestown, VA.
13 colonies
Colonization lasted until mid 18th century, and just prior to the Revolutionary War in 1776.
Describe diversity in early American Colonization.
Congregational Puritanism provided the most influential formal theology in the colonies.
- all other traditions were stamped by their old world origins. That is, they inherited traditions from their homeland.
*This variety created necessary and mutual toleration which contributed to full religious liberty.
*Christianity in America took on a more pluralistic form.
- America becomes an experiment of religious toleration.
- People groups congregated in certain regions.
Catholicism and the New World:
Columbus brought Roman Catholicism to the Americas in 1492, 100 years before the Puritans.
Catholicism was strong in Central and South America as well as Quebec ( New France).
Catholicism was outlawed in the British colonies.
Despite a more stable religious foundation than that of the British colonies, Catholicism never takes hold in North America.
The Church of England and the New World:
Anglicanism was officially transplanted to Virginia through the founding of Jamestown (1607).
Growth and success was limited due to little ecclesiastical oversight with the Bishop in London.
• only Bishop could confirm membership, ordain ministers, etc.
Puritans and Congregationalists and the New World:
The Puritan Congregationalists in New England had the most influence in the New World.
First major wave came in Mayflower in 1620.
Originally planned on being part of the Colony in Virginia, but bad weather landed them in Cape Cod and settling in Plymouth.
• 50 of 101 survived the 66 day journey.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
The survivors of the Mayflower recognized the political authority of King James. (Not insurrectionists)
However, they did organize their colony in order to govern themselves.
Written in 1620.
Established Plymouth colony
They desired a form of religious freedom.
• built a society based on a mutually held covenant before God and each other.
Massachusetts Bay colony:
A new wave of Puritans in 1630.
Becomes the center of the Puritan experience.
This group fled largely in response to William Laude.
Baptists and the New World:
(Know date)
The first Baptist church was founded in Providence, RI in 1639 by Roger Williams.
Two types of Baptists:
- General baptists: believed Christs death was effective for all.
- Particular Baptists: believed Christ died for the elect.
Baptists believed that the state should have no role in the formation of the local church.
Williams would leave after only a few months due to his own radical beliefs.
• he believed that no congregation could represent the true apostolic church.
5 religious groups resulting from European migration to America. (According to Knoll)
- Colonies of Spain in Mexico which are predominately Roman Catholic.
- French Catholics in Quebec
- Anglicans in southern British colonies (especially Virginia)
- Puritans in New England (especially MA)
- Religious pluralism in the middle colonies. (Especially PA)
William Bradford
• a leader in the migration to New England colony, served as governor for 30 years.
• wrote Of Plymouth Plantation.
- gives a firsthand look at the early years of the Plymouth colony.
• Bradford very much sees America as a Christian nation.
John Winthrop
- Elected governor of Massachusetts colony prior to arrival in America.
- His sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” gave a vision of New England as a covenanted community and a city on a hill.
- he says “if we deal falsely with our God in this work, and so cause him to withdraw his present help, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”
William Penn
- A Quaker
- founder of Pennsylvania.
- “Holy Experiment”: Penn’s legacy is he opened the door to nonconformists to religious liberty in the New World.
Cotton Mather
• Published over 400 works, accounting for nearly 1/3 of all religious works in the colonies.
• well known for his work “Magnalia Christi Americana” in 1702.
- means “The Glorious works of Christ in America.”
• played key role in Salem witch trials:
- argued against “spectral evidence” which is based on dreams and testimonies.
- claimed it is not verifiable and should not be admissible in court.
Salem Witch Trials
1692
200 people were accused of witchcraft.
- 30 people found guilty
- 20 people executed
- empty accusations by a group of young women claiming to be bewitched.
- for approximately 1600 years people assumed the reality of unseen forces. And that we could become possessed by demons and supernatural realities.
- the trials exposed superstition. This way of thinking begins to be questioned in the New World and is eventually seen as obsolete.
What is the “Halfway covenant”?
Puritans in New England seeing their children failing to follow Christ and having a desire to foster a covenant community created this covenant.
- baptized individuals of good behavior could present their children for baptism, even if the parent did not possess faith in Christ.
- neither the parent or child could take part in the Lords Supper unless they made a profession of faith in Christ.
- this enabled a baptized person to be a member of a covenantal church/society.
What was the purpose of the “Half-Way Covenant”?
It was intended to preserve the local congregation and to ensure wider participation in the covenant community and a Godly society in New England.
What is the “Holy Experiment”?
In 1681 William Penn received a large tract of land from Charles II.
- later to be called Pennsylvania.
- Penn would use this as a “Holy experiment” as he called it, which would allow unprecedented freedom of religion for all who believed in God.
- Quakers and Presbyterians would make their home in PA.
- this challenged the Church of England and Puritanism (city on a hill).
Penn’s experiment would win the day in the New World, upholding religious toleration and liberty.
How can Jonathan Edwards theology be qualified?
Edwards religion is experiential.
His conversion is described in terms of a “sweet sense of glorious things.”
It is not simply an intellectual awakening.
John Piper is Edwardsian when he says, “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”
Edwards 70 resolutions
1: resolved to do whatever I think to be most to Gods glory and my own good profit and pleasure.
Reflecting on his personal mission in life, Edwards writes 70 resolutions in his late teens to twenties.
These represent Edwards’ personal philosophy; his own personal mission statement.
First revival period of the Great Awakening:
1734-1737
Revival breaks out in New England.
Edwards captures the heart of this period in his work called, “ A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.”
In real revival the Spirit is poured out through an extraordinary way through the ordinary means of grace.
