Erasmus of Rotterdam
Key Theologians
Of the many theologians of importance to have emerged during this period of enormous creativity, the following are of especial interest and importance.
John of Damascus
The Syrian theologian known as “John of Damascus” (c.675–c.749) was one of the eastern church’s most influential thinkers and is often regarded as the last of the Greek fathers. At this time, Islam was sweeping through much of north Africa and the Levant, and Syria was firmly under Islamic control. John was brought up within the household of the caliph of Damascus, Abdul Malek, and succeeded his father as the caliph’s chief financial officer. We know little about him and are dependent upon unreliable later sources for the fragmentary information that has been passed down to us. At some point he resigned his position within the caliph’s court and entered the monastery of St. Sabas, south-east of Jerusalem.
At an early stage in his career, he was drawn into the iconoclastic controversy and vigorously opposed those who wanted to destroy icons. Paradoxically, John’s position within an Islamic household prevented his many enemies in Byzantium from taking any action against him. His defence of the use of icons involves an appeal to the doctrine of the incarnation, both as a basis of establishing the divine willingness to become visible and for the use of material forms to represent the divine likeness or convey divine truths.
John is remembered for his work “The Fountain of Wisdom” (Greek: Pēgē gnōseōs), which consists of three parts. The first part deals principally with Aristotle’s concept of ontology, apparently on the assumption that this would assist with the understanding of Christian doctrine. The second part is an updated reworking of an earlier work on heresy by Epiphanius. The third part is the most important and interesting. Entitled “A Precise Analysis of the Orthodox Faith,” this section sets out in detail the fundamentals of the Christian faith, as John has received them from earlier writers. This section of the treatise is often treated as a work in its own right and is generally referred to simply as “the Orthodox Faith.” It was highly regarded by both Latin and Greek speaking Christians and was translated into Latin in 1150 by Burgundius of Pisa. This translation is cited by both Peter Lombard in his Four Books of the Sentences and Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae.
Simeon the New Theologian
Simeon (949–1022) was born into a wealthy family in Paphlagonia, Asia Minor, in 949. At the age of eleven, he was sent to the great city of Constantinople for further study. Although his parents had aspirations that he would go on to a political career, John had a spiritual experience at the age of twenty that convinced him of the importance of a direct encounter with God. Although he did not immediately give up on his political hopes, his ecstatic experience of God as a living presence of radiant life had clearly made a deep impression on him. At the age of twenty-seven, he entered the monastery of Studios and came under the spiritual direction of Simeon the Pious. He changed his name from “George” as a mark of respect for his mentor. He subsequently entered the monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople, where he was ordained priest and eventually became the abbot of the monastery. During this period, he set about renewing the monastery’s life of prayer and meditation, and wrote a number of spiritual treatises, emphasizing the power of contemplative prayer and meditation.
Simeon remains one of the most important theological influences on modern Orthodoxy, reflecting the high regard in which he is held. His theology echoes many of the now-traditional themes of Byzantine theology, particularly an emphasis upon the doctrine of the incarnation and an accentuation on redemption as deification. He is called “Simeon the New Theologian” within Orthodoxy to distinguish him from Gregory of Nazianzius (also known as “Gregory the Theologian”).
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm (c.1033–1109) was born in northern Italy, but soon moved to France, then establishing a reputation as a center for learning. He quickly mastered the arts of logic and grammar, and acquired a formidable reputation as a teacher at the Norman abbey of Bec. Following the Norman invasion of England (1066), Anselm was invited to become Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093.
Standing at the dawn of the theological renaissance of the twelfth century, Anselm made decisive contributions in two areas of discussion: proofs for the existence of God and the rational interpretation of Christ’s death upon the cross. The Proslogion (the word is virtually untranslatable) was written around 1079. It is a remarkable work, in which Anselm sets himself the task of formulating an argument that will lead to belief in the existence and character of God as the highest good. The resulting analysis isoften known as the “ontological argument.” Anselm defines God as being “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.” In other words, if God is considered to be something that cannot be bettered, then the idea of God would be trumped by the actual existence of God. It’s not an easy point to understand. Anselm’s basic point is that the idea of a supreme being is always secondary to the reality of this supreme being. So being able to imagine God as the greatest possible reality would be called into question if there is a greater reality – namely, a God who really exists, rather than a God who is simply conceived or imagined.
Although the argument has been contested since its inception, it has remained one of the most intriguing components of philosophical theology to this day. The Proslogion is also of importance on account of its clear appeal to reason in matters of theology and its appreciation of the role of logic. In many ways, the work anticipates the best aspects of scholastic theology. Anselm’s phrase fides quaerens intellectum (“faith seeking understanding”) has passed into widespread use.
Anselm’s period as Archbishop of Canterbury was not an entirely happy period of his life, due to a series of violent disputes between the church and the monarchy over land rights. During one period spent working away from England in Italy, Anselm wrote what many consider to be his most important work, Cur Deus homo (“Why God became human”). In this influential work Anselm seeks to set out a rational demonstration of the necessity of God becoming man and an analysis of the benefits that accrue to humanity as a result of the incarnation and obedience of the Son of God. This argument, to be considered at length later in this work, remains of foundational importance to any discussion of “theories of the atonement” – in other words, understandings of the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ, and its significance for humanity. Anselm’s work exhibits the characteristics that are typical of scholasticism at its best: a critical appeal to reason, the logical marshalling of arguments, and the fundamental conviction that, at its heart, the Christian gospel is rational and can be shown to be rational.
Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas (c.1225–1274) was born at the castle of Roccasecca in Italy, the youngest son of Count Landulf of Aquino. To judge by his nickname – “the dumb ox” – he was rather portly. In 1244, while in his late teens, Aquinas decided to join the Dominican order, also known as the “Order of Preachers.” His parents were hostile to this idea: they rather hoped he would become a Benedictine and perhaps end up as abbot of Monte Cassino, one of the most prestigious positions in the medieval church. His brothers forcibly imprisoned him in one of the family’s castles for a year to encourage him to change his mind. Despite this intense opposition from his family, Aquinas eventually got his way and ended up becoming one of the most important religious thinkers of the Middle Ages. One of his teachers is reported to have said that “the bellowing of that ox will be heard throughout the world.”
Aquinas began his studies in Paris, before moving to Cologne in 1248. In 1252 he returned to Paris to study theology. Four years later he was granted permission to teach theology at the university. For the next three years he lectured on Matthew’s Gospel and began to write the Summa contra Gentiles, “Summary against the Gentiles.” In this major work Aquinas provided important arguments in favor of the Christian faith for the benefit of missionaries working among Moslems and Jews. In 1266 he began the most famous of his many writings, usually known by its Latin title, Summa Theologiae. In this work Thomas developed a detailed study of key aspects of Christian theology (such as the role of reason in faith), as well as a detailed analysis of key doctrinal questions (such as the divinity of Christ). The work is divided into three parts, with the second part subdivided into two. Part I deals chiefly with God the creator; Part II – divided into two sections known as the prima secundae and the secunda secundae (literally, the “first of the second” and the “second of the second”) – deals with the restoration of humanity to God; and Part III deals with the manner in which the person and work of Christ bring about the salvation of humanity.
On December 6, 1273, Aquinas declared that he could write no longer. “All that I have written seems like chaff to me,” he said. It is possible that he may have had some sort of breakdown, perhaps brought on by overwork. He died on March 7, 1274. Among Aquinas’ many contributions to theology, the following may be noted: his famous “Five Ways” (arguments for the existence of God); his development of the principle of analogy, which provides a theological foundation for knowing God through the creation; and his extended discussions of the relation between faith and reason.
Duns Scotus
Scotus (c.1265–1308) was unquestionably one of the finest minds of the Middle Ages. In his short life he taught at Cambridge, Oxford, and Paris, and produced three versions of his Commentary on the Sentences. Known as the “subtle doctor” on account of the very fine distinctions that he frequently drew between the possible meanings of terms, he was responsible for a number of developments of considerable significance to Christian theology.
Scotus was a champion of the theory of knowledge associated with Aristotle. The earlier Middle Ages were dominated by an “illuminationist” theory of knowledge, going back to Augustine of Hippo, which held that knowledge arose through the illumination of the human intellect by God. This view, which was championed by writers such as Henry of Ghent, was subjected to devastating criticism by Scotus.
Scotus was also a champion of the notion of “voluntarism,” which regarded the divine will as taking precedence over the divine intellect. Where Thomas Aquinas had argued for the primacy of the divine intellect, Scotus opened the way to new approaches to theology, based on the assumption of the priority of the divine will. An example illustrates the point. Consider the idea of merit – that is to say, a human moral action that is deemed worthy of reward by God. What is the basis of this decision? Aquinas argued that the divine intellect recognized the inherent worth of the human moral act. It then informed the will to reward it appropriately. Scotus argued along very different lines. The divine will to reward the moral action came before any evaluation of its inherent worth. This approach is of considerable importance in relation to the doctrines of justification and predestination, and will be considered in more detail later (pp. 127–30).
One of Scotus’s most influential theological innovations related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Thomas Aquinas had taught that Mary shared the common sinful condition of humanity. She was tainted by sin (Latin: macula) like everyone else, apart from Christ. Scotus, however, argued that Christ, by virtue of his perfect work of redemption, was able to keep Mary free from the taint of original sin. Such was the influence of Scotus that the “immaculate position” (from the Latin immacula, “free of sin”) became dominant by the end of the Middle Ages.
William of Ockham
In many ways, Ockham (c.1285–1347) further developed some of the lines of argument associated with Scotus. Of particular importance is his consistent defense of a voluntarist position, giving priority to the divine will over the divine intellect. It is, however, probably his philosophical position that has ensured his permanent place of note in the history of Christian theology.
Perhaps Ockham is best known for the method known as “Ockham’s Razor,” often also referred to as “the principle of parsimony.” Ockham insisted that simplicity was both a theological and a philosophical virtue. His “razor” eliminated all hypotheses that were not absolutely essential. Yet Ockham was also a vigorous defender of nominalism. In part, this resulted from his use of his own “razor”: universals were declared to be a totally unnecessary hypothesis. The growing impact of the “modern way” in western Europe owes a considerable debt to him. One aspect of his thought that proved to be of especial importance is the “dialectic between the two powers of God.” This device allowed Ockham to contrast the way things are with the way things could have been. A full discussion of this follows later; for the moment it is enough to note that Ockham made a decisive contribution to discussions of divine omnipotence, which are of continuing importance today.
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469–1536), better known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, is generally regarded as the most important humanist writer of the Renaissance and had a profound impact upon Christian theology during the first half of the sixteenth century. Although not Protestant in any sense of the term, Erasmus did much to lay the intellectual foundations of the Reformation, not least through his extensive editorial undertakings, including the production of the first printed text of the Greek New Testament (see pp. 104–5). His Enchiridion militis Christiani (“Handbook of the Christian Soldier” or “Manual of the Christian Knight”) was a landmark in religious publishing and was widely read by educated lay people in the first three decades of the early sixteenth century.
The Enchiridion developed the revolutionary and highly attractive thesis that the church of the day could be reformed by a collective return to the Bible and early Christian writers. The regular reading of Scripture is put forward as the key to a new lay piety, on the basis of which the church may be renewed and reformed. Erasmus conceived of his work as a lay person’s guide to Scripture, providing a simple yet learned exposition of the “philosophy of Christ.” This “philosophy” is really a form of practical morality, rather than an academic philosophy. The New Testament concerns the knowledge of good and evil, in order that its readers may eschew the latter and love the former. The New Testament is the lex Christi, “the law of Christ,” which Christians are called to obey. Christ is the example whom Christians are called to imitate. Yet Erasmus does not understand Christian faith to be a mere external observance of a moral code. His characteristically humanist emphasis upon inner religion leads him to suggest that reading of Scripture transforms its readers, giving them a new motivation to love God and their neighbors.
Erasmus also undertook extensive scholarly projects, two of which are of especial importance to the development of Christian theology. First, in 1516, Erasmus was responsible for the production of the first published Greek text of the New Testament. As noted earlier, this allowed theologians direct access to the original text of the New Testament, with explosive results. Second, Erasmus undertook extensive editorial work, leading to the production of reliable editions of patristic works, including the writings of Augustine. Theologians thus had access to the full texts of such major works, instead of having to rely upon second-hand quotations, known as “sentences,” often taken out of context. A new understanding of Augustine’s theology began to develop as a result, with significant implications for the theological development of the period.