Analysis of War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin - Book Report/Review Example

Religion and Politics/ Religion and Society Introduction Carlos M. N. Eire is a historian whose main works are concentrated onearly mediaeval time in Europe. In his book "War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin", he discusses the way the people related with their God according to religion. The people, through sacraments believed that the heaven was not far away from the earth as they didn’t doubt the powers associated with the Lord. This meant that they had much trust in their God than at any other times before that. In addition, religion was used as a tool that the people based their beliefs in forgiving, healing, punishing, protecting themselves against nature’s ravages, as well as soothing the feeling of others. Priests had the powers to forgive adulterers and murderers, and could even bless cattle and farmlands. Moreover, saints were held in high regards such that they could heal the blind, prevent lightening, and preach to all animals including birds and fish. All this happened around the year 1509 after the birth of John Calvin. However, changes in politics that happened in the preceding years changed the way people held their God in high esteem. Iconoclastic reformation leaders ensured that the people had a reason to rise against Catholicism in the 1600s. These leaders included Farel and Calvin whereby the latter was the most outspoken. Protestants in France, because of the threat that was posed by their political leaders and Catholics led to an uprising that targeted catholic churches. Politics played a fundamental role in European countries because majority of the leaders were Catholics. This led to a situation whereby iconoclastic reformation started to urge their followers to rise against any idolatry leader. People realized that they could fight for their rights because they learned that they had the powers to resist any authoritarian rule. The leadership that was offered by the likes of Calvin had a fundamental impact in religion. Iconoclastic Reformation Calvin was against the false religion as he used to refer to it. He went around Europe preaching to the people about the importance of ignoring Catholicism, because he believed that, what the people were being told by the priests was not possible. In addition, the people were more enlightened and thus they could such for answers for their desires. In his expeditions, Calvin landed in Geneva in the year 1536 were he had gone to spread the gospel of saying no to false religion (Eire 2). Protestants argued that the spirituality could not be attached to materials in the way that the Catholics made people to believe. The Catholic Mass had high belief in saints and the consecration was discouraged by the Protestants because the latter believed that the preaching was misleading the people. On the other hand, the people had become more aware of the teachings as inscribed in the bible and thus they reduced their ignorance towards the word of God. The people were not expected to question the teachings of the church and this led to the rise of conflicts within the Catholic Church. John Calvin’s mentor, Guillaume Farel who was leading reformation in France believed that the Catholic priests were lying to the congregation. The importance that the priests placed on material objects was seen by Farel as a sign of ignorance to the teachings in the bible. This is the reason why he started a movement of enlightening the people. People had to attend pilgrimages were they prayed before a relic. Farel attended to a pilgrim as a child in the Shrine of Holy Cross located at Tallard. People were made to believe that the cross that was placed at the shrine was the one that had been used to crucify Jesus (Eire 8). According to Farel this was sheer veneration of Jesus’ life on earth. He notes that the cross at the shrine “was not a very impressive looking” one (Eire 8). On the contrary, it is worth noting that the pilgrims did not care about how the relic appeared for they believed that they could acknowledge the powers of their God when they pray in front of it. Priests insisted to the people, the importance of such relics, by saying that it could prevent and even attack the devil when he tried to send thunder to the world. Moreover, the priest would be heard saying that the relic even struggled to free itself from the cross as it went for the devil. The frightening stories that the pilgrims were told by the priests and their assistants made the stories of miracles appear real. Worshippers behaved as a group of beasts that could not question the authenticity of the horror stories they were fed with, in their daily lives (Eire. It is worth noting that some of the teachings that the worshippers were being fed in by the priests created rifts in the church as people started to question them. Although some of the movements that were happening in the church were complex, some people such Farel viewed them as being imperceptible. Most scholars of the 1500s argue that, the people had an “immense appetite for religion (Eire 10). The immense love of the word meant that the people were blind to the truth. Iconoclasm started in France in the 1520s after the people became restless with the teachings of catholic priests and the beliefs that went along with it. In addition, it is worth noting that the people were listening attentively to the teachings of Calvin because he gave the people a voice that they could use to question priests. Some of the cities that were the first “to experience iconoclastic riots” were La Rochelle and Rouen (Eire 279). These riots later spread to other cities in France and afterward went to most of other cities across Europe. People vandalized churches and the relics that were used in preaching. Politics After the outbreak of vandalism and the iconoclastic riots, some leaders decided to crush them. King Phillip II, who was the leader of the Netherlands and a catholic send around one thousand soldiers to crush the rebellion that was taking place in Flanders. However, it is of paramount importance to note that the crushing of the rebellion only worsened the situation as people became more agitated. In addition, this made the people to question the rule of Spain in their country. People had become aware of the fact that they could rebel against their leaders as long as they remained united. Young Catholics as well Protestants were involved in the riots that were taking place across Europe. Although the riots had started in Geneva, Switzerland, they quickly spread to other countries in Europe as the people sought to have a more free religion (Eire 280). The rise of iconoclasm riots across Europe had become a part of the politics in the countries in the sixteenth century. Leaders used religion as a part of gaining popularity in their countries. Before the riots begun, many leaders were Catholics since this was the most trusted religion and with the highest number of followers. This ensured that the leaders had the support of the priests as well as the masses. However, as Calvinism started to spread across European cities, political leaders had no alternative other than changing the way they viewed religion. The people, on the other hand, ensured that their voices were heard by the uncompromising priests, which led to changes in the catholic churches. On the other hand, the leaders of Europe realized the importance of respecting the rights of the people. This gave the people an opportunity to question anything that affected their lives. This is the reason why many people were ready to go against Catholic priests as opposed to before, where they could not raise their voices against leaders. This led to increased violence, which was advocated by the Hus-sites as they sought for means of breaking away from Catholicism (Eire 23). The French leadership supported Catholicism and this increased tensions between French Protestants and their leaders. This is the reason why Protestants in the country were severely against idolatry because the environment they were living in was hostile. “Royally supported Catholicism” and “the threat of persecution” made the lives of Protestants in France very difficult (Eire 235). This is the reason why they wanted their leader in reforms worship, Calvin to act fast and destroy idolatry. On the other hand, in Scotland queen Mary strongly supported Catholicism. This led to summons of Knox who led iconoclastic reformation in the country to explain why he believed that his congregation was “right to rebel” against its leaders (Eire 278). Changes in the political scene were increasing each passing day, as leaders of iconoclastic reformation were urging subjects to rebel against any idolatrous leaders. The fight against idolatry resulted in a “reassessment of the political duties of citizens” because they knew that they had powers to resist anything that they did not want (Eire 279). Society In addition, it has to be noted that enrolment in schools, which was being encouraged by the governments of the time across Europe, ensured that one was able to read the bible on his/her own. Based on his understanding of the bible, Zwingli started questioning the use of icons in churches because of "social and political distress of his people" (Eire 85). This is an indication that the people had become more enlightened for they could read and interpret the bible on their own. In addition, the society had become more open and people were expected to make their contributions to issues that dealt with their day-to-day activities. Although Erasmus had written extensively criticizing worship, he did not provide reform ideas to the people. This shows that despite the fact the people knew that Catholic worship was not done well, they needed a leader who would show them, the way forward. In addition, it is of paramount importance to note that he directed his criticism to the elite in the society and as a result, the criticism had little impact on the masses. Moreover, he mixed paganism and Christianity in his arguments and this discouraged the people from following his teachings. The society was very religious and they did not want to do anything that would anger their God. When Calvin took over the leadership of promoting iconoclasm, he ensured that the people removed images and statues from churches. The people had become impatient with the priests and they wanted to take over worship. However, they were not happy with the tactics that Calvin was using in his campaign for the removal of the icons and idols as he referred to them (Eire 65). On the other hand, in a bid to win the support of the people, Luther used conventional ways of removing the icons from churches. It is of paramount importance to note that Luther was not entirely opposed to the use of icons but he insisted that they should be used properly (Eire 234). The French Protestants regarded Calvin as their leader but many of them wanted to hear the position of Luther. This can be attributed to the fact the people held Luther in high esteem and they did not want to do something that he disapproved. This shows that the people respected their leaders’ position and they did not want to disrespect them. However, this is did not stop the people of France from fighting for their freedom of worship. The people became more united as they realized that they could resist anything that they did not respect. In addition, leaders of European countries realized that they could not dictate to the people on what must be done because the people were ready to make their own choices. The society became more aggressive in its fight for its rights after they were led by people who voiced the peoples’ concerns openly. Conclusion Catholicism was a cult in the medieval age, but the rise of leaders such as Farel and Calvin changed worship in Catholic churches. The people believed that icons, which were much used in the churches, had immense powers. In addition, leaders across Europe believed and attended catholic masses to the chagrin of iconoclastic reformation leaders. Protestants in France lived in fear of persecution because the royal family was catholic. This increased their agitation towards Catholicism because they understood that they could stop their tribulations. The author of the book has done a good job because he contacted extensive research on the subject. In addition, he has quoted works that he used. The flow of ideas is smooth which makes it good to read, as it is easy to understand. Wok Cited Eire, Carlos M. N. War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Print. Read More