The_Reformation_Period

Running head: The Reformation and its effect on education The Reformation Period Evaluated Abstract This paper reviews the characteristics of the Reformation and shows the many ways that the time period has affected modern day education practices. The study is made of the different philosophers that contributed to the development of education during the Reformation period. This paper also reflects on the different art and lifestyle that changed during the Reformation period. The Reformation Period Evaluated The Reformation period is the time between 16th and 17th centuries. In this time period there was Martin Luther and John Calvin sought to free themselves and their followers from papal authority. Their move away from the Catholic Church and to a system that promoted the separation of church and state is called the Reformation. It is also said to believe that education was changed forever by this movement. This is when the reformist established Protestant religion based in the supremacy of the bible. “A main premise of the Protestant Reformation was that individual Christians could communicate directly with God through prayer and study of the Scripture” (Protestant Reformation). “The reformers sought to foster this relationship by providing catechisms and establishing schools to teach both boys and girls to read. Luther and Calvin each, in their efforts to aid in the training of children, produced catechisms that could be used by parents and ministers to teach children and adults in need of religious instruction. Such catechisms were written in the form of questions and responses about the basic tenets of the Christian faith. They were printed in the vernacular (for example, German or English, rather than Latin), in simple language, and could be expeditiously published and distributed across a region with the aid of the printing press, which had been in use in Europe since the 1450s” (Protestant Reformation). The reformist believed that literacy needed to be their top priority. The reformist saw that there education did not improve as they expected, but the literacy rates did drastically improve. John Calvin was a reformist (1509-1564). He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism as stated by the Wikipedia. When we look at Calvin’s accomplishment in the sixteenth century in this light, how are we to assess his significance for us five hundred years later' Clearly, there is no self-evident answer to this query. But, still, a suggestion may be hazarded. If we consider the two contexts of Calvin’s work as a reformer (the Renaissance and the Reformation), I would argue that fidelity to his legacy today means at least two things: first, a non-negotiable commitment to the highest level of historical and theological scholarship on behalf of the church’s proclamation and, second, an equally non-negotiable commitment to a continual examination of our church’s doctrine and practice for the sake of insuring that the fundamental message of God’s unequivocal grace is not being compromised. This is said from Paul Capetz. Young people have lost that deference to their elders on which the social order depends; they reject all correction. Sexual offenses, rapes, adulteries, incests and seductions are more common than ever before. How monstrous that the world should have been overthrown by such dense clouds for the last three or four centuries, so that it could not see clearly how to obey Christ's commandment to love our enemies. Everything is in shameful confusion; everywhere I see only cruelty, plots, frauds, and violence, and injustice, shamelessness while the poor groan under the oppression and the innocent are arrogantly and outrageously harassed. God must be asleep. (John Calvin) So all and all, the Reformation was a new beginning in many ways. The great philosopher like John Calvin helped change the way education is today and the way people are able to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. The New World is grateful to have such fortunate recipients of such rich inheritance. Reference Page Capetz, Paul. (2009). John Calvin: His significance then and now, Network News, Vol 29 (2), pp. 9-12, retrieved June 5, 2010 from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail'vid=11&hid=10&sid=a8eb 24d02ed431da624f5768b1bd700%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2Z Q%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=43090781#db=aph&AN=43090781 Kreis, Steven. (2002). The Protestant Reformation. The History Guide, retrieved June 5, 2010 From: http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture3c.html. Protestant Reformation. (2008). The Gale Group, retrieved June 5, 2010 from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Protestant-Reformation.html. Wikipedia. (2010). John Calvin, retrieved June 5, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin.