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Nothing I have read claims tolerance as one of Luther's virtues. When I visited the Wartburg a few years, the exhibits made much of his unbending nature in the face of adversity. I would think that if he had been a more tolerant type he would not have engendered the controversy he did nor been as successful in spreading his own doctrine of what faith really was and should be.
Let's just say that compared to Erasmus, Luther is a dullard (and Luther was pretty smart). As to how much of an influence Erasmus had, hard to say. Luther definitely had more influence on how things turned out than Erasmus did for sure. Theologically, Luther was a Catholic except on a few things, which he could not reconcile. If he could have found common ground with the Pope, he would never have left the Church to begin with. But that is another story.
Freedom of will.A crucial point for Erasmus. In his De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio (1524), he lampoons the Lutheran view on free will. He lays down both sides of the argument impartially. In response, Luther wrote his De servo arbitrio (On the Bondage of the Will) (1525), which attacks the “Diatribe” and Erasmus himself, going so far as to claim that Erasmus was not a Christian. Erasmus responded with a lengthy, two-part Hyperaspistes (1526?27). In this controversy Erasmus lets it be seen that he would like to claim more for free will than St. Paul and St. Augustine seem to allow. For Erasmus the essential point is that humans have the freedom of choice.As the popular response to Luther gathered momentum, the social disorders, which Erasmus dreaded and Luther disassociated himself from, began to appear, including the Peasants' War, the Anabaptist disturbances in Germany and in the Low Countries, iconoclasm and the radicalization of peasants across Europe. Would Erasmus be responsible for having started the war between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants ?How tolerant was the doctrine of Luther based on his position on Predestination against Freedom of Will ?Theologians usually do not start wars. Princes, always on the lookout for an advantage or opportunity,see in their teachings a means of furthering their own interests–usually, but not always, secular. Ifyou study the history of the 30 Years War and conclude it was a religious conflict, you should ask for your tuition money back or at least read the tests this time. Theologians speak out in town squares or places of worship–leaders order ranks to be formed on battlefields and sent off to war.
Freedom of will.A crucial point for Erasmus. In his De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio (1524), he lampoons the Lutheran view on free will. He lays down both sides of the argument impartially. In response, Luther wrote his De servo arbitrio (On the Bondage of the Will) (1525), which attacks the “Diatribe” and Erasmus himself, going so far as to claim that Erasmus was not a Christian. Erasmus responded with a lengthy, two-part Hyperaspistes (1526?27). In this controversy Erasmus lets it be seen that he would like to claim more for free will than St. Paul and St. Augustine seem to allow. For Erasmus the essential point is that humans have the freedom of choice.As the popular response to Luther gathered momentum, the social disorders, which Erasmus dreaded and Luther disassociated himself from, began to appear, including the Peasants' War, the Anabaptist disturbances in Germany and in the Low Countries, iconoclasm and the radicalization of peasants across Europe. Would Erasmus be responsible for having started the war between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants ?How tolerant was the doctrine of Luther based on his position on Predestination against Freedom of Will ?Theologians usually do not start wars. Princes, always on the lookout for an advantage or opportunity,see in their teachings a means of furthering their own interests–usually, but not always, secular. Ifyou study the history of the 30 Years War and conclude it was a religious conflict, you should ask for your tuition money back or at least read the tests this time. Theologians speak out in town squares or places of worship–leaders order ranks to be formed on battlefields and sent off to war.
Guess what? I totally agree.
Theologians usually do not start wars. Princes, always on the lookout for an advantage or opportunity,see in their teachings a means of furthering their own interests–usually, but not always, secular. Ifyou study the history of the 30 Years War and conclude it was a religious conflict, you should ask for your tuition money back or at least read the tests this time. Theologians speak out in town squares or places of worship–leaders order ranks to be formed on battlefields and sent off to war.
Great comment, willy! You wrote it in a way that helps me understand it better.
This is the discussion thread for the article, “Humanism : Erasmus and Freedom of Will”.
