June 2000 Courier
The Origin Of The Dragon
A Brief History Of The Protestant Reformation
By Rev. David W. Ayers
The Angels War with the Great Red Dragon - Rev 12
Introduction
On June 19, 2000, New Church people all over the world will celebrate the day, 230
years ago, when the Lord called together the twelve disciples who had followed Him in
the world and sent them throughout the spiritual world to proclaim that the Lord God
Jesus Christ is King, and that His kingdom will be for ever and ever (see TCR 791) - the
day we call the birthday of the New Church or New Church Day. The beginning of the
New Church, and the momentous "birth" of the wonderful doctrine for this Church was
symbolically foretold in the Book of Revelation as the birth of the male Child to the
woman clothed with the sun (see Revelation 12: 1-6). The woman depicted the New
Church; and the male Child Who would rule all nations with a rod of iron, is the doctrine
of the Lord's New Church - the church which is to be the crown of all the churches that
have existed on earth (see AR 533, 543; TCR 787).
Standing ready to destroy the Child was the great, fiery red dragon - one of the most
frightening creatures in all of Scripture (see Revelation 12: 3-5). The Writings tell us that
the dragon represents "those in the Church of the Reformed who make God three, and the
Lord two, and separate charity from faith, and those who make faith saving but not
charity together with it" (AR 537). This "dragon" is the primary enemy of the New
Church in its infancy, because those of the Reformed Church deny and fight
against the two essentials of the New Church, which are, that God is one
in essence and in Person, in whom there is a Trinity, and that the Lord is
that God; also that charity and faith are one like an essence and its form;
and that no others have charity and faith, but they who live according to
the commandments of the Decalogue, which are that evils are not to be
done; and so far as any one does not do evils, shunning them as sins
against God, in the same proportion he does the goods which are of
charity, and believes the truths which are of faith. That they who make
God three, and the Lord two, and who separate charity from faith, and
make faith saving, and not charity, are against those two essentials of the
New ChurchÉ(AR 537).
The faith alone doctrine of the Reformed Church is an obvious obstacle in the Christian
world to wider acceptance of the Christianity of the New Church. But what may not be so
obvious is that the movement that spawned the Reformed Church - the 16th century
Protestant Reformation - was a Providentially directed initiative intended to break the
stranglehold of the powerfully corrupt Catholic Church.
The traditional historical works have much to say about Christianity and the Catholic
Church at the time of the Reformation, as well as the thoughts and actions of the
reformers, the predominant schools of thought, and the great church movements.
However the Writings for the New Church tell the inside story of the Protestant
Reformation. The Writings delve deeply into the realm of spiritual cause to explain the
reasons the Reformation was necessary, what it accomplished in spiritual terms, and
where it fell short and introduced falsities and evils of its own.
In this article we will examine the foundation of the Protestant Reformation by
identifying the corrupt elements of church belief and practice that were in need of reform,
tracing the development of the movement, and discovering where the Reformation went
wrong - what caused it to turn into the great, red dragon.
The State of The Catholic Church: The Cause For Reformation
Reform of the Christian Church began with a call to purify the behaviours and practices
of the papacy and Catholic clergy. Eventually, the Reformation evolved to challenge the
doctrinal orthodoxy of the Catholic Church, and changed the face of Christianity forever.
Many seeds of reformation were planted as a reaction against the Catholic Church,
which, under Pope Innocent III (1199-1216) claimed ever-expanding power, both
temporal and spiritual, and abused them both. Innocent's claims were based on the longstanding Catholic teaching that the pope is Christ's vicar or representative on earth, with
the power of Christ Himself, including the ability to open or close heaven (see Matthew
16: 13-19 for the Scriptural basis for this belief). Subsequent popes would look back to
Innocent's legacy and strive to meet or exceed his example.
The extreme extension of papal claims to worldly power occurred later, when Pope
Boniface VIII published two Bulls: first Clericis Laicos, which forbad temporal powers
the ability to tax the clergy or church; and Unam Sanctam in 1302, which stated that
temporal authority should be subject to and used by the church. With Unam Sanctam,
Boniface VIII not only stated that there was no salvation outside the Catholic Church. He
also attempted to establish the papacy as the sole authority in temporal matters as well.
Many of the rich and powerful in Europe saw this affront as a clear abuse of church place
and power. The dispute between Boniface VIII and King Phillip IV of France over Unam
Sanctam became a model for future competition and strife between church and state.
The theological basis for papal ascendancy proposes the pope as Christ's vicar and a
belief in a trinity of persons in the godhead: God the Father, Who was angry at the human
race for its great sinfulness, and would destroy it; God the Son, Who was sent as a
sacrifice to propitiate the angry Father; and God the Holy Spirit. Man is saved through
God the Father's grace conveyed through faith in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for
mankind's sins. Importantly, the church taught that saving grace is mediated through
sacraments that had to be administered by the Catholic clergy. Every believer had to
partake in the sacraments in order to be saved. These included infant baptism,
confirmation, Eucharist (communion or mass), absolution, extreme unction (anointing
with oil), ordination and marriage.
The church also controlled all access to the Bible, claiming that it alone had the authority
to interpret the Scriptures. Additionally, the Bible was available only in Latin, which
made it inaccessible to the uneducated masses. The sacrament of the Eucharist was also
offered by priests only in Latin. During the mass, which commemorates Christ's last
supper on earth, the church proposed that Christ is sacrificed again. The priest offered
bread, for Christ's body, to the people. Wine, which stands for Christ's blood, was taken
only by the priest. According to the church's doctrine of "transubstantiation," these
substances are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ through the force of
the priest's words.
Catholic theology taught that no one could approach God or hope to be saved unless they
went through the persons and practices of the Catholic Church. Nowhere was this more
apparent than in the sacrament of absolution and the practice of indulgences. The church
taught that people are saved or "justified" through grace conferred by God the Father
through faith in Christ's sacrifice. This grace is communicated from God through the
sacrament of baptism. But, they taught, since no person is saved by that faith alone, they
must also keep the commandments of God and do good works. If someone sins after
justification, that person must confess their sins to the church, which offers forgiveness
and cleansing through the sacrament of absolution. An integral part of absolution is the
assigning of penance by the church. Penance included contrition, confession to the
church, and receiving tasks from the church. The church taught that without penance, no
remission of sins was possible. The church, therefore, set itself up as God's arbiter, a
position of unassailable power, which led to blatant abuses and evils - the catalysts for
reform.
Among the most odious of those evils was the sale of indulgences. Absolution and
penance were the Catholic Church's mode of controlling spiritual punishment for sin. But
every sin also required a temporal punishment. Under the indulgence program, the church
assigned monetary fines to be paid to the church as substitution for temporal punishment.
This practice evolved to include sale of indulgences on behalf of the dead to enable souls
to exit purgatory more quickly (purgatory was seen as a kind of intermediate spiritual
state where souls paid in suffering for their earthly sins before being allowed into
heaven).
The church's hawking of indulgences became big business, and was widely abused, often
tied to political ambitions and favouritism. Papal and church corruption was widespread.
Greed and simony (the selling of office) became commonplace, joining nepotism,
pluralism, absenteeism and "indulgence" in fleshly desires in the panoply of corruptions.
Some, such as Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola, spoke of the contrast between true
Christianity and the life of luxury, and called for a return to simple Christian teachings
and life. Monastic orders exhorted men to lead lives of poverty and chastity. The
Conciliar Movement, which had arisen in the early 15th century to heal the church's great
geographical and political schism and to amend the life and practices of a corrupt church,
itself became divided and failed.
Others shouted that the fundamental orthodoxy of the Catholic Church also needed
reform. Two of these voices belonged to John Wycliffe and John Huss. Wycliffe (13301384), a former orthodox professor and diplomat skilled at polemics, believed that
legitimate dominion comes only from GodÉ. but such dominion is
characterised by the example of Christ, who came to serve, not to be
servedÉthe same is true of any dominionÉTherefore, any supposed
ecclesiastical authority that collects taxes for its own benefit, or seeks to
extend its power beyond the sphere of spiritual matters, is illegitimate
(Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1. Harper San Fransisco,
1984, p. 346).
Wycliffe, therefore, rejected the church's abuse of its power, and claimed that the pope
himself was morally reprehensible. Wycliffe believed that the true church consisted not
of a hierarchical clergy, but of the body of believers. Therefore, he argued, the Bible
should be returned to those people in their own language. After his death, Wycliffe's
followers translated the Bible into English.
Huss (1369-1415), a famous Bohemian preacher and scholar, stated that
An unworthy pope is not to be obeyedÉwhen it was clear they were acting
for their own interests, and not for the welfare of the churchÉA pope who
does not obey the Bible is not to be obeyed (Gonzalez, Vol. 1, p. 349).
Huss also called for the church to preach in the native language of its parishioners.
Followers of Wycliffe and Huss joined others throughout Christianity who proclaimed
the need for reformation.
What The Writings Say About The Catholic Church And The Need For
Reformation
The Writings explain that two principle evils gave rise to all other falsities and evils in
the Catholic Church. Swedenborg said that the state of the Catholic Church was
characterised by the rise in papal power. The Divine power of the Lord was ascribed to
the pope, with the result that he was worshipped instead of the Lord. The Word of God
was almost buried, and with it all true knowledge of the Lord (SC 10). The Writings call
the church's withholding of wine during mass an "enormous falsity" (AR 795). Since
wine represents spiritual truth from the Word, this practice was a perfect natural mirror of
the church's spiritual practice.
From the concealment of Divine Truth and usurpation of the Lord's power, the entire
church hierarchy was consumed with the desire for dominion over holy things. The
church strived for the majesty and glory that properly belongs to the Lord, and it tried to
consolidate its spiritual stranglehold by building magnificent monasteries and stockpiling
money and possessions. From these things church officials derived natural delights, and
lived in luxury and dominion over the souls of people. By its "various masses,
indulgences and dispensations" the Catholic clergy tried to sell salvation for their own
ends (AR 759). The church was thus called in the Book of Revelation the "merchants of
Babylon."
Because of the sorry state of the Catholic Church, reformation was clearly necessary.
Apocalypse Explained states that
Of the Divine Providence it took place that some churches separated
themselves from the Babylonish one, which acknowledge the Divine
power of the Lord and also attach Divine holiness to the Word alone. This
was provided lest the Christian Church in the European world should
utterly fall (AE 1069).
With church reform, power could again be properly ascribed to the Lord alone, and
people could again approach Him directly in His Word. The Writings explain that the
Lord raised up various men to contend against the Catholics so that the Word could be
unearthed, the Lord could become known again, truths derived from it and closer
conjunction with heaven could be restored (see Inv. 24). It is to the most important of
those men that we now turn our attention.
The Reformation's Main Contributors
Martin Luther's nailing of his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the castle church in
Wittenburg, Germany on 31 October, 1517, marks the official beginning of the
Reformation. But as we have seen, people had long spoken of a need for reform of church
life. Some, such as Wycliffe and Huss, had begun to challenge the Catholic Church, the
infallibility of the pope, and called for the Word of God to be available in preaching and
printed form to all people. Others had taken a different approach. Mystics such as
Gerhard Groote extolled an approach to religion that called for individual devotion
centered on the contemplation of Christ, which omitted the need for the church to act as
intermediary.
Luther's action was directed at the sale of indulgences by Pope Leo X to fund the
completion of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, along with the theological presuppositions
behind the sales. Luther stated that if the pope was truly concerned with the souls of
people in purgatory, he ought to use his power to free them out of love and concern,
rather than sell their salvation.
Behind Luther's protest lay the answers garnered from a personal religious quest.
Beginning as a good Catholic, Luther was burdened by his own sense of sinfulness. This
drove him to seek personal answers, which ultimately led him to split with Catholic
dogma. Luther came to acknowledge that the message of the Gospel was the final
authority, not the pope. Luther also postulated that the human will is completely enslaved
by evil; therefore, no meritorious good works assigned by the church as penance could
possibly lead people to salvation.
With a sense of joyful revelation, Luther came to believe that God grants salvation as a
free gift through Christ's sacrifice, which is imputed to people through faith. That gift,
however, does not remove or relieve people of their sinfulness. To reconcile that tension,
Luther proposed that the Word of God is both Law and Gospel. The Law condemns
people, as they are unable to keep any of it because of sinfulness. The Gospel, on the
other hand, justifies people, forgives them, and comes as a free gift. As people are not
capable of making any decisions for good, they are justified by passively hearing the
Word of God. God then turns people to Himself. People, therefore, are both sinful and
justified at the same time. Instead of being a requisite prelude to salvation, good works
follow people's justification, and can only be done once someone is justified. Luther
disdained the use of human reason to understand God or religion, calling reason a
"whore" enslaved to a corrupt will. People, therefore, have no choice whether to receive
salvation or not. Instead, God determines who will be saved by His gift of grace - a
doctrine known as predestination.
According to Luther, although the church is important as a community of believers, he
thought that every person is also self-sufficient to approach God alone. Luther
proclaimed a "priesthood of all believers" rather than require obeisance to a hierarchical
clergy. Luther believed that holy communion was the centre of worship. He called for the
cup to be returned to the people, and denied the teaching of transubstantiation, claiming
that although Christ is physically present during communion, the bread does not become
the actual body, or the wine the actual blood of Christ. The bread and wine were still
bread and wine, but were mixed somehow with Christ in "consubstantiation."
Luther wrote at time the printing press was invented, and was able to take advantage of
that invention to make his works available.
Luther's teachings and Luther himself were met with vituperative opposition by the
Catholic Church in Pope Leo X's Bull Exsurge Domine and the Imperial edict from the
Diet of Worms against Luther in 1521. Luther refused to recant and was forced into
hiding. During this time he produced a German translation of the Bible, which gave great
impetus to the growing reform movement. Luther's followers also instituted worship in
the German language.
Luther and Lutheranism, as his following came to be known, survived and spread also
because of growing nationalism in Germany. Many times Holy Roman Emperor Charles
V would have crushed the reform, but he was repeatedly preoccupied with more pressing
concerns throughout the Empire. The Imperial Diet, which met several times after
Worms, alternatively granted toleration of Lutheranism, and reinstated the edict of
Worms. The action at Spire in 1529 led to a formal protest by German Lutheran princes,
which earned the religious reformers the title of "Protestants," the title by which the
reformers have been known ever since.
The reform movement was not confined to Germany or Lutheranism. Throughout
Europe, similar movements appeared and gained momentum. Five years after Luther's
Theses, Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss Catholic priest with a humanistic bent, came to similar
conclusions as Luther. However, Zwingli extolled the study of Scripture according to the
humanistic method as the source of Christian faith. He also preached against mercenary
service, and spoke out against church exploitation of people. Zwingli felt that God's
foreknowledge and determination of all things was a logical expression of His nature.
Zwingli taught that only beliefs and practices that had a Scriptural foundation should be
followed.
In scattered pockets throughout Europe, a group called the Anabaptists felt that neither
Luther nor Zwingli took matters far enough in separating church from society. The
Anabaptists said that the true church consists only of those who have made a personal
decision to follow Christ. Therefore, they rejected church hierarchy and replaced infant
baptism with adult baptism, a practice which granted them their name "Anabaptists" or
"rebaptisers." This group, considered to be subversive, suffered great persecution from
Catholics because they help no respect for the power of the church.
Alongside Luther, the other giant of the Reformation was John Calvin (1509-1564), who
was known as the great systematiser of Protestant theology. Born a French Catholic,
Calvin was versed in humanism, which he disdained, held minor ecclesiastical office, and
studied law. His Scriptural studies led Calvin at age 25 to leave the Catholic Church.
Calvin devoted himself to writing about Protestantism, which he felt needed clarification.
His major work was called the Institutes of the Christian Religion, and was first
published in 1536. Subsequent editions were printed in French and Latin, with the final
text comprising four volumes. His Institutes is considered the high point of Reformation
theology.
Unlike Luther, Calvin did not concern himself with the inner state of the human soul,
preferring instead to devote his efforts to shoring up Protestant doctrine. Like Luther,
Calvin believed that salvation is granted by God as a free gift through faith. He also
taught predestination to heaven and hell. He postulated that since people are totally evil,
they are unable to choose to think truly or do anything good. Therefore, God chooses
who will receive His gift of salvation and who will not. Calvin's main point of difference
with Luther concerned holy communion. He said that Christ is present during
communion, but that His presence is not in the elements, but is spiritual.
Preferring to devote himself to study and writing, Calvin found himself repeatedly
recruited into leadership roles. While travelling through Geneva, Switzerland, Calvin was
reluctantly pulled into active duty in that city's struggle for reform. Calvin's talents and
zeal thrust him to the fore of those efforts. Led by Calvin, Geneva embarked on reform
under a series of Ecclesiastical Ordinances, by which the reformers set up a severe
regulation of Geneva's citizens. Calvin's authority in Geneva was unmatched, despite
heavy criticism for his persecution and burning of accused heretic-reformer Michael
Servetus. Calvin also directed the establishment of the Genevan Academy in 1559, which
offered Calvinist-based education.
Calvinism had a tremendous impact on the Reformation. His teachings were especially
influential in France, Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary and the Netherlands. After his
death, disputes arose among Calvin's followers over the doctrine of predestination. Some,
led by Dutch pastor and professor Jacobj Arminius, felt that predestination was based on
God's foreknowledge of those who would have faith in Christ. This implied that people
had some free will choices. Arminianism was labelled as a great heresy, and led Calvin's
followers to more rigidly define their basic doctrines. During the Synod of Dort (16181619), the basic tenets of Calvinism were established: the total depravity of mankind
(people are capable only of evil); unconditional election (God chooses people for
salvation); limited atonement (Christ died only for the predestined elect); irresistible
grace (people cannot resist God if He chooses to confer the gift of salvation); and the
perseverance of the saints (once a person is saved, he cannot permanently fall away).
Lutheranism and Calvinism (which became collectively known as the "Reformed")
defined Protestant orthodoxy, and spread throughout Europe and Great Britain. These
movements, and others, were met with heavy opposition from the Catholic Church and
Catholic nations. Severe persecutions and horrible wars marked great strife between the
Catholic establishment and reformist ideals. Catholicism also responded with its own
counter-reformation, which sought to reform the life of that church from the inside. The
church also sought to solidify its orthodoxy in response to the Protestant challenge, which
was accomplished at the Council of Trent from 1545-1563.
Despite this strife, and sometimes because of it, the Reformation grew. For example, in
Great Britain Protestantism spread because of political expediency. Henry VIII took on
the reformist cause (or tolerated it) because it aided his politically motivated split with the
papacy.
Standard Protestant orthodoxy became ever more dogmatic and rigid, such as England's
Puritan effort to structure all of society according to the Bible. Other movements arose
which promoted a more serious personal approach to religion. The Moravians and Pietists
spoke for the strong personal responsibility of a true Christian, by extolling a life of
asceticism, sacrifice, devotion and missionary work. This tradition strongly influenced
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, with its emphasis on awakening and cultivating
the personal faith of Christians. M ethodism had a tremendous impact in the New World,
and was the foremost religion in the great English religious awakening of the 18th
century.
Other movements, which played off the revitalised humanism of the Renaissance, an
interest in the world, and renewed confidence in human reason, turned towards a more
rational approach to religion. In Europe, many were attracted to Cartesian thought. In
Great Britain and beyond, Empiricism made a great impact. Still others responded to the
rigid dogmatism and contentiousness of orthodox Protestant thought by pursuing an inner
personal encounter with God in spiritualist religions such as Quakerism, or in natural
religions, which required no revelation or church hierarchy.
What Did The Reformation Really Accomplish And Where Did It Go Wrong?
The Writings state that the Reformation brought in some genuine light, and did much to
renew Christianity. The corruptions of the papacy and Catholic Church hierarchy were
exposed and rejected. The Word of God was restored to people, became available in
many different languages and was widely distributed due to the invention of the printing
press, world exploration and missionary work. Preaching from the word was offered in
the languages of the common people. With the fracturing of belief in the infallibility of
the pope and clergy, power was returned to the Lord Himself. People became free to
approach the Lord directly and develop personal relationships. The separation of good
works from faith, although turned to a great evil, at least contained the grain of truth that
people cannot merit heaven by their own deeds.
All of these things were important to a rebirth of Christianity. However, some essential
problems remained, and other evils were ushered in. The Writings explain that the
Reformed and Catholic Church both
agree in the articles concerning a Trinity of Persons in the Divinity,
original sin from Adam, imputation of the merit of Christ, and justification
by faith alone (BE 17).
The only difference was that the Catholics conjoined justification by faith with charity or
good works. This was not immediately noticeable. Because the Catholics approached the
pope instead of Christ Himself, their dogma concerning the imputation of Christ's merit
was buried deeply in their traditions.
The Reformation's separation of charity from faith led to the belief that people could live
however they wished, because they were already freely justified. This was done, the
Writings say, so that the reformers could totally separate from the Catholic Church (see
BE 17-29). With the separation of charity from faith, religion became a completely
passive thing that God does to people. Religion seen in this way ceases to be a real part of
life.
The Reformation also continued the Catholic tradition of viewing god in a trinity of
persons - a tremendous falsity held since the Nicean Council of 325 A.D. The Writings
say that the quality of religion depends on a proper understanding of God. If that
understanding is off, the entire life of religion is negatively affected (see NJHD 296; AC
10370; HH 2). With the division of God into three persons and a basic misunderstanding
of God's nature, reformation Christianity continued the falsity of Christ's sacrifice and
salvation by imputation of His merit. And because the reformers still worshipped God in
three persons, heavenly truths were hidden from them (see SS 24).
The Writings also point to the reformist doctrine of predestination as an evil that came
from the belief that people lack free will in spiritual things. Belief that the Lord could
predestine some to heaven and some to hell is called a pernicious and cruel creed based
on a misunderstanding of God, Who is love and mercy itself (see TCR 486:3).
The Reformation also promoted a misunderstanding of the Word. The idea that people
lack free choice, when combined with a distrust of human reason, led to the endorsement
of blind faith. The reformers taught that people could not understand God - in fact, should
not try to understand God. Rather, everyone should leave the mysteries of faith
unchallenged. The Writings condemn this approach to religion, and explain that although
the Word of God is open to Protestants, still it is closed because they believe their
understanding should be subservient to their faith (see TCR 508; AR 914).
Conclusion
When viewed from the light of the Writings, the Reformation did not constitute a
complete rebirth of Christianity. Rather, it was an integral part of the Divinely guided
process towards the Last Judgment and the Lord's Second Coming as revealed in the
Writings for the New Church. The things it accomplished formed the foundation for the
establishment of the New Jerusalem. But it also evolved into the dragon - the great enemy
of the New Church.
We know, however, that despite the best efforts of the dragon - and we may not have
even seen those played out in this world yet - the Lord's New Church will survive and
eventually thrive. It is the crown of all churches, and will endure for ages of ages.
Shake It Off And Step Up
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule...The Mule fell into the farmer's
well.....The farmer heard the mule "praying" (or whatever mules do when they fall into
wells). After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathised with the mule, but
decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving......Instead, he
called his neighbours together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help
haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical!......But as the farmer and his neighbours continued
shovelling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him....It suddenly dawned on him
that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF
AND STEP UP!......This he did, blow after blow....."Shake it off and step up......shake it
off and step up.....shake it off and step up!" he repeated to Encourage himself......No
matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule
fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP! It wasn't
long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of
that well!......What seemed like it would bury him, actually helped him...all because of
the manner in which he handled his adversity.
That's life!.....If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give
in to panic, bitterness, or self pity.....the adversities that come along to bury us usually
have within them the very real potential to benefit us!!!!