Five Brothers and a War

History—1500 to 1600 AD

The first half of the 16 th Century was dominated by changes in religion. Martin Luther came to reject the main underpinnings of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. The essence of what he was arguing was that a person could not earn salvation and thus eternal life. It was strictly a gift. Another major disagreement that undermined the Church was his belief that the Bible was the sole source of divinely-revealed knowledge. This had several key impacts on the Catholics. First, the concept of the writings and teaching of the Church being equal with the Bible was rejected. Secondly, the notion of sacerdotalism (ordinary people can only gain access to God through a priestly intermediary) was also rejected. Luther said that everyone has access to God through Jesus Christ, not through a priest, or any instrument of the Roman Catholic Church. He posted his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. He was ordered to retract his beliefs and thoughts, but his refusal led to his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X in 1520. This caused him also to be condemned by the Emperor, Charles V. Charles V (grandson of Charles the Great) reigned from 1516-1555, and continued the process of centralizing Holland. In 1524, he conquered the northern part of present-day Holland—Friesland and Groningen. Charles was a member of the Habsburg family, so he also reigned in Spain, Austria and Germany. When Charles abdicated in 1555, the connection between Spain and Holland remained intact as he handed off the thrones to his younger brother Ferdinand I, as Holy Roman Emperor and his son Philip II, as King of Spain. Simultaneously, and unrelated in many ways, humanism developed in Holland. Humanism is a strictly rational philosophy that stresses the potential value and goodness of human beings, and emphasizes common human needs. The prime proponent in Holland at the time was Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus was never in agreement with Luther, and did not leave the Catholic Church, though he certainly did not subscribe to all of their teachings. Through the process of the Reformation and the introduction of humanism, Holland began its move from the Catholic Church, a process that continues to this day. Yet another significant movement of the time was the springing up of the Anabaptist Movement. Anabaptists rejected infant baptisms, teaching that a person had to be an adult to decide to profess, and ask forgiveness, for their sins prior to baptism. The name was given by their theological opponents, and was not meant as a compliment. Believers rejected the name, as it meant to “re-baptize”, and they believed that it is entirely unscriptural to baptize infants, therefore there is no need to “re-baptize” but simply to “baptize” properly. This movement was the genesis of the Amish, the Hutterites and the Mennonites.

holland

Five Brothers and a War

Page 54