Even though MARTIN LUTHER (1483–1546) feared a certain kind of semipelagianism in this attempt, the later educational reform ideas of the Wittenberg professor and his followers take root in this development. Against the background of the Western church’s traditional knowledge of the first centuries, the Wittenberg reformer saw the Roman (i.e., papal) limitation of the church system, as well as the scholastic educational reform, as apostasy from the original norm. Because of that he feared another ecclesiastical reform, which would spoil the system of education, schooling, and teaching even further.
Thus, with his reform program Luther referred to scriptural authority as the last and ultimate AUTHORITY. It determines the critique on the scholastic but also the humanistic education and school reforms, as well as the emphasis of the future reformed teaching plan. Luther pointed out three theological arguments for a new, enforced commitment for teaching the youth: first, fighting Satan, who strives to destroy God’s good creation; second, turning to God’s mercy, which only the Germans received in this century, but will not keep forever. Third, simple obedience to God’s commandment and the natural order of creation binds church and its representatives to youth education. Even though Luther makes school education part of worldly considerations and the responsibility of secular authorities, the biblical theological argumentation of this idea must still be taken into consideration. Juvenile education, school, and training are not only matters of natural reason, but part of theological contemplation. Luther closely combines this unity of ecclesiastical and worldly responsibility for education and training with medieval reform concepts on the one hand; on the other hand he clearly splits it from early modern educational endeavors of the secular authorities.
Other reformers—especially PHILIPP MELANCHTHON (1497–1560) and JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN (1485–1558) who worked out the merely practical matters of the reformed concept of teaching and schooling in church ordinances, handbooks, textbooks, catechisms and other helpful and quite successful materials—followed Luther in his theological grounding of school reform and in their efforts to deal with this problem as a consequence of their REFORMATION insights. They are basically concerned with the general education of youth, which has to be realized in omnibus civitatibus, oppidis et pagis (in all societies, towns, and villages).
Main elements of school ordinances in Wittenberg, Zurich, or other stem cells of the Reformation include the following items: the knowledge of languages (mainly Latin), a certain knowledge of science and arts (orbis litteraruni), the classical artes liberales, and finally a biblically grounded knowledge of ETHICS and piety. Any content of the school ordinances influenced by Reformation thought was related and focused on a better understanding of Scripture as the revelation of God, God’s love and mercy, and God’s will to redeem the sinner. Thus the knowledge of God’s revelation implies certain knowledge of God’s will and God’s orders for humankind.
Of course Luther and others refer to the education of an academic elite when they recommend special furthering of the “prodigy.” Although Luther did not concentrate on that in his early years, his reform attempts after the visitation of churches and schools in rural Saxony of 1527 more and more accentuated the education of future evangelical CLERGY and a biblically founded knowledge for the ruling elites. Improved education was seen as a tool in the apocalyptic battle between God and Satan: the study of the past as much as other disciplines would alert people to God’s omniscience and help them to understand the Scriptures and the fate of the world. It thus obtained an important place in school and university education, even though profane—and especially classical—historians were to be studied in strict subordination to the overall authority of the Bible.
Even though Luther did not explicitly mention religious education, the requirement for special lessons on the Holy Book can be found in almost all school regulations and school foundations. Probably as a helpful handbook or model of biblical lessons in school or at home Luther worked out in several steps his CATECHISMS: first the Great catechism for pastors and trained clergy and later on the Small catechism for the house father (pater familias). One can hardly over-estimate the influence and importance of Luther’s catechisms for the history of evangelical theological education. Even though several other handbooks for elementary education in faith and piety had been written, none of them ever became as important as Luther’s two books (later included in the Book of Concord and other collections of main sources of the evangelical faith).
Whereas Luther separated the Erasmian synthesis of Christianity and Humanism by the secularization of the medieval performance of education by the church on the one hand and a strong focus on its Christian grounding, referring to a certain mystical understanding of education on the other, Melanchthon strongly accentuated the humanistic ideal. Although Luther denied a human activity to rebuild the human being after God’s image and likeness, Melanchthon and JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564) supported an academic education if not for the salvation of humankind then for the teaching of human beings in the will of God. Melanchthon went back to humanistic ideals as eloquentia and other virtues as described in the antique books. This concept is strengthened through his accentuation of natural law. It contains the testimonium of God’s eternal justice and preforms future ethical behavior of humankind. Nevertheless Melanchthon does not understand education as a way to heaven. True Christian education develops the iustitia civilis but not iustitia christiana.
Even more, the humanistic heritage comes into the fore in the pedagogical concepts of John Sturm (1507–1589) in Strasbourg and Calvin in Geneva. The latter stressed the doctrinal character of an ecclesiastical education and focused on the training of future clergy and an ecclesiastical elite. Schools became places in which children get trained in a certain orientation of life and a biblically grounded ethical doctrine. At this point Calvin continued the pedagogical reform attempts of HULDRYCH ZWINGLI (1484–1531) as he had performed them in Zurich and as were continued by HEINRICH BULLINGER (1504–1575). Within this reformed concept, education became part of God’s pedagogy. SIN was understood in the meaning of not knowing. As much as ignorance leads to hell, the true knowledge of God as revealed in Scripture becomes the exclusive way to heaven.
The humanistic heritage was continued in the Lutheran and the Reformed tradition but also within a large educational reform movement initiated by the Jesuits in Catholicism, where again Christian Humanism came to the fore. In their schools, Jesuits taught future soldiers of Christ, insfruments of the will of God, and servants of a catholic reform, which would protect the unity of the church. Although Erasmus tried to work out the personality of human beings after the image of God, the Jesuits accentuated the giving up of personal interests and a pure obedience to the will of God represented in the orders of the superior.
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