Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Erasmus, the Eastern Fathers and the Great Tradition by Ron Dart

The name of Erasmus will never perish

John Colet (1516)

Erasmus has published volumes more full of wisdom than any which Europe has seen for ages.

Thomas More 

The chief aim of Erasmus in his life’s work as a humanist scholar was to restore theology. In his times this meant to replace the theology then being taught and practiced as a professional science by a more adequate study of Holy  Scripture and the Fathers of the early Church.

John Olin

Erasmus was a wild bird, willing to be caressed but refusing to sing in a cage.

Those who have dipped into the life and prolific writings of Erasmus (1466-1536) might be aware of the importance and significance of the Praise of Folly. Others know Erasmus well because of his Adages and Colloquies. The voluminous correspondence of Erasmus holds the attention of others. The clash between Luther and Erasmus is part of Reformation lore and legend.

The fact that Erasmus was put on the Index makes him an activist and writer of some interest. The peace theology of Erasmus makes him an anomaly of sorts in the war stricken 16^th century. Many 1^st generation Anabaptists cut their peace tradition teeth by sitting at the feet of Erasmus in Basel. Erasmus was front and centre in heralding and doing new translations of the Bible. But, Erasmus was deeply committed as a Christian humanist and renaissance scholar in bringing to the fore the Fathers of the Church.

Erasmus then and now -- by Ron Dart

 The name of Erasmus will never perish.

John Colet

Erasmus has published volumes more full of wisdom than any which Europe has seen for ages.

Thomas More

What would the Christian Church be like today if the guidance and wisdom of Erasmus in the early 16^th century had been followed rather than the reactionary protestant thinking of Luther or Calvin or the equally brittle response of the Roman Catholic stance at the Treaty of Trent? What is it about Erasmus that towers, Everest like, above the lesser peaks on all sides?

Erasmus was put on the Roman Catholic Index for raising hard questions about the tradition he refused to leave. Protestants were drawn to the incisive and prophetic like insights of Erasmus, but were irritated by the fact he would not break from Rome and the unity of the church.

What can Erasmus speak to us today across the long ridges of time? There are six areas I will briefly touch on in this brief overview.

Review of William Nicholls, 'Christian Antisemitism' and Don Lewis, 'The Origins of Christian Zionism' -- by Ron Dart

William Nicholls, CHRISTIAN ANTISEMITISM: A History of Hate,  (London: Jason Aronson Inc., 1993).

Don Lewis, The Origins of Christian Zionism: Lord Shaftesbury and Evangelical Support for a Jewish Homeland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).

The Christian Tradition is a child of the much older Jewish Tradition, and as a youthful Christianity challenged and broke from its parent heritage, varied reactions and responses have been the order of the centuries. Many have been the books written on the Christian relationship to Judaism, but two tomes have emerged in the last twenty years that embody and reflect opposite views of the Christian attitude towards Judaism.

Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate takes a decided position on the issue. Nicholls unpacks, slowly and meticulously, the long and negative attitude that can be found within Christianity towards the Jews. There is no doubt that Nicholls is on a mission, and his task is unrelenting.