Changing Intellectual Climate

Well, there were some other things going on during this period of the 17^th and 18^th Centuries that were related to religion—Rationalism and Revivalism. There was a growing tendency toward being more tolerant. And this, we actually saw begin, really, all the way back in the Renaissance, in the 14^th Century. In fact, some scholars would say that it really goes back to about maybe the 12^th Century with Scholasticism and Monasticism, as we had talked about [Lesson 7]. Basically, it would be characterized where, instead of being very closely tied to spiritual things, being closely tied to the church of that day, the Roman Catholic Church primarily—those doctrines, those teachings, etc.—and a person living within, basically, the confines of those things, there began to be a certain amount of rationalism about life and the approach to life.

There would be sort of a changing intellectual climate. Again, the seeds, maybe, having been planted centuries before, but really beginning to sort of take root, to flower, if you will, during this period. People began to feel less of a need for God and for religion. Say, that almost sounds like we’re describing our day and age, doesn’t it? That was what was going on in this time period as well. During the Renaissance, humanists turned their emphasis from the things of God to the things of man, and most of them did this without consciously intending to do this. But, in effect, they were repudiating religion.

The Deists

During this period, the 17^th Century specifically, modern science really had some of its beginnings, some of its origins. Frances Bacon laid the philosophical groundwork for the Scientific Method. Galileo, building upon the earlier work of others, would challenge, during this time, the belief, the understanding, that the earth was the center of the universe. Later, Isaac Newton worked out some careful formulas that seemed to indicate that the universe was a complicated machine that operated in accordance with certain unchanging laws. Well, it was not long before some men began to assert that one could apply reason and rational thinking and empirical methodology and data, and so on, to work out a natural religion that needed no revelation.

There was a group that emerged during this period of time. They were called the Deists. They basically came up with a theory that goes like this: The god envisioned by these rationalists was often likened to a watchmaker who made a wonderfully complicated watch, made the laws that governed its workings, wound up the watch and set it in motion, leaving it to run, and it would eventually run down.

Well, two things in that regard. First of all, its interesting to think about that theory on the heels of Dr. Bert Thompson’s lectures here [at the Northeast church of Christ] just a few days ago, where he talked about this very theory. And, these ones who began in the 17^th Century, who call themselves “deists,” are still with us today, are still among us. Oh, I don’t mean those original ones from the 17^th Century, but there are people today who maintain… Now, this theory, or this understanding, is one that is widely accepted and understood. Not everyone who understands it, not everyone who embraces it, is a “deist,” but indeed, there is a group worldwide who call themselves “deists.” The reason I mention that is, because I have a little bit of a dialog going on with one person right now who considers himself to be a “deist.” Interestingly enough, this one made contact with me through our web site as a result of one of the advertising flyers that we had sent out, and had scattered around in various places for our seminar with Dr. Bert Thompson [of Apologetics Press, Inc.]. So, that is where some of what sounds like some modern-day thinking really had some of its origin.

The Revival in Great Britain

So, we have this period of rationalism that we see beginning during this time. But then, we also see, beginning at this time, something of a “revival,” which has some activity in Great Britain. It also has some activity on the continent.

We won’t spend a great deal of time with either one of these, except to mention to you that there is one whose name that you will know and know something about, who is connected with the revival in Great Britain. His name is John Wesley. He was the son of an Anglican minister. The Church of England became the Anglican Church, as we had talked about in a previous lesson. He was the fifteenth of nineteen children in his family. He was educated for the Anglican ministry at Oxford University, where he, along with his brother, Charles, was active in a student group. And this student group sought a more spiritual life than was the current teaching and practice that was espoused by the Anglican Church itself and by Oxford University.

This group was sometimes referred to by their fellows, by their classmates, and whatnot, as the “Holy Club,” or also as “The Bible Moths.” Because of the methodical way that they went about their prayer life and Bible study, they picked up a name that was associated with this methodical process that they went through, and that name was the “Methodists.” That little title, of course, would stick.

John Wesley was ordained to the Anglican ministry. I was not aware of the fact that he actually journeyed to the New World in 1735, and he would spend some time in the colony of Georgia. But, he would return back to England, and he would continue his attempts at this more methodical view of religion. It is said that Wesley, during his lifetime, traveled nearly 250,000 miles on horseback, and he preached nearly 42,000 sermons, and wrote more than 50 books. An ambitious fellow.

Wherever he went in these travels, Wesley established these Methodist societies, as they were known in that time—groups that met together to study and worship. Wesley himself lived and died as part of the Anglican Church, and he, like many of the Reformers of his day, really had no intention of establishing a new religion, or establishing a different church. Well, he, Luther, Calvin—their desire, their intention, was to make reforms from the inside out, but after his death, Wesley’s followers would continue to meet in these Methodist societies, and, of course, this would spawn what we know now as the Methodist Church.

Religion of the Inner Light

The 17^th and 18^th Centuries put increasing emphasis upon reason. Yet, in contrast to this general intellectual trend, this period also saw a flowering of mysticism. Mystics, referred to as the “Religion of Inner Light,” believe that they can, by contemplation and devotion, have more or less direct communion with God. Mystics usually feel no need to justify their position by an appeal to reason or revelation. Perhaps the best known of these groups are the Quakers, or Friends. The Quakers came into existence during the Civil War in England.