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My Dear Erasmus
Erasmus was born in 1469 so you might not have heard of him; to his contemporaries this would be unthinkable. To them he was a modern Socrates whose learning and wisdom had not been equalled for a thousand years 'a kind of divine being sent down to us from heaven'. University of Toronto Press's 'Collected Works of Erasmus' will extend to 86 volumes. This includes his letters. Erasmus corresponded on a massive scale all over Western including kings, popes, professors, humanists and many more - anyone who was anyone at some stage penned the words 'My Dear Erasmus.' The march of history has not been kind to Erasmus. In spite of his phenomenal achievements Luther, concealed behind the Reformation, has eclipsed him. Yet the influence of Erasmus led to that Reformation. His life and work shows how God can use someone not in sympathy with the church to stimulate one of its greatest periods of growth and spirituality.
- GenresBiography
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 2, 2012
An excellent introduction to one of the most famous (in his own day) and least known (in ours) historical figures of the Reformation era; I have long wanted to understand more about Desiderius Erasmus. Remembered today mostly for his ironic encomium, The Praise of Folly, in his own age he was renown for his innovative (for the time) side-by-side Greek translation of the Scriptures, ‘paraphrases’ of several New Testament works, extensive theological writings and voluminous correspondence spanning a long lifetime.
The author, David Bentley-Taylor’s work is appropriately subtitled ‘The Forgotten Reformer’ because history is written by the winners. Many of those histories have been written by extremists on Catholic and Protestant sides of the battle and as such, those who stayed a middle course, avoided both extremes and presumably sought reasoned and true “reform” were not given fair representation; certainly they were not so easy to discern at the time they lived. In point of fact, Mr. Bentley-Taylor’s epilogue points out that Erasmus’s complete letters and writings are not expected to be completely translated and ready for publication until the year 2020! And to think he lived and wrote in an age before there was even a typewriter!
In the book, My Dear Erasmus, we have a glimpse at the life of the great reformer with special focus on the years 1514-1525, critical years in the development of the Protestant Reformation, especially as they played out in the development in the life of Martin Luther and Lutheranism in Germany. As seen from the letters written to and by Erasmus—both by friends and foes alike—as the fires of revolution sprouted up all over Europe, his initial hopes to inspire reform quickly faded as he saw how others took his ideas out of the context of Gospel obedience, humility and compassion. Although he quickly fell into disfavor with the Lutherans for refusing to openly break with the Catholic Church and denounce the Pope, he was equally suspect with some fanatical Catholics who were aware of the influence his writings had had on Luther, Zwingli and others. Erasmus had never shied away from criticizing the Catholic Church when it was the dominant power in Europe and in desperate need of reform. However, as he saw the reformers acting not as ‘reformers’ do from within, but as revolutionaries do from outside, he withdrew his support and favored a more moderate line. He remained a faithful Catholic to the end so far as I can determine, so far as this book seems to indicate. From the passages Mr. Bentley-Taylor has included it would seem Erasmus predicted—or called for—much that the forthcoming Council of Trent would eventually spell out or reaffirm in terms of the seven sacraments, the Real Presence of the Eucharist, extensive standards of training for the ministerial priesthood and the end to monetarily ‘selling’ of indulgences.
My Dear Erasmus consists of short chapters which are mostly extracts of letters between the great man and other famous personalities of the era, including Luther, Pope Adrian, Zwingli, Justus Jonas, Eck, the Archbishop of Canterbury—before the English Reformation, King Henry VIII, etc. Through these extracts we trace Erasmus’s struggle to hang on to his ideals amidst the storm which he gradually realizes is overtaking Europe.
Unfortunately the book ends in 1525 and Erasmus lived another 10 years. I wanted to know the rest of the story. And excellent read! Most highly recommended!
Perfect for someone with only a beginning/rudimentary level/understanding in theology.
=====================================================
Started this back in 2003, then set it aside. Now that I'm rereading Paul Johnson's A History of Christianity I want to learn more about this reformer who-according to Johnson-is the moderate we should have listened to.
The author, David Bentley-Taylor’s work is appropriately subtitled ‘The Forgotten Reformer’ because history is written by the winners. Many of those histories have been written by extremists on Catholic and Protestant sides of the battle and as such, those who stayed a middle course, avoided both extremes and presumably sought reasoned and true “reform” were not given fair representation; certainly they were not so easy to discern at the time they lived. In point of fact, Mr. Bentley-Taylor’s epilogue points out that Erasmus’s complete letters and writings are not expected to be completely translated and ready for publication until the year 2020! And to think he lived and wrote in an age before there was even a typewriter!
In the book, My Dear Erasmus, we have a glimpse at the life of the great reformer with special focus on the years 1514-1525, critical years in the development of the Protestant Reformation, especially as they played out in the development in the life of Martin Luther and Lutheranism in Germany. As seen from the letters written to and by Erasmus—both by friends and foes alike—as the fires of revolution sprouted up all over Europe, his initial hopes to inspire reform quickly faded as he saw how others took his ideas out of the context of Gospel obedience, humility and compassion. Although he quickly fell into disfavor with the Lutherans for refusing to openly break with the Catholic Church and denounce the Pope, he was equally suspect with some fanatical Catholics who were aware of the influence his writings had had on Luther, Zwingli and others. Erasmus had never shied away from criticizing the Catholic Church when it was the dominant power in Europe and in desperate need of reform. However, as he saw the reformers acting not as ‘reformers’ do from within, but as revolutionaries do from outside, he withdrew his support and favored a more moderate line. He remained a faithful Catholic to the end so far as I can determine, so far as this book seems to indicate. From the passages Mr. Bentley-Taylor has included it would seem Erasmus predicted—or called for—much that the forthcoming Council of Trent would eventually spell out or reaffirm in terms of the seven sacraments, the Real Presence of the Eucharist, extensive standards of training for the ministerial priesthood and the end to monetarily ‘selling’ of indulgences.
My Dear Erasmus consists of short chapters which are mostly extracts of letters between the great man and other famous personalities of the era, including Luther, Pope Adrian, Zwingli, Justus Jonas, Eck, the Archbishop of Canterbury—before the English Reformation, King Henry VIII, etc. Through these extracts we trace Erasmus’s struggle to hang on to his ideals amidst the storm which he gradually realizes is overtaking Europe.
Unfortunately the book ends in 1525 and Erasmus lived another 10 years. I wanted to know the rest of the story. And excellent read! Most highly recommended!
Perfect for someone with only a beginning/rudimentary level/understanding in theology.
=====================================================
Started this back in 2003, then set it aside. Now that I'm rereading Paul Johnson's A History of Christianity I want to learn more about this reformer who-according to Johnson-is the moderate we should have listened to.
October 4, 2024
It was interesting to learn more about Erasmus through this book. However, as it is mostly based on his letters, it was hard to read and I missed parts on the actual he has been doing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews