Case study #2 (200 points)
Choose one of the figures discussed this week or last week.
- Compose a shirt biography of their background include date of birth, country, vocation etc.
- Describe one or two significant contributions of the figure to the Reformation/Post Reformation time period.
- Describe how their contributions change the worldview of Christianity.
- Analyze the effect of their contribution to your worldview.
Submit this to the Case Study Icon in the General Section of this course.
Answer each question 1-2 paragraphs.
You may choose a written text or PowerPoint presentation with equivalent content.
Include a bibliography and citations. You can use any format. Please use in text citations.
This week we will continue with the expansion of thought that occurs post – Reformation.
Continue to read the readings assigned on the syllabus for Weeks 5/6.
Along with the Reformation comes the advancement of science, politics, economics, art, and all aspects of human endeavors expand in Western Europe and fundamentally change the Late Medieval Christian worldview.
Galileo changes science in a way that puts him at odds with the Roman Church. Often know as the “father of modern science,” Galileo sets the church in opposition to the advancement of science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=2J0-ZbbrD6U&feature=emb_title
Part of the expansion is the cosmological, theological and scientific work of Isaac Newton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCxP24qj2UQ&feature=emb_title
Newton set the beginning point for the modern search for cosmology – the concept of an ordered universe or design created by a rational consciousness which countered the Late Medieval Dante cosmology. You can click on the site below to see an over view of his extensive works. He is the model, also, for the scientific theologian. The Post-Reformation movement to integrate scientific observation ( Aristotelian methodology) with theological reflection and the creation of an enlightenment view of God. The fundamental challenge to all modern Christian worldviews is this effort to integrate science and religion with the interpretation of Biblical texts and Christian beliefs with the discoveries of modern physics and cosmology. Isaac Newton is the beginning point for this endeavor in redefining the theocentric universe.
The Newton Project
http://www.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk/texts/newtons-works/religious
As the hold of the Late Medieval Roman Church gives way to the expansion of the English, Spanish and other European empires – the Holy Roman Empire begins to split into differing nations. The Hapsburgs become the defenders of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles V becomes the central figure in the Reformation and Post Reformation politics and formation of religious Christian pluralism based upon a political nationalism. The video below gives you an overview of these dynamics and their impact on modern Christianity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=TpKmG7mDaDM&feature=emb_title
Historians see the Reformation as creating an opening for the Renaissance and the arts to emerge out of the control of the Papacy into a flourishing humanism represented by the painting Vitruvian man by Leonardo da Vinci. This painting represented the focus now away from the divine as creator and human beings as creative. The power of human creativity, designed by God, allowed the free will of human beings and the emphasis on these creative powers. Humanism as a movement created by the Reformation becomes a dominant theme of the modern world and the Post Reformation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMsaFP3kgqQ&feature=emb_title
Michael Angelo
The vision of Michael Angelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel become the dominant visualization of the Post Reformation emphasis on the encounter between humans and God in the iconic section of the Sistine Chapel. The Enlightenment and Post Reformation focal point is the interaction between God and creation. How do I find purpose and meaning in God’s creation? How do I understand the expanding world around me and the role of the earth in a greater universe. This fundamental focus lays the groundwork for EXISTENTIALISM – the movement that underlies the contemporary Christian worldview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=-V5vP1rMnq8&feature=emb_title
