History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1MacCaffrey, James
Religion
History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1
MacCaffrey, James
Catholic Church -- History -- Modern period, 1500-
Schwane, /Dogmengeschichte der neuren zeit/, 1890. Turmel,
/Histoire de la theologie positive du concile de Trente au concile
du Vatican/, 1906. Denzinger-Bannwart, /Enchiridion Symbolorum/,
11th edition, 1911. Duchesne, /Histoire du Baianisme/, 1731.
Linsenmann, /Michael Baius/, 1863.
The Catholic doctrine on Grace, round which such fierce controversies
had been waged in the fifth and sixth centuries, loomed again into
special prominence during the days of the Reformation. The views of
Luther and Calvin on Grace and Justification were in a sense the very
foundation of their systems, and hence it was of vital importance that
these questions should be submitted to a searching examination, and
that the doctrine of the Catholic Church should be formulated in such
a way as to make cavilling and misunderstanding impossible. This work
was done with admirable lucidity and directness in the fifth and sixth
sessions of the Council of Trent, but nevertheless these decrees of
the Council did not prevent the theories of Luther and Calvin being
propagated vigorously, and from exercising a certain amount of
influence even on some Catholic theologians who had no sympathy with
the religious revolt.
Amongst these might be reckoned Michael Baius (De Bay, 1513-89) a
professor at the University of Louvain and John Hessels, one of his
supporters in the theological controversies of the day. They believed
that Catholic apologists were handicapped seriously by their slavish
regard for the authority and methods of the Scholastics, and that if
instead of appealing to the writings of St. Thomas as the ultimate
criterion of truth they were to insist more on the authority of the
Bible and of the works of the Early Fathers, such as St. Cyprian, St.
Jerome, and St. Augustine, they would find themselves on much safer
ground, and their arguments would be more likely to command the
respect of their opponents. Hence at Louvain, in their own lectures,
in their pamphlets, and in private discussions, they insisted strongly
that Scholasticism should make way for positive theology, and that the
Scriptures and patristic literature should take the place of the
/Summa/. Not content, however, with a mere change of method they began
to show their contempt for traditional opinions, and in a short time
alarming rumours were in circulation both inside and outside the
university that their teaching on Original Sin, Grace, and Free-will,
was not in harmony with the doctrine of the Church. The Franciscans
submitted to the judgment of the Sorbonne a number of propositions
(18) selected from the writings or lectures of Baius and his friends,
and the opinion of the Sorbonne was distinctly unfavourable. As the
dispute grew more heated and threatened to have serious consequences
for the university and the country, Cardinal Granvelle, believing that
the absence of the two professors might lead to peace, induced both to
proceed to the Council of Trent as the theologians of the King of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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