Enlightenment Age: A Turning Point for Christianity - Essay Sample

Introduction

For many centuries, Christianity had been operating harmoniously until the onset of the Enlightenment age, which marked the end of the ancient era and ushered in modernity (Barnett, 2018). This new era set aside the old teachings such as the church hierarchies being the basis of the authority of the church. This era also held on to reason and intellectual power, putting its emphasis on salvation at an individual level; thus, bringing a fixed period in the history of the church (Bianchini, 2015). One example of the changes that modernity brought into the church is the alteration and reversal of the balance that the older believers had established between divine immanence and divine transcendence (Law, 2016). The church had already summoned these two concepts and even incorporated them into what was called the 'transcendent-immanent theology'. There was also a creation of theology that proved to be paradoxical in its understanding of human nature. Human beings, and not God, was at the apex of the cosmos hierarchy and the centre of history (Lee & Ackerman, 2017).

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Also, divine revelation ceased to be the highest authority for decision making, and instead of consulting God, men resolved to their reasoning capacity to be the highest authority of truth (Barnett, 2018). Enlightenment also set aside creed and placed its focus on morality; postulating that the human reason is enough to make one to not only conform but also discover the natural moral laws which are within each individual (Gil, 2017). Initially, the medieval and reformation church believed that God was the sole author of moral and natural laws (Lee & Ackerman, 2017). Besides, a man was elevated to higher roles, not being static as the ancient church believed, but being involved in creative activities to transform the environment (Bianchini, 2015). In addition to this, the Age of Reason resulted into the dethronement of man from the high position that he had always held as God's unique creature to a tiny and minuscule portion living in a vast universe consisting of many other beings and things.

Enlightenment gave man powers and capabilities that were never there before. In addition to this was the optimistic anthropology in which Enlightenment intellectuals put their foundation on the ability of man to reason and also to know (Gil, 2017). Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, started by the rising of intellectuals such as Francis Bacon, a scientist who stressed that for anything to be believed and be regarded as truth, then it must first undergo scientific experiments (Lee & Ackerman, 2017). However, the 19th-century intellectuals had other views. According to Immanuel Kant, no one can obtain morality based merely on the human experience. He argues that the imminence of God is fundamental to the development of moral characters in man (Law, 2016). He also argues that scientific reasoning cannot account for the spatial and temporal phenomena that are without space.

On the other hand, Hegel refuses the idea of sense experience being the only means of attaining knowledge, stressing that reality is a developing and active process; and that truth is found in historical events because it is a process (Clark, 2019). He also stated that the Spirit is not just an indwelling being like the human spirit but is instead an active ongoing process in the world. Through the dialectic, Hegel also states that philosophy depends on an ongoing process; and finishes his philosophy with the idea of God as revealed in historical processes (Law, 2016). Schleiermacher focuses on the concept of intuition, stressing that only a religious feeling can reveal God's immanence, and that creed needs to change as time changes; and that for one to practice authentic Christianity, they should show devotion (Clark, 2019).

Tyrrell taught that there is a craving that is within every human being, a longing for God, and the only revelation from God can explain the purpose for the desire; while Loisy emphasised the idea that the church was as a result of the life and experience of Jesus Christ (Law, 2016). He also added that creed is usually as a result of spiritual maturity and should thus, change with time. Similarly, he argued against the idea of truth being objective, stating that the realm of time holds everything (Clark, 2019). Troels emphasised the three principles of H-C techniques and also introduced the scientific ideas of analogy, probability and interconnection; stating that there is an analogous origin for everything, which makes them entirely interconnected (Law, 2016).

From the facts presented above, it is clear that the church has faced many challenges, especially from the age of enlightenment and scientific revolution. Focusing on the Historical-Critical (H-C) method, it becomes clear that the enlightenment and scientific revolution had many similarities in their teachings. However, the Bible stands to be the sole source of authority which compares historical events. Modernism, on the other hand, places its focus on the fact that truth is not a material thing but rather, is just but a spiritual experience. It also advocates for morality but also stresses that sacraments are just experiential [processes and that a church is a community to enhance Christian experience.

References

Barnett, S. J. (2018). The Enlightenment and Religion: The myths of modernity. Manchester University Press.

Bianchini, S. (2015). Eastern Europe and the Challenges of Modernity, 1800-2000. Routledge.

Clark, E. A. (2019). The Fathers Refounded: Protestant Liberalism, Roman Catholic Modernism, and the Teaching of Ancient Christianity in Early Twentieth-Century America. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Gil, M. (2017). God or Nature? Catastrophes and Modernity from Lisbon to Valparaiso. International Journal of Mass Emergencies & Disasters, 35(3).

Law, D. R. (2016). Friedrich von Hugel: Kierkegaard as Non-Mystical Ascetic and One-Sided Defender of Transcendence. In Volume 10, Tome III: Kierkegaard's Influence on Theology (pp. 89-110). Routledge.

Lee, R. L., & Ackerman, S. E. (2017). The challenge of religion after modernity: Beyond disenchantment. Routledge.