The Infestation of False Teaching By Joshua Evers
I truly appreciate Erasmus' courage to criticize the Catholic Church while remaining in it. This requires a lot of patience, in revealing the obviously hypocritical lifestyles of church leaders, and knowledge concerning the truth of the scriptures to properly point them out. Needless to say I also appreciated his appeals to sarcasm and hilarious comments concerning the vile practices of the corrupt leaders. Erasmus mentions how they twist Holy scripture, like a lump of clay, while demanding their own conclusions are set in stone. Denying the final authority of scripture is the equivalent of pulling the rug out from under a skyscraper made of playing cards. This leads to an absolutely fluid foundation, incapable of supporting any weighty truth. My biggest frustration concerning a dispute in scripture would be discovering that the opposition does not affirm the final authority of scripture. I personally do not mind being proven wrong, if by the scriptures the truth is revealed to me. Yet here is a man dealing with a people who have refused the existence of any authority above themselves. Erasmus goes on to say, concerning the crooked theologians "...not Paul or Peter...can make someone a Christian unless he has the vote of these bachelors of divinity..."(p. 67). These false teachers have attempted to elevate themselves above the Word of God, and consequently tried to dictate even the requirement for the conversion of a believer. This disregard for God's Word is sad, and reveals a depressing and grotesque individual lost in foolishness who puts on a facade for others to see. Again, Erasmus has showed a lot of love and patience for the Catholic church, having the stamina to deal with outlandish hypocrisy. I quickly thought about the appearance of whitewashed tombs. So pretty on the outside, but they house death on the inside.
Also I have found my new favorite quote for the semester, replacing last semester's quote by Dr. Downs concerning "Cow Babies".
Erasmus is referencing how the false teachers are air heads in saying "Therefore don't be surprised when you see them at public disputations with their head so carefully wrapped up in swaths of cloth, for otherwise they would clearly explode." (p. 67).
I commented on Zelda and Moriah's posts.
Also I have found my new favorite quote for the semester, replacing last semester's quote by Dr. Downs concerning "Cow Babies".
Erasmus is referencing how the false teachers are air heads in saying "Therefore don't be surprised when you see them at public disputations with their head so carefully wrapped up in swaths of cloth, for otherwise they would clearly explode." (p. 67).
I commented on Zelda and Moriah's posts.
I really liked your comparison to the faulty foundation, because someone can try to lead a religious and spiritual life all they want, but if they base their theology off things that are incorrect, it ultimately will lead to pretty much nothing in the end. I also really liked when you pointed out how Erasmus is/was considered a practicing member of the Catholic Church, as being apart of something and disagreeing with major things about it isn't necessarily an indicator that you intend to leave, for example if me and my family disagree on politics (which we do), I still consider myself apart of my family. I think it shows a level of nuance to Erasmus we don't necessarily get the full view of in the document we read. (That and Erasmus didn't really have much else where to go at the time for church membership.)
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