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PROTESTANT REFORMATION: A MENTOR TO CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION |
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When we talk about Protestant Reformation, what usually comes to our mind is a
movement that brought about negative effects not just in Europe but also in the
whole Catholic Church, which are still being felt and experienced even today.
Although it may be true that the Protestant Reformation had been one of the
causes of the gradual decline of the Catholic Church during the 16th century,
it also brought about numerous contributions in the development not just of the
Catholic Church but the whole Christian Civilization as well. It was through
the establishment of these Protestant Churches that the Catholic Church started
taking a second look and examining well what was happening to the Catholic
faith. It began to see the flaws and shortcomings of its Church and started to
fix and find solutions to the growing conflicts and problems within and outside
the Catholic Church and its people. One very important lesson that Christian
Civilization could learn from the events of the Protestant Reformation is that
to never resolve to violence in trying to settle disputes and differences among
people and to never allow ourselves to be influenced by wrong motives (more for
our own selfish interests) in our pursuit for the "greater good".
Even up to the present times, we can consider the Protestant Reformation a
great contribution and influence in the formation of what we know now as
Christian Civilization.
As we try to look back to the events of the Protestant Reformation, we would
see how bloody and violent things had turned out to be among the different
groups and how ineffective and worthless were the wars that aggravated the
disputes between the Catholics and Christians. The Reformation in France was a
bloodier business than in either England or Germany, for the question of reform
became entangled with the political fortunes of the crown and of certain noble
families. While reform proceeded relatively peacefully in the first part of the
16th century, the so-called Wars of Religion dominated the second half. The
fights were not just about difference in religious beliefs but various powerful
families saw in these events an opportunity to gain influence and advance their
own interests. The Wars of Religion created a deep division within French
society. They also weakened the kingdom that France's international position
was seriously threatened in the later 1500s. These events clearly showed how
grave and worst things could get in religious dispute once political matters
and personal interests influence it. The disputes become more of a fight for
one's own self rather than that for the greater good. In this manner, it
becomes more of a selfish act. Just like with what is happening between the
church and the state today and with other religious disputes among the
different religious groups, we must always keep in mind that we are not
fighting for ourselves but for what we believe is good for all.
In the event of the St. Bartholomew Massacre, the growing conflict between the
Catholics and Protestant even worsened. As Catholics around Europe rejoiced
over the death of thousands of Huguenots, Protestants mourned and cried out in
anger. The battle that was once a fight for faith instantly transformed to a
battle of death in which both Catholics and Protestants around Europe felt deeply
involved. Many events followed this massacre but eventually, through the Edict
of Nantes, a proclamation that declared that France was Catholic but granted
freedom of public worship and recognized their rights; France's religious wars
ended. As in England and Germany, it did not bring a permanent peace but only a
truce. In these events, we learn a very important lesson and that is to resolve
problems in the most diplomatic and peaceful way that we could. Here, we could
see that violence would lead us nowhere and will not help us solve whatever
disputes we have among others. In a war, there is never a winner or a victor.
Everybody is in the losing end.
With all these events that took place in the course of Protestant Reformation,
it is undeniably true that Christian Civilization could get important and
essential lessons and points from it, which can be of great help in the
continuous process of development of Christian Civilization. All we have to do
is recall our history and try to learn from the mistakes of the past as we try
to search for the future. The past always has a link to the present and the
future. Our civilization today will never have come to existence if not for the
events that took place in history. Christian Civilization will not be what it is
today if not for events of the past, one of which is the Protestant
Reformation.