The Political Consequences of the Reformation : Studies in Sixteenth-Century Political Thought

The appeal to the Bible was the soul of the Reformation. The Renaissance left the people untouched. The Reformation touched them deeply, and it touched them through the Sacred Record. Between Rome and the people there stands not only the might of the Sovereign but also the might of the Bible. The place of the infallible Church was taken by an infallible Book. The change was gain, but not all pure gain. The Bible belongs to a past age and records many types of civilisation. It records principles: it refuses to record maxims for the indolent or for those who prefer authoritative rules to guide every action in life. Therefore the reader must interpret it anew in the light of the present. Its truths are unchanged: its aspects are continually changing. That is, its interpretation must vary from age to age. The reformer asserted the priesthood of the believer, and this assertion carried with it the right to examine for oneself, regardless of any Ita scriptum est. Thus was provoked that habit of inquiry that lies at the very base of individualism. The interpretation of the Bible was left to the ever-varying necessities of the individual. Men were convinced that the salvation of each soul was dear in the sight of God, and they were convinced that nothing, and no one, must stand between the soul and its Creator. As the national State emerges, so does the individual, with all the advantages as well as all the drawbacks of his newly found liberty. - Introduction.