How can a Christian resolve the tension that may exist between intellectual and cultural pursuits, and the living out of one’s faith? Is this tension inevitable?
Key words
d Renaissance: a cultural movement that took place between medieval and modern times, for about 300 years (14th–16th centuries) characterised by a revival of the classical languages of Latin and Greek, and the absorption of a vast amount of knowledge from the Islamic world.
d Hellenistic: originating from the classical Greek world.
d Classical learning: any knowledge that derives from Latin and ancient Greek culture.
d Humanism: a way of thinking based on the belief that the human mind is supreme and able to rightly interpret all aspects of human knowledge and cultural pursuits.
d Scientific method: a new process of learning during the Renaissance, focusing on the use of empirical evidence, mathematical deduction, and the application of logic and reasoning in order to analyse and understand new areas of knowledge.
d Empirical evidence: knowledge or data that is derived from experimental observation alone, without reference to a preconceived theory.
d Secularism: a world view that is essentially atheistic, denying any validity to a religious perspective on life.
d Byzantium: a continuation of the Roman Empire in the Middle East after its division at the end of the fourth century AD.
d Heliocentric cosmos: a view of the cosmos formalised by Galileo (in 1632 AD), who claimed that the sun was the centre of the cosmos around which the earth and other planets all revolved.
d Geocentric cosmos: the medieval view of the cosmos— taught by the church—that the earth was its centre, around which the sun (and other planets) revolved.
d Recant: to renounce one’s beliefs.
Big idea from THE PAST
During the last centuries of the Middle Ages, there was a huge increase in intellectual and cultural achievement, accompanied by a growth in humanistic ways of learning. Religious faith did not disappear, but gradually took on a new expression.
BACKGROUND notes
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that began in Italy in the 14th century and spread throughout Europe over the next few hundred years. This movement was characterised by a revival of interest in, and study of classical languages such as Latin, Greek and Hebrew, as well as classical Greek philosophy. In addition, there was a huge influx of scientific and mathematical knowledge that came from Islamic culture into ‘Christian’ Europe. The Renaissance marks a transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
Key characteristics of the Renaissance period
d Humanism: Humanist scholars studied ancient texts in their original language, and interpreted them with reason and empirical evidence. The basis of this approach was that the human intellect is capable of rightly interpreting any aspect of human knowledge.
d Artistic expression: During this period, artistic expression took on previously unknown forms. In particular, there was the development of the threedimensional perspective in painting, which replaced the ‘flat’ twodimensional perspective of the medieval period. Artistic content also underwent a dramatic change. No longer were artists only depicting explicitly religious subjects; they were now turning to more natural, ‘secular’ subjects, such as the physical world, the human body and portraits of ordinary individuals. Sculptors revived classical forms such as the naked human body, and architecture, and also revisited the classical forms of the Greek and Roman worlds.
d Scientific method: The Renaissance also saw the introduction of a radical new approach to learning called the ‘scientific method’—a process that focused on empirical evidence, mathematical deduction, and the application of logic and reasoning. As a result of this approach, great advances were made in the sciences of astronomy, physics, biology and anatomy.
d Religion: In spite of the increase in what might be termed secular knowledge during this era, Renaissance humanism still maintained a Christian foundation, or world and life view. Renaissance scholars found new ways to explore the relationship between God and man. This resulted in the emergence of individualism, which was very different from the communal nature of medieval religion.
Key Renaissance figures
One of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance period was Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). His great skills as a painter, sculptor and inventor have brought him enduring fame. His most famous painting is the Mona Lisa. It is said that on his death bed, da Vinci took refuge in the Church. He asked for instruction in the faith, and sought forgiveness. He is said to have remarked that during his life he had offended God and man by not having used his artistic skills to the best of his ability.
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was a renowned late Renaissance Italian mathematician, physicist and astronomer who caused great controversy in 1632 when he published a work arguing for a heliocentric structure of the cosmos, rather than a geocentric one.
Galileo spent a large part of his life seeking to prove that the sun, rather than the earth, was the centre of the cosmos, and that all planets revolved around the sun. This concept was revolutionary, since the prevailing view of the structure of the universe was geocentric. This was the view held by Aristotle (fourth century BC), and was the official teaching of the medieval church.
The Roman Catholic authorities taught that an earth-centred cosmos was the position taught in Holy Scripture. The church totally rejected Galileo’s conclusion, and forced him to recant.
Galileo spent the last few years of his life under house arrest by order of the Inquisition. It is evident from Galileo’s work that he had a deep respect for biblical teaching, and affirmed that the purpose of the Bible was to point people towards God, rather than being an astronomical textbook. He argued that the passage in Scripture that the Church claimed supported a geocentric view of the cosmos (Joshua 10) could be interpreted to represent a heliocentric view.
THE PAST Processing
14TH-16TH CENTURY AD
THE PAST Profiting from
Blog entry . . .
Imagine you are Galileo Galilei. The year is 1633, and you have recently published your book arguing for the heliocentric structure of the universe. The church has reacted badly to your arguments. It believes that that the earth—not the sun—is at the centre of the universe. You have just returned from a hearing before the Inquisition, and have been placed under house arrest. Regrettably, you were forced to recant your position. You decide to record your personal reflections on your blog. Include how you feel about being forced to recant and why you think the church is wrong.
Time machine theatre
The setting is a university medical examination room in the city of Florence (Italy). The year is 1575, and you are a doctor of medicine, and a teacher at the university. You are an enthusiastic supporter of the new learning, the new ‘scientific method’. In front of you lies the body of an elderly man who died recently, and donated his body for medical research, as well as five students you are about to teach. The problem to investigate is: how did this man die?
Create a dialogue between you and your students.
Heroes from the past
The following passage is taken from Giorgio Vasari’s Life of Leonardo da Vinci (1550). It describes the technique used by the great Renaissance artist in painting the Mona Lisa. The language has been modified slightly to reflect current English usage.
Leonardo undertook to execute, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife; and after working at it for four years, he left it unfinished; … In this head, … the eyes had that lustre and watery sheen which are always seen in life, and around them were all those rosy and pearly shades of colour, as well as the lashes, which cannot be represented without the greatest subtlety. The eyebrows, after he has shown the manner in which the hairs spring from the flesh—some close together, and some set more apart—and which curve according to the pores of the skin, could not be more natural. The nose, with its beautiful nostrils, rosy and tender, appeared to be alive. The mouth, with its opening, and with its ends united by the red of the lips to the flesh-colouring of the face, seemed, in truth, to be not colours but flesh. In the pit of the throat, if one gazed upon it intently, could be seen the beating of the pulse…
The Medieval Times
What does this description tell us about da Vinci’s approach to his art?
What is distinctively ‘Renaissance’ about this artistic technique?
The year is 1519. You are a reporter for The Medieval Chronicle. Leonard da Vinci, the great Renaissance artist and scholar, has just died. The editor of the paper has asked you to write a brief obituary, celebrating the life of this great man. You seek out one of his students and ask what impact Leonardo had on him and how he feels about the artist’s death.
In this Bible event, Daniel is one of four young men who were captured by the Babylonian army in 605 BC, and taken from Jerusalem to Babylon to serve King Nebuchadnezzar, and be trained and educated in the culture of Babylon (v 1–4). However, these young men refused to follow the customs of the Babylonians, and chose to obey only the customs of their Jewish faith. The outcome of their stand is recorded in verses 17–21.
Read Daniel 1:1-4, 17-21.
d What was it that commended Daniel and his three friends to King Nebuchadnezzar in the first place? (vv
d Where did this extraordinary knowledge and ability come from? (vv 17ff)
d What impact did these young men have on the Babylonian king?
PLAIN FOR NOW MakingthePAST
What similarities and differences are there between Daniel and his friends, and scholars in the Renaissance period?
Think of some contemporary scientists and artists. How do you know if they are Christian or not? What tensions might exist for scientists and artists today who are also Christian?
In your opinion, does the fact that Renaissance scholars and artists all shared a Christian world view make any difference to the way they viewed their knowledge and learning? [Hint: consider the contributions made to modern art and science by da Vinci and Galileo.]
DISCUSS: What difference would being a Christian make to the way a person uses their knowledge and skills?
