John Knox - Scottish Reformer

Knowledge of God and of Ourselves

All true and sound wisdom consists of two parts:
the knowledge of God and of ourselves.

- John Calvin

“The Institutes of the Christian Religion”

Each of us must, then be so stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness as to attain at least some knowledge of God. Thus, from the feeling of our own ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, and — what is more — depravity and corruption, we recognize that the true light of wisdom, sound virtue, full abundance of every good, and purity of righteousness rest in the Lord alone. To this extent we are prompted by our own ills to contemplate the good things of God; and we cannot seriously aspire to him before we begin to become displeased with ourselves.

Luther Speech Contest Winners!!!

Great job on your recital of Luther's famous quote.
The winners are: Donald Livingston, John O'Connor, & Laura Swanzy!

"Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by clear reason (for I do not believe in the authority of either popes or councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted each other), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen."- Martin Luther

Luther - Coloring Contest

Draw a cartoonist style picture about Luther & the Reformation in the style of Ron Hill's Arm Chair Theologians illustrations.

Coloring Contest Rules:
- Drawings can be black & white or color.
- Drawings must be on paper size 8.5" x 11" or larger.
- Entries must be turned in by Wednesday, October 27th.

The Renaissance

Although the Renaissance revived the realization that man and nature are important, it went overboard by making man the measure of all things—and by that destroyed the importance of man.

There was indeed a positive side to the proper emphasis on nature and the enjoyment of it, but we can also see that the Renaissance humanism slowly but steadily evolved into modern humanism (a value system rooted in the belief that man is his own measure, that man is autonomous, and totally independent).

The architecture and music of this time were also beginning to shift from medieval back to classical. Another way we can see the emphasis on man emerging in other ways is the fact that we know very little about who built cathedrals in the Gothic era or who composed Gregorian chants, but in this Renaissance era self portraits became a generally accepted form of art and the artist’s name was usually an essential component to his artwork, if not even contributing to the majority of a piece’s artistic worth. Now, people not only admired paintings and music compositions for their own sakes, they admired the artist himself.

It was the humanists of that time who, under the enthusiasm for the classics, spoke of what had immediately preceded them as a “Dark Age” and talked of a “rebirth” in their own era. Unfortunately, this same attitude toward medieval society carried over to the Enlightenment and lingers in our minds today.

The return of nature to its rightful place could have moved in one of two directions – biblical or non-biblical. The emphasis could have been on real people living in a real world which God had made, or humanism could take over with its emphasis on the individual things being autonomous. However, the die was cast: man tried to make himself independent.

* Excerpts from Francis Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live"

Gutenberg's Printing Press

* Coloring Contest *
Print this picture of Gutenberg's Printing Press and color it in. The best picture will be used on our class timeline. The winner will also receive a prize!

God's Sovereignty in History

HISTORY IS THE RECORD OF THE UNFOLDING OF GOD'S SOVEREIGN PLAN FOR THE AGES.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103: 19

But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. Psalm 115:3  

For I know that the LORD is great, And that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135: 5-6

To be sovereign is to possess supreme power and authority so that one is in complete control and can accomplish whatever he pleases. The dictionaries tell us that sovereign means chief or highest, supreme in power, superior in position, independent of and unlimited by anyone else.

Christians are to view all things from God's perspective. A Christian view of history applies the truth of the Bible to the record of the past. History is not governed by evil men or the devil, it is ruled by God Almighty. The Bible teaches us that all things have been predestined by the all-wise God who works all things together according to His purpose.

God is sovereign and active in history, working out His eternal plan; raising up some men and nations and casting down others. God rules according to His Word. He has promised to honor those who honor Him and to curse those who rebel against Him (I Samuel 2:30). No kingdom or nation can prosper which despises God. Proverbs 14:34 reminds us that this is true for every nation in every age, "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people". God is sovereign over secular governments. Throughout the history of Israel, God used the pagan nations to accomplish His purposes. God used Egypt to preserve and proliferate the nation Israel for 400 years before they were to possess the Promised Land. God used the hard-hearted Pharaoh to display His greatness and power. He used the surrounding nations to chasten Israel when the nation fell into sin and disobedience. He used the nations of Assyria and Babylon to lead the Jews into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar was even called God’s “servant”. The sacking of Judah and Jerusalem was no fluke of history; it was no mere fate. It was the outworking of the plan and purpose of the sovereign God of Israel to achieve His purposes, to fulfill His promises and prophecies.


* Excerpts from an article by Steve Wilkins which originally appeared in the publication Counsel of Chalcedon .