{"id":1169,"date":"2013-06-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/07\/yimc-book-club-%e2%80%9cthe-great-heresies%e2%80%9d-chapter-5\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T17:19:21","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T22:19:21","slug":"brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Vogt’s Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media<\/a><\/em> burst onto the scene.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another week, another pithy review of European History. I have to think that when Belloc wrote this book in 1936, he was at the height of his literary abilities.<\/p>\n

Once again there is a lot of events covered in this chapter, and once again \u201cOld Thunder\u201d manages to make it both educational and entertaining. And short too \u2014now that takes skill!<\/p>\n

This week, we read \u201cWhat Was The Reformation?\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 Did you expect Belloc to\u00a0 minimize the causes that led to the break-up of the Catholic Church? Well he doesn\u2019t do that, but tells it like it was.\u00a0 The Church needed reforming, and he\u00a0 does a great job explaining why. But he also explains what now seems to be a prophetic description of what is occurring within Protestant denominations today.<\/p>\n

Before I get carried away, let me drop a few quotes from this chapter that I felt were important and then I\u2019ll turn it over to book clubber and blogger Brandon Vogt<\/a>\u00a0to lead the discussion.<\/p>\n

First a generalization which I think is on the mark. I was one of these guys once.<\/p>\n

They know much less about us than we know about them. That is natural,
\nbecause we proceed from older origins, because we are universal while they are regional and because we hold a definite intellectual philosophy whereas they possess rather an emotional and indefinite, though characteristic, spirit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the category of \u201cwho is in charge here\u201d, it turns out to be \u201cevery man for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

while within the Protestant culture, where there was less definite doctrine to challenge, there was less internal division but an increasing general feeling that religious differences must be accepted a feeling which, in a larger and larger number of individuals, grew into the, at first, secret but later avowed attitude of mind that nothing in religion could be certain, and therefore that toleration of all such opinions was reasonable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the reasons I became a Catholic after looking deeply into the scriptures, and early history?<\/p>\n

The Papacy ought of its nature to be Universal. That it should be National
\nwas shocking to the western European of that time (before the reformation).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But after the rise of the Nation-State? The new god of patriotism holds a lot of people captive. And my last quote is Belloc\u2019s three stages of change. This could be from Political Change 101:<\/p>\n

The first character is this: Change of every kind and every degree is proposed simultaneously, from reforms which are manifestly just and necessary, being reversions to the right order of things, to innovation which are criminal and mad.<\/p>\n

The second character is that the thing to be reformed necessarily resists. It has accumulated a vast accretion of custom, vested interests,official organization, etc., each of which, even without direct volition, puts a drag on reform.<\/p>\n

Thirdly (and this is much the most important character) there appear among the revolutionaries an increasing number who are not so much concerned to set right the evils which have grown up in the thing to be reformed, as filled with passionate hatred of the thing itself- its essential, its good, that by which it has a right to
\nsurvive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Setting the stage for the next chapter on that one. Now that is enough from me. I now yield the floor to Brandon Vogt,<\/p>\n

The Great Heresies: What is Protestantism?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Protestantism was a different beast than the earlier heresies discussed. Though each of the others offered a distinct, doctrinal dispute that could be debated, Protestantism was \u201cnot a particular movement, but a general one\u201d. It was a heresy that attacked on many nebulous fronts. Also, Belloc notes that while each of the earlier heresies sought to supplant the existing Catholic Church, Protestantism, especially Calvinism, wanted to destroy the institutional Church in its entirety; eventually, the Reformers didn\u2019t want a \u201ccleaned-up Church\u201d, but its complete demise.<\/p>\n

Beginning with Luther\u2019s revolt in 1517, Belloc offers a whirlwind of history and politics, describing the two distinct periods of the Reformation. The first, during the mid-late 16th century, was \u201ca time of universal debate and struggle\u201d. The second, during the next couple centuries, \u201cbecame as much political as it was religious\u201d, and more and more divisive.<\/p>\n

Belloc then explores the extraneous sparks contributing to the Reformation\u2019s birth, including the Black Death, the growth of vernacular literatures, and a \u201cvivid intellectual awakening\u201d. However, he quickly digs into the main causes. Belloc states that at the movement\u2019s beginning, \u201cno one worth consideration would have contested the need for reform.\u201dEveryone, dissident or faithful, saw that something needed to change. Bad traditions (false legends, fake relics, etc.), local customs taking precedence over universal doctrine, and the worldliness of clerics were clear troubles within the Church. (I did find it interesting that the main point of contention in Protestant lore, the selling of indulgences, was mentioned only in passing by Belloc.)<\/p>\n

Some apologists today try to minimize the corruption of the 16th-century Catholic Church, but Belloc clearly notes that everyone would agree that serious problems existed. How the problems were to be solved, however, remained a point of disagreement. The Catholics wanted reform, the Protestants wanted revolution.<\/p>\n

Belloc describes the three \u201cthe concomitants of all revolutions\u201d that arose in
\nthis particular revolt: proposed change of every kind and every degree, resistance from the thing being reformed, and hatred for the thing being reformed. All three of these attitudes were surely at play.<\/p>\n

After briefly mentioning Martin Luther, Belloc turns his focus to the central cog in the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin. Describing Calvin as a \u201ctrue heresiarch\u201d, because of his intention to set up a true counter-Church, Belloc weaves financial storylines through the grander Reformation tale. The majority of young Calvin\u2019s income was confiscated by a local bishop after it was discovered that Calvin\u2019s father was embezzling money from the Church.<\/p>\n

For Calvin, this likely fostered hatred\u2014or at least serious discontent \u2014for the Church. Along those same lines, a significant reason for the quick growth of the Protestant movement was Calvin\u2019s dispersion of Church loot to the rich, giving them vested interest in the Church\u2019s permanent downfall. With the aristocracy on his side, Calvin\u2019s cause was significantly amplified. As in many revolutions, money and power played major roles.<\/p>\n

As Belloc wraps up the Reformation tale, he sees its anti-climactic conclusion as a \u2018win\u2019 for Protestantism. As interest in the movement waned, people began taking religion less seriously on the whole. Agnostics and skeptics scandalized Catholic countrymen, while skepticism, doubt, and doctrinal relativism were accepted in the Protestant world, much as they still are today.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Belloc saw the Protestant Reformation as \u201cauto-toxic\u201d\u2014it was created as a self-poison. The Protestant doctrine of solo scriptura\u2014one of the Reformation\u2019s main rallying cries\u2014ultimately ruined Protestantism by dismissing any objective, doctrinal authority. Different biblical interpretations led to unmitigated schisms among Protestant churches.<\/p>\n

Today Protestantism is still evident, maybe more so than any of the other heresies so far discussed. Though Belloc may have overstated Protestantism\u2019s demise\u2014as it still flourishes in much of the world\u2014he nonetheless points out its Achilles heel, seeing its fall as eventual.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks Brandon! Next week, we wrap it up with the last chapter \u201cThe Modern Phase.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European History. I have to think that when Belloc wrote this book in 1936, he was at the height of his literary abilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,232,36],"tags":[78,65,1179,271,53,1178],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-learning","category-living","tag-belloc","tag-books","tag-brandon-vogt","tag-guest-posts","tag-other-blogs","tag-the-great-heresies"],"yoast_head":"\nBrandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Why I Am Catholic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-05T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-24T22:19:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/files\/2013\/06\/HilaireBelloc1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Frank Weathers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Frank Weathers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html\",\"name\":\"Brandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-05T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-24T22:19:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e10b038fe974070cf79eed8a68e30ebc\"},\"description\":\"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Brandon Vogt’s Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One…\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/\",\"name\":\"Why I Am Catholic\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e10b038fe974070cf79eed8a68e30ebc\",\"name\":\"Frank Weathers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34cf0388f197f1eac3cb08280847f207?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34cf0388f197f1eac3cb08280847f207?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Frank Weathers\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/author\/frankweathers\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Brandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...","description":"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Brandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...","og_description":"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html","og_site_name":"Why I Am Catholic","article_published_time":"2013-06-05T15:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-24T22:19:21+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/files\/2013\/06\/HilaireBelloc1.jpg"}],"author":"Frank Weathers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Frank Weathers","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html","name":"Brandon Vogt's Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One...","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-06-05T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-24T22:19:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e10b038fe974070cf79eed8a68e30ebc"},"description":"Originally posted on July 15, 2010, almost one year before The Church and New Media burst onto the scene. Another week, another pithy review of European","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2013\/06\/brandon-vogts-least-read-blog-post.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Brandon Vogt’s Least Read Blog Post? That Would Be This One…"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/","name":"Why I Am Catholic","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e10b038fe974070cf79eed8a68e30ebc","name":"Frank Weathers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34cf0388f197f1eac3cb08280847f207?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34cf0388f197f1eac3cb08280847f207?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Frank Weathers"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/author\/frankweathers"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}