Day 7. September 15, 2006
Movement 1. Dei Filius
Lecture 3. Dei Filius: The Jesus of the Catholic World (Part 3)
In the Protestant Reformation Jesus became not the Body but the Word. This happened in a variety of ways. The Anglican reformation removed the English church from the body of the Catholic Church on the word of King and Parliament. Puritanism subsequently sought to purify the English church of all Catholic elements. The Free Church reformation centered in Switzerland broke ties both to Rome and to any kind of state sponsorship, embracing persecution for one's faith. More radical reform movements such as the Quakers did away with all intermediaries, even clergy. Some went so far as to disavow the Bible itself as the 'paper pope,' an impulse particularly strong in the U.S. In net effect the Protestant Reformation sought to purge the Cosmos of saints, icons, representations of Jesus, and in some cases even celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Instead, for most Protestants the individual could obtain direct access to Jesus through the Bible.