Week 8: October 18--22

What caused the Reformation? 

"Without the advent of printing, there have been no Reformation,

and there might have been no Protestantism either" 

Alister McGrath, Christianity's Dangerous Idea

READING ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 18--22 WEEK 8

1.  Bondage of the Will.  Work on Chapter V, pages 190--238. 
2.  A Place to Stand: The Word of God in the Life of Martin Luther by Gene Edward Veith.  Continue reading through this biography.  Read to enjoy.  The book is approximately 225 pages long.  Push on to the 3/4th mark in this book.
3.  Hamlet by Shakespeare.  Hopefully, we will get all of Act III read and perhaps most of Act IV.
5.  The Story of Christianity, If you have read Volume 1, Chapters 33 & 34, you can rest for a week or move into Volume II, Chapter 1. 
6.  Western Civilizations by Jackson J. Spielvogel.  Read Chapter 12 (Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance) and begin Chapter 13 (Reformation and Religious Warfare).

7.  Extra Readings:   A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman, selected chapters.

Day By Day Plans:
Monday:   Background Causes of the Reformation:  The Roles Played by John Wycliffe and Jan Hus

Work on Reports and Francis Schaeffer Discussion Questions (Both Due Friday).

Read from Hamlet, if time permits.
       
Tuesday:  Field Trip to Court Session in Ashdown, Arkansas followed by visit with the Judge, followed by lunch...somewhere

If we have sufficient classtime, we will either watch a documentary on the Black Death or read from Hamlet

Wednesday:  Close reading and examination of Bondage of the Will

Hamlet:  The play's the thing, to catch the conscience of the king.


Thursday:  Special Guest Speaker: Sean Mahaffey

Discussing Amusing Ourselves to Death.

Friday:   

Francis Schaeffer Discussion Questions Due

Background to the Reformation Reports to be Read in Class

Hamlet, Hamlet, Wherefore art we in reading Hamlet?

I dream of a new reformation -- a reformation that is not simply a renewal of life but a new vision of life: a vision that yields new forms and structures in society and culture. As long as Christians restrict their Christianity to a religion, a faith that is compartmentalized and isolated from life, they can have revival but never, ever reformation. We need to hear and do the Word of God in all of our lives.
R.C. Sproul

We can give all kinds of satisfying explanations of why and when the Renaissance occurred and how its transmitted itself. But there is no explaining Dante, no explaining Chaucer. Genius suddenly comes to life, and speaks out of vacuum. Then it is silent, equally mysteriously. The trends continue and intensify, but genius is lacking. Chaucer had no successor of anything approaching similar stature. There is no major poet in 15th-century English literature.
Paul Johnson, The Renaissance