Theological Origins of Modernity

luther and the storm of faith 103
the church was fallen. In addition to accepting most of Wycliff ’s suggested
reforms, Hus argued that the true Christian had to obey God and not the
pope. He was seized and put to death, and his followers were systematically
hunted down. Coercion, however, could not expunge these ideas.
luther’s early life and education
Luther’s father came from a peasant family of miners, but as a result of
a fortunate marriage he had been able to purchase several foundries and
had moved solidly into the middle class. Martin, his second son, was born
around 1484. In keeping with his father’s new status, the family was able
to provide him with an excellent education. Th ey sent him fi rst to school
at Magdeburg in 1497 and then in 1501 to University of Erfurt with a view
to his following members of his mother’s family into the civil service. In
Magdeburg, he lived under the care of the Brethren of the Common Life,
which had by that time lost some of its original impetus. 5
Th e University of Erfurt was at the forefront of educational change. It
had long since adopted a more humanist curriculum, but it was also deeply
involved in giving shape to the nominalist movement that had made great
inroads in Germany. At the center of one of the most dynamic theological
faculties in Europe were the nominalists Jodokus Trutfetter and Bartholomaeus
Arnoldi. 6 Erfurt had also long been at the forefront of theological
reform in Germany. A member of its faculty, Johannes Wesel, for example,
had been condemned in 1479 for opposing indulgences, demanding the laity
be allowed to drink wine at communion, and insisting Scripture alone
was truth. 7
Unlike Aquinas or Scotus, Ockham had never founded a school. As a
result, the nominalist movement had developed in a number of diff erent
theological directions in the fourteenth century, many in confl ict with one
another. 8 We examined these briefl y in chapter 1. While Gregory of Rimini,
Pierre d’Ailly, Marsilius von Inghen, and Gabriel Biel went their different
ways, they all did argue that human freedom was extremely limited,
maintaining that the best a sinner could do was recognize his sinfulness
and beg God for forgiveness. 9 However, in 1497 Trutfetter and Arnoldi succeeded
in formulating a common core of nominalism and developing it
into a cohesive system. 10 Th is was a real breakthrough, and it was based on
the notion that all philosophical speculation about the world must be tested
by means of experience and reality-based reason regardless of where the
authorities stand on the matter, and that all theological speculation must
be tested by the authority of the Scriptures as interpreted by church. 11