War against the Idols The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin [Paperback]

Calling attention to the importance of the idolatry issue during the Reformation, this study traces the development of Protestant iconoclastic theology and practice and lays a foundation for understanding the conflicting Reformed ideology.Calling attention to the importance of the idolatry issue during the Reformation, this study traces the development of Protestant iconoclastic theology and practice and lays a foundation for understanding the conflicting Reformed ideology.In the second decade of the sixteenth century medieval piety suddenly began to be attacked in some places as idolatry, or false religion. This study calls attention to the importance of the idolatry issue during the Reformation.Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The state of lay devotion in the late middle ages; 2. Erasmus as critic of late medieval piety; 3. Early reformers and the question of idolatry; 4. Iconoclasm, revolution, and the reformation in Switzerland and Geneva, 15271536; 5. Humanism and reform in France: the seeds of calvinism; 6. John Calvin's attack on idolatry; 7. Calvin against the nicodemites; 8. From iconoclasm to revolution: the political dimensions of the war against idolatry; Conclusion; Index. Eire paints on a large canvas in order to tell for the first time the whole story of iconoclasm...the author has made an important contribution. The Times Literary Supplement ...Eire's lucid synthesis cuts a broad furrow across the intellectual and political terrain of the sixteenth century...specialists and non-specialists alike can find here an interpretation of sixteenth-century history that illuminates what the Reformation meant to its creators and to posterity. Canadian Journal of History Excellently researched and argued, this book illustrates the clear connection between ideas and action and the significance ofverstehen. Christian Sociologist Newsletter