New Credo Podcast! Should we blame the Reformation for secularism?

The Reformation has often been lamented, blamed for secularism, as if the Reformers cut the cord of participation in God by perpetuating the voluntarism and nominalism of their age. But in episode 2 of this mini-series, Sam Parkison asks Matthew Barrett, author of The Reformation as Renewal, to address the philosophical context of the Reformation. With a brief tour through classical philosophy, Barrett explains the differences between the scholastic realism of Aquinas and the voluntarism of Scotus or the nominalism of the late medieval scholastics like William of Ockham and Gabriel Biel. By introducing the via moderna, the modern way, Barrett puts his finger on the nerve, identifying the provocation for Luther’s Reformation beginning in 1517.

In this episode, Parkison and Barrett discuss the influence of classical philosophy on the Reformers, exploring the basic building blocks of Christian Platonism and medieval metaphysics for a more balanced understanding of our Protestant history.