Erasmus

Life

Erasmus was born around 1466 in Rotterdam, in what is now the Netherlands. Proposed dates for his birth include 1466 and 1469, among others. As a young man he entered the house of Augustinian canons regular at Steyn, and he was ordained a priest in 1492. He later studied in Paris and, working as a scholar outside the monastery, moved among England, Italy, Switzerland, and elsewhere. In England he associated with Thomas More and John Colet. He spent his final years in Basel and Freiburg and died in Basel in 1536.

Work and Achievements

Erasmus applied the humanist call to return to the original sources of classical antiquity and the early Church Fathers to matters of faith and the study of Scripture. Humanism was a Renaissance scholarly movement that placed great importance on the study of classical texts. For this reason he is regarded as a leading representative of "Christian humanism." In the Handbook of the Christian Soldier (Enchiridion militis Christiani, 1503) he emphasized inward piety. In The Praise of Folly (1511) he satirized clerical corruption and formalistic religion.

His best-known achievement is the Greek New Testament, published in 1516 by the Basel printer Johann Froben. Alongside the Greek text he included his own Latin translation and annotations. This made it possible to compare the Vulgate, then the standard Bible of the Western Church, with the original-language text.

The edition was produced in a short time on the basis of a small number of late manuscripts. According to the usual account, because he lacked Greek manuscripts for the last few verses of Revelation, he back-translated them from Latin into Greek. The work was revised in successive editions. Martin Luther based his German translation of the New Testament on the second edition of 1519. Beginning with the third edition of 1522, the Trinitarian passage in 1 John 5:7–8, the so-called "Johannine Comma," was included in the text.

Through the editions of Stephanus, Beza, and others, his text developed into the tradition known as the "Received Text" (Textus Receptus). This tradition served as the principal basis for the New Testament of the King James Bible of 1611.

In the early years of the Reformation, Erasmus sympathized with church reform but did not leave the Catholic Church. In 1524 he wrote On Free Will (De libero arbitrio), arguing that the human will plays a certain part in salvation. Luther replied in 1525 with The Bondage of the Will (De servo arbitrio). The exchange is treated as a classic case in discussions of predestination and free will.

Influence on the Korean Church

Erasmus had no direct connection with the Korean church. His name does, however, arise, chiefly in discussions about the text of Scripture.

In the Bible translation debate, the question at issue is whether to follow the Received Text or modern critical editions of the Greek text. Those who hold that the King James Bible and the Received Text alone represent the correct text regard Erasmus's textual tradition highly. Those who accept textual criticism point out that his text relied on a small number of late manuscripts.

In addition, his life and his debate with Luther over free will are covered in seminary church history courses as part of the background to the Reformation. The Praise of Folly has been translated into Korean and is also read by general readers.

Assessment

• Catholic perspectives: Some regard him as a scholar who sought reform from within the Church. Some Catholics of his own day, however, criticized him for paving the way for the Reformation, and some of his writings were later placed on the Index of Forbidden Books. A contemporary saying has it that "Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched."
• Protestant perspectives: Protestants regard him as a figure who laid the groundwork for the Reformation through his study of the original texts. Huldrych Zwingli and many other reformers are known to have been influenced by him.
• The question of grace and free will: The Lutheran and Reformed traditions view his position on this question critically in light of Luther's rebuttal. His views are also compared with those of the Arminian tradition, which emphasizes the human response.