Religion In The 19th Century

Theology Final
Essay 1:

During the late 18th Century, views on religion were beginning to change. While in previous generations, those who were educated were believers; society had advanced and developed a stronger focus in the arts and sciences, which caused roles to reverse. Those who were educated became nonbelievers, which resulted in a wave of new philosophy being written by the likes of Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, arguing strictly against religion. To respond to these critics, theologians, beginning with Schleiermacher, adopted a form of the apologetics of immanetism.
In the mid 19th Century militant atheism was on the rise. Ludwig Feuerbach crafted The Essence of Christianity, which was a commentary that deemed religion
Thomas Aquinas had established the catholic belief that nature was built on grace. This was problematic because to approach the super natural, one would need to use reason. However, if one reasons and determines there is no God, then there is no way or point to approaching this supernatural state. Individuals then have no reason to want to escape the regular state of nature. This problem is what had ultimately led to the rise of atheism. To defend Catholicism and bring it into modernity, De Lubac crafted an idea that viewed grace as a medium between the natural and supernatural. By recognizing that salvation is then what gets us from the natural level to the super natural level, grace was solidified in the relationship between the two. What De Lubac’s idea really did was make the need for religion and church relevant again. His proposed framework didn’t leave the possibility that grace could be overlooked by nature, but instead made growth in grace vital. In order to grow in grace, priests are necessary to move an individual between the two levels. This causes individuals to leave the basic level of nature and grow in grace through mass, sacraments, penance and
However, De Lubac and other theologians desire to reform the Catholic Church didn’t go unnoticed. On January 25th, 1959, Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council into place, which would be the first general council for more than 100 years. When the council officially started in 1962, John XXIII addressed the public by stating, “What is needed at the present time is a new enthusiasm, a new joy and serenity of mind in the unreserved acceptance by all of the entire Christian faith.” One of the first steps was confronting the rapid change of technological and intellectual advancement that promoted progress. Not only did the church need to be open more to progress, but also quickly realized that they needed to learn from the people of the world. Apart from the liturgical changes and strengthened relations between other sects of Christianity, one of the most impactful changes was that Divine revelation was to be discovered in the scripture and translated through the tradition of the church. This would work to proclaim the word of God through guide by the Holy Spirit and is also an essential part of discovering God’s will, as it is eternal to our own self-understanding. By making these distinctions and by making the church more accessible to society, they were successful in not only combatting militant atheism, but also taking forth those