Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 1 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 16: Menno Simons and the Early Dutch Anabaptists  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 1
Dean Taylor describes “Christian humanism” in Holland as Erasmus trying to argue that “these teachings of Jesus actually make sense,” yet without preaching repentance, new birth, or the cross; what does that combination suggest about how God relates to human reason, and where might Christians today subtly replace “biblical repentance” with “Christianity makes sense”?
Another way to ask: If Erasmus said Jesus’ teachings “make sense” but skipped repentance, new birth, and the cross, what does that say about the limits of human reason in knowing God? Where do Christians today swap “repent and believe” for “Christianity is reasonable”?

Direct Answer Based on Dean Taylor’s teaching, “Christian humanism” suggests an attempt to defend Christianity mainly on the level of human reason and social usefulness, while leaving out the heart of conversion—repentance, new birth, and the cross-shaped life. It warns that Christians can subtly shift from being formed by Scripture and Jesus’ demands to merely presenting Christianity as reasonable, peaceful, or practical.

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean calls “Christian humanism” an “oxymoron,” since humanism tends to mean “the human person enlightening without the need of God,” yet in Holland it became a mix trying to say “Christianity made sense.”
  • Erasmus is described as arguing: “these teachings of Jesus actually make sense. Why are we killing each other…?”
  • Dean explicitly notes what Erasmus did not preach: “he didn’t preach a biblical repentance… being born again… accepting a cross life.”
  • He links real renewal to Scripture shaping people: “The word of God needs to be what forms us and makes us.”
  • He later stresses new birth as central in Menno: “everything comes from this being born again.”
Discussion Follow-ups Where do we rely on “good arguments” or moral improvement language to avoid calling people to repentance? How might we measure whether our message is mainly “reasonable” rather than cruciform?

Jumpstarter 1 of 10
Back Questions Next