THE year 1960 marks the fourth centenary of the Scottish Reformation in which John Knox played such an important part. A former Roman Catholic priest, he was a man of great character but much misunderstood by his enemies. Living in those turbulent times, when the long-recognized need for an ecclesiastical revival as well as a general reformation in both church and national ranks was urgent, in God's providence John Knox proved to be the man of the hour. A 1960 publication of The Story of the Scottish Reformation by A. M. Renwick* (included in the Wm. B. Eerdmans Pocket Editions, $1.25) has been especially prepared for this centenary. We quote from this excellent source on the background for the Scottish Reformation: "Racially, they [the Scots] were a mixture descended from brave and individualistic Celts; from Norsemen who had the fearless blood of the sea rovers in their veins; from Saxons, many of whose ancestors came to Scotland because they hated Norman feudalism. . . . This spirit has frequently been characteristic of mountain people, and it is no accident that the religious history of Switzerland and that of Scotland developed along similar lines. In both countries the Reformed leaders were distinguished by courage, foresight, and ability; this was particularly true, indeed, of John Knox who breathed the spirit of both countries after his long residence on the Continent. Like the French, the Scots were blessed with a strong logical faculty and they were not afraid to follow their principles to their proper issue."—Pages 7, 8.
In considering the Reformation we must not overlook the old Celtic Church. After the barbarians had overrun the Roman Empire, the Celts, a Bible-loving people, maintained the old Christian culture in the West. It was a church that gloried in the preaching of the Word when Rome was devoting itself to endless ecclesiastical rites, especially the mass. The Scottish Reformers took the Bible as the unquestionable standard. It was God's message; from it they learned the tremendous truth of His sovereignty. The Lord was reigning; His will prevailed against all enemies; and the mighty of the earth were but men. God and His Word were eternal.
* A. M. Renwick is professor of church history of the Free Church College in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Far ahead of Luther and Calvin, John Knox in Scotland radically applied the democratic principles he had embraced. It was his teaching that made the Scots a democratic nation and a democratic church. He emphasized without compromise that through Christ, God could be approached without a human mediator. Another principle that took root was that in ecclesiastical courts the clergyman and the layman had exactly the same power.
At the time of the Reformation, Scotland was pivotal in the great political struggle of Europe. The aim of France, Spain, and the emperor was to crush England, a Protestant country ascending into prominence. In order to accomplish this objective they must secure Scotland as a base of operations. This meant that Mary of Scotland must also be Mary of England!
"Most Roman Catholics held that as Henry VIII had divorced Catherine of Ara-gon in spite of the pope's opposition, his marriage to Anne Boleyn was invalid, and Elizabeth was illegitimate. Many Roman Catholic Englishmen were ready to fight, with continental support, to place Mary of Scotland, a staunch Catholic, on the throne, as the next heir. Hence the vast importance of the reconciliation between England and Scotland at the Reformation. It enabled them both to maintain their independence, and to continue upholding the Protestant faith."-—Ibid., p. 10.
Understanding the Reformation
With purpose we have quoted from A. M. Renwick's little gem prepared for this fourth centenary of the Scottish Reformation. We consider this book a readable and illuminating contribution for the occasion, and can recommend it to our ministers, Bible and history teachers, and workers generally. There is a similarity between the experience of these rugged Scots and our own history several centuries later. It is a wholesome diversion to take an occasional look at others who have shared the birth pangs of Protestantism, making certain that we have inherited much for which these valiants of the faith have already fought. It may help us to be less conscious of our denominational individualism and to be humble in the presence of God and man. We gain also by sharing with Reformation believers at large the centenary spirit as we encourage one another to stand solidly where Bible truth and principle are at stake.
The Pre-Reformation Church
Conditions of the church prior to the Reformation indicated that she was not "an amiable and lovely maiden with no spot on her beautiful vesture." Her ornate cathedrals, the pungent incense, the well-ordered processions, the sensuous music, the exalted grandeur of the church potentates cause the student of history to realize that all these superficials covered up the nakedness of lost religion—that of the heart. It was a far cry from the church's pristine simplicity as introduced by Christ and the apostles. This becomes all the more significant when it appears in the writings of Roman Catholics who cannot be accused of prejudice against their own faith. How desperately reform was needed! How lamentably the church at that time had failed! Men like Luther, Calvin, and Knox had to arise before a real reformation could become effective. And when the hour struck, these reformists were transformed by the new light, willing to die for what they recognized to be the true faith.
Revival of Preaching and Church Music
For nearly a thousand years preaching had almost vanished from the Church of Rome and been replaced by rites and ceremonies that had been gradually introduced, especially the mass. The altar was venerated because the priest offered the blood of Christ anew in sacrifice. Through his ministration the grace of Christ was mystically bestowed on the sinner, and so the priest's office gained in veneration. The rites then performed by the officiating priests were all that mattered. The proper place of preaching in the church service was gradually lost sight of. In Scotland as elsewhere it became a lost art. The promotion of church activities rather than the ministration of God's grace received emphasis by priests and bishops. These leaders were at times exposed to great embarrassment when the Reformation introduced a new order of gospel preaching to offset a poorly educated and destitute-of-the-Word priesthood.
Another service to the church in Reformation days was the invention of the press. In Scotland the crude "ballads" first became the popular songs of the times, and this weak apology for such lofty themes as the Ten Commandments, Bible doctrines, creeds, and prayers was used by Heaven to impress those who were searching for truth. Soon the refining influence of the Reformation produced a higher class of lyric, and the church became conscious of pure theology and spiritual hymnody. The Scots loved the Bible. Cottagers now sang their way to work, and when day was done they read the Bible by the light of the smoldering embers of their hearths. As in no other land the Reformation deeply touched the life of Scotland.
This inspirational piece of history—the revival of the preaching art—gave impetus to a scholarly ministry of the Word so characteristic of the Scottish clergy. Associated with it was the writing of Reformation literature, followed by a lofty church music. These historical features must not be lost sight of in Adventism today. The gospel ever needs a facile pen and the sweet ministry of song. These must characterize the true last-hour message.
Reforms of the Church of Scotland
The Scottish Reformation stressed also that the church, as organized by Christ and the apostles, was to be the pattern for all time. Scotland unequivocally accepted the Bible as its rule of faith and morals. The Reformers asserted the right of private judgment and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Like the Continental Reformers, they believed in "the priesthood of all believers" rather than the priesthood of Rome with all its rites and trappings. Scottish ministers maintained strongly that nothing should be introduced into the worship or doctrines of the church but what is expressly authorized in the Holy Scriptures. They veritably yearned to return to the apostolicity of the early church. The Scots Confession and the Book of Discipline are replete with thorough instruction for a well-governed, reformed church. Shameful abuses had in the past necessitated the carefully planned reforms set forth in these and other significant documents.
In Renwick's brief work on the Scottish Reformation, in which he tells of the encounter of John Knox with Queen Mary's determined will to hold Scotland for Rome in alliance with France, the author makes the claim that Her Majesty was a character typical of the times. The problems she produced were influenced by her church training. She was a beautiful and fascinating woman, and apart from John Knox few could withstand her feminine wiles. This charm of which she was conscious became her undoing.
In Knox's discussions with the queen the two opposing forces of the controversy between Christ and Antichrist met head on. The fearless Reformer declared God's sovereign rights, and for a while Mary was left speechless. Recovering her composure, however, she raised some significant queries regarding inspiration and Bible interpretation. The replies of Knox in his defense of the Bible against tradition are enlightening for our times as doctrinal issues receive closer study. This man knew no compromise. With his colleagues he suffered long privation and persecution, closing his life's career confident in God's winning cause, humble of spirit toward his enemies, and having caught the vision of a land of peace in the blessed fellowship of his Lord and Master.
Reforms of the Advent Message
God never leaves Himself without a witness for truth. The history of John Knox and the Scottish Church convinces the last-day Christian that the reformatory three angels' messages of Revelation 14 will complete the gathering of a clean church to meet her returning Lord. On this fourth centenary of the Scottish Reformation it is timely for Adventists, with all other Bible Christians, to review these great epochs of the Reformation. We desire to emphasize to our fellow Christians the price that has been paid for Bible truth. The great principles of righteousness by faith, not by works, were basic to the Reformers of the medieval period.
There is a lost chord, however, that justifies the rise of the Advent Movement. The reformation then begun must be carried to its completion. It provides for the restoration of the seventh-day Bible Sabbath, and the recovery of the doctrine of conditional immortality. In view of the inroads of spiritism, the latter truth must also be set forth by stanch witnesses. May these principles now become Adventism's contribution to a completed reformation!
