Dr. Eire argued that the magisterial reformers were responsible for causing not merely a break, but a rupture between the Western understanding of the relationship between matter and spirit, natural and supernatural. In teaching that miracles ceased after the death of the apostles, and that miracles were meant only to confirm the authority of the witness of Christ and the apostles, the reformers took a crucial step toward modernity and secularization. This step represented a fundamental reconfiguration of the Western worldview.
Toward the middle of his presentation, Dr. Eire paused to make what he called the central argument of his paper. He asked, "Why am I here giving this presentation?" His answer was that, because of his having grown up in a Communist country (Cuba) and being indoctrinated in the Marxist view of history, he wanted to show clearly the vacuity of that understanding of how history unfolds. Rather than being the product of impersonal material forces in a deterministic system, especially those of class struggle, history is impacted and shaped by the beliefs and the ideas of persons. The shift he described that was taking place in epistemology and metaphysics during the Reformation are a case in his point.
I think that this argument is correct. It accounts for the connections between ideas and social trends, events, as well as other ideas in the human experience over time. History is not "one damned thing after another," in the words of Arnold Toynbee. Such an understanding is consistent with a Christian view of history that takes the two realities of God's providence and human freedom into account.
We chatted a bit after the presentation was over. Dr. Eire is a true gentleman, and I appreciated his presentation. It was a great start to the conference.
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