The Middle Road or The High Road

In the reading, Erasmus takes a very conservative approach. He says "I must confess that I have not yet formed a definite opinion on any of the numerous traditional views regarding the freedom of the will." Throughout his writings, he makes arguments for both grace and works, and ends up with a middle of the road approach. I feel looking at his logic and way of thinking help us understand perfectly why he was attributed to Christian Humanism and called the "Prince of the Humanists." By neither straying to the far left or far right of the argument, he typifies the ideas of Christian Humanism, who combine the often opposing ideas of the individual and of Christian principles. On the other side, the arguments of Martin Luther assert a strong position, in which he holds true to the doctrines he puts forth. His attitude is attitude is more reflective of the Reformation and the need for change.

These two approaches were reflective of the audience that they were trying to appease to. Erasmus's conservative approach appealed to the conservative, who may have had an open mind like Erasmus, but did not take strong action to the new ideas of the time. However, Luther, in addition to protecting his own reputation, was striving to help relieve any possible worries of those of the Reformation by presenting a strong, confident rebuttal to Erasmus.

These approaches can be seen in our time as well. It definitely depends on the audience being spoken too. Leaders of nations with different cultural backgrounds must also strive to see all sides of the arguments by looking at the current and historical context. However, an example of the stronger approach might be a leader of any social movement. The leader would have to attempt to retain followers and gain new followers by using a confident approach that appealed to reason and emotional strength.