The Ripple Effect

“What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!” – Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

In my mind this quote helps sum up the ideas and beliefs of humanism. Shakespeare lived in the late 16^th century, near the end of the time period known as the Renaissance but I feel as though he was in touch with Petrarch who lived a couple hundred years before Shakespeare. Petrarch’s ideas and writings, which ultimately earned him the title of “Father of Humanism,” caused a ripple effect (idea shared by Ryan) which would propagate throughout time affecting everyone it touched.

 The Renaissance was a time of discovery, a discovery of man’s capabilities, of creativity, art, independence, revolution and more. It is so amazing to me that such a simple word, the Renaissance, can be used to describe such a vast and crucial period of time. The Renaissance was the conduit from the Middle Ages to Modern History, a period lasting from the late 14^th century to the 16th. It was not just one event but a culmination of events. Imperative events that have shaped our modern world. The notions that they could “recover the past and return to sources” was a great beginning. Learning about what once was helped them understand what could be. Because of this new mindset men began to feed their curiosity with exploration of new and exotic places. This facilitated them with a way to grasp onto a new idea, that there is so much more out there beyond the little bubble of where they live. There was much land to be explored and knowledge to be uncovered.

With the spreading of humanism and rhetoric, the minds of men began to be opened and to become aware of their own ignorance. During the Middle Ages there was not much independent thought, creativity or growth and a lot of that was due to the church keeping the people in the dark. Not allowing them access to the scriptures. But as certain men’s minds began to become uncluttered they took a stand. Men like Erasmus and Luther who desired reform within the church. And let’s not forget Tyndall who translated the bible into English and Gutenburg who invented the printing press which made the bible and other books more readily available to an even larger group, such as plough boys.

The men of the Renaissance, Petrarch, da Vinci, Columbus, Machiavelli, Luther, Erasmus, Shakespeare and more, are men who I believe were inspired by the Lord to help mold and shape the world through their philosophies, their art and exploration in preparation for the restoration of His gospel. It was a movement or maybe just an idea that started hundreds of years ago and rippled throughout time to create the perfect incubator for a new beginning for the Lord’s gospel. I invite us all to study and appreciate these men, their actions, their words and the events that took place during this time period to help us better understand God’s eternal plan.