A great period of change sometimes alluded to as the intellectual revival swept through Europe beginning in the 11th century. This change would greatly effect and impact the way that people thought and taught in regard to scripture. Unprecedented or new ideas and techniques were utilized in a way that challenged young students to grow like never before. This movement or shift was known as Scholasticism and had a tremendous impact on the critically thinking believers.
Scholasticism refers to the movement that attempted to harmonize faith and reasoning. It was ultimately created to show that faith in God and His inerrant and authoritative Word was a rational and logical belief. Also, Scholasticism sought to reconcile the ideas of the ancient classical philosophers with that of medieval Christian theology. So what exactly is scholasticism though? To properly define what exactly scholasticism was, it is important to look at several important constituents of it as mentioned in the “Church History” book. The fundamental components of Scholasticism are attitude, method, content, and form. To elaborate some, the attitude commonly associated with Scholastic thinkers was that of a faith and an assurance in reasoning and its immense power. Scholastics were positive of the fact that faith and reason were in no way at odds with each other. They firmly believed that any problems between the two could be reconciled or that faith and reason could coexist within a believers mind. The method associated with Scholasticism was generally dialectal reasoning. This approach involved selecting a text, which was generally the Bible. Before proceeding, it is important to note that although this method was primarily used for interpreting biblical passages that is it is not limited or restricted to the Bible. After selection of the text, then came the thorough examination. They would explore the text probing it in search of just about any apparently contradictory points that could be debated or argued about. Typically a passage was chosen and presented by the facilitator and then a problem was posed. Next, the person expounding upon the text would argue not only his/her side but would also present information that would seem to oppose their case. They would always weigh both sides of the argument before formulating their verdict concerning the “controversy”. An expert opinion was also to be factored into the equation, and then arguments were to be reconciled and resolved.
There are many elements to the question of what prompted the arrival of Scholasticism as defined in the previous paragraph. Some of the main factors included the “expansion of trade and commerce” which subsequently sparked the increase of urban life, “political stabilization” which resulted in increased peace and simpler communication, and “increased prosperity” which enabled the proper copying and translating of manuscripts. Monastic schools, which were formerly restricted to those entering the monastery, were opened to the public which provided people with skills to read and write in Latin. With this came the arrival of the Cathedral Schools. Around A.D. 1000 Cathedral schools, designed specifically for clerics, began stressing the importance of logic and philosophy. The Bishop asserted that they were essential components of religion. Around A.D. 1100 Universities began popping up. The Universities had slowly evolved from the Cathedral schools. The University of Oxford was created around 1200 A.D. which taught primarily theology. The old approach to teaching, before the existence of these schools, was largely based on the “personal moral authority” of the educator and was generally orally transmitted to the pupils. The new method of teaching put an enormous emphasis on the student’s capacity or ability to reason as the lessons were usually based in text. The primary text used, which was considered vital to the proper education of the students, was the Bible. Courses on correct exposition and expounding of the Bible were labeled imperative and frequently taught in these schools. The Bible was not the only book labeled as divinely inspired in these circles however. Significance was also given to commentaries, the words from Aristotle, and the writings of the great church fathers as they were considered authoritative.
One of the most, if not the most, noteworthy and prominent figures of the early Scholasticism period was St. Anselm. St. Anselm or Anselm of Canterbury did some superb and outstanding things during the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. St. Anselm, commonly referred to as the “Father of Scholasticism”, provided the slogan for the era which was “faith seeking understanding”. St. Anselm, in his reasoning, asserted that for life to begin, there first had to be a figure of independent existence. Also, our life, as humans are dependent, is a result of the self-existent figure first creating us. This theory is consistent with Aristotle’s concept of a prime mover which caused the initiation of the process of life. St. Anselm equipped defenders of the faith with a number of arguments. The most popular and still wide known one today is the ontological argument. This argument, for the existence of God, states that the highest, most perfect being of which our minds can conceive has to exist in reality. This argument basically presupposes or assumes a belief in a creator God is innately wired within humans. It is also a little deep for me to fully grasp if I am being honest. Other esteemed men such as John Erigena, Peter Abelard, and Thomas Aquinas were noted as important Scholastic philosophers and theologians of the Scholastic period.
The era of Scholasticism marks a time in history when education was highly supported and advocated. It became a coveted or desired thing. Reasoning was employed in order to advance the belief in God and became known as an inseparable constituent of believing in God. Men and women began to think critically about faith, scrutinizing dogmas, and seeing what was clearly biblical. This time is proof that belief in our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer God can withstand all the scrutiny and testing that is thrown at it and that a logically, even critically, thinking individual can still hold a belief in Him and the Bible.

“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Augustine

This quote evokes many unpleasant memories for me. I can think of countless times throughout high school and through some of my jobs in the past where I could sense that God wanted me to share the Truth with someone and I either refused or hesitated to do so. It really does hurt badly to reflect back on all the people that I had at least some sort of relationship with and neglected to share the message of Christ with. Your next breath is not promised and this life is too fleeting; make the most of right now.

Age: 20
Interests: Worshiping my Creator, my Savior, my God, chillin’ with my gorgious girlfriend Makenzi, attempting to play basketball, guitar, David Crowder, guilty pleasure – The Office, friends at home, family, check out my music.
Story: I was raised in a Christian home (not that my home itself was a follower of Christ but you know what that expression means!), gave my life to Christ at the tender age of 7, surrendered to the ministry at Falls Creek church camp shortly after HS, attended a couple unheard of junior colleges and felt God leading me to Southwestern. In the past year and a half God has done incredible things and opened up so many doors for me, I had the pleasure of serving as a youth intern at my home church for a year and now I am leading worship at two different churches part time. I lead worship for youth and college ministries at FBC Bowie and I am currently (as of yesterday) the worship leader for a small church out in the boonies (Iredell, Tx). God has blessed me an immeasurable amount and I’m so grateful.