In Darkness – Light!

The Millennium before the Reformation: How God preserved His people during the Dark Ages.

By: Stuart Brogden

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Dark Ages was a millennium, running from approximately 500 (Rome fell in 476) to 1500 AD (Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were written in 1517); being a three-fold darkness: spiritual, physical, and educational. “One must be accustomed to the light, at least in some measure, to be able to judge of the darkness. A blind man can have no idea of the extent of the darkness around him. It is the same as to moral and spiritual darkness. A person must have some acquaintance with the light of scripture in order to discern the darkness around him. Thus, alas, during the ages under consideration, it was indeed dark, as it had been when our Lord was on earth: The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5.)”

The growing influence of the state-church kept the Scriptures locked up in Latin. The invasion of Europe by Muslims made living quite chaotic for many, lowering standards of living across the continent. Famine, plagues, and the general lack of medical understanding meant many died in their prime, further impoverishing families. These things combined to make learning all the more difficult and, over time, completely out of reach for most people. The Roman Catholic religion emerged in the first few centuries of this era, taking advantage of every crisis and causing several of their own (such as the Crusades) to enhance their power. Andrew Miller, in his book Short Papers on Church History, repeatedly pointed out that the papist religion was fit only for an ignorant and superstitious people. As the Dark Ages dawned, far too many people were lost in a spiritual darkness that was far more dangerous.