Personal Exploration and the Unknown Frontier

Portrait of Marie Curie, by R. chido Hanečková

As expeditionary voyages became more common during the early Renaissance period this sense of exploration spread across the land.  It permeated the cultural atmosphere of Europe and led to a fascination with discovery. People were excited - and rightly so - as these explorers would bring back new ideas, new stories, and new possibilities.

But physical exploration isn't the only way to discover new worlds of possibility.  During the Reformation many people found their world expanded with a similar set of new possibilities: religious and ideological freedoms.  This brave new world of ideas and opportunity would be just as inspiring to the reformers as those voyages had been to the watching public.

Art and Religion: where the falling angel meets the rising ape

The 14th and 15th centuries may have been the birthplace of philosophical, scientific, and religious innovation and discovery, but when we think of the Renaissance, the first thing that comes to mind for most people will always be the art. And for good reason—of all the brave new worlds opened in the Renaissance, the world of art was at the forefront; was part and parcel of a heady new worldview. The art of the Renaissance encapsulates everything that the period was.

We can see this in the way art changed from the medieval era: the expression of humanism in a renewed appreciation for the beauty of the human form; the Renaissance emphasis on verisimilitude reflecting a broader shift in a society newly enamoured of observation, of critical thinking. Where medieval art was symbol, Renaissance art was a representation of reality as it was seen. A manifestation of a pattern, found throughout the Renaissance, of intellectual openness and honesty. A desire to look at the world, to think for oneself. The same curiosity, observation, criticism, would give birth not just to painting and sculpture, but to the Protestant Reformation.

Adoniram Judson, D.D. "The Burman Apostle"

 A message of missionary work had sunk "down into [Judson's] heart, as lead goes down into the ocean... and led him to abandon home, country, and all the joys of civilized life, for chains, and dungeons and torture." Adoniram Judson was on his way to Rangoon, Burma  (Yangon, Myanmar) to preach the Gospel of Christ to a 'heathen' nation. He left as a Congregational theologian and arrived to Calcutta as a Baptist convert because he tried to use scripture to prove the baptists wrong and when he realized his belief was mistaken he had the humility to change even though rejecting his own organization meant the loss of funding and support for his 40 year long mission. He is a hero to me.

'The Departure' of Rev. Adoniram Judson, D.D.  (found in BYU Library 'Judson Offering' 1847)

200 years later I was leaving Thailand and the Thai language behind as one of the first twenty missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in Myanmar and I thought few could understand my position. I felt like I was starting from scratch until I began to learn of the man who was the reason behind the Burmese Bible which I now held. 

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

It's 1453 CE; the Portuguese have already discovered several islands and are exploring routes along the African coast when the Ottoman Empire gains control of Constantinople. Soon after, the major European trade routes are blocked, causing the trade via North Africa and the Red Sea to diminish significantly. In desperation, Europe looks outward. Instead of focusing on land-based trade routes, they start to explore other options to carry out their trade. This exploration was one of the main factors that started the Age of Discovery.

The Age of Discovery

Over the following two centuries, Europe expanded its influence around the world. What started out as a search for new trade routes soon became a search for new worlds. They discovered that the earth was much larger that what they had previously believed, and the discovery of new places and people caused them to send more and more ships out across the oceans. Jonas Bush observes in, "Exploring Our Lives," that "they [the explorers] had a burning drive to discover new things and bring themselves glory, wealth, and success."

Previously, exploration by ship generally took place near coastlines, never venturing into the unknown. But this changed when Christopher Columbus set out to find a western route to India, leading him to discover the Bahamas instead.

After it was revealed that there were new worlds, more rulers began to send voyagers to discover and claim these lands for themselves. Portugal claimed Brazil; Spain conquered Mexico, Chile, and Argentina; and England eventually established a colony in the United States.

America

Now while all these voyages and discoveries had good and bad about them, it was crucial that they happen for us to be able to live in these countries today. Discovering new worlds opened up countless doors that have led the way to new developments and discoveries over the centuries. And while all the worlds that were discovered were important, I think that the discovery of the United States was an irreplaceable event.