Twitter and the Printing Press

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Gutenberg’s Printing Press is arguably the most revolutionary invention of all time, simply because of the impact it had on history.  Just think- if not for the invention of the printing press, we might all be Catholics right now.  You definitely wouldn’t be reading this right now if not for Johannes Gutenberg.  However, as amazing as the printing press was, it definitely had some drawbacks to it, some of which we still suffer from today. 

Plough Boys and Bibles

With the printing press, material could be mass produced and distributed to pretty much anyone all over the world!  The issue was no longer about the resources available, it was now about language!  The Bible could be printed and sent all over Europe, but if it was in Latin, a very small percentage of people would be able to read it.  Therefore, at this time, printers started to become much less concerned about how the material looked.  It became a matter of practicality to make things as simple as possible.  For example, during the Reformation, it wouldn’t do any good for Martin Luther to print anti- Catholic propaganda in Latin.  Only the Catholic priests would be able to read it!  The printing press introduced a much larger audience and in turn, required authors and printers to begin “dumbing down” their content so their wider audience could comprehend it.  

It was also matter of practicality when printing large numbers of books to forego the beautiful lettering and pictures that had previously characterized handwritten bibles.  This was a wonderful thing because it made revolutionary ideas and beautiful concepts available to the general public, but it also began a dangerous trend that we experience today in the 21st century. 

A Modern Day Communication Revolution

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In today’s world, we have again experienced an incredible communication revolution with the advent of computers, smartphones, and the Internet.  In a matter of seconds, you can communicate with almost anyone around the globe.  (Of course, if you are in a remote jungle in South America, it’s a little difficult to find cell service). The Internet makes it possible to communicate to a much wider audience than Johannes Gutenberg or Martin Luther could have ever dreamt in the 15th century.  If any Christian (not just Catholics) of their time were to read a modern translation of the Bible, they would be absolutely mortified.  As the years have passed, and our mode of communication has changed to incorporate a wider and wider audience, our communication skills have become less and less proficient.  What started with an attempt to reach the lower classes in Europe has left the sprezzatura and flowery language of the Renaissance behind, where in today’s world, it seems to have no place.  Today, the Internet has given rise to all different sorts of social media.  For example, we have Twitter, which requires each user to keep their messages to less than 140 characters for the sake of brevity.  What a contrast to the communication of earlier years, when the beauty of the prose was valued more than the efficiency of the communication.

The printing press completely changed the way people communicated in the 1400s.  Today, in the 21st century, social media, (Twitter especially) has pushed us to communicate only the necessities.  When was the last time you thought about aesthetics or prose when you posted something on Twitter?  While we should always be grateful for these advances in communication given to us by Gutenberg, we should be careful to not forget the beauty and sprezzatura that was brought to our culture by the Renaissance.

Paving the way to the Reformation

The Renaissance was a period in which mankind made massive advances in developing society. These advancements ranged from language and social etiquettes to new technologies and ways of life. This period opened the minds of the people, allowing them to become educated and learn about the world for themselves. People were becoming more free to live their life in a way that they wanted to. The Renaissance and this new way of life paved the way for the Reformation. Without the inventions and ideas of the Renaissance, the Reformation wouldn't have been able to happened. Two of the main reasons for the Reformation starting were first, the hunger for knowledge that mankind began to acquire. The second reason was the invention and proliferation of the printing press.

The people of the Renaissance began to become a curious people. They loved learning and looked to the greeks as their example. The people of this time period sought learning and made it their goal to broaden their minds to become more well versed in many aspects of life. This constant search for knowledge opened the minds of the people and got them thinking about important things in new ways. The printing press allowed this search for knowledge to explode and accelerate. Print became easily accessible and now anyone could become learned. A huge factor in bringing about the reformation was that one book which was formerly reserved for the rich and powerful was made available to everyone. This book was the Bible.

Access to the Bible gave the people a power they had never had before. They had accessibility to the word of God. They no longer needed a priest or scholar to bridge the gap between them and the word of God. They could begin their own personal spiritual journey. People were able to go back to the sources and find out things for themselves. Because of the open mindedness of the Renaissance and search for knowledge, people dove into the Bible. Many began to see contradictions with what they had been taught from the Churches. One man who saw such contradictions was Martin Luther. In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses pointing to the flaws in the church. This was a huge moment in the reformation. In Jonas Bush's blog post: 'The Printing Press: Downfall of the Catholic Church" https://rhetciv.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-printing-press-downfall-of-catholic.html#more, Jonas talks about the power which the printing press brought to the reformation movement. Jonas expresses that Martin Luther succeeds where others before him failed because of the ability to print and disseminate knowledge to the people. Martin and his followers were able to distribute the 95 Theses as well as other bits of propaganda to show the people of the injustices committed against them.

The Reformation brought people back together
after the individualistic Renaissance Period

In these ways, expanding individual knowledge and printing of books, specifically bibles, the Renaissance prepared the way for the Reformation. But these periods differed in some ways. In the Renaissance, individualism reigned and people sought to increase their own knowledge and become their own person. In the reformation, people began to come back together and collaborate in their existences. Carson Telford outlines this point in his blog post: "We're all in this Together" https://rhetciv.blogspot.com/search?q=we%27re+all+in+this+together. He references John Donne speaking of his relationship with people in the church and how whatever they do, he is connected to that. Carson talks about this period bringing people together, while still holding onto the personal endeavors of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance paved the way for the Reformation and the Reformation built upon the ideas of the Renaissance. The Reformation strayed from the Renaissance in bringing the minds of people together.