these enemies, the Christian cannot remain passive but must be roused to
warfare.^30
For Erasmus, however, only spiritual warfare can bring lasting peace.^31 He
excoriates his fellow Christians forfighting amongst themselves when they
should be focused on the true enemy:‘What an absurd thing it is that there
should be almost continuous warfare between those who are of the household
of one Church, who are members of the same body and glory in the same
Head, that is Christ... [who are]fighting under the same commander... hav-
ing a common enemy in the Devil.’^32
According to Erasmus, the only weapons appropriate for Christian warriors
are spiritual weapons. For,‘If we wish to conquer for Christ, let us gird on the
sword of the word of the Gospel, let us put on the helmet of salvation and take
the shield of faith, and the rest of the truly Apostolic panoply.’^33 Although in
this text Erasmus simply reiterates the weapons listed by the apostle Paul in his
letter to the Ephesians, in theEnchiridionthe method of warfare becomes
much more carefully defined as a key component of thephilosophia Christi
and as the means of becoming more conformed to theimago Dei.^34
For Erasmus the most important weapons for waging spiritual war are
‘prayer and knowledge’.^35 It is indicative of Erasmus’s understanding of
spiritual warfare that he devotes one page to a description of the correct way
to pray and ten pages to knowledge. The most important knowledge, and
therefore the most important weapon in spiritual warfare, comes from a
patient and thorough study of the Bible:‘Believe me, dearest brother,’he
writes,‘there is no onslaught of the enemy so violent, that is, no temptation
so strong that the fervent study of the sacred Scriptures will not easily repel it;
no adversity so painful that it will not render it tolerable.’^36 The knowledge the
Christian soldier needs in order to engage successfully in spiritual warfare does
not come, however, from a simple, cursory, or literal reading of the Scriptures,
but rather through learning the skills of biblical exegesis.^37 This is by far the
most effective weapon in the battle against the forces of evil:‘if you dedicate
yourself entirely to the study of the Scriptures,’Erasmus notes,‘if you meditate
(^30) ‘Therefore, although we are all engaged in such a difficult and dire conflict, and must do
battle with an enemy so numerous, so sworn and vowed to our destruction, so vigilant, so heavily
armed, so treacherous, and so well trained, yet, poor fools that we are, shall we not take up arms
against them?’Erasmus,Enchiridion25.
(^31) Pacifism represents one of the most important themes throughout Erasmus’s works. See
Hilmar M. Pabel,‘The Peaceful People of Christ: The Irenic Ecclesiology of Erasmus of
Rotterdam’,inErasmus’Vision of the Church, 57.
(^32) Erasmus,Dulce bellum inexpertis,inErasmus on His Times: A Shortened Version of the
‘Adages’of Erasmus, ed. and trans. Margaret Mann Phillips (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1967), 121.
(^33) Erasmus,Dulce bellum inexpertis135. (^34) Eph. 6:13 (KJV).
(^35) Erasmus,Enchiridion30. (^36) Erasmus,Enchiridion32.
(^37) Erasmus,Enchiridion32.
Erasmus, Christian Humanism, and Spiritual Warfare 125