The Dudeism Forum

I hereby nominate Erasmus (full name: Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus or Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam)

Points to support the nomination:

• Erasmus was a contemporary of Martin Luther.  Like Luther, he was concerned by the abuses of the church in Rome.  But, unlike Luther, he wasn't gonna go nailin' manifestos to church doors or startin' wars or nuthin'. (You're not wrong Luther.  You're just an asshole.)
• He remained committed to belief in free will, which Protestant Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination (Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.).
• He wrote books like In Praise of Folly and Foundations of the Abundant Style, in which he theorizes that in order to persuade an audience, it is important that a rhetor have as many options as possible to give variety to their message. (I'll tell you what I'm blathering about... I've got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit... man, she kidnapped herself. Well sure, man. Look at it... a young trophy wife, in the parlance of our times, you know, and she, uh, uh, owes money all over town, including to known pornographers, and that's cool... that's, that's cool, I'm, I'm saying, she needs money, man. And of course they're going to say that they didn't get it, because... she wants more, man! She's got to feed the monkey, I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir? ).
• He refused to take sides in the struggle between the protestants and the Church, preferring to write satire that lambasted everybody (much like the film The Big Lebowski itself).
• His middle road approach disappointed and even angered many Protestants, such as Luther, as well as some of the more conservative elements in the Church in Rome.  Luther called Erasmus a coward who lacked purpose (Are you employed, sir?)
• He wrote that the chief evil of the day was formalism, going through the motions of tradition without understanding their basis. (So why SHOULDN'T we wear a bathrobe in public?)
• He's generally credited with coining the term "Pandora's Box", which itself is a metaphor for the wisdom of just takin' it easy, man.

Furthermore, I'd like to also nominate Martin Luther as an official "Walter" - someone who gets outraged just for the sake of being outraged. (Yeah, waving the fucking gun around?)

Here's his Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus, from which I stole much of this information.

I second Erasmus as a Dutch Renaissance-Reformation Dude...your proofs well-founded and highlight your immense wikipedia erudition.

I can just see Luther and Erasmus standing by the sea in Holland.  Luther is holding a Folger's can and eulogizing John Calvin or Menno Simons or somebody, and Erasmus attacks Luther.  "Goddamnit, Martin!  Everything's a travesty with you!  What was all that shit about the Vatican?  What does anything have to do with the Vatican??!!!"

Quote from: roystonlodge on October 29, 2008, 12:12:47 PM

• He wrote that the chief evil of the day was formalism, going through the motions of tradition without understanding their basis. (So why SHOULDN'T we wear a bathrobe in public?)

Because this isn't 'Nam. There are rules.

But, beyond that, I say "fuckin' a" for Erasmus.

Quote from: roystonlodge on October 29, 2008, 12:12:47 PM
I hereby nominate Erasmus (full name: Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus or Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam)

Points to support the nomination:

• Erasmus was a contemporary of Martin Luther.  Like Luther, he was concerned by the abuses of the church in Rome.  But, unlike Luther, he wasn't gonna go nailin' manifestos to church doors or startin' wars or nuthin'. (You're not wrong Luther.  You're just an asshole.)
• He remained committed to belief in free will, which Protestant Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination (Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.).
• He wrote books like In Praise of Folly and Foundations of the Abundant Style, in which he theorizes that in order to persuade an audience, it is important that a rhetor have as many options as possible to give variety to their message. (I'll tell you what I'm blathering about... I've got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit... man, she kidnapped herself. Well sure, man. Look at it... a young trophy wife, in the parlance of our times, you know, and she, uh, uh, owes money all over town, including to known pornographers, and that's cool... that's, that's cool, I'm, I'm saying, she needs money, man. And of course they're going to say that they didn't get it, because... she wants more, man! She's got to feed the monkey, I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir? ).
• He refused to take sides in the struggle between the protestants and the Church, preferring to write satire that lambasted everybody (much like the film The Big Lebowski itself).
• His middle road approach disappointed and even angered many Protestants, such as Luther, as well as some of the more conservative elements in the Church in Rome.  Luther called Erasmus a coward who lacked purpose (Are you employed, sir?)
• He wrote that the chief evil of the day was formalism, going through the motions of tradition without understanding their basis. (So why SHOULDN'T we wear a bathrobe in public?)
• He's generally credited with coining the term "Pandora's Box", which itself is a metaphor for the wisdom of just takin' it easy, man.

Furthermore, I'd like to also nominate Martin Luther as an official "Walter" - someone who gets outraged just for the sake of being outraged. (Yeah, waving the fucking gun around?)

Here's his Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus, from which I stole much of this information.

Fuckin' A