ABSTRACT
There is no idea that proved more powerful in shaping the hopes and dreams of Western civilization than its belief in progress. The culture developed its policies and plans around idealistic visions and optimistic expectations of what is possible in the future. The beginning of the Reformation saw a fundamental change in the perception of the church. The schism of those days created a rivalry between Catholics and Protestants over the true nature of the church and each one's claim to attend a fellowship that preached the Word and administered the visible means of grace in accordance with Scripture. The Reformation brought the hope among many of its followers that the church and the world could change for the better, that the destruction of the Antichrist was imminent, that a godly kingdom would dawn in the near future and take the place of the forces of evil here on earth.
