124 Chapter 3 himself resigns to his Maker. In so doing, man really becomes man. Moreover, through this renewed man in the broken creation something is made visible again by the good Creator. This entails a renovation of multiple relations. Comenius’s resignation to God functioned as the foundation of emendation (…) In other words, the anthropology of innate reliance (resignare) laid the foundation for an anthropology of action (emendare), which is both understandable and internally consistent, because positive hope usually leads to positive actions. Hopelessness doesn’t lead to anything. (Hábl, 2017, p. 24) In Comenius’ work, belief in change and world improvement through education can be seen to be connected to his personal theological roots in the community of the Bohemian Brethren. This religious group not only traces its roots back to the Reformation but also has, via the Czech Hussites, a direct connection to one of the Reformation’s precursors, Ján Hus. The Bohemian Brethren fully agree with Lutheran soteriology and the Reformational doctrine of justification by faith alone. ‘They did not, however, embrace his views without any reservations’, noted Hábl (2017, p. 6) immediately. ‘According to the Brethren theologians, there is not as sharp a discord between law and grace as Luther claimed’ (Hábl, 2017, p. 6). The Bohemian Brethren do not recognise themselves in the problems Luther had with the apostolic letter of James and its accent on practical works that prove the true faith of born-again Christians. In Article 6 of the Brethren Confession, they endorsed the doctrine of justification by faith, while in Article 7 of the same document they ‘retained their old emphasis that justification and sanctification belong together’ (Hábl, 2017, p. 6). Hábl (2011) summarised the theological tradition of the Bohemian Brethren as follows: Such was the theological heritage of the Brethren which Komenský came into: emphasis on saving faith and knowledge of dependence on God, pacifism, desire for religious unity, fundamental openness to the truth, desire for spiritual purity, active moral consistency, and hopeful eschatological expectations. Besides traditional Christian doctrines, these motifs seem to be the most important formative factors in Komenský’s anthropology and in his overall work. (p. 23) The conclusion on Comenius can be that, departing from eschatological hope, he established a line of renewed connection from the intimacy of the human heart, by and via the school, to—ultimately—the whole world and creation. His pansophy, as most clearly presented in his Whole Art of Teaching all Things
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