One of the major European movement during the sixteenth century was the Protestant Reformation. In the beginning, this movement intended to reform the practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church. Before the age of dissent and division, the church was viewed as the sole vehicle for salvation. However, with all the turmoil within the Catholic Church, the people has lost faith in the church’s ability to lead them into salvation. They have lost sight in its very core. This is the heart of the reformation movement. Although there were those saw the opportunity to widen their power at the expense of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church did respond in wake of the Reformation movement. The Protestant Reformation was set off by a German monk …show more content…
A wider range of dissenting Christians began to take root in the north. Different forms of Protestantism did surface. Zwinglianism was founded by Ulrich Zwingli. This reform was comparable to Lutherans of Germany with one difference: the “theology of the Eucharist” (Coffin, et. al., 410). Lutherans believed in the “real presence of Christ’s body in the sacrament” while the Zwinglians trusted that the Eucharist had no grace at all (Coffin, et. al., 410). This prevented the two groups from uniting and the Zwinglians were eventually realized by another Protestantism movement, Calvinism. John Calvin credited Luther for opening up the religious reform but the two men differed in many levels. Calvin was more “legalistic” than Luther (Coffin, et. al., 412). Calvin decreed that stricter rules and defied temporal authorities. Calvin also rejected the hierarchy structure within the church. He believed that “each congregation should elect its own ministers, and assemblies of ministers and “elders: were to govern the reformed church as a whole” (Coffin, et. al., 412). Calvin also stipulated simplicity: “simplicity in worship, prohibiting vestments, processions, instrumental music, and religious images of any sort” (Coffin, et. al., 412). Lutheranism and Calvinism did have some similarities. In Calvin’s Catechism of the Church of Geneva, Being a Form of Instruction for Children in the Doctrine of Christ, Calvin believed that “children should be duly instructed in the Christian religion” (Brophy, et. al., 437). Both Luther and Calvin saw the importance of fathers educating
In the sixteenth century of Europe, religious reform and changes led people away from the Catholic Church. From Martin Luther’s exposition of the church’s corruption to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, these two religious figures broke away from the Catholic Church in favor of alternative religions. Their lives were heavily involved in their personal and political motives to change the church’s religious practices and beliefs. In the German states, Martin Luther realized that the priests were often unqualified, immoral, and corrupted.
Lutheranism changed and created new church doctrine for the benefit of its followers. New religious services were offered in the Lutheranism religion such as, Bible readings, preaching of the word of God and song. The leaders of the church were ministers, unlike the Catholic Church which was led by priests. The services were led in German, the common language of Germany, instead of Latin.
The Protestant Reformation had a huge impact in all Europe in the sixteen century, but which ones were the factors that lead to it? It is very important to highlight that the European Christianity was falling into a noticeable corruption of its popes and some other high position members. Robbery, and even warriors were among of some factors that took the Cristian Church to a declining path. One of these examples was the Pope Julius II, which one won the nickname “the warrior pope” because he led armies against people. Furthermore, the church was not the only factor promoting this reformation, some other social changes were occurring with the masses in Europe; many of the peasants were being free especially in the western Europe.
The Reformation was a time in Europe in the 1500s in which people questioned the beliefs of the Catholic Church. There were many changes made by the catholic church. The people that were responsible were Martin Luther, John Calvin and King Henry VIII. The Protestant Reformation of 16th century Europe was primarily the result of three men and their disagreements with the Catholic Church; Martin Luther, John Calvin, and King Henry VIII forever changed the religious landscape of Europe.
The Protestant Reformation began with a movement made by a monk simply to criticize and challenge the actions of the Church. From the disapproval of selling indulgence to the demand of equality, multiple forces have sparked the inception of the Protestant Revolution. Martin Luther’s decision to take public stand against the Church was revolutionary to the society. A movement for religious reforms, known as the Protestant Reformation, was born. Luther’s beliefs were soon adopted by and appealed to every levels of society.
This work of his was received with both criticism and intrigue. Calvin’s ideas were very radical, but he sought to back each of them up with what he believed was the ultimate authority of the Scripture. Calvin combats the idea that the church gives Scripture its authority because he believes that the Bible offers “as clear evidence of its truth, as white and black things do of their color, or sweet and bitter things of their taste” (31). He was constantly searching for ways to prove the consistency of the Bible, so he could further establish how authoritative it was. Calvin and Luther did not agree on the sacraments or the use of the law, but both were very influential theological figures of the Protestant Reformation and they both claimed that Scripture, not the church, was the true
from taxation and from civil law courts.” Whilst, the Anabaptists stand in direct opposition to Zwingli, as “For Zwingli the tithe was a key to the centralized territorial church which he wanted to reform but not to dissolve.” As a formulated categorical identity within the Reformation Era, the Reformed label encompasses both Calvin and Zwingli. Due to the varied ideologies Calvin and Zwingli embrace and express, the Reformed label presents less unification when compared to other groupings. Presumably, the Reformed sector is more fluid and disenfranchised. Calvin was called upon to assist with implementing the Reformation in Geneva, however, “it was axiomatic to him that church worship and discipline belonged in the hands of the leaders
John Calvin John Calvin was an important aspect in the reformation for multiple reasons one being that he was a leading figure by publishing the Institutes of the Christian Religion which he hoped to regulate Protestantism. He also became a valued spiritual and political leader in which he put together a religious government. Later given absolute supremacy as the leader in Geneva. He was a man who instituted numerous positive policies. He did a superb job of what he was trying to accomplish, he banned all art other than music which ended up creating Geneva the center of Protestantism, which is what he was shooting for initially.
John Calvin brought the second wave of the protestant reformation to churches in Geneva. Calvin became a believer when he had a “sudden conversion”. He had grown up in the catholic church with his father being a bishop so he was very familiar with the churches practices and beliefs. He started to take an interest in the writings of Erasmus and other Christian humanists authors and even wrote a commentary on one of the pieces. Christian humanists took notice in him and his passion for change and pointed him to Luther’s writings and pamphlets.
Calvinism was founded by John Calvin, a French humanist, who did most of his work in Geneva, Switzerland. John Calvin began the reformation of the church in 1543 when he wanted to turn Geneva into a Christian state. Lutheranism and Calvinism shared some of the same thoughts. One of the most commonly seen similarity was their views on salvation. Both believed that God chose certain people to be saved, and anyone not chosen would be damned to hell.
The Protestant and English reformation were both reforms that took place in the 16th century against the Roman Catholic Church. Comparatively these reformations are alike and different in some sense. For example, Two leaders led these reforms and went against the church’s beliefs for different purposes. For personal reasons , King Henry VIII went against the church, whereas Martin Luther knew the church could not offer him salvation amongst other reasons. Before becoming a monk, Martin Luther was once a law student .
This is because the group of Christains supporting Calvin read Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, " Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” This verse is saying we must struggle and have a relationship with Jesus. Christians saw these crucial Bible verses and made the connection between Calvin’s teaching and how it follows the teaching of Jesus Christ found in Scripture itself. Now that we have established how Calvin’s teaching influenced Christians supporting the reformation it would be wise to examine who these groups of Christians are. These groups of Christians consist of the Puritans in England, the Presbyertians in Scotland, the Dutch Reformed movement, the Huguenots in France and the Pilgrims in America.
The Protestant Reformation was important in European History because with it came a Counter-Reformation. The Reformation revealed corruption in the Church, such as buying and selling salvation—indulgences—for profit, simony, and the overall battles for power and wealth (within the Church). Martin Luther and John Calvin were crusaders for the reformation and were able to share their ideas and beliefs effectively; they were then accepted/recognized by the people—the educated and uneducated, the middle class and nobility. Luther and Calvin’s beliefs allowed for other people to find a sense of freedom and individualism in religion.
To begin with, John Calvin, a French theologian, sounds like an optimist hoping to bring about change. He was a man who stood by his beliefs and fought for them. Although pressured to become a lawyer, he did not follow the same path as his father. During his time at the University of Orleans, he first joined the cause of the Reformation as a Protestant Reformer. The Reformation occurred from the years 1517 to 1648.
Calvin was extremely vocal about his contempt for the sale of indulgences, the sacrament of penance and most of all, the overwhelming pressure to perform enough “good deeds” to be accepted into Heaven, induced by the Roman Catholic Church. King Henry VIII was also against the authority of the papacy, as seen through the fact he decided to reform the Church of England in an attempt to overpower the influence of the pope. Though he had originally done so so he would be able to divorce his wife, it is clear that his decision to reform the Church was also a power move as after the Reformation, control of England laid solely with the king. While Calvin and King Henry VIII’s willingness to speak out against the pope qualifies as a similarity between the two Reformations, it is important to realize again, the motivations behind the two. While Calvin’s willingness to speak out specifically about the corruption of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church illustrates his religious motivations, King Henry VIII’s decision to break from the Roman Catholic Church was more so a power play then a crusade for a reformed and righteous