Jeramie Jones Dr. Hermann History 101 Right before the 16th century, there were huge changes in the way people started to think. One major movement that influenced this was the wave of humanist thought, which understood the importance of the study of classical text to emphasize a larger value of the individual, to which the Protestant Reformation owed a lot to. This basis of thought is a huge reason people began to critique the teachings of, and even question the theological foundation of the Catholic Church. The main reason for which religion was so divisive in the 16th century was that people finally began to think for themselves. Despite Roman Catholicism being the dominant in Europe all before the 16th century, a new wave of Protestantism …show more content…
A large portion of this pertained to the Catholic church selling indulgences which were, as described by the Church, a full or partial pardoning of sin that could be used to free anyone of transgression, especially late friends and family. One reading explains that a huge problem in Luther’s eyes was that people no longer felt that they had to go any further for forgiveness once an indulgence was purchased because they saw it as a “catch-all” system. People could pay for salvation instead of relying on faith. Luther believed sola fida, that Christ’s salvation should be achieved through faith alone, and not by giving the church money (moodle reading April …show more content…
A benefit of was that Bibles no longer had to be exclusive to the Latin language. Illiteracy was common, and not many people could read Latin so it was relied on the Church to translate the holy word, which allowed the Church to declare anything they wanted to have come from the book, allowing them to manipulate Christians even further to get indulgences. The printing press allowed Bibles to be printed in the vernacular, or the common language, which allowed everyone to have a Bible in their native language. Alongside to printing bibles, was the ability to produce Protestant broadsides, which were frequently used as political cartoons that did not require literacy to understand. These pictures described the church or the Pope in a negative light, some referencing indulgences and giant demon birds (Dr. Hermann April 18). The purpose of these was to inform the illiterate population of Europe that the Church is
Many of these people sought salvation through the veneration of relics (bones and objects associated with saints), many of these relics were attached to indulgences, which was a form veneration. Indulgences were said to reduce a person’s time in purgatory after death from punishment due to sin by nearly two million years. Johann Tetzel was a monk who was great selling of indulgences with the slogan “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs” meaning that as soon as someone pays, and the coin is in the money box the person or their loved ones would be saved from purgatory. This led to a lowly monk named Martin Luther who lectured the Bible to take action on behalf of the people, he was very upset with the selling of indulgences because he believed salvation was not obtained through good works but by grace and faith alone, (Justification by faith). This became the main doctrine for the Protestant Reformation.
In the Protestant Reformation many reformists used different tactics, that evolved the Protestant reformation stand point in society. Martin Luther was one of the many who pioneered the movement and, thus allowing for they’re to be a voice for Protestants. While on the other hand reformist Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt followed similar paths as Luther, but he was not as successful. Thesis Statement: The different methods that Luther, Muntzer, and Karlstadt used to approach the Protestant Reformation will be a leading factor, of how well they progress individually on their paths to creating a new interpretation of what the Catholic Church once taught them.
While Martin Luther was not the first person to want to change the Catholic Church, he became the first leader of a major religious order to secede successfully from the western Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation, led by Luther, began in 1517 and ended in 1555. Since Luther’s order broke away from the Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation should more accurately be called the Protestant Revolution. While lecturing on the Bible, a revelation appeared to Luther and changed his life.
In the early to mid-1500s, church leaders were more focused on worldly affairs such as patronizing the arts, spending extravagantly, pleasing themselves, and fighting wars. In addition, the lower clergy of the Church, to whom were given the responsibility of educating the public by Church leaders, were, in fact, uneducated themselves. The Church leaders’ lack of interest in priests reflected directly on the integrity of their words and made them less credible. During the same time, the Church was giving indulgences as a reassurance of entering heaven, meanwhile, the Bible says one can only enter through faith. Indulgences are a prime example of the people trusting the church, and the uneducated clergy communicated that indulgences were good for the people.
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the countries of Europe began to develop a rift. This was caused by a movement known as the Reformation. The Reformation was jump-started by the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Luther urged for the reform of the Catholic Church and its ideas. The proponents of his reform convinced many of the common people to reconsider the foundations of their religious beliefs, as well as the structures of their communities.
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 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.
Luther establishes widespread rapport with his German brethren and religious reformers. He claimed church officials and their unethical practices had undermined the legitimacy of the church. Luther published and publicly displayed the afore mentioned Address, illuminating the clever structure the church had established which ensured the clergy was protected from scrutiny by the wall of ignorance imposed on the common people (Groetsch, lecture notes). The political structure of the church provided safeguards for the clergy, which gave spiritual leaders absolute power. The standards of the day ensured that the clergy’s decisions were considered absolute and only answered to the Pope, regardless of the legitimate interpretation of scripture.
Martin Luther was the spark of the Reformation, he made his first public statement was ‘nighty five theses on the Church’s door. This statement was aimed at the indulgences issue because he had many concerns with the Catholic Church’s honesty and intensions. ‘An indulgence permitted them to contribute a certain amount of money to a worthy cause instead. However, the practice of selling indulgences was sometimes abused as a means of raising money.’ https://lib-wbook.merici.act.edu.au/student/article?id=ar334540&st=martin+luther#tab=homepage.
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 .
The Ninety-Five Theses criticized the practices of the Catholic Church, including the selling of indulgences. Leading up to the Protestant Reformation, advances in writing and book producing took place. Scribes used to write original books and make the copies by hand. Then, in the mid- 1450’s, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. He made this invention secretively, so no one knew his failures, or what he was thinking when he made it.
The Middle Ages were the era of Reformation. The Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Catholic counter-reformation were all major reform movements that brought about much needed change. However, these three movements strongly disagreed with each other. Why did they disagree? Because they had different perspectives concerning Christianity and the church’s authority.
On All Saints Day, October 10th, 1517, Martin Luther wrote a lengthy letter named as “The Ninety-Five Theses” to the Bishop Albert of Mainz (“Martin Luther”). This letter stated that the Bible is the central authority of the Protestant religion and one can attain salvation by their loyal faith to God. “The Ninety-Five Theses” letter became a huge impact for the Protestant Reformation, and it was one of the major reasons why this religion was spread around Europe; however, it also focused on practices from Catholic churches about baptism and absolution (“Martin Luther”). The Protestants used the letter to form their ideas about God and to start their own church denominations. In addition, Protestantism helped a lot during this movement because its belief is that God saved everyone by His faith to Jesus Christ, himself.
Many of the clergymen, the Pope included, were involved in things that were sins in Luther’s eyes - affairs, gambling, and acts of violence. However, Luther began his steps towards change when he arrived in the Vatican and witnessed a friar named Johann Tetzel convincing peasants to buy indulgences from him. An indulgence was a piece of paper that guaranteed the owner a sure passage to heaven. Luther was appalled and shocked to discover that the Church was selling these indulgences and that the Pope was allowing it! Luther believed that to get to heaven, you needed faith, not some piece of paper that you bought from a friar.
Martin Luther stood up for his beliefs and changed the world forever. Martin grew up thinking of God as a strict judge which made Martin feel that he would never be good enough or go to heaven. Martin Luther grew up to become a German monk who did not agree with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Because of this, Martin wrote the 95 theses and started the Protestant Reformation, and fought bravely till the end of his days to legalize protestantism. Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany.