The Various Views of Christianity Near the end of the middle ages, there was a lot of discord in the Christian communities within Europe. Much of this discord came from competing views of the church. There were several competing views of the Church from a few different groups. Usually, these differing views on the church are because of key issues relating to religious reform with Christianity. Some disagreed on certain practices within the church, who had authority and how much authority they had, and the apparent corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. This essay will analyze the competing views of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation was a period in which some groups had differing views of the …show more content…
However, as I mentioned, Humanists were passionately religious. Humanists appreciated the work of the early church. Despite appreciating the early church, Humanists would criticize the Roman Catholic Church for their corruption and the unsavory practices that developed after the classical period. One of the most outspoken Humanist critics of the Roman Catholic Church was Desiderius Erasmus. Like the Reformers, Erasmus believed the Roman Catholic Church had strayed from its roots since the early church. The church was now full of unnecessary items and questionable practices and rituals. The Humanists also witnessed the apparent corruption of members within the Roman Catholic Church. While Desiderius Erasmus did not become a Protestant, he shared several views on the Roman Catholic Church with the Protestants. In truth, the Humanists and Protestants were not too far in belief from each other. The two groups often shared the same grievances with the Roman Catholic Church. While the two groups were undoubtedly different, their similarities are quite interesting. Firstly, the Reformation and the Renaissance both challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Humanists and Protestants realized the corruption and problems within the church and questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, the two groups focused heavily on how the individual could be saved. Instead of looking to rituals, the two groups began to look for ways to obtain personal salvation. Secondly, the two groups sought to understand more about the religion by translating and reading early texts of the Bible; this was not as common within the Roman Catholic Church. Lastly, both Humanists and Reformers were working against the spread and use of scholasticism in Christianity. Despite both
Knowledge, literacy, and their intellectuality expanded ever since the protestant reformation happened. The people that were against the catholic church began thinking for themselves and making better decisions. They agreed on decisions which involved unifying together. For example in the document “People and the Reformation” it states, “The meeting had eventually produced a friendly partnership within Protestant ranks while strengthening the emperor’s position against the threat of Roman Catholic forces”. In other words, this excerpt states that they withheld meetings to make their own decisions to improve the protestant reformation.
Some scholars raised some doubts about Luther and how this was disrupting the peace. Martin Luther soon was able to spread his ideas rapidly due to the printing press. Now people started to listen to Martin Luther and what he had to say. Luther's new criticism started backlash toward the church throughout northern Europe and directly sparked the religious reform movement that came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. This resulted in the split between the Catholics and Protestants in Christianity.
This piece of evidence shows that when the re-introduced idea of humanism was brought to the people during the Renaissance, it was very influential at the time, but people were still not fully on board with the new idea. Although these ideas were very progressive at the time, they did stir some opposing and confusing ideas from others. One conflict that came out of the Renaissance Europe time period was The Protestant
The cause of the Reformations was more theological than secular. Problems within the church were growing larger and larger. Many people did not agree with all of the churches practices, but there was nothing the could do about it. There are several major theological differences between Protestants and Catholics. Protestants believe that the bible is the source of Gods revolution to mankind.
Widespread discontent with perceived corruption and abuses within the Catholic Church, such as the sale of indulgences and nepotism, created a fertile ground for reform. Moreover, the intellectual climate of the Renaissance humanist movement fostered critical thinking, encouraging a questioning of established religious authority. The invention of the printing press also played a crucial role, facilitating the widespread dissemination of ideas and allowing reformist thinkers to reach broader audiences. Martin Luther stands out as a pivotal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther's Ninety-Five
People were unhappy with the way the clergy were treating their people and it was clear that corruption was throughout the Catholic church. The state of the Catholic church, while significant, was simply a backdrop for Martin Luther in his early life. Ironically, he was on the side of the Catholic church in his early life; he was “a university professor of theology and a member of the Catholic clergy,” (Dutton, 390). This close integration with the church made it surprising that he was the one to lead a religious reformation. However, it was his knowledge of scripture that made his message so
The Reformation The Reformation was a religious movement whose influence rivaled that of the Renaissance. The Reformation was a religious revolution which coincided with the end of Renaissance. The Reformation was a product of Martin Luther’s criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, whose power in Europe during the 16th century was undeniably enormous. Luther’s works discredited the institution the Church had become, which led to the Roman Catholic Church being distanced from society, politics, and even religion.
Humanists had a great impact on society and the renaissance in Rome. They stressed ideas and beliefs that were more than just religion. People were expected to devote their lives to the church, humanists broke free from this expectation to focus on personal interests. The founder of humanism, Petrarch, had spread his ideas in Italy, which later on, his idea’s found its way to Rome. What also helped was the typewriter, it helped spread messages around Rome faster and more efficiently.
The Protestant Reformation is one of the most important events in world history, as it can be traced back as a landmark for some of the practices that are known today. While the Protestant Reformation did not begin with the Augustinian monk Martin Luther, he did make a major stride towards bringing up an argument against the Catholic Church. Luther’s most notable questioning of the Catholic Church began with their practice of selling indulgences to obtain the financial ability to build great architecture. The practice of indulgences was a way to ensure a soul would leave Purgatory and make it to heaven.
A German monk named Martin Luther questioned the practice and teachings of the Catholic church. Among Martin Luther, there was also John Calvin, and Henry VIII viewed this the same way. Martin Luther criticized the church, he wanted them to focus more on faith and scripture instead of tradition. He wanted to strive away from tradition, he created writings that included the Ninety-Five Theses that challenged the Church and would soon cause chaos.
I agree that the Catholic and Protestant church did not communicated well and needed a reformation in order to move ahead with Christianity. This time where the Catholic church ruled didn’t spread the Gospel the way Jesus Christ and the Apostles spread. Instead, Christian faith spread by heresy which Luther filled the vacuum the Catholic church created. The religious-political-authority system of the Ecumenical church revealed a resurgence with reformers such as Martin Luther, Augustine, John Calvin, Philip Melanchthon, Zwingli, Bucer, Jakob Arminius, and Jonathan Edward. However, at the same time Christian churches demonstrated opposition to the Catholic church way of interpretation and other things opening the way to diversity of interpretation
By shifting their focus towards political power, they began to sway from the original teachings of Christianity. Many humanist scholars saw this corruption and saw a need to reform it. Intellectual humanists such as Erasmus Desiderius, who wrote the book In Praise of Folly advocated the return of the original teachings of Christianity. He criticizes the Church, writing, “[a]lmost all Christians being wretchedly enslaved to blindness and ignorance, which the priests are so far from preventing or removing, that they blacken the darkness, and promote the delusion.” (Erasmus).
During the Reformation, Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus both spoke out against the Catholic Church. Many hoped that they would partner together and unite against the church, but they ultimately were too ideologically different. Erasmus wanted a moral reformation within the church, but was still a supporter of the Pope. Luther, however, wanted a major transformation in both doctrine and practice. Pressure mounted on Erasmus to comment on Luther’s growing influence and he attempted to distance himself as well as articulate his opinions in On the Freedom of the Will.
They sought to balance religious faith with individual dignity and that wealth should be earned by individual achievements. As a result of a newly founded way of thinking that had won many scholars over Catholicism, the Catholics church and humanists sparked conflict. After the act of questioning the Catholic church’s authority, people began realizing the church’s various flaws which ultimately kick-started the Reformation. Humanism initiated in Italy as of renewed interests in classical culture.
This strong disagreement among Catholics led them to reform the church. The Renaissance influenced people to believe that the church was no longer the