Geneva, supported resistance to Hitler and the Nazis. In Luther’s Germany, however, Protestant leadership generally supported obedience to authority and did not advocate resistance to the Nazis. Is there anything in content of Luther’s and Calvin’s teachings that would lead to these different approaches to resistance to the state?
The teachings of Martin Luther never gave way for a revolution, he did not even encourage the idea of disobedience to oppressive rulers. Luther was much more fearful of what would transpire as a result of the revolution. Luther worried more about the nature of man and their need to be ruled for order to exist.
In regard to Luther, toward the end of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin discusses that
Martin Luther and his followers seized the right to read and interpret the bible in a new way, that paid the way for Reformation. Martin Luther challenged the church. He criticized the churches ideas and practices. He sought no revolution, but he tried to persuade church leaders to make reforms. Luther believed that gods free gift of forgiveness did not depend on taking sacriments or performing good deeds.
Agyen, I enjoyed reading your discussion post and found your take on the Reformers to be informative and well thought out. I thought Calvin was the most committed to living a biblical life but do disagree that Luther was not committed to biblical Christianity. I feel that he was committed but in ways that weren’t as bold as Calvin. Luther seemed to have less hesitation on making his ideas become reality in his time. Our text states, “Luther is flamboyant, vivid, impulsive, immensely readable, frequently exaggerating his true position or contradicting what he said elsewhere in order to put over a point forcefully”
It is rather strange that Luther was so against the peasant revolts, especially because he was considered radical for the time. Luther had challenged the authority of the Pope and was even ultimately excommunicated, much like the peasants had challenged the authority of the lords. His unusual conservative views towards the revolts did not agree with the views of Thomas Müntzer, who was a religious figure himself. Mützer held a positive response towards the revolts. His purpose was even to encourage the acts of the peasants in document 4.
Luther believed that salvation was achieved by the grace of god and not by doing the work that the church demanded. The Reformation was so much more than a religious revolution even though it started out with a religious nature, it exceeded pass religion.
The church tried with all of the power it had gained to stop Luther, but power hungry men and pious fools thought him worthy of protection. Luther may have been correct in his Theses, but the actions his allies took to accomplish his ideals were extreme; extreme to the effect that order was sacrificed for many years for a goal that would
Thomas Muntzer supported the rebellions, he believed countries had finally stopped resisting God’s Will, and he supported the peasants taking down the unethical upper class (Doc 4). As a protestant preacher, Muntzer strived to kindle rebellions because he yearned for a drastic religious reform of the corrupt Catholic church (POV). Being the man that started the Reformation, Martin Luther supported the development of a new religion, but he did not support the violent process the peasants were using to further the reform (Doc 5). Luther was a man of strong faith and he understood that killing nobles, even if it was for God, was unchristian, therefore he didn’t endorse the German peasant revolts even though they were in his name (POV). Caspar Nutzel, similar to Luther, responded to the uprisings by saying that the authorities had been very suppressive, but the peasants did cross a line with their improper conduct (Doc 6).
Luther was against indulgences, or the building of any Church whose purpose was clerics’ profit maximization, or the Church’s door being a bulletin board where announcements were placed. Luther proposed that the hierarchical organization of the church wasn’t beneficial to any believer and to the society as a whole. Luther’s decision to publish his thesis and claims had a huge unexpected (by him) impact in Europe.
The two leaders of the church, Sadoleto and Calvin, believed that faith was required. The leaders contrast in the ideas of the origins of the church. Sadoleto believes that followers of the Catholic religion must follow the faith and authority of one’s ancestors who have passed down the religion for generations. He views religion as (hand me down) that is passed down from their predecessor, who learned the faith from their fathers and forefathers. The concept of obedience is advocated for one in the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther, a German professor and monk, made a large impact on society in the fifteen hundreds. His new ideas of Christianity changed the concept of how religion was viewed and practiced in the 16th century. Within his Ninety-five Theses, he questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and brought to light the corruption surrounding the church while stating how Christianity should be practiced in different ways rather than what is being taught. It is important to understand his stances on religion to explain how different groups reacted to his ideas. While some parts of Europe accepted his ideologies into practice, others reject Luther for many different reasons.
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.
Machiavelli and Luther: An Examination of Authority in the 16th Century Written in 1513 Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince aims to serve an educational purpose, enlightening those in power on ways to secure authority and hold onto it. Separating ethics from the acquisition of power, Machiavelli essentially lays forth a guide to achieving and maintaining ruler status with emphasis on sustaining an adequate military force and establishing a rapport with the populace. In 1520 Saxony, Martin Luther wrote the treatise “Concerning Governmental Authority” not to educate, but rather to explore the role of earthly authority and punishment in a Christian context.
Among the religions and beliefs during the 16th century, there were different opinions on how to run society and the government. Martin Luther and John Calvin were two leaders in the Protestant Reformation who wanted change in the Catholic Church. Although Luther and Calvin were similar in the political authority and ecclesiastical, they differed on religion and society. Luther and Calvin were both Protestants who believed the Catholic Church was corrupt due to the selling of indulgences and the preaching of salvation.
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.
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.