Prior to the Protestant Reformation, only one form of Christianity existed in Europe - Roman Catholicism. The pope, along with many priests, not only controlled their subjects financially but spiritually. Clergy lived ostentatiously much to the bewilderment of their parishioners. The Catholic Church in Rome had become very wealthy owning assorted assets. Moreover, the only way people could connect with God was through a priest. One way the pope and priests were able to raise money for their projects was through indulgence. Indulgences allowed the parishioner to “buy” their way out of purgatory faster. A German priest, Martin Luther, was dismayed by the use of indulgences and in an effort to correct the Catholic Church’s error wrote the 95
Throughout the centuries The Roman Catholic Church has come under attack by staunch opponents of its teachings and practices. Martin Luther a German theology professor and monk was one such opponent. Martin Luther forever changed religious history by writing and publishing the Ninety-Five Theses. Three core topics of the Ninety-Five Theses were selling indulgences to finance the building of Saint Peter’s Basilica was wrong, the salvation is through faith and God’s grace, and finally purchasing indulgences gives people a false sense of security. Of all the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church most offensive to Martin Luther was the selling of indulgences.
Assignment 1: 1. The sources of religious discontent that preceded the Reformation was the people’s unhappiness with the selling of the offices of the church, clergy members holding more than one office, the selling of indulgences, church taxation, absenteeism, the literate and uneducated priests, and nepotism among the clergy. Additionally, the fact that most clergy was exempt from tax but could own property upset the people. 2. Luther’s intentions and actions of the 95 thesis to the Peace of Augsburg was to tell the Archbishop Albert that the indulgences were making penance insignificant, going against what was in the Gospels, and taking the importance of charity out of Christian’s lives.
O’Toole argues while Catholicism created a unity throughout different parts of the Hapsburg Empire, it also created dissent from within. For example, displeased with what he saw as a corrupt and self-indulgent Catholic Church in the 1500s, a German monk named Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses, which highlighted the indulgent practices by the Church. “Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” (Luther, Thesis 86).
This journal article was written by Brian Clatworthy and published in the year of 2012. This article is in Volume 67 Issue 3. Internally, his consciousness did not allow him to rest. He had a problem with coming to an understanding of the righteousness of God and earning salvation through Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther Martin Luther was one of two of the greatest leaders of the reformation along with John Calvin. The Reformation was the period in the 16th century (1571-1648) where the was a cultural upheaval the divided the European catholic population. Not only did it create a cultural upheaval it created political and intellectual disruption. Luther believed that the Catholic church was corrupt, his 95 Theses was a list of 95 arguments about the catholic church which he wanted to resolve.
As a leader of the German Reformation and a vanguard of Protestantism, Luther’s attitude toward Jews is a matter of great concern. Some scholars, including Paul Johnson, an English journalist and famous historian, believes Luther is a brutal anti-Semite. Paul thinks Luther was not content with verbal abuse – “he got Jews expelled from Saxony in 1537, and in the 1540s he drove them from many German towns.” However, some German theologians believe that Martin Luther does not hate Jews and think that Luther’s attitude toward Jews is a matter of religious discrimination rather than racial discrimination.
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.
As the Renaissance and Reformation went on, people began to think that the Church just wanted money and power. It is somewhat true, though, because they were trying to stay in power with all of the people questioning if the Church was actually good. (Document 5) Through the Reformation came the increased power of lower level rulers--kings and queens--which also meant their kingdoms or states became more powerful than the Roman Church and the Roman Empire began to weaken and Europe fell into political
An indulgence is a grant or a pardon from a person sins which had to be paid for. These indulgences were brought by devote christians who have wronged before. Mainly those who didn’t have time time pray in a sense. However this practice was abused by the Roman Catholic Church. This money was used to pay for costly building projects.
The 95 Theses was a list of 95 arguments against indulgences written by a man named Martin Luther. It all started in 1517 when the corrupt church leaders began selling indulgences which is a full or partial remission of sins. Then the church started to sell an indulgence which is a full or partial remission of sin in Germany. Indulgences were by Johann Tetzel(a German priest) under the order of Albert of Hohenzollern (a German Noble) and Pope Leo X to help the funding of building of a newer version of St. Peter’s Basilica. The 95
The church gave structure to Europe however, the church was a fraudulent place. They would tax lower class citizens and exploit them. Supposedly, the
The Protestant Reformation, occurring between years 1517 to 1648, challenged the Roman Catholic Church’s authority and practices. The most well known practice of the church was the selling of indulgences, a payment taken in order for sins to be forgiven and lessen the time spent in purgatory. The church was corrupt and it didn’t go unnoticed. An Augustinian monk named Martin Luther was appalled. He acknowledged that faith, and faith alone, was enough to grant one through the gates of heaven.
Martin Luther was strict about these rules of the Protestant Reformation. He felt that people should confess their sins, and depending on how bad the sin is, he thinks that God should judge it. Simultaneously, he didn’t believe that “indulgences,” or state of satisfaction, can pay off the price for one’s sin because he believes that it is not holy nor righteous (“Martin Luther”). In the end, this movement was spread to many countries of Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and many
In the 1500s, the Catholic Church headed by the pope with its central institution located in Rome was very powerful and one of the wealthiest church in Europe. It united most of the people across Europe and had a major political role in every decision making that concerns the state. But, as the church gained more power and wealth, its hierarchy of top officials also became corrupt and greedy. Eventually, people started to get angry and frustrated over its corruption and started a religious rebellion against the church. The conflict among the people and the church began to escalate therefore causing a ripple effect throughout the world.
By questioning the sale of indulgences and arguing that the pope does not have complete authority over forgiveness of sins and, to a larger extent, salvation, Luther established a precedent for the word of the Church to be called into question rather than it having absolute authority. Given that Luther opens his 95 Theses with “out of love and concern for the truth,” it is clear that his intentions are not necessarily to completely undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, but rather to open a dialogue between the Catholic Church and its faithful on what is actually true in regards to God. The collective judgment of the Catholic community, particularly those who did not have positions of power in the Church, would then have a much greater effect on the direction in which the Catholic Church took than it would have before Luther’s 95 Theses.