The Protestant Reformation occurred during the Sixteenth century questioning the church. There were many things long term and short term that generated the Protestant Reformation. Some long term events that drew a spark are, the church gaining power by forming an alliance with Italian princes for political power. Also, the church abusing its power by selling indulgences and having a tax on the church. People did not like what the church was becoming, so people like Martin Luther and Henry VII tried to cease what was happening in the church. Overtime, people started to rebel because they were poverty-stricken and could not pay the church’s tax. Throughout the middle ages the church was seeking power to grow and spread Christianity. The growth …show more content…
“He did this because a priest named Johann Tetzel was offering indulgences to any Christian who offered or contributed money for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The reason Martin Luther was so furious was because the people who did not have money could not get into heaven.” (Ellis and Esler 425) The 95 Theses was the outcome of Johann Tetzel’s actions. This was a list of arguments about indulgences and why it should be stopped. Many people were impacted and had a deep thought on what the church was really doing. Soren Kierkegaard was one of those people he said, “O Luther, you had 95 Theses . . . The matter is far more terrible-there is only one thesis. The Christianity of the New Testament does not exist at all. Here there is nothing to reform.” - (http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1125188) Soren Kierkegaard is saying that there is even more arguments about indulgences and if the Church keeps doing this there will be no New Testament at all. “After the 95 Theses was published vast debates about indulgences were occurring and many people started to really think about how the Church was deceiving them for their money. The Church acted against this and Pope Leo X excommunicates Luther. Soon after this happened the new Holy Roman emperor, Charles V ordered Martin Luther to give up and that if anyone was to help him it was considered a crime.” (Ellis and Esler 425) …show more content…
“The printing press allowed him to translate the bible into vernacular which was German.”(Ellis and Esler 426) People started to follow him because he showed everyone that the Roman Catholic Church was using them for money and “buy themselves into heaven.” “Lutheranism main differences between Christianity was that there was no indulgences, confession pilgrimages, and prayers to saints.” (Ellis and Esler 246) Martin Luther did not want to be praised for what he has done because he
All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.
There are so many causes from the Protestant Reformation. In the Protestant, there was three different sections that got affected more the the others. When the Protestant Reformation happened it affected the Sociality, Political, and Economic the most.
Social and economic stresses of The Protestant Reformation age were just among few of the things that impacted the ordinary population of Europe. The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, and cultural disorder that divided Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the ordinary population. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. In 1555 The Peace of Augsburg allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany; and in 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation, a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, should be the sole source of spiritual authority. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
He was the man that formed the base of the Protestant Reformation. Luther knew he had to take action on this convictions immediately. So on behalf of the rebellion against indulgences and other Catholic doctrine, Luther created a “ Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” or more commonly known as “The 95 Theses.” The 95 Theses were a list of topics to discuss and propose the idea of indulgences. Or as some people would say to protest the sale of the indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church. The main seller of these indulgences was a man named John Tetzel who had promised the Christians that by paying they were “instantly” saved from sin. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed onto the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther knew that this revolt was not violent, but was only intended to educate
Born in Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of western history’s most significant figure. Luther spent his early life as a priest and a lawyer. He was also the professor of theology. Considering his background it was a total surprise that Luther protested and criticized the catholic church. Even more surprising since he was a priest. However, Martin Luther didn’t want to destroy the church after all he was a priest. He just wanted to reform some of the church’s perceived abuses. There are different reasons that sparked Martin Luther’s protestant reformation, namely. 1) salvation or getting to heaven, was won by faith alone, 2) the selling of indulgences, 3) the bible
The Protestant Reformation started with Martin Luther he believed that the Catholic church’s bible did not apply to everyone, he did not want anyone to be left out. So he rejected Churches and began gaining followers,these followers believed in the same things as martin. So they all started a new branch of the Christian religion. Eventually even more branches began to spring up so everyone was happy and believed in
The 16th century was a time of social, political, and religious change in Europe. The Protestant
The problems the church contributed to the Protestant Reformation were the selling of indulgences and abuse of the church and clergy. The sale of indulgences particularly were attacked by communities and rulers, especially when the sale of indulgences were for the benefits of the church, such as raising money to build a new St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. This financial abuse of the church brought about protests from many communities around Europe. Martin Luther’s famous Ninety-Five Theses was an argument against the sale of indulgences. Church law granted the clergy immunity from taxes, civic duty, and jurisdiction of civil courts. Simony, the buying of ecclesiastical privileges, was another abuse of clerical powers. As quoted in the textbook, “Rare was the late medieval German town that did not have complaints about the maladministration,
Through the tumultuous years between 1350 and 1750, a surge of lust for change clawed at the hearts of Europeans. This yearning for stability translated in different ways throughout Europe, however, it undeniably reformed the mindset of Europe's kingdoms. While some turned to a strong monarch to carry the burden of their anxieties, others filled their hearts with fervent nationalism, others still, placed their discontentment solely on the evils of the Catholic Church. As would be expected, the Catholic Church did not respond well to this push against their time honored authority, though ultimately a reformed mindset took grip of European society.
In the 16th century, Europe was a very busy place. After being in the dark ages for so long, a light had finally shone, and ideas that had been lost in the past for finally making their way back again. Europe was going to be a changed place, for so many different reasons. Although there were many of these big changes were taking place, the Protestant Reformation is the most influential one for it impacted everyone living in Europe, not just some.
After entering monastery he sought to be acceptable to God but as it may be for anyone, it was hard because what he saw in himself was sin. After reading from St. Paul, St. Augustine, and the gospels, he discovered that God was filled with mercy and compassion. Luther was exceptionally upset because the Church, at the time, was engaged in the practice of indulgences. This practice was very prevalent and frequent in the Church. Martin Luther ignited many people who believed that the Church had fallen away from the teachings of Jesus and the original meanings. They also believed that the Church was overly obsessed with money. With these beliefs, it compelled Luther to take action. In 1517, on the eve of All Saint's Day, Luther posted up on the doors of Wittenberg Cathedral, ninety-five problems with the Church. They are more popularly known as the Ninety-five
He made a massive impact on the Catholic Church because he changed so many things during his time so that everyone would be treated fairly and evenly. One of Luther's main roles was that he was the leader of the Lutheran's. The Lutherans were the type of people who supported Luther and his ideas and followed him with what his teachings were about. A lot of these people were protestants because once Luther spoke up to the Catholic Church they all saw that they were being taken advantage of. Luther's beliefs were based on 'Faith + Good works = Heaven'. This was one of the many things that protestants believed would be the reason why they would be sent to Heaven. Luther felt that the Catholic Church weren't interpreting the bible correctly which is why Martin made the 95 Theses. The 95 Theses contained offence on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by the church in 1517. When Luther refused to take back his offence, Pope Leo X outlined a statement about the Church's doctrine on indulgences and wanted Luther's ideas to be condemned of. By the time that Luther brought more and more attention to himself he had the support of many German society's. Pope Leo X gave Luther 60 days to recant or he would face excommunication. As many of Luther's books were being burned Luther published an open letter to Pope Leo X announcing that he will still be continuing about his opinion on false doctrine and corruption in the
...igion. The more pragmatic people believe the results of the reformation to be the result of natural process of changes in the paradigm of late medieval thinking. The politics also understood the number of advantages, which the reformation gave them, including the shifting of power, which was earlier associated with church. The education was also influenced by the reformation. As a result of the reformation, people in the whole world got a chance to understand the religion in their own way, and to read the bible, without the church interference. Different branches of Protestantism appeared, and continue to appear even nowadays. The results of Protestant Reformation they were really noticeable in 16th century, not only due to the reformation itself, but also due to many factors, associated with the period of renaissance, and these results are noticeable even nowadays.
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
The sixteenth century was a time when the acts and teachings of all religions came under a great amount of scrutiny. As a result, there was a great division from the dominant Roman Catholic Church; this was known as the Protestant Reformation. There were many factors in the coming of the Reformation, but the three worthy of note are the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, the leadership of Martin Luther, and the invention of the printing press.