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Impact of the Protestant Reformation
Influence of the Protestant Reformation
The impact of Martin Luther on society
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At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today. Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The practice of selling indulgences became under attack from a monk named Martin Luther in the early 1500’s. Indulgences were used as a means by many church officials to add to their wealth and prestige. By buying an indulgence, one was released for all sin and acceptance into Heaven guaranteed. Luther argued that no one needed to buy admission into Heaven. He believed that people could obtain salvation thru their faith and actions alone. The authority of the Pope was also challenged by Luther believing that religious matters needed to be resolved through the words of the Bible and not an individual’s decision. All of this was set down in Luther’s 95 Thesis that he posted on the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany ("The Reformation Video").
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
Political greed and desire for land by the German princes and the education of Free Cities resulted in immense support from vast crowds which allowed for the Protestant Reformation to occur. As did the social developments included in Martin Luther’s, author of the 95 Theses, ideas of women rights, bibles/masses, and availability of literature. This developments resulted in certain groups, genders, and classes converting to Protestantism, which allowed the Protestant Reformation to establish.
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
In Martin Luther’s letter to Pope Leo X, Luther expresses his deepest concerns for the doctrine and well-being of the Roman Catholic Church to the most powerful figure in Europe, being very careful not to insult the Pope himself. He addresses several issues that have arisen within the church, such as corrupt men who are in positions of leadership, people who are treating the Pope as though he is a God, and people convincing the Pope that he alone has the right to interpret scripture. Luther also proposes several solutions to the Church’s dilemma, beseeching the Pope to remain humble and not comply with those who attempt to worship Him, as well as asking that he not be convinced he is the only one capable of interpreting scripture. Above all else, Luther’s main purpose in writing to the Pope himself is to both clarify his misunderstood intentions to the Holy Catholic Church and to also earn the favor of Pope Leo in spite of his condemnation of the Church, both
Luther begins this memorandum by placing the blame of the peasants’ heinous behavior not on the peasants themselves, but on the excess of the Church that has spread falsities among them. In this assumption, Luther accuses the church of “what [peasants] had in their false minds, and that the pretences which they made in their twelve articles, under the name of the Gospel, were nothing but lies.” The ...
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
To construct Saint Peters Basilica, Archbishop Albert borrowed money from the Fuggers (wealthy banking family). To pay for this loan Pope Leo X gave permission to Archbishop Albert to sell indulgences in Germany. An indulgence is a way to reconcile with God, by confessing your sins to a priest and perform a penance. By the later Middle Ages people believed that indulgence removed all their sins and ensured entry to heaven. The selling of indulgence troubled Luther, he thought people were ignorant to believe that they didn’t have to repent after they bought an indulgence.
Martin Luther was a German friar, Catholic priest, and a professor of theology who later became known for what we now call the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, feeling disgruntled at the behavior exhibited by his fellow friars and priests, Martin Luther decided it was time to make his disapproval known. One of the things he was disgruntled about were the churches selling what they called Indulgences, or essentially, "get out of Purgatory free" cards. These churches would sell them to whomever could afford the fee for them. Sometimes, even charging more than double the original price if they had a parishioner who was a repeat customer. Luther was disgusted that the churches would even consider selling reparations to parishioners for a fee.
One very important change within the Catholic Church was the abolishment of the selling of indulgences. Martin Luther believed that people did not have to pay the church to ask for the forgiveness of sins. He made his point very prominent in his ninety-five theses. Thesis number twenty-one examines this idea, “Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved ;”( Luther). Even though the Catholic Church believed that the selling of indulgences was a just act, they lost many people to other religions, like Protestant. The Church got rid of the indulgences, hoping that they would be able to get more people back to the Catholic Church. (Robert). The Church then went on to say that God’s grace and forgiveness was the most important factor in salvation, but a human has
The 1500’s were a time of reformation and also a time of corruption in the church. The pope, Pope Leo X was one of the most corrupt popes because of his greed for money. The church was very wealthy during the protestant reformation promoting false beliefs to many people, but one man named Martin Luther changed that with his 95 theses because of his dislike for the wrongdoings from the Catholic church.
Martin Luther started out becoming a lawyer, but then an accident happened. Long story short, he became a monk. When a friar named John Tetzel came into Wittenberg, he was selling indulgences (indulgences means a donation to the church that came with a promise from the Pope to reduce a sinner’s time in the purgatory). Martin Luther felt that was not right. Martin Luther felt that the indulgences were meaningless and was not right. So in response Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Theses against the indulgences and everything that was wrong with the Roman Catholic Church. The Theses led to a series of debates with other men of the church. One of the Ninety-Five Theses states that Christians were saved only through the Grace of God and he also stated that the church’s rituals did not have any power to save souls. Martin Luther also said, “The church and the Pope made errors all the time.” The argument between the church and Martin Luther became heated when Luther denied that the officers of the church and the church itself had any spiritual powers. Martin Luther said, “Christians do not even have to hear the priests to receive the Grace of God.” That is when the Ninety-Five Theses created a
The document “The Ninety-Five Theses” was the disputations on the power and the efficacy of indulgences coming from The Church of Rome, which actually became the Roman Catholic Church. The list of disputes that were written by Martin Luther in 1517, set into a revolution. Luther was a monk, and also a priest. He went on to study the Holy Bible with caution, and he created his own thoughts on how things should function compared to The Roman Catholic Church. The pope ran the Catholic Church and he had had the duties of deciding what the church could do and what they could not do. The pope believed in buying indulgences, which also led the church to believe that buying indulgences was the correct thing to do.
Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses. “The 95 theses” are a list of questions for discussion or debates that they had from Martin Luther. The 95 theses is a document with teachings in it of the Catholic Church. It was important because the people needed to know what they were getting themselves into. Very few people believed in Martin Luther. The Pope had burned Martin Luther’s belongings because he refused to give up on his writings. The Catholic Church people didn't like the idea that Martin Luther was trying to tell the other people of the city wrong. He spent his time writing the 95 these for people who were very ungrateful for it. The pope wanted Martin Luther to just stop writing it, but instead Martin Luther had someone printing out his
Throughout this paper, we will look into the disappointing church corruption of the middle ages, more specifically, the unbiblical practices, serious problems, hypocritical popes, and finally, the people trying to fight the corruption!