Comparing Martin Luther And King Henry VIII

During the Reformation, both Martin Luther and King Henry VIII desired to reform the Church, but in substantially different ways, and for very different reasons. While Martin Luther wanted reform in order to achieve freedom from the Roman Catholic Church, Henry VIII solely wanted reform for personal reasons and to gain power. Luther acted towards the good of all and Henry VIII acted towards the good of himself.
Martin Luther desired to reform the Church because he believed that it was corrupt and wanted to be seen as the gateway to Heaven. In Luther’s eyes, the Roman Catholic Church was teaching the wrong things and showing bad behavior. Because of this, Martin Luther, being a conscientious friar and professor of theology, did not feel secure in the idea of salvation. The Church was teaching that salvation came through faith AND good works while Luther concluded

that it came through faith alone. Under the command of the Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, Johann Tetzel began selling indulgences. People paid for an indulgence because they thought they were being given full remission of penalties for a sin and could lead to salvation. Really, this was just a scam to make money and were not even in the Bible. As a result, Martin Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Thesis in protest, a list of complaints to express his concern for the corruption of the Church.
Henry VIII desired to reform the Church in order to gain power and find a solution to the problems in his personal life. In 1509, he was given the throne due to the death of his older brother, Arthur. In order to keep the dynasty from ending, he needed to produce a male heir. He wanted to marry Catherine of Aragon, Arthur’s wife, to keep the alliance of England with Spain, but he was not allowed because “ you shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife”(Leviticus 18:16). As a result, he went to Pope Julius II because Arthur and Catherine never had sex, not beginning the marriage, and was granted permission to marry her. After Catherine would not produce a male heir, Henry VIII was frustrated and wanted a divorce; He had his eye on Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting to Catherine. Subsequently, Henry VIII went to Pope Clement VII in order to annul his marriage to Catherine by saying her and Arthur did have sex. Because Pope Julius II allowed the marriage to happen, Pope Clement VII couldn’t allow the annulment or else they would be described as infallible.
In response to Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, in 1520, Pope Leo X wrote Luther the Exsurge Domine, a letter that required him to recant everything he said about the Roman Catholic Church in the next 60 days.

As a result, Luther burned the letter and other papal documents. Then in 1521, Luther was asked to attend the Diet of Worms, where he would recant what he had written. Once again, he refused. He was strong to his beliefs. Unlike Henry VIII, Luther was not selfish in reforming the Church. For instance, the peasants were one of Luther’s major supporters. They had a list of demands that Luther would try to resolve. He initially backed them up but in 1525 when they turned to violence in a revolt, he exhorted the nobles to slaughter them. Luther could have had all of those supporters who admired him, but instead, he had them slaughtered. Although he could have had the support, he believed violence was not the answer. No matter how many supporters he could have has, his beliefs were always put first. Overall, Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church to create a more simple Christian life as it was in the

past.
Henry VIII reformed the Roman Catholic Church by getting rid of it and creating a new form of Christianity. In protest to his desire for an annulment being declined, Henry VIII took action. In 1534, he got Parliament to pass the Act of Supremacy. This law made him the head of the Church. But instead of Catholic, England was now transformed into Anglican, a form of Protestantism. This move made Henry VIII the “supreme” of England because he was already the king, but now was also the head of the Church. Additionally, Parliament passed the “Act of Succession”. This required everyone to take an oath of allegiance to Henry VIII. Because he no longer needed permission from the Pope to annul his marriage with Catherine, he divorced her and married Anne Boleyn. The alliance with Spain was no longer important to Henry VIII; The only thing on his mind was to have a male heir to keep the Tudor dynasty going. Overall, Henry VIII only wanted to reform the Church for his own sake and because he desired ultimate power.
Despite all of these differences, both Luther and Henry VIII were essential to the Protestant Reformation. Additionally, they were both considerable threats to the Roman Catholic Church in very different ways.