Christian theology has studied and used the Bible to explain the reason of life and the message of God. The way in which this has been done has varied from time to time and from region to region. In the first section of this essay Western Europe is regarded as the central point of one of the most challenging division of the Christian faith. The Protestant Reformation would open the way to new types of Christian Faith known as Protestantism. The causes which precipitated this movement will be addressed in order to understand the social motivations of the Reformation. The figure of Martin Luther King will also be discussed as it is one of the most popular names of Protestantism which resulted into the Lutheran Church. The role of the Humanists in the Renaissance period is introduced as it influenced all the movement and Luther himself. Theology scholars used ideas of the humanist approach in order to decode many of the inconsistencies of the sacred texts which formed the Bible of the middle Ages. After the usage of all these new techniques; that worked towards achieving a clearer understanding of the sacred texts. The accomplishing of more faithful translations was a big step made from where not only the clergy but also, and mainly the laity would be able to benefit. Luther was concerned about the role and duties of the laity whose faith was completely dependent on the preaching’s of the Roman Church and he drew a completely new system where the structure of God-Clergy-Laity, switch to God-Laity.
On the second example of how the Bible offers different resources to the non-elite, I have drawn on examples from the 20th century, Latin American movement known as Liberation Theology. It was essential to mention the disturbing history t...
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Collinson, Patrick (2003). The Reformation. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Gutierrez, Gustavo (1971). A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, Salvation.
Gutierrez, Gustavo (2001). A Theology of Liberation. London: SCM
Hastings, Adrian (1999). A World History of Christianity. London: Cassell.
Hastings, Adrian (1999). ‘Latin America’ in Hastings (1999) pp. 328-357.
Hebblethwaite, Peter (1999). ‘Liberation Theology and the Roman Catholic Church’ in Rowland (1999) pp. 179-199
MacCulloch, Diarmaid (2003). Reformation: Europe’s House Divided 1490-1700. London: Penguin Books.
Pettegree, Andrew (1999). ‘Reformation and Counter-Reformation’ in Hastings (1999) pp. 238-277.
Rowland Christopher (1999). The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology. Cambridge University Press.
Kling, David W. (2004). The Bible in History. Oxford: University Press.
· Lewis, CS. Mere Christianity. New York: Doubleday, 1982. · McBride, David. The Story of the Church.
Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print.
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
The protestant reformation of 16th century had both: immediate and long term effects. Thus, we can see that it was a revolution of understanding the essence of religion, and of what God is. The protestant reformation is said to a religious movement. However, it also influenced the economical, political and social life of people. The most global, short term effect of the reformation was the reevaluation of beliefs, and, as a result, the loss of authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The long term effects were: the emergence of new heretical movements, the declining of papacy, thus the reevaluation of people’s view on the church and life values.
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.
Humanists had been calling for reform in the Catholic Church long before Martin Luther penned his Ninety-Five Theses. Humanism was an intellectual and cultural movement of the Renaissance that emphasized the expansion of mans’ capacities. “[Humanism] was an attempt to discover humankind’s own earthly fulfillment. . . [it] developed an increasing distaste for dogma, and embraced a figurative interpretation of the scriptures and an attitude of tolerance toward all viewpoints” (Sporre 310). This perspective could not differ more from the Church’s strict reliance on tradition. People’s outlook on the world changed, but the Church continued on with what had previously worked. It soon became clear that reform in the Church was not in the foreseeable future, so people decided to take matters into their own hands. As humanism spread throughout Italy and northern Europe, more and more people agr...
The Story of Christianity is a very informative summation; a continuation of Volume 1 which covered the beginning of the church up to the Protestant Reformation, while Vol. 2 dealt with the Protestant Reformation up to more modern time period. This author delivers a more comprehensive and deeper look into the development of Christianity, which includes particular events which had transpired throughout the world; particularly how Christianity has expanded into Central and South America. Gonzalez opens up this book with the “Call for Reformation,” where he shares with his readers the need for reform; the papacy had started to decline and was corrupt, in addition to the Great Schism, which had further weakened the papacy (p.8). The author explains how the church was not the only issue but that the church’s teachings were off track as well, seeing that the people had deviated from...
The. 1987 Lopez, Kathryn Muller. Read Daniel: Negotiating The Classic Issues Of The Book. Review & Expositor 109.4 (2012): 521-530. ATLASerials, a Religion Collection.
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.
Emmanuel McCall, "Black Liberation Theology: A Politics of Freedom," Review and Expositor 73 (Summer 1976):330; cf. C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience (Durham: Duke University Press, 1990), 352.
The renaissance and the reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that has shaped our world today. Both of these great time periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the renaissance was a change from religion to humanism whether it is in art or literature; it is where the individual began to matter. However, the reformation was,” in a nutshell,” a way to reform the church and even more so to form the way our society is today. The first half of this paper will view the drop in faith, the economic powers, and the artistic and literary changes during the renaissance, while the second half will view the progresses and changes the church makes during the reformation.
" Political Theology 10.2 (2009): 287-303. Academic Search Complete. Web. The Web. The Web.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010.