Protestant Church In 16th Century Essay

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There are many types of Protestant Churches in the world today. In 16th century there was only one church in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church. The church ruled over significant territory in Italy called the Papal States. The protestant reformation was an important turning point in history because the church had allot of power, the church was being questioned, and the church was exposed for differences.


The church in the 1500 had allot of power politically and spiritually. Since the bible was only written in latin most people turned towards the church. People thought the church had power to have their souls spend less time in purgatory if you bought indulgences. The church wasn't the only thing that had power though there wa the holy roman empire as well as Italian city-states, England, and the unified nation states of France and Spain. The Church had been seen as an institution plagued because at one point in the late 1300s and 1400s, church was ruled by three Popes at once.Popes lived like kings more than spiritual leaders. The pope claimed spiritual power and temporal political power. The popes made enemies and alliances and sometimes created wars.The corruption of the Church was well known, attempts were made to reform the Church. …show more content…

His “95 theses” was a list of statements posted on the door of the castle church that showed his concerns about the church practices. The “95 theses” were based on Luther's deeper concerns with the church. When Luther experienced a spiritual crisis he realized no matter how non sinful he was he still was thinking sinful thought. He found a way out of his problem when he read “The just shall live by faith” written by St.Paul. He concluded God's grace is something freely given to humans not something to earn.Martin Luther questioned everything and that led him to believe in the bible

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