Reformation's Religious and Educational Impact

Reformation's Religious and Educational Impact

Throughout the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries a movement called the Reformation took place in Europe. But merely being more than just another religious movement, the Reformation was the moment in history in which God showed His great power and Salvation to the world through the lives of men like John Wycliffe, John Huss, William Tyndale, Martin Luther and John Calvinmen which were determined to die if it was necessary for the Lord's causea moment in which two distinct forcesthe desire of learning and the rebirth of the Word of Godmade it possible for people to believe in the Bible as the only absolute source of wisdom and truth, putting it as the final authority over man and church. As stated in World History and Cultures by George Thompson and Jerry Combee, the story of how the Protestant Reformation began is a story of how brave men in a world dominated by the Holy Roman Empire "desperately searched for the truth about salvation and found it in the Bible and how they were willing to step out on the sole authority of God's Word, even if it meant to stand alone for what is right"(246). I think that Martin Luther clearly expressed this thought when he said,

"Unless I am refuted and convicted by testimonies of Scripture, my conscience is bound in the word of God: I cannot and will not recant anything. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me, Amen."

Before the printing press was invented, books and Bibles were very rare, and people thought that the Roman Catholic Church held the final authority concerning religion and God. The Catholic Church not only possessed...

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...at's right and believing in what you say is all it takes to make the difference. How can we apply this to our lives? Sharing God's gift of salvation to every person we know, no matter what they might say or think since the gospel is God's power for salvation, and if we are totally sure about that, then why should we keep it a secret? Surely, your message will not return empty.

Works Cited

Knox, Dr. E. L. Skip. "The Reformation." History of Western Civilization 15 May

2000. 5 June 2001 *http://history.idbsu.edu/westciv/reformat/luther12.htm*.

Moes, Garry J. Streams of Civilization v. 2. Christian Liberty Press, 1997.

Simon, Edith. The Reformation. New York: Time-Life Books, 1973.

Thompson, George, and Jerry Combee. World History and Cultures in Christian

Perspective. 2nd ed. Pensacola: Pensacola Christian College, 1998.