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Final Exam Review Of Catholic Church History
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Development of the Roman Catholic Church
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In the 21st century, the roman catholic church is a well followed religion with about 1.2 billion followers, the pope is a very famous and well known face around the world. The publicity of the pope comes from the billion followers of Roman Catholicism but, there was a time when the pope of the Roman Catholic church was viewed negatively as a result of permeating lies and encouraging acts of deceit. There was a time where the church was mostly about establishing ways to obtain money in an unfitting manner. As a result, this gave the church even more power and authority. Money is power, so the more money given to the church the more power the church would acquire. This money was given in purchases of indulgences which were pardons given by the priests to people who committed sins. While, Most people did not know or understand the wrongdoings done by Pope Gregory XI. There were few people who did know the wrongdoings by the …show more content…
church such as John Wycliffe and Martin Luther, who did all in their power to stop these wrong doings. The fact of John Wycliffe and Martin Luther exposing the wrongdoings had good effect but, there were consequences to the world. Pope Gregory XI lied to the people that he was the highest one in authority and that it wasn’t enough to believe in Jesus Christ but, to believe in the pope. He acted as the only one who wielded the authority. “...Many new points of belief, and see it is not enough to believe in Jesus Christ unless a man also believes the bishop of Rome is the head of the holy church.” (Document I) In other words the pope wanted the world to believe that the bishop of Rome/Pope is in a position of higher authority than Jesus Christ the Lord and savior to those who follow catholicism which includes Pope Gregory XI. The pope knew that the exposure of the lies the church provided was a threat, since Pope Gregory XI tried to condemn John Wycliffe for stating the truth and exposing the pope of his very own lies. Pope Gregory XI asked for the University of Oxford to arrest John Wycliffe for his actions. “ Moreover, you are on our authority to arrest the said John, or cause him to be arrested” (Document II) This is an effect to the cause of Wycliffe in exposing the pope for the lies provided by the Roman Catholic church. Martin Luther wanted to convert the Jews to Lutheranism and failed.
Since Martin Luther failed Luther wrote an anti semitism. Luther’s reasoning was the fact that no Jews converted. “Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred florins,” (Document X) This showed how Luther would give a reward to those who he converted. “First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.” Yet, Luther will punish those who do not convert. The Anti-Semitism spread through Europe after the Crusades, and the punishments Luther has stated are very similar to the ones Adolf Hitler and the Nazis used during the Holocaust. The holocaust could have been another effect to Luther’s
writings. In conclusion, Martin Luther and John Wycliffe stated the way they felt on the Roman Catholic beliefs and actions. There were certain effects that took place because of the writings on their opinions, some of these effects are positive but, the negative ones were more effective or possibly use the word: outweigh than the positive ones. These effects impacted Wycliffe and Luther, and also affected the world in ways that are unimaginable. , it negatively affected millions of people in horrible gruesome way or manner.
As ancient Rome began to fall, Christianity began rising. Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was born, later to be known as the Messiah or Son of God. When people of the Roman era began to hear of such a powerful being, they began to convert to Christianity. Why did Christianity take hold on the ancient world; Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it offered immortality, equality, and it was spread like wildfire.
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
Elected in 1958 as a ‘caretaker Pope’, Pope John XXIII implemented the greatest reforms in the Church’s history. His involvement within the Church had played a significant contribution to the reforming of social, political and liturgical Christian traditions. During the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church still held the century old conservative beliefs and traditions as they continued to separate the Church from the secular world, therefore, disadvantaging the Church to a world that was modernising. In addition to this, the Church restricted modernist thoughts due to the belief that new theologies would threaten the power and authority of the Church, but ...
Jews were constantly persecuted before the Holocaust because they were deemed racially inferior. During the 1930’s, the Nazis sent thousands of Jews to concentration camps. Hitler wanted to
Prior to the careers of Popes Celestine V and Boniface XII in the 13th century, the long and, sometimes tumultuous, history of the church can be helpful in setting the stage for these two church official’s very famous, and very different tenures as pope. In different forms and methods, the medieval Catholic Church has always had a strong hold on society in addition to politics. The church has also had a troubling past when it comes to corruption, usually manifesting itself through the pursuit of this dominance over political and outside figures on all aspects of everyday life. Coupling these two themes together, the past actions and power exerted
It is clear that between 1540 & 1559 that the Catholic Church became increasingly intolerant of debasement and dissent. This is mostly due to the leaders that came to the papal throne within this period. Between 1540 & 1559 there was a variety of pope’s with very differing views on how to contend with the issues of Protestantism, debasement and dissent.
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.
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
During the Great Jubilee year, John Paul II gave a relevant speech of apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for the serious sins committed by its members for over 2,000 years. Since John Paul II did that, he wished the Church to enter the new millennium with a clean slate, allowing it to speak to and discuss freely with the other religions of the world, including the cultures and nations from a place not only of permanency but also of moral and religious power, having acknowledged in specific ways the crimes, from time to time unbearable, committed by its human origins throughout history. These apologies were hardly accepted, and common apologies for sins committed against the Church and its members have not been imminent. “Catholics distinguish between the holiness of the inevitable sinful nature of men, including the men who serve the Church stated by Thomas E. Woods Jr.” From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one directing on the weaknesses of the Church's human members suffering from sin, which does not prevent it from receiving God's forgiveness through the sacraments, however troubled it may be by the sins of its members.... ...
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.
Luther believed that the Christian Faith was being exploited. The leaders of the Roman church were abusing their monopoly over their Christian followers for their benefit. Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses in response to the sale of indulgences by the Pope. He wanted to make the people aware of how a true Christian should act and how the Pope was violating them: "The treasures of indulgences are nets, whereby they now fish for the riches of men." (Luther, The Nine-Five Thesis, p.5) He felt that giving to the poor and needy would make them far better off than if they bought pardons. The Romanists had set up barriers so that no one could condemn their actions and power. They thought that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over the spiritual power. Secondly, the only person who could interpret the Scriptures was the Pope. Therefore, he decided what was right and what was wron...
The Catholic Church has long been a fixture in society. Throughout the ages, it has withstood wars and gone through many changes. It moved through a period of extreme popularity to a time when people regarded the Church with distrust and suspicion. The corrupt people within the church ruined the ideals Catholicism once stood for and the church lost much of its power. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer primarily satirizes the corruptness of the clergy members to show how the Catholic Church was beginning its decline during the Middle Ages.
She examines 6 popes between 1470-1530 who she claims lead in a way similar to politicians. They lost touch with the common people both emotionally and intellectually. A little known cleric led the revolution challenging papacy that culminated in the reformation of the church. In that context, Barbara outlines that the popes were venal, immoral, and their power politics was calamitous. The faithful were distressed by their leadership, which ignored all the protests and the signs that a revolt was coming. In the end, the papal constituency lost almost half of its followers to Protestants. Barbara says that these people were driven by the greed and the urge to create a family empire that would outlive them. This chapter sums up the essence of folly in these major failures, lack of a fixed policy, over extravagance, and the illusion that their rule was
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power.
Early in history, the Roman papacy consolidated its power. It became one of the most influential organizations in the medieval period. This rise to power resulted from the decline in the Western Empire, the leadership of Roman bishops, and special grants that gave the church land holdings. This rise to power caused some positive ramifications, such as the protection of the church from heresy. However, the absolute power of the pope also caused corruption and abuses, many of which would eventually spark the reformation.