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Martin Luther: The Great Reformer
Martin Luther: The Great Reformer
The role of Martin Luther in the Reformation
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Within the first five sentences McGregor begins to draw in his audience with a sense of slight sarcasm. Through playful word choice, McGregor is able to spark the interest of a not so playful topic. The purpose of this paragraph is lock in the attention of the reader, and introduce the significant event that led to the Protestant Reformation. Paragraphs two and three begin to contextualize the idea of the broadsheet and how Martin Luther’s publicity of reform will mark as the beginning of religious freedom in Northern Europe. Going into further explanation in paragraph’s four and five, the author makes rationale of the broadsheet and how it conveyed the new concept; man can be close to God through the holy word yet separate from the church.
In The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village, renowned scholar Eamonn Duffy investigates the English Reformation. Duffy pears through the eyes of the priest of a small, remote village in Southwestern England. Using Sir Christopher Trichay’s records of the parish, Duffy illustrates an image of Reformation opposite of what is predominantly assumed. Duffy argues the transformation that took place between 1530 and 1570, through the transition of four monarchs, was much more gradual that many interpret. Even though state mandate religious change affected the community of Morebath, the change did not ensue the violence that is often construed with the Reformation. Sir Christopher Trichay’s leadership and his portrayal of community life, the development and removal of St. Sidwell, and the participation in the church through stores develop Duffy’s argument of appeasement rather than violence during the English Reformation.
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
Gonzalez, Justo L. 1984. The early church to the dawn of the Reformation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Theological Context." Reformation & Renaissance Review: Journal of The Society For Reformation Studies 7, no. 2/3: 337-346. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 24, 2014).
Perhaps the most significant of these is that the author expects the reader to come to the work with substantial knowledge of Christian history and the Reformation. At times it appears that the reader is dropped into events without the appropriate background knowledge to successfully understand the situation at hand which can be confusing. This issue is most pronounced in the first chapter of the book as the author attempts to set the stage for his story. Individuals such as John Huss, John Wycliffe and Torquemada (10) are mentioned a historical landmarks requiring the reader has no prior knowledge of these people and the events surrounding them to understand the context. Contextual confusion is compounded by the fact that the events of the entire work are not always laid out in chronological order. This format requires the reader to move back and forth between time frames. A clear example of this is evident in the first chapter under subheadings titled the “The Birth of Anabaptism” (13) where we are looking at January 21, 1525 and the next subheading “The October Disputation” (15) where the text takes the reader back to December
Everett F. Harrison, editor-in-chief, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1960, pg. 356.
Greengrass, Mark. The Longman Companion to The European Reformation, C. 1500-1618. London: Longman, 1998. Print.
Proving to be the paramount of the conflict between faith and reason, the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century challenged each of the traditional values of that age. Europeans were changing, but Europe’s institutions were not keeping pace with that change.1 Throughout that time period, the most influential and conservative institution of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, was forced into direct confrontation with these changing ideals. The Church continued to insist that it was the only source of truth and that all who lived beyond its bounds were damned; it was painfully apparent to any reasonably educated person, however, that the majority of the world’s population were not Christians.2 In the wake of witch hunts, imperial conquest, and an intellectual revolution, the Roman Catholic Church found itself threatened by change on all fronts.3 The significant role that the Church played during the Enlightenment was ultimately challenged by the populace’s refusal to abide by religious intolerance, the power of the aristocracy and Absolutism, and the rising popularity of champions of reform and print culture, the philosophes, who shared a general opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.
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.
During the early 1500’s, nearly four hundred men and women gave their lives fighting for protestant reformation. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church controlled much of Europe and was very powerful and corrupt. Many Christians broke away from the Catholic Church, seeking reformation. It started with Martin Luther and his “95 Theses” in 1517, and continued into the next century. These brave men and women believed that salvation came from faith in Jesus alone, not by works, and that the Bible should be in the people’s hands, not just the high priesthood of the Catholic Church. William Tyndale, one influential Christian Reformer, was called by God to translate the Bible into English and share the good news that everyone is saved not by works, but by faith alone (Pettinger). He followed this calling, influencing numerous people, to the point of death. William Tyndale is one of the most influential figures in early protestant reform because of his translation of the Bible into English, his use of the printing press, and his unwavering faith in God.
“Protestant Christianity began in the 1500's when a group of people began to protest against some of the wrong things they believed the Catholic church was doing and teaching. These protesters became separated from the Catholic church and formed their own church, which was more incline with what th...
To start the book, the author, Hall, discusses the main church subjects he is going to talk about. He mainly talks about the key focuses of the Church Fathers. This includes the question of the incarnation, the Trinity, and the question of humanity and the church. He relates and outlines these by relating them to the issues that arose with in the early church and how they came to solve them.
The body of his letter could be summarized and divided into three categories: i. Living the newness of life initiated in salvation. ii. The orderly of relationships for Christian sojourners. iii.
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.