There are few periods in history as consequential as the era of religious Reformation across Europe. The tidal wave of discontent in society reverberated beyond just the church and permeated across the entire political landscape. As put by Muriel McClendon, “… the Reformation made problematic the exercise of traditional authority.” A revolution in thought was brewing, a revolution that would shred all previous notions of centralized authority, in the church, in science and in government. No institution, no authority would be immune from its fallout. Pressures had steadily been building within Europe to dismantle the hierarchical and anti-individualistic structure of the Roman Catholic Church prior to the Reformation. The church would routinely quell dissent, labeling individuals that disagreed with church doctrine as “heretics,” which resulted in punishments ranging from symbolic death (expulsion from the church) to literal death (public burnings). As a religious institution, it had established itself as the sole interpreter of the Bible and the only legitimate source and distributor of divine authority. The advent of the printing press effectively decentralized religious power, at least for those who were literate. Martin Luther and his 95 theses would personify this growing tension between the church and society. The resulting displacement of power away from the church fundamentally transformed the social body, delinking the church’s control and forming a void where it had previously existed in the political sphere. Protestants rerouted the power of salvation to the individual and away from intermediaries; one’s individual faith in Christ is enough to save one’s soul. This erosion of the formerly dominant religious power s... ... middle of paper ... ...f English Literature, http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/17century/topic_3/truelaw.htm (accessed 19 September 2011). King James I, “A speech to the Lords and Commons of the Parliament at Whitehall,” in ELIZABETHAN ATTITUDES: AN ANTHOLOGY, http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bgriffin/399/Elizabethan%20Attitudes.html, (accessed 17 September 2011) “Petition of Right” in How to Read a Document, in Sources of the West, ed, Mark Kishlansky (Harper-Collins) Thomas Hobbes, “Leviathan,” in Modern History Sourcebook, in Fordham University, ch 13, http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/hobbes-lev13.asp (accessed 19 September 2011) Blaise Pascal, “Preface to a Treatise on a Vacuum”, in Minor Works, Vol. XLVIII, Part 2, translated by O. W. Wright. The Harvard Classics. (New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14) in Bartleby.com, www.bartleby.com/48/3/ (accessed 20 September 2011).
The foremost aspects to consider from the Leviathan are Hobbes’s views on human nature, what the state of nature consists of, and what role morality plays. Hobbes assumes, taking the position of a scientist, that humans are “bodies in motion.” In other words, simple mechanical existences motivated solely to gain sati...
“Under the outward appearance of the gospel, they honor and serve the devil, thus deserving death in body and soul ten times over.” Luther’s brutal words against the rebelling peasants of Germany in 1525 reveal the complex reality of the Reformation. Suppression of the rebellion by the German aristocracy was swift and violent, leaving over 70,000 German peasants dead. The rebellion targeted the social and political oppression of the peasantry in the early 16th century. The peasants found new justification for revolt in the promising words of Martin Luther. Luther proclaimed a new kind of freedom for the Christian soul and the peasants applied his idea to their own circumstances. However a dichotomy emerged between spiritual freedom and worldly freedom. Luther argued that good Christians were spiritually free but still subject to temporal laws. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of man were separate spheres. Luther rejected attempts to integrate spiritual freedom into the temporal sphere [Luther turned against the peasants’ revolt of 1525 because the demands of the peasants went against his doctrine of Christian freedom, which stressed the spiritual freedom of Christians and concordant obedience to temporal authority. By using scripture as a justification for rebellion, the peasants not only blasphemed God’s name but also acted against the natural order mandated by God.
In 1517, Martin Luther wrote what would lead to the Protestant Reformation, the 95 theses (Pavao). Luther's theses is composed of ninety- five statements about the Roman Catholic Church that he didn't agree with, by posting his theses on the doors of the cathedral at Wittenberg he was looking to engage in debate with fellow theologians (Pavao). In a matter of weeks Germans that agreed with him about Church practices were printing and spreading his theses. The following will be a discussion of the 95 theses and some of the ideas presented that give an idea of the problems in the Church of his time.
Available at: http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_hobbes/leviathan.html.
What happens when people start to break away from the entity that bound an entire civilization together for over a thousand years? How does one go from unparalleled devotion to God to the exploration of what man could do? From absolute acceptance to intense scrutiny? Sheeple to independent thinkers? Like all revolutions preceding it, the Protestant Reformation did not happen overnight. Catholics had begun to lose faith in the once infallible Church ever since the Great Schism, when there were two popes, each declaring that the other was the antichrist. Two things in particular can be identified as the final catalyst: a new philosophy and simple disgust. The expanding influence of humanism and the corruption of the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation, which in turn launched the Catholic Reformation and religious warfare.
Thomas Hobbes begins Leviathan with Book 1: Of Man, in which he builds, layer by layer, a foundation for his eventual argument that the “natural condition” of man, or one without sovereign control, is one of continuous war, violence, death, and fear.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hobbes, T. (1839-45) The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited by Sir William Molesworth, Bart. Vol. 3. Leviathan. London: Bohn. Accessed via: http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hobbes-the-english-works-vol-iii-leviathan
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.
Thesis statement: Martin Luther was responsible for the break-up of the Catholic Church Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search. 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.
Works Cited Hobbes, Thomas. A. Leviathan. The. Trans. C. B. Macpherson, b. 1875.
On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenburg Germany. His theses stated what he felt was wrong with the Catholic Church like simony, nepotism, and the sale of indulgences and also formed the idea that the way to heaven is through faith. Martin Luther’s movement to expose the church’s wrongdoings and goal to create a more honest church that worships God fueled a movement. His theses spread throughout much of Germany and Europe due to the aid of the printing press and his ideas began to catch in many countries throughout Europe. The Roman Catholic Church began to realize they were in trouble, because Martin Luther’s mission to expose the church 's . He said what many people within the church were thinking. The Roman Catholic Church’s faults became impossible to hide and they struggled to keep members. Overall, Martin Luther pointed out the faults of the church and then explained what he believes; he created a movement to end the corruption of the Catholic Church. His belief of having a relationship with god versus developing a relationship with God through a priest made people feel that they could have control over their religious beliefs. Martin Luther’s perception of how a relationship with God should be developed and the misdeeds that he found within the Catholic church destroyed its credibility and resulted in a large portion of Catholics conforming to