Thesis Statement: These key events reforming religion are what shaped the world for good and for bad in the 14th to the 19th century. The Reformation was full of war and inventions that many had never seen before, affecting the religious and social political systems in positive and negative ways. The first event in the Reformation was the Printing Press. The Printing Press enabled the circulation of the bible, starting the spread of Christianity and the Catholics. The Printing Press was created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450. Before the Printing Press the bible had to be printed by hand, which meant that the copies had to be written word for word. Because they had to be written word for word only the important people had them such as Popes and other religious leaders. Therefore everyone would gather together somewhere and listen to the one man with the bible preach the word. This limited some from learning the word because of the language barrier. At the time all the bibles printed where in the Latin language. So they had a translator and copies of the bible in many other languages. Technological advantages of the 15th century enabled the spread of the word all over Europe, serving as a catalyst for reform leaders of the 16th century. Martin Luther is the creator of the 95 Theses which was a major document in the Reformation. The 95 Theses “protest against the sale of indulgences and clerical abuses.” Indulgences state that one can pay for the sins they committed, and also for the sins that will be committed in the future. Even though the 95 Theses rejects indulgence it states that you may be renewed through Christ and you can be baptized to do so. Luther argued that the Christians were being wronged and being tricked into thes... ... middle of paper ... ...the 95 Theses reject that indulgences are real, it believes you can be baptized and renewed in Christ. Ulrich Zwingli was another important man as he set the demise of Catholicism, and started a war with the Roman officials. Henry VIII was notorious not only for killing all of his wives but also the Reformation in England where he stated that he will be the only authority of the church. Henry VIII made himself the authority of the church so he could re-marry. Prior to this the Pope would not allow him which led to Henry being the only authority of the English Churches. The Council of Trent fought to help Martin Luther and the rest of the reformers. The Counter Reformers and the Catholic Church fought to become more spiritual, educated, and literate. Works Cited Western Civilization. Jackson Spielvogel. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 1040 pp. Chapter Overview
People started to see the logic in his words and they started to break away from the Catholic church and in the process starting the protestant reformation. In his theses Luther believed that Faith not good deeds could save a person. People were convinced when they were told that if they pay so much money that their loved ones would be able to get out of purgatory and make it to heaven. Indulgences such as this was one of the major things that made Martin Luther so angry and adamant of writing his 95 theses because he wanted to see a change in the Catholic
He was the man that formed the base of the Protestant Reformation. Luther knew he had to take action on this convictions immediately. So on behalf of the rebellion against indulgences and other Catholic doctrine, Luther created a “ Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” or more commonly known as “The 95 Theses.” The 95 Theses were a list of topics to discuss and propose the idea of indulgences. Or as some people would say to protest the sale of the indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church. The main seller of these indulgences was a man named John Tetzel who had promised the Christians that by paying they were “instantly” saved from sin. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed onto the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther knew that this revolt was not violent, but was only intended to educate
The Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. It was important because it divided the continent between catholics and protestants. New ideas were introduced and was the subject of tension between catholics and protestant for the next centuries. On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg his 95 theses, inviting debate on matters of practice and doctrine. Luther's action was not as yet a revolt against the church but a movement for reform within. It was, however, much more than an objection to the money-grabbing and secular policies of the
One of the most prevalent issues presented in Martin Luther's 95 theses is the purchase of indulgences. Indulgences may have been an attractive alternative to confession based on the types of questions that would be asked such as, have you thought about committing adultery, and have you cursed or insulted your parents (Kishlansky, Geary, and O'Brien). In the beginning indulgences did not replace penance, but were supplemental, however, as time went on indulgence...
The reformation of the way things were copied and printed can go on to an extent. According to the map given Document C, in 1500 Europe was mainly Catholic and in 1560 Europe was divided into 2 religious type; Catholic and Protestant. Europe was influenced by religion with the help of the spread of literature from the use of the printing press. The bible was the biggest hit when it came to the Printing press. Before the printing press. Luther was unhappy with his church due to fact people would have indulgences to the church which indulgences were payments in return for pardons for one’s sin and grants of salvation in the after life. Martin Luther had posted 95 criticisms on the door of the Castle church in 1517 of October. (Doc.B). The Background essay stated that the Renaissance was underway with a surge of ideas breathing new life into painting, architecture, old classical literature, theatre, and much more with that thought the Renaissance was a reformation of the Middle-Ages. Another example of reformation and how it is an important consequence to the Printing press is in Document E with the World map comparison 1489 to 1507, which the map of 1507 has been nicknamed “America’s birth certificate” because it is the first known map to record the existence of the American continents (Doc.E). The Reformation had many
The development of printing from movable type medal was invented in 1450. The renaissance was the first time European civilizations had access to printing. The art of printing made an immediate impact on European intellectual life and thought. The printing of books encouraged the development of scholarly research and the desire to attain knowledge. Printing also stimulated the development of an ever-expanding lay reading public, which had a huge impact on European society. Also, without the printing press, the new religious ideas of the reformation would never have spread as rapidly as they did in the 16th century. A primary source from the impact of printing is the Gutenberg Bible. The first substantial book printed in the West. It was the first Bible that had been printed. This is significant because now middle class individuals can not only own books, but expand their knowledge on religion, as well as learn to read. In the middle ages, books had been cost and education rare; only the clergy had been regular readers sand owners of books. Books were hand-written by scribes or monks and many people did not learn how to read in the Middle Ages. Books were also written in Latin, a language in which only the most educated people could understand. In the renaissance, the educated middle class could now afford books having a choice of choosing different languages. The impact of the printing press not
The leaders of the Reformation, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I all had similar ideas that the Catholic Church’s rule was strict and did not meet their needs in a political or spiritual realm. Their success in breaking away from the church and influencing others came at a time when the church was exerting its power in both the religious and state arena. The leaders of the Reformation were successful due to the shift in attitudes toward the church regarding spiritual salvation and political movement.
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
In October of 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. The start of the Protestant Reformation was marked by this moment and was followed by a long line of theologists that wished to follow in Luther’s revolutionary footsteps. The German lay people lost faith in an absent and oppressive religious regime and sparked civil unrest and disobedience. Luther found the unavailability of information and restriction of scripture to be a violation of what religion stood for, he saw it as a form of blasphemy. Luther’s focal point with his 95 Theses was the selling of indulgences, which allowed people to purchase salvation from the church at an extremely
Ever wanted to find out what consequences the printing press had on exploration and reformation? Well, you can find out right here. To start off with, the printing press was invented in the 1450’s by Johannes Gutenberg. The idea was not new because in 600 CE the Chinese introduced woodblock printing. They even did a little experimenting with movable wooden blocks but with 50,000 characters it was impossible to carve. One of the reasons Gutenberg was so successful was that the alphabet at the time was much less than 50,000, which was much more realistic when carving. In about 1455 Gutenberg had about 180 bibles that were over 1800 pages long printed, by the year 1500 more than 20 million books had been printed, and by 1600 over 200 million books were in existence. The big question is though, which was the more important consequence of the printing press the reformation or exploration? Reformation was an important consequence of the printing press. However, an even more important consequence was exploration.
Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The reformation is generally associated with the publication of Martin Luther ninety five theses. It was his way to show the protest against the “business” made on religious people: the Holy Roman Empire was earning money on selling people indulgences. Martin Luther got the support of German princes, who were on the same side, but with different motives (they wanted to get autonomy). Luther was the great part of reformation, his influence was immediate, and people listened to him. One of the immediate effects of reformation can be observed in the development of that times writers. For example, Francois Rabelais satirized church, writing about their “business” in humorous way. The other writers, like Erasmus wrote more specifically about the pappy and their role in the lives of ordinary Christians. The major short term of reformation was about the informational acknowledgement, Luther told people the truth about the papacy and their actions, and the reaction of people was immediate: the loss of respect to church, papacy. These results were really strong, because people felt that, all the dogmas...
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.
Martin Luther was a friar very devoted to the Church but after analyzing all these aspects he decided to do something about it. On October 31, 1517 he attached to the door of Wittenberg Castle a list of 95 theses or propositions on indulgences. These theses criticized papal policies and were objections about he church put on hold for discussion.
In 1517, when reformist Martin Luther wrote an indictment of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church called the 95 Theses, he appealed to many people across Europe. In his indictment he greatly criticized and addressed the selling of indulgences above all. At first, a person would have to do “work of satisfaction” like fasting, prayer, almsgiving, retreats and pilgrimages in return for an indulgence. But when the empire was in need of money to fight off the Ottoman Empire and rebuild St. Peter’s in Rome, the pope allowed indulgences to be sold for money where he would receive half the proceeds and the other half would go to funding. This is when Luther was even more angered by the selling of indulgences since he already believed that salvation could not be obtained by man’s own effort, but more the fact that man would be saved only if God willed it. It was that event that prompted the German monk to post his ideas and beliefs as the 95 Theses and address the abuse of selling indulgences in it.