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Effect of martin luther on church reformation
The role of Martin Luther in the Reformation
The role of Martin Luther in the Reformation
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The aim of this paper is to explore firstly the political issues and theological issues that contributed to the convening of the Marburg Colloquy and then briefly discuss the impact these events had on the immediate course of the Reformation. The colloquium was convened in the German town of Marburg-on-the-Lahn over the days of the 1st-4th October 1529,at a time of great political and social upheaval both in Germany, Switzerland and in Europe as a whole. The Landgrave, Phillip I of Hesse (1504-1567) called it with the aim of reaching agreement between the two 'branches ' of the magisterial reform movement. A movement with opposing views polarised around the issue of Eucharistic understanding, an issue, which at its core had implications for …show more content…
Martin Luther accompanied by Phillip Melanchthon, on the one side and Ulrich Zwingli, Johannes Oecolampadius and Martin Bucer on the other. Both Luther and Zwingli had gained much prominence through their public preaching and the distribution of their printed writings. Despite sharing much common ground in their doctrinal understanding they differed, to their minds greatly, and passionately, on the subject of the Lord’s Supper. The years preceding the Colloquy had seen the two reformers robustly defend their own positions in light of the others writings. In 1525 Zwingli described Luther’s position as ‘’’opposed by all sense and reason and understanding and by faith itself”.9 Luther, in turn, …show more content…
Luther objected to the extremes of Catholic practice wrought by superstition, however he continued to regard “the images, bells, Eucharistic vestments, church ornaments, altar lights and the like” as ‘’indifferent”. Zwingli on the other hand had abolished the Mass in 1525 in Zurich, replacing the altar with a table and a tablecloth. Luther was seeking a hacking back of the ‘bad growth’ within Roman Catholic sacramentalism, whereas Zwingli viewed sacramentalism to be partly the problem itself. Zwingli saw the solution to this problem as requiring a reinterpretation of the nature of the sacraments. The issue of the true or ‘real presence’ was the theological heart of the Marburg debate, a matter of Christology and more specifically a matter of the humanity of Christ. The third session of the Marburg Colloquy was dominated by the Christological debate, Zwingli viewing Luther’s assertion as a denigration of Christ’’s humanity by not allowing Christs human body to remain in heaven, at the Father’s right hand. Luther retorted that Zwingli denigrated the humanity of Christ by denying its presence in the Eucharist. This argument drew from both individuals’ approach to the dichotomy between the flesh and the spirit. Zwingli drawing sharp contrast between the physical and spiritual
Martin Luther is known to be a key initiator to the Protestant Reformation, although he had no intention of doing so. He was going to become a monk, so he read deeply into scriptures, but this only led him to discover inconsistencies between traditions and the Bible. These inconsistencies lead him to demand changes in the Catholic Church; however that did not include
As a result, Luther burned the letter and other papal documents. Then in 1521, Luther was asked to attend the Diet of Worms, where he would recant what he had written. Once again, he refused. He was strong to his beliefs. Unlike Henry VIII, Luther was not selfish in reforming the Church. For instance, the peasants were one of Luther’s major supporters. They had a list of demands that Luther would try to resolve. He initially backed them up but in 1525 when they turned to violence in a revolt, he exhorted the nobles to slaughter them. Luther could have had all of those supporters who admired him, but instead, he had them slaughtered. Although he could have had the support, he believed violence was not the answer. No matter how many supporters he could have has, his beliefs were always put first. Overall, Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church to create a more simple Christian life as it was in the
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
Luther had a change in his philosophy of how God deals with sinners. Luther believe red that God just sat in Heaven and just passed judgment on sinners. In (Psalm 22: 1-8 AMP) the scriptures talk about God delivering the saints versus just being a God who only judges the people that he condemns for their sins. Luther revolved against the Pope once he realized that the Pope did not have the power to control the final resting place in Purgatory or in Hell. Bainton makes a great point, for the saints by pointing out that the forgiveness of Christ outweighs the indulgences of the Pope. In the end Luther’s theology change featured embracing God’s word from scripture, versus relying on his relationships with religious leader such as the
In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...
Born in Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of western history’s most significant figure. Luther spent his early life as a priest and a lawyer. He was also the professor of theology. Considering his background it was a total surprise that Luther protested and criticized the catholic church. Even more surprising since he was a priest. However, Martin Luther didn’t want to destroy the church after all he was a priest. He just wanted to reform some of the church’s perceived abuses. There are different reasons that sparked Martin Luther’s protestant reformation, namely. 1) salvation or getting to heaven, was won by faith alone, 2) the selling of indulgences, 3) the bible
Martin Luther was a former Priest/Monk and that saw some corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther tried to bring his concerns to the Church in his writing of the “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” When these question that Luther proposed to the Archbishop of Mainz went unsatisfactorily unanswered in 1517, Luther started defaming the Roman Church and pushed for the utter destruction of the Roman Church. What started out as an internal reform of Church’s discipline, turned into a war against the Roman Church for their total destruction. This was the intent of Luther’s sermon of 1521.
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).
He goes as far as to completely discredit Luther’s entire movement against the Catholic Church on the basis that Luther contradicts everyone, even himself. In light of the ideas presented in this source, it is evident that King Henry VIII holds the Roman Catholic Church in the highest esteem, and sees the seven sacraments as something worth defending against men such as Luther who seek reform within the Church. Although the title of this work leads readers to believe that the most important matter to the author is protecting the traditions and beliefs of the clergy, the majority of the treatise focuses on demoralising Luther himself; he pleads with the reader to remain loyal to the Holy Catholic Church and to reject the “sacrilegious opinions” of Martin Luther (King Henry
The Pagan Servitude of the Church – Composed in 1520, this work by Luther is one of his most important contributions to Christian history and theology. In the Pagan Servitude of the Church, Luther addresses critical issues that surround the seven sacraments that the Roman Catholic Church practices, but for this session, only the sacrament of the Eucharist is covered. Luther does not start gently, as he immediately contradicts the norm by advocating for the administration of both elements of the Lord’s Supper to the laity. His argument brings to light opposing comments from other theologians and leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, but Luther overcomes them all with a simple redirection to Scripture. He uses a combination of his interpretation of Scripture from the Gospels and Paul’s epistles along with logic and common sense to declare that the laity should have the right and privilege to partake in both the bread and the wine elements.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
Early reformers had some hesitation when considering challenging the church, however, neither Carlstadt nor Zwingli had scruples for separating from the unanimity of the Roman Catholic Church. Both Carlstadt and Zwingli began establishing further differing reforms or changes to the views of Martin Luther. Both evangelical and reformed traditions agreed that the church had instituted to unnecessary sacraments upon the laity especially given that the Bible only stated two sacraments, therefore both of these traditions rejected the superfluous sacraments while keeping the sacraments supported by the Bible. Carlstadt, who vehemently supported Luther’s attack on the church and the sale and purchase of indulgencies, began radical reforms within Germany. Such reforms that Carlstadt initiated included not elevating certain elements in regards to communion, wearing secular clothing during services, abolition of the mass, and condemning iconoclasm thus instituting a church without visual illustrations of God. Zwingli additionally called for further reform than Luther. Zwingli believed that unless the Bible stated a certain ceremony, ritual, symbol, or sacrament then it should be abolished from the church services. Though Zwingli believed that transubstantiation should be upheld, much like Luther, he did not believe that
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.
Greengrass, Mark. The Longman Companion to The European Reformation, C. 1500-1618. London: Longman, 1998. Print.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.