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Examine the Reformation of England
analysis of luther's 95 theses
The Reformation History
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In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a scroll known as the Ninety-five Theses onto the Catholic church. This list criticized many concepts of the Catholic church. For example, Martin Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, amount of power held by the Pope, and wealth of the church. Ultimately, the church was outraged and excommunicated Luther. This started a rebellion and a revolution. Luther’s goal was not to tear the church apart, but to try and reform the corrupt areas. “Luther did not intend to form a new religion; his struggle had been with Rome. Before he could build, he had to tear down- his religion was one of protest.” After being excommunicated, Luther created his own religion called Lutheranism. Lutheranism relates closely to the Catholic …show more content…
Merchants, royalty, and lower clergy alike challenged it’s power. European princes envied the wealth, merchants loathed Church taxes, and clergy had minimal education and could barely read and teach. As stated earlier, Luther never meant to tear apart the Church; once others had read what he had to say, his idea and mission began to spread. All over modern day Germany, people began to deny the Pope’s power. Although the response to his ideas were welcomed by many common people, the upper class was not as accepting. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered that Luther be deprived of food and shelter - no one was to help him in any way, due to the fact that he would not recant his statements about the corrupt church. Luther went into hiding and was sheltered by Prince Frederick. While under Frederick’s protection, Luther translated the old testament into German. This allowed the common people to understand scripture and really learn it. This was the start to a new religion. Lutheranism would not have been able to develop if it had not been for the German princes. Their support caused others to join Luther’s movement. While being confined in Saxony, Luther published 30 works that sold thousands of copies, ultimately providing Luther with more followers. The creation of the printing press allowed for widespread growth, without these, Lutheranism would not have reached so many …show more content…
When he declared Luther a heretic, any adoring Catholic saw Luther as an enemy as well. While Lutheranism spread, other denominations of Protestantism spread as well. Animosity between Catholics and Protestants continued to climb through the later 1500s. Countries began leaving the Catholic faith and converting to Protestantism. For example, England was one of the first countries dismiss Catholicism. In 1547, Henry VIII asked the Pope permission for a divorce, but was denied. So he decided that the Pope no longer had power in England. This created international chaos in Europe. Protestant countries began fighting Catholic countries. Religious sparring happened on foreign ground and at home. France experience problems between French Catholics and French Protestants, each one believing they were the dominate religion. Religious tolerance and intolerance arguments were fought within many countries. Those who wouldn’t convert to the monarchs religion of choice were
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
Martin Luther couldn 't help contradicting parts of Roman Catholic religious practices, particularly the offer of indulgences, religious disgrace, and the prominence on salvation through benevolent acts. He made a move by posting and dispersing his 95 theses and left a big mark on religious development, which created a branch of human faith, and later encouraging change in the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was in charge of the separation of the Catholic Church. He was a mediator in the sixteenth century of a craving across the board of the reestablishment and change of the Catholic Church. He started the Protestant change, which was a continuation of the medieval religious study. Martin Luther’s 95 theses opened the door to a religious reform. He made it possible for other rulers to believe that two religions could coexist.
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
His first trip to Rome he watched the poor grovel and beg, some not having food to eat but digging up their money to pay for indulgences. Luther could not stand by and let this happen because he saw indulgences as false salvation. Pope Leo X declared anyone who would pay a certain fee would get into heaven he decided to sell indulgences in order to rebuild or renovate St. Peter 's Basilica and John Tezel, a monk, was hired sent to Germany to collect. Luther felt that they were taking advantage of poor, uneducated people so Luther wrote Pope Leo X a letter of his grievances and why. This didn’t go over well because you don’t go against the Catholic Church you stay silent. The Roman Catholic Church held the power and the money. They could declare Wars, they were advisors to the King, they had the final say to all things. Pope Leo X did not respond to Martin Luther 's letter so Luther wrote 95 Theses in 1517 against the sale of Indulgences and nailed them to the door at Wittenberg Castle. This is where the one advantage Luther. The German printing press got a hold of the 95 Thesis and spread it around everywhere for all to see. Of Course the church demanded he repents and recants what
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
...who openly departed from the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century. Furthermore, his Ninety-Five Theses became the first widespread publication to question church practices and thus threaten papal authority. The church and Luther particularly disagreed on ideas related to salvation, and Luther’s refusal to recant his beliefs, which contradicted with those of the Pope, resulted in his excommunication from the church. Nevertheless, this excommunication initiated his breaking away from the church and led him to create his own church, which embraced Scripture as the sole authority and justification by faith. The theology of the Reformation emerged from his Ninety-Five Theses and this work marked the beginning of the process that transformed Luther “the monk” into Luther “the reformer” and fractured the Roman Catholic church into new sects of Christianity.
Many Catholic churches were practicing the wrong things. Luther wrote the ninety-five theses to share how he felt about the Catholic churches. This was one of the things that caused the Protestant Reformation. People who joined this religion were known as “Lutherans.” They would used popular items, such as pamphlets, to spread the message of Lutheranism. Luther taught that you just needed faith in God and Jesus alone. Lutherans baptized people to clean them of their sins and to have everlasting life. Lutheranism is one of the largest today.
While numerous theological issues had been brewing for some time, the Reformation was officially began in 1517 by a man named Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a professor of biblical theology who had several issues with the Catholic Church. His complaints or disputes with the Catholic Church are known as his 95 Theses. In his 95 Theses, Martin Luther argued that God offers salvation through faith alone and that religious authority comes from the Bible alone which posed a challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church. After sparking the Reformation, Martin Luther made it his goal to incorporate the church congregation in the praise and worship part of church service. A detrimental and vital aspect of Christianity, Martin Luther believed this needed to be done. Along with his followers, Martin Luther made continuous...
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.
The practices of The Catholic Church during the sixteenth century caused a monk named Martin Luther to question The Church’s ways. Luther watched as families suffered physically, emotionally and economically by the hands of The Church. Luther saw no basis for The Church to charge people for their sins or prevent them from learning to read The Bible themselves. He watched as the money built up The Palace, yet tore apart the fundamental and spiritual reasons one goes to church in the first place. In an effort to change the practices of The Church, he wrote the 95 Thesis. In these, he stated his views on the abuses of The Church. This was the beginning of a large movement that would change religious practices over the world.
All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.
Through combining the spiritual concerns of Martin Luther and ambitions of German monarchy, the Protestant Reformation was produced. Martin Luther, a German theologian, stirred up much controversy when he presented his 95 theses attacking abuses within the church in 1517 (Obelkevich 83). He set the stage for Protestant reform with the idea of Christianity lying in direct communication with God and not direct communication with the Pope. Lutheran reformers claimed the Bible rather than the church as the source of all religious authority. Considerably, many Lutheran followers would have stayed in the church if nonbiblical practices had been eliminated. In 1530, Lutherans and Reformed Christians confessed they could not compromise with Catholics or each other at the Diet of Augsburg (Aston 162).
Luther exemplifies some of the political aspects present in life during the 16th century. Now, the first of these is that the Catholic Church held a large amount of the political power at that time. The church had influence over almost everything. To the people of this time, faith was almost everything to them, and if they were under the threat of excommunication, they were almost certain to give in to what the church wanted. This is apparent because excomm...
The Roman Catholic Church dominated religion for many years in Europe and became an extremely powerful institution. Over the years, the Roman church became corrupt and immoral in many ways. The development of the Protestant Reformation, Lutheranism, was greatly influenced by political events in the years proceeding the 16th century. The declared aim of the original reformer, Martin Luther, was to restore the Christian faith as it had been at its formation, while salvaging what he considered valuable from the Roman Catholic tradition that had developed during the previous centuries. Luther broke the unity of the Catholic Church forever by exposing their faults and misguided notions. Lutheranism spread quickly due to the availability of the Christian Faith, as well as the close relationship between religion and the state.
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an