Within a century, the Reformation started by Martin Luther had spread across Europe in several different forms. The protest of one German monk spread quickly throughout Europe in Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. Within these regions, three prominent strands of Protestantism can be detected: Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism. Although Lutheranism and Anabaptism were fairly homogeneous in and of themselves, Calvinism was more diverse since it influenced various forms of Christianity included Protestantism in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and England. This paper will trace the developments and doctrines of Lutheranism to Calvinism and Anabaptism. First, Lutheranism will be shown to be a protest of Martin …show more content…
The reformation and Lutheranism is dated to officially begin on October 31, 1517. On this date, a German monk named Martin Luther posted his nightly-five theses to doors of a Church at Wittenberg. What Luther did was not something that is would have been unusual, since this was the common way to propose a topic to debate.1 However, Luther 's 95 theses challenged the Catholic Church 's practice of selling indulgences.2 Ultimately, the Church viewed this not as a theological topic worthy of discussion, but rather something challenging their authority.3 As a result, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther in 1520.4 Furthermore, in 1521, at the Diet of Worms, Luther was summoned to appear at an Imperial Diet before Charles V and told to recant his writings.5 To this Luther replied: “I neither can nor will recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. God help me, Amen.”6 Luther continued his work and studies and as he continued, he began to question more Church dogma and teach doctrines contrary to that of the Catholic church. These doctrinal standards of Luther were finally written up in the Augsburg Confession, Apology of the Augsburg, Luther 's Catechisms, all of which eventually were included in the official doctrinal book of Lutheranism, the Book of Concord.7 The spread of Lutheranism, however, did not go without a response, as the Catholic Church began a counter-reformation, which …show more content…
From this, he derived the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, by which he judged all other doctrinal claims. The more notable Swiss movement during the reformation, however, was the Calvinist reformation in Geneva which was led by John Calvin, a French theologian born in 1509.19 Calvin wrote a well known work on Christian doctrine called the Institutes of the Christian Religion where he systematically laid out his doctrinal positions. Some of the unique distinctives of Calvinist thought included the denial of free will, affirmation of predestination, a unique view of the relation between church and state, and sola scriptura.20 In regard to free will, Calvin stated in his Institutes that “man is said to have free will, not because he has a free choice of good and evil, but because he acts voluntarily, and not by compulsion.”21 This is to say that although man does not have free will in the
In these Thesis’ Luther basically criticized the church’s wrongful practices and exposed the church’s corruption in order to bring about change in the church. Luther is quoted in Document 3 from his 95 thesis’ “Christian’s should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does better if he bought pardons.” Luther believed that actions, such as helping others did way more toward saving a person’s soul than buying a pardon did. He saw through the idea that one could by their way into heaven. He brought about new ideas such as God’s grace is the only way into heaven, not buying indulgences, or simply participating in church activities. His ideas eventually spread out all over Europe and his followers formed a group calling themselves Lutherans. This eventually became a protestant denomination, where Luther preached ideas, and his version of christianity. Also other reformist such as John Calvin had their own ideas, like predestination, and that everyone was full of sin until they were saved by christ. “We must resist the lust of the flesh, which, unless kept in order, overflows without measure.” (Document 6) Calvin believed that everyone was filled with this sinful “lust” that could not be kept in order without the power of christ. Calvin also started a sect of christianity nicknamed Calvinist after their leader. Both Luther and Calvin inspired others such as George Fox, who created quakerism, and Ulrich Zwingli who started anabaptism. Overall a huge force that drove the Protestant Reformation was reformers such as Martin Luther and John
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
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.
In 1536 a man by the name of John Calvin authored a book titled, “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” In this incredibly detailed theological work, Calvin outlines and defines the doctrines and systematic theology of the Protestant faith. Prior to the release of Calvin’s book, there were little to no reformation movements that were operating on a large scale in the nation of France. But as the impact of Calvin’s work began to grow, there became a growing mass of followers interested in the biblical framework Calvin highlighted. One group, the Huguenots were followers of Calvin and soon began to take steps in starting a Protestant Reformation within the nation of France.
The Protestant Reformation was started by people who believed in Luther’s ninety-five theses and were tired of the Church. This Reformation led to many new non-Christian churches like Mormons, Protestants, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and many more. The Pope and other highly ranked religious officials did not like Luther because he made public the immoral actions of the Church. Pope Leo X in response to Luther’s statements asked him to retract his statements and say he was wrong. However, Luther refused and in 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. Another despiser of Luther was Charles V, who issued the Concordat of Worms. The Concordat of Worms said no one in the Holy Roman Empire was to provide Luther food or shelter and all his books were to be destroyed. However, Prince Frederick defied Charles V and sheltered Luther in one of his castles, and during his stay Luther translated the Bible into
John Calvin produced the first defined the presentation on Protestantism, which was titled 'Institutes of the Christian Religion'. Sometime in 1522-1534, John had what he called a 'sudden conversion' and accepted Protestantism. The Town Council also accepted Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances, which set up a theocracy in Geneva; a government based on Church rule. Calvin mainly believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, and the person's complete inability to contribute anything towards their own salvation. That second point is known as pre-destination.
They convinced the townsfolk that instead of confession, they must pay to have their sins forgiven. Luther did not agree with these newly formed laws, so he began to write up his ninety-five thesis.The ninety-five theses is a list of propositions of how the Church was misusing God’s word. Luther nailed that sucker onto the door of the Church, only to become excommunicated. Luther began to preach the books of Psalms, Hebrew, Romans, and Galatians. Thus began Lutheran Church. Martin Luther was excommunicated for seeing the flaws in the Catholic Church. Despite their actions, Luther began what is the second largest branch of the Christianity faith.
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an
In 1536, John Calvin was a French lawyer and theologian who lived in Geneva, Switzerland. He published a book titled Institutes of the Christian Religion. Originally he published his work in Latin but subsequently translated into different European languages. The Institutes outlined Calvin’s basic philosophies of “predestination” as a precondition for salvation. Calvin, like many Christian reformers, was most fascinated in discovering the true way to heaven during the Reformation. Calvin came to a logical spat regarding salvation as he fought to comprehend the word of God, According to Calvin’s ideas, God alone
Calvinism is the best sort of improvement that is reached by society, inside the sixteenth century, once vigorous non secular and political reforms. As a principle of its own, it brings concerning some sort of independence to ancestry (Allen & Lemke, 2010). It’s a religion that is distinctive in its own manner that employs a peculiar system of theology and a completely unique manner of worship. It together pursues a well-designed manner of ...
History's halls rang with the sound of a single hammer as one man remodeled Christianity for all time. This man was Martin Luther, and he changed history's course when he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. These theses challenged the Roman Catholic Church by inviting debate over the legitimacy of many of the Church's practices, especially the sale of indulgences.1 Luther's simple action not only got him into trouble with church authorities but also precipitated the reform of Roman Catholicism in Europe. Protestantism resulted from this reform, called the Protestant Reformation because its reformers protested against the corruption and unbiblical practices in the Roman Catholic Church. Though this was arguably the most important religion in European history and perhaps the world, it is only one among the thousands of other religions on earth. Another such religion was Neo-Confucianism in China. Though many differences exist between these two religions, their origins, and the reforms that created them, one can also find a number of similarities between them as well.
(Hook) The religion of Protestantism came to be when there was the breakup within Western Christianity started by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and other Protestant Reformers. Protestantism came to be in the 16th century due the many influences in the surrounding world. Martin Luther opposed many of the Catholic Church’s teachings and sought change in the church. Huldrych Zwingli began questioning the Catholic Church in the early 15th century; eventually his ideas began to spread starting the concept of Zwinglism. French theologian, John Calvin his views on theology became popular and came to be known as Calvinism. During the 16th century numerous beliefs which differed from the Catholic Church arose, Lutheranism was the most substantial causes for coming of Protestantism.
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”.
This ideology greatly differs from Luther, Carlstadt, and Zwingli, as their beliefs were that by faith alone salvation could be obtained, where no mention of predestination is referred. However, though Calvin’s predestination theory was widely dissimilar than Luther, Carlstadt, and Zwingli, his view of people not being able gain salvation by deeds done in the temporal world are reaffirmed in his writings are reform doctrine (The European Sourcebook, 165-167). Calvin’s goal was in efforts to control the morals normed by scripture and to condemn anything remotely considered blasphemy or Catholic in their origin. Calvinism has been considered closely related to Puritanism given that Calvin ideology was to repress lewd or indecent human behavior inevitably calling for proper less freeing behavior. Despite Calvin’s strict regulations of social and behavioral norm accepted Calvin appealed to helping people socially that later would equate to a Godly
Despite Calvin’s social and personal efforts that lead him to success, his theology remains influential into modern times. The 95 Theses, composed by Luther was written when Calvin was at the age 8. This acted as a base for his beliefs because it acted as influence for his studies and teachings wh...