Protestant Reformation
explanatory Essay
451 words
Protestant Reformation
In the 16th century the Protestant Reformation divided the Roman Catholic Church. This reform was led by Martin Luther whose original intentions were to reform the church, but resulted in a split between Protestant and Catholic. Soon the Protestant Church itself divided resulting in two more churches, one Protestant, and the other reformed church. The Reformed Church is better known as Presbyterian, whose conspicuous leader was John
Calvin.
John Calvin had many beliefs which had been adopted by the Presbyterian Church. His ideas were modified from those in the Catholic Church. Presbyterians do believe in the Trinity as Catholics do but differ from Catholicism when dealing with ideas like original sin, salvation, and the idea of penance. Presbyterians believe that original
sin is rooted in faithlessness which brought man to fall. The idea of salvation to Presbyterians is that salvation is reached through the grace of God, rooted in the deep faith of a person. Catholics believe in penance for sins through reconciliation.
Presbyterians believe that penance is dealt with directly with God. Ultimately, Presbyterians believe that God’s truth was and is embodied in Jesus Christ, Lord, and
Savior.
One of Calvin’s beliefs included that of which God is God of state and nation and the state must be guided by his word. This idea is embodied in the idea of civil government. The Presbyterian government was originally formen when John Calvin was in Geneva. In a Presbyterian form of government there are four different officers. There are pastors,
teachers, 12 elected elders, and deacons. The elders are seen to be equal to the clergy. Through this government the Presbyterian belief in total life of the community is displayed and put into practice.
The Presbyterian definition of a sacrament is an outward sign by which the Lord represents and testifies his good will towards us. A sacrament is a testimony of God’s grace. Presbyterians acknowledge two sacraments. One is Baptism, and the other Eucharist. Baptism is a symbol of cleansing, forgiveness of original sin permanetly, and makes us all share in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It makes us one with
God. The sacrament of the Eucharist is a memory of Christ’s death and a confession of faith.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the protestant reformation divided the roman catholic church in the 16th century, resulting in a split between protestant and catholic.
- Explains that presbyterians are similar to catholics in many ways, but different in others. the church service is relaxed and laid back.
- Explains that john calvin's beliefs were modified from those of the catholic church. presbyterians believe in the trinity but differ from catholicism when dealing with ideas like original sin, salvation, and the idea of penance.
- Explains calvin's belief that god is god of state and nation and the state must be guided by his word. the presbyterian government was originally formen when john calvin was in geneva.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- Presbyterianism: The Origin Of Protestantism And The Churchexplanatory essayPresbyterianism is a branch of Reformed Protestantism which goes back to the British. Presbyterian churches have gotten their name from the church government, which is government by a group of elders. Presbyterian theology focuses on the sovereignty of God, the rules of the Scriptures, and the cause of grace through faith in Christ. "The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the European Reformation of the 16th century, with the example of John Calvin's Geneva being particularly influential" (1). Most churches trace their history back to Scotland are congregationalist in government. Some Presbyterians played a role in the Ecumenical Movement, such as World Council of Churches, in the twentieth century. "Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches like Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists." (1)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that presbyterianism is a branch of reformed protestantisme which goes back to the british. presbyterian theology focuses on the sovereignty of god, the rules of scriptures, and the cause of grace through faith in christ
- Explains that presbyterians identify themselves from other denominations and religions by teaching, governmental organization, and worship; they use the "book of order" as another source of religion.
- Explains that confessional churches express their faith in the form of "confessions of faith," which have some level of authoritative status, but there has emerged a spectrum of approaches to confessionalism.
- Explains that presbyterian churches adopt the book of confessions, which reflects the inclusion of other reformed confessions in addition to the westminster standards.
890 wordsRead More - Protestant Reformationexplanatory essayThe Protestant Reformation of the 16th century was a religious revolution that occurred within the Christian Church, which resulted in the establishment of Protestant Churches, who began breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. Originally the movement was started by Martin Luther, who was a monk, a priest and a Professor of Biblical study at the University of Wittenberg (Fisher 335). Luther, with his great political influence as well as his prolific writing, most notably his 95 Thesis, began a movement intended to address the abuses of wealth within the church. Although there were many people who realized that the church needed reformation, at the time, Luther really had no intention to split the church. The Protestant Reformation was an intellectual, cultural, religious, and political, upheaval that would separate Catholic Europe and set in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent. In Christianity’s history, the Protestant Reformation was one of the most significant religious revolutions.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the protestant reformation of the 16th century was a religious revolution within the christian church, which resulted in the establishment of protestant churches.
- Explains that martin luther was appalled by the misuse and abuse of the clergy, and the roman catholic and church financial fundraising that were particularly criticized.
- Explains that the protestant reformation is mainly attributed to martin luther, but there were other significant figures of the renaissance who had also laid the foundation for the new ideals.
- Explains that calvin disagreed with luther and zwingli, leading to calvinism. calvin believed that god had already decided the destiny of each person.
- Explains that lutheranism, founded by martin luther, stemmed from calvin's ideas. the church of england also separated from the roman catholic church for political reasons.
- Explains that the protestant reformation provoked the roman catholic church into a counter-reformation. the council of trent legislated the moral reform of the clergy, tightened administration, and officially recognized the pope as the absolute authority and earth vicar of god.
- Explains the impact of the protestant reformation on society during the 16th century.
- Analyzes how the division between the churches has taken away the full power of the church that the roman catholics once held. there is also a great diversity among protestant denominations.
- Explains that although there is a division between the different churches, they do share similarities. the changes introduced by the second vatican in 1962 bring the protestant and catholic positions closer.
1152 wordsRead More - The Reformation: The Origin Of The Reformationanalytical essayAt the start of the sixteenth century, the Reformation had put an ungracious end to the dependent unification that had prevailed under the Roman Catholic Church. In response to the growing sense of corruption in the church, the reformation began. Many people began opposing views of how Christian practices were expressed, which led to the formation and spread of Protestantism. While the Pope is head of the Catholic Church, Protestantism is a general term that refers to Christianity that is not subject to papal authority. (1.)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the reformation ended the dependent unification that had prevailed under the roman catholic church, leading to the formation and spread of protestantism.
- Analyzes how the german augustinian monk, martin luther, nailed 95 arguments to a church door in wittenberg, which disputed the use and abuse of indulgences within the church, and encouraged the abolishment of monasteries.
- Analyzes how king henry viii, a devout catholic, decided to divorce catherine of aragon. discontented by the pope's refusal to grant him divorce with papal authority, henry broke away from the church, becoming the supreme head of the church of england.
- Explains how luther's movement rose in reputation, followed by calvin, a french protestant, who fled france after converting to protestantism.
- Explains how the reformation led to a series of religious based wars that culminated in what we now call the thirty years' war.
1125 wordsRead More - Martin Luther Reformationanalytical essayA reformation can be described as the action or process of making changes in the social, political, or economic institution to improve it, according to the Google dictionary. Martin Luther and the “95 Theses” started a chain of events throughout Europe that would be known as the Protestant Reformation. During the 16th century, the authority and power of the Church was challenged. This led to other denominations being created such as, Lutheranism. Martin Luther and the Reformation influenced the religion in the West and the culture.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that a reformation is the action or process of making changes in the social, political, or economic institution to improve it.
- Explains that the reformation began on october 31, 1517, which was the day martin luther nailed the "95 theses" on the church doors of wittenberg castle.
- Explains that martin luther didn't start out as a religious figure, but he went to study law at the university at erfurt, to please his father. after being hit by lightning, luther resigned from the university and entered an augustinian monastery.
- Analyzes how luther's "95 theses" expressed his thoughts on some of the church’s practices, such as the sales of indulgences. he saw this as a corrupt scam.
- Explains the "95 theses"'s controversial idea of a priesthood of believers, which encourages believers to read the bible and take part in church and government affairs.
- Narrates how pope leo x summoned martin luther to the diet of worms, where he stood firmly for his beliefs, which led him to be excommunicated by the pope and considered heretic by charles v, the holy roman emperor.
- Explains that before luther's translation of the bible to german, the only language it was in was latin.
- Analyzes how luther helped spark the protestant reformation with his protests against the church in the "95 theses." the church's role in society and power was questioned.
854 wordsRead More - John Calvin's Argument Analysisanalytical essayIn I.17.1 of John Calvin’s work, Calvin argues that people do not need to worry about anything they do not understand because God takes care of everything. It is important to understand that this is not the beginning of Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion, because his points in chapter sixteen set the basis for his argument in this next section. Chapter sixteen on providence gives the foundation of
In this essay, the author
- Explains that our carnal minds think of events as happening because of fortune or god's divine game.
- Opines that if we are to fight the ideas in our carnal minds about providence, we need to focus on scriptures.
- Explains that if we set our minds on scriptures, we can see clearly with our carnal minds the rationality of god's will.
- Analyzes how calvin uses a bible verse to demonstrate how the scriptures clarify the understanding behind what seems to be pointless events.
- Analyzes how calvin argues that people do not need to worry about anything they don't understand because god takes care of everything. this is not the beginning of calvin's institutes of christian religion.
- Analyzes how calvin uses assumptions, logic, and scripture to support his argument. he assumes that scriptures have the answers to all the questions of life and they can help the understanding of the human mind.
- Analyzes how calvin gives a lengthy list of god's possible rationales for every action, stating that god is always worthy of praise because of mighty deeds.
1757 wordsRead More - Protestant Reform and Martin Lutherexplanatory essayProtestant Reformation 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 this essay, the author
- Describes martin luther's views on the abuses of the catholic church during the sixteenth century.
- Explains that martin luther wasn't the only person who felt the church needed to reform its practices. others that broke off from the roman catholic church include john calvin and ulrich zwingli.
- Explains that martin luther paved the way for lutheranism. he believed that one must not repent their sins by payment or indulgence, and that salvation came from god.
- Explains that in the swiss reformation, ulrich zwingli believed that pastors of the church should have the right to marry. king henry viii used marriage and divorce as his reason for changing religion in england
- Explains that unlike lutheranism, john calvin's protestant beliefs included predestined means of going to heaven and preached to his followers to lead a strict life without temptation.
- Explains that zwingli believed in following the bible as it is written and his followers respected him and largely accepted protestant religion.
- Explains that zwingli gave up roman catholic practices such as lent, clerical celibacy and mass, while many protestant reformers continued to practice very much the same way.
- Compares the similarities of being protestant with the belief that jesus christ is the son of god and died to atone for every man’s sins. the protestants did not have a pope or bishop as head of their church.
- Explains that the printing press allowed the roman catholic church followers to choose their religion based on educated readings, rather than ignorance on the subject of faith. protestant beliefs allow for a spiritual life that is not measured by threats and monetary contributions.
658 wordsRead More - The Reformation Influenceexplanatory essayThroughout time, European history has been a major factor in the shaping of the modern world. The Renaissance sparked an era when people could look around and say to themselves, “How can I take this general topic and broaden it to be something bigger?” With this new idea came millions of brilliant and thought- provoked innovators that changed the name of what art, literature, and culture was thought to be. With thoughts growing and diverting from the prior Church- based philosophy of the majority of Europe came testing and changing of concepts previously thought to be true. New technologies enabled the curious to examine theories that they couldn’t make sense of, therefore, how the saw of world was rapidly expanding. Although many factors in
In this essay, the author
- Explains the domino effect that occurred between three major events in european history shaped the world we know today.
- Explains that the renaissance sparked an era of the mind; people could express themselves for the first time in their chosen art form.
- Explains that the reformation led to numerous branches of protestant christianity and improved catholicism.
608 wordsRead More - Summary On "puritan Dilemma"explanatory essayCalvinism was the theological tenets of John Calvin. One teaching of his was predestination. Another was Congregationalism where the church made the rules, and didn’t have to report to the Pope. The Universal Priesthood of Believers was that all believers were priests. The Eucharist denied Christ’s presence. In the communion the priest stood over bread and wine, which symbolized the body and blood. Also, the earthly must be sanctified by the heavenly.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the contents of the article.
- Explains that martin luther king led the break with rome and translated the bible into german. the 95 theses was basically a book of complaints.
- Describes the theological tenets of john calvin, such as predestination, congregationalism, universal priesthood of believers, and the eucharist.
- Narrates how henry viii beheaded most of his wives and wanted a son to carry down the reign. he went to the pope to get his marriage annuled.
- Explains that henry viii established his own church, dismissed the pope, and made himself the head of all churches.
- Explains that puritan beliefs and practices consisted of predestination, total depravity, conversion experience, work ethic, old testament covenant, and the purification of the church.
- Explains that john winthrop had many jobs. he was the lord of the groton manor and an attorney in his majesty's court of wards.
- Explains that the father of a household would give his land to his eldest son, and if his son wasn't old enough to own the land, the king would return it to the son.
- Explains that charles i became the puritans enemy. he believed in arminianism, where people do evil things by believing in christ.
- Narrates how the first colony in the new world was in roanoke, where the croatians disappeared, and virginia was the second. the settlers made money over selling tobacco.
- Explains that the massachusetts bay company was made by puritans. the movement to separate was led by john winthrop.
- Explains that the non- separatists wanted the separation of the church and state. the voyage to separate left in early spring and arrived in late fall.
- Explains that new england's harsh and cold weather led to many deaths. they didn't have enough clothing to cover themselves to keep warm.
- Explains that god had a covenant with every society. people left england because god's wrath was coming, since the church was corrupted.
- Explains that the massachusetts bay charter could have meetings without being in england. john winthrop held elections once a year for leader, so people could share leadership and new ideas.
- Explains that rodger williams, a sepratist, believed in religious toleration, where you believe what you want. he wanted the state separate from church to protect the church.
- Explains that anne hutchinson, a follower of john cotton, was convicted in what she believed. she was put on trial for her belief, because she spoke out about theological issues.
- Explains that john winthrop was elected governor of new england in 1637. only freemen, women, slaves, non-church people, and people who did not own land could vote.
- Explains that many people wanted "the city upon a hill" because they wanted other people to look up to them. they didn't necessarily want it to be perfect but maybe something close to it.
- Explains that the english civil war was where king charles i resolved the parliament. the parliament went against him in 1649, led by oliver cromwell.
1201 wordsRead More - Church Reform Essayanalytical essayThis 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
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the catholic church's corruption during the late middle ages enabled church reforms due to the ever-increasing view of the loss of credibility within the church.
- Analyzes how martin luther established what he believed was justification by faith and established changes in regards to the guidance of the laity.
- Explains that carlstadt and zwingli were radical reformers who greatly influenced what we now call the reformed tradition.
- Explains that john calvin was a second-generation reformer who expressed nonpartisan judgments. his first attempts at reforms failed when he was exiled due to his radical movements.
- Explains that calvin believed in the theory of predestination, which states that god had appointed an infinite destiny for some people to gain salvation by grace while others were preordained behavior that equates to one having eternal damnation for sins.
- Analyzes how luther, carlstadt, zwingli, and calvin established a religious foundation that best suited the people in which they were responsible for religiously.
1340 wordsRead More - What Role Did Calvin Play In Early Americaexplanatory essayhe role of Calvinism played in the history of early America. The word Calvinism was defined as the protestant theological system of John Calvin and his successors, which develops Luthers doctrine of justification by faith alone and emphasizes the grace of God and the doctrine of predestination. hat Calvinism played a role in early American history because puritans came to America in order to convert people of their beliefs. One would think that they came to America for personal gain but they came with the intention of religion. Because of this they were a part of the American Revolution. the great revolutionary conflict which resulted in the formation of the American nation, was carried out mainly by Calvinists, many of whom had been trained in the rigidly Presbyterian college at Princeton.there were negative influences from Calvinism as well.Calvinists differed from Roman Catholics in their rejection of papal authority. Calvin came to embrace the idea of a “universal priesthood" in which believers did not need the daily ministration of
In this essay, the author
- Explains that calvinism played a role in early american history because puritans came to america to convert people of their beliefs. calvinists differed from roman catholics in their rejection of papal authority.
- Opines that the new england puritans were the least tolerant among all purits. they were congregationalist, which made their theocratic government democratic.
- Explains that maryland was founded as a safe haven in the new world for catholics. william penn went out of his way to make sure there would be no religious persecution in pennsylvania.
442 wordsRead More