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The influence of the Protestant Reformation
The influence of the Protestant Reformation
Martin luther theses as a historical source analysis
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The Protestant Reformation was one of the biggest movement in Europe that occurred in the sixteenth century which aimed at revolting at a wide scale against the torture and barbaric control of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Northern and central regions of Europe, people were devoted to bringing reforms in politics and the society. Among these people were Martin Luther, Henry the Eighth, and John Calvin. This was the time when Martin Luther (a German Augustinian monk) presented his ‘ninety-five Thesis’ on October 31 of 1517 at the Wittenberg Church. These 95-thesis served as an invitation to people to express their ideas on the matters at hand. These people challenged the authorities of Catholic Churches. People involved in the movement wanted to extend their hold at the cost of the Church. This movement spread like wildfire. Along with Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia, …show more content…
In 1521, Martin Luther was called before the Imperial Diet of the Roman Empire where he was removed from the communion. In the presence of the elector of Saxony known as Friedrich, Martin recited the Bible in German. He was able to inspire many German peasants, which joined forces with him, and tremendously helped him with the revolt. Luther urged that people should follow the Bible, instead of following the pope. At the end of this revolt, Lutherism had become a state religion, accepted in many states of Germany. The main purpose of Martin Luther to write his thesis was to protest against the selling of indulgences. On the other hand, the Romans full heartedly supported the selling of indulgences, as they considered this as a way to raise
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.
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
of the Bible became the basis for which Martin Luther translated the Bible into German because he
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
One of the most influential revolutions of all time was the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, a german priest, saw flaws in the corrupt Catholic Church during his pilgrimage to Rome. Martin Luther witnessed the selling of indulgences (paying the Catholic Church to forgive sins), priests getting involved in prostitution, simony (buying and selling of church positions) and finally, the expensive, excessive spending habits of the pope. Luther felt like the basic laws and foundations of the Christianity were being violated and he was enraged and he knew he needed change something before his religion would fall. With so many things wrong with the Church, Luther posted his 95 theses, in 1517, which pointed out all of problems in the Catholic Church. The Catholic church immediately took action to prevent
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
The period of the Protestant Reformation was a troubling time for the Catholic Church. During this time the church was one of the most formidable organization throughout the land. The church had power, land, and was aligned with several influential people and governments. Any type of major change was difficult for the church to embrace. This is one reason why much of the doctrine and formalities remained the same for many years (west civ book). However, there were several men that had tried to change some of the principles throughout the church. The Reformation was not the work of a single person, but the work of many who over time disagreed with certain ideas that were either doctrine or beliefs that the church held. This made the Catholic church
Martin Luther is considered one of the most instrumental individuals in Christian history for his role in the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation that severed the powerful religious, political, and social grip the Catholic Church had upon European society (1). Luther did not set out to be a revolutionary, but simply questioned the church 's marketing of indulgences that offered the buyer or their deceased loved one absolution from the penalty of sin (2). Luther’s famous “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” or “95 Theses” argued against the sale of indulgences, but Luther also ultimately disagreed with many of the fundamental religious philosophies of the medieval Catholic Church. The religious ideas of Martin Luther differed from late medieval Catholicism on key elements of theology: spiritual authority, justification of sin, free will, and the sacraments.
The protestant reformation of 16th century had both: immediate and long term effects. Thus, we can see that it was a revolution of understanding the essence of religion, and of what God is. The protestant reformation is said to a religious movement. However, it also influenced the economical, political and social life of people. The most global, short term effect of the reformation was the reevaluation of beliefs, and, as a result, the loss of authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The long term effects were: the emergence of new heretical movements, the declining of papacy, thus the reevaluation of people’s view on the church and life values.
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.
The sales of indulgences was an idea that the church created to help fund papal projects such as, the ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel. Essentially, the idea of the sales of indulgences was that it assured that the purchaser would be allowed entry into Heaven. Luther saw this as a corrupt scam, he claimed that the Pope and Church didn’t have control over how long people would stay in purgatory and their sins. People finally came to their senses and stopped buying indulgences, causing a fall in sales of indulgences.
In 1517, the actions of bishop Albert of Hohensollern, friar Tetzel, and Pope Leo X elicited a response from Luther. Albert abused his position as bishop by purchasing bishop positions in Magdeburg and Halberstadt while selling indulgences, with the approval of Pope Leo X, with the profits being split between building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and paying off Albert’s increasingly large debt. Friar Tetzel deceived the public to believe that purchase indulgences would be their or their loved ones’ salvation (402). This was the catalyst that fueled Luther to write and publish the Ninety-Five Theses, which was ‘aimed at dismantling the doctrine of indulgences’ (402). While initially he wanted this to be used as a tool for discussion in the University of Wittenberg, what he would come to find out was that, through translation and the printing press and a public that was being manipulated by their religious sup...
Martin Luther is viewed as of Western history’s most significant figures in his fight for equality and civil rights.Initially, Luther, born in Germany spent his early years in relative anonymity where he was a monk and also a scholar. However, it is his contribution and scholarly work in 1517 that Luther is mostly renowned for. He wrote a document that was attacking the then Catholic Church’s corrupt practice. This practice was in the form of selling different indulgences to absolve sins that the church believed was a common attribute in the society (Ziegler and Bentley 55). His scholarly document was named the “95 Theses”. The document provided and discussed two central beliefs. One of the central
Luther thought that the specific act in the Catholic Church of indulgences was wrong so he decided to try to reform the Catholic Church through his own teachings. Martin believed that the act of taking money in return for a promise of eternal happiness with God was wrong. This is what some of the Catholic leaders were doing and as time went on the act of accepting indulgences became greater and greater. Indulgences, in simpler terms, meant a peasant could pay to have his sins forgiven. You could literally, according to the clergy, buy your way out of Hell and/or buy less time in Purgatory! The reformation that Luther had hoped for the Catholic Church did not work. They were many other reasons that Martin Luther had issues with the Catholic Church besides the indulgences, but that was the big one. Others included, but are not limited to, priest celibacy, the great respect for saints, sacred images and the idea that the pope wa...