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The Reformation that took place in the sixteenth century saw the fragmentation of Catholic Europe under new religious ideas and practices. One factor causing debate is the role Martin Luther played in the spread of the Reformation. A Reformation, seen in the context of Sixteenth Century life, can be identified as ‘a return right back to the beginning’. In this sense, Luther’s intention can be seen as an attempt to return the church back to where it should be. It has been argued by modern contemporary historians that Luther’s contribution was limited due to the presence of existing reformers and rivals and the idea that Luther was unable to unite a coherent force meaning his role in the Reformation has been exaggerated. However, when …show more content…
Rublack focuses on the reformers John Wyclif and Jan Hus, who maintained the idea that the ‘king and nobility should reform the church, returning it to a truly spiritual life and deprive it of all secular dominion and property’. This ideal is reflected in Luther’s opposition to indulgences, which he saw as an abuse and violation of the intention of confession and penance. This therefore contextualizes the long process of reform in Europe and suggests that although ideas of Reformation existed before, they only came to a head in the sixteenth century. Despite the clear influences Luther made use of, it is evident that he was the first reformer to directly challenge and threaten the Catholic Church. Whilst his use of existing ideas made by historians that predate him has been used as a criticism of Luther’s work, it can also be seen to demonstrate Luther’s ability in creating a public debate whereby previous figures had failed to do so. This can be attributed to Luther’s use of innovative techniques such as his wide use of the printing press in spreading …show more content…
Cohn asserts that Luther’s actions were detrimental in the spread of the Revolution meaning that later Reformers, such as Calvin, learned from Luther’s mistakes and took a different course of action. Evidence for this comes from examples of peasant revolts and rebellions whereby Luther’s teachings were confused with other local religious leaders. These teachings encouraged peasant revolts, such as the one in 1524-26 whereby peasants used the idea of recourse to ‘divine law’ as justification for their actions. Although these actions weren’t representative of Luther’s teachings, he has often been blamed for allowing these ideas to develop into risings that were damaging to the Revolution. In addition to this, once the revolts were settled, peasants reverted back to Catholicism, thus suggesting Luther’s inability of truly converting the peasants. However, as previously stated, more often than not, Luther was successful in spreading and encouraging teachings amongst the wider population. He adapted his methods of teaching so that all members of society could understand. He made use of anecdotes to explain his teachings to the illiterate, for example his ‘advice for a barber’ tale. Therefore, despite the existence of cases whereby Luther was unsuccessful in spreading the Reformation, his methods of teaching can still be seen as hugely innovative and
Social and economic stresses of The Protestant Reformation age were just among few of the things that impacted the ordinary population of Europe. The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, and cultural disorder that divided Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the ordinary population. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. In 1555 The Peace of Augsburg allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany; and in 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation, a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, should be the sole source of spiritual authority. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
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
...17 “Martin Luther” confronted the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences. He placed notices on church doors exposing the corrupted practices. He lived believed good works alone could not earn salvation. The Reformation spread throughout northern Europe. The Catholic Church had no choice but to respond to the Protestant Reformation and they did so in the late 1530s through Spanish reformer “Loyola.” He formed a new religion order, he was the founder of the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, and they became the strength of the Catholic Church. This was known as the Counter Reformation.
The long-term causes of the Reformation- the corruption of the church and the hostility of the laity- appear to have been historical illusion. " I have come to the conclusion, that the Church in England in 1529 needed considerable reforms, because many abuses, undoubtedly, had occurred in various departments of religious life.
First, before exploring Luther’s rejection of the peasant revolt, one must examine his explanation of Christian freedom. Written in 1520, The Freedom of a Christian proclaimed the new freedom to be found in salvation by faith alone. His doctrine liberated people from works but also from the laws of the Old Testament. Salvation was found in the promise of Go...
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
Religion and opinions are both products of humans. Our intelligence gifts us with the freedom of thought and capability to apply it to our views on deep life questions. Intelligence provides us the right to believe in any sort of God, afterlife, or way of living. Brad Gregory describes the Protestant Reformation’s effects on the present society’s Christian qualities in a book he wrote titled “The Unintended Reformation.”1 (After my awareness of the outcome of the western history of the Protestant Reformation, I gained an opinion on today’s religious views that do not completely agree with Gregory’s valuation.) The Protestant Reformation was vital to the progress in the knowledge about the Christian faith.
Luther begins this memorandum by placing the blame of the peasants’ heinous behavior not on the peasants themselves, but on the excess of the Church that has spread falsities among them. In this assumption, Luther accuses the church of “what [peasants] had in their false minds, and that the pretences which they made in their twelve articles, under the name of the Gospel, were nothing but lies.” The ...
The Protestant Reformation was a period of time (1500-1700) where there became a change in Western Christendom. This reformation was caused by the resentment from the people because the Catholic Church abusing their powers for political and economic advances. In this time the church was selling pardons for sin and indulgences to forgive sins, decrease days spent in purgatory and save the dead from damnation. The reformation was when people became more aware with the back hand dealings with the church and men like Martin Luther and John Calvin created their own churches to what they believed was not corrupt unlike the church. Unfortunately there many consequences as far at the Roman Catholic church attempting to bring people back to the church,
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
To conclude, this study case examines and demonstrates the story behind the innovative label- Reformation. I believe that they have the power to inspire or make a change to the start-up businesses in the future as they created an amazing business model generated from what has already been existed to help them building a nourishing line for over the past eight years. I think it is fairly vital as well that modern businesses are both sustainable and innovative, especially in this case, fashion plays a huge role in the industry. Starting from being eco friendly and building more powerful social chains help to add more greens to the environment and a thriving growing economy.
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.
Thesis statement: Martin Luther was responsible for the break-up of the Catholic Church Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search. From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices.
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.