REV: Lesson - The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation
By the 1300s CE, much of Europe had been Christian for almost a thousand years. During the Middle Ages, it was impossible to separate the religious from the political. Therefore, the Church was occupied with the handling of spiritual issues, like salvation and behavior, but also political issues, such as territorial disputes, disease and famine, education, and small-scale trading. During the Crusades, Christians and the Church were exposed to the more civilized institutions that developed earlier in the Muslim World like the sophisticated transregional trading systems and institutions of higher learning. Ultimately, this exposure led to cultural movements within the Church and Europe. The first was the Renaissance - which we've already discussed - but the next movement was the Protestant Reformation.
Between 600 and 1450 CE, the Catholic Church held the most power in all of Europe. Popes, as heads of the Church, clashed with the kings and princes of the newly-emerging nation-states; but, ultimately, these political leaders knew that their livelihood depended on the Church's blessing and bowed to papal authority. But as Europe entered the 16th Century, the Renaissance was well underway - and with that, a new way to view the world. At the time, the Catholic Church was very much involved in the Renaissance, having hired many to design and decorate their cathedrals. However, this patronage led to great expenses for the Church. To raise money, the Catholic Church sold indulgences - a way to reduce the amount of punishment that one underwent for the committing of sin. Indulgences existed within the Church for many years before the Renaissance. However, earlier indulgences were granted to those who earned them or during times of calamity. At the end of the Middle Ages, the exchange of money for indulgences became a widespread practice and one that many viewed as an example of the corruption within the Church.
The image above shows a city skyline featuring a Florentine cathedral designed by Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi. It is very large and has a rounded dome.
The Protestant Reformation Begins
One such person who viewed the selling of indulgences as a corrupt act was a German monk within the Church named Martin Luther. In 1517 CE, Martin Luther nailed a list of his grievances ()known simply as the Ninety-Five Theses) with the Roman Catholic Church to the door of a church in Germany (see the image to the right below - that is the actual door that Luther nailed his Theses to!). This, in itself, was not such a revolutionary act - at the time, it was not uncommon to post notices or announcements on the doors of churches as they were popularly attended.
However, the content of Luther's "post" was revolutionary. In his Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences - more simply known as the Ninety-Five Theses. Luther outlined his thoughts that deviated from traditional Church doctrine and practices. Included in these thoughts were:
- A reprimand for the selling of indulgences because it implied that salvation could be bought or sold;
- A request for church services to be conducted in the vernacular (local language) rather than in Latin;
- An argument that salvation came directly from God and that people did not need the Church to get to Heaven.
As you can imagine, his Ninety-Five Theses caught everybody's attention. On one side were the frustrated peasants who agreed that it was unfair for undeserving wealthy people to be allowed to purchase their salvation; ironically, they were joined by some nobility hoping to gain more power at the Church's expense. On the other side was the Catholic Church which did not like to see its authority questioned. Both sides reacted promptly.
Those who supported Luther's arguments made use of the recently invented European version of a printing press (remember Johannes Gutenberg), and soon Luther’s own translation of the Bible into the vernacular German, and then distributed copies of his work far and wide. Those who were against Luther's argument - the most important of which was the Pope - excommunicated Luther and then called for his arrest.
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