Caleb Sheets. Late Middle Ages the Church became increasingly caught up in worldly affairs Popes competed with Italian princes for political power.

THE PROTESTANT

REFORMATIONCaleb Sheets

ABUSES IN THE CHURCH Late Middle Ages the Church became increasingly caught up in

worldly affairs

Popes competed with Italian princes for political power

They fought long wars to protect the Papal States (the temporal dominions belonging to the pope) against invasions by secular rulers.

They intrigued against powerful monarchs who tied to seize control of the Church within their lands

Popes maintained a lavish lifestyle and were patrons of the arts

Popes hired painters and sculptors to beautify churches

ABUSES IN THE CHURCH (CONT.) The Church increased fees for services such as marriages and

baptisms to finance such projects

Some clergy also promoted the sale of indulgences

An indulgence was a lessening of the time a soul would have to spend in purgatory, a place where souls too impure to enter heaven atoned for sins committed during their lifetimes

During the Middle Ages the Church had granted indulgences only for good deeds such as going on a crusade

By the late 1400s indulgences could also be obtained in exchange for money gifts to the Church.

ABUSES IN THE CHURCH (CONT.) Many Christians protested

such practices especially in northern Europe

Christian humanists such as Erasmus urged a return to the simple ways of the early Christian Church

They stressed Bible study and rejected what they saw as the worldliness of the Church

LUTHER’S PROTEST In 1517, protests against Church

abuses erupted into a full-scale revolt.

The man who triggered the revolt was a German monk and professor of theology named Martin Luther.

As a young man, Luther prayed and fasted and tried to lead a holy life.

Still, he believed he was doomed to eternal damnation.

He also grew disillusioned with what he saw as Church corruption and worldliness.

At last, and incident in the town of Wittenberg prompted him to take action

THE 95 THESES In 1516, a priest named Johann Tetzel set up a

pulpit on the outskirts of Wittenberg He offered indulgences to any Christian who

contributed money for the rebuilding of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome

Tetzel claimed that purchase of these indulgences would assure entry into heaven not only for the purchasers but for their dead relatives as well

To Luther, Tetzel’s actions were the final outrage He drew up 95 theses, or arguments, against

indulgences Among other things, he argued that indulgences

had no basis in the Bible, that the pope had no authority to release souls from purgatory, and that Christians could be save only through faith

In accordance with the custom of the time, he posted his list on the door of Wittenberg’s All Saints Church

Almost overnight, copies of Luther’s 95 Theses were printed and distributed across Europe, where they stirred furious debate

The Church called on Luther to recant, or give up his views… Luther refused

Instead, he developed even more radical new doctrines.

Before long, he was urging Christians to reject the authority of Rome

Because the Church would not reform itself, he wrote, it must be reformed by secular authorities

LUTHER VERSUS THE CHURCH

LUTHER VERSUS THE CHURCH (CONT.) In 1521, the pope excommunicated Luther

Later that year, the new Holy Roman emperor, Charles V, summoned Luther to the diet, or assembly of German princes, at Worms

Luther went expecting to defend his writings.

Instead the emperor simply ordered him to give them up and Luther again refused to recant

Charles declared Luther an outlaw, making it a crime for anyone in the empire to give him food or shelter

Still, Luther had many supporters

One prince hid Luther at a castle in Wartburg and he remained in hiding for nearly a year

Throughout Germany, in the meantime, thousands hailed him as a hero, they accepted his teachings and, following his lead, renounced the authority of the pope

LUTHER’S TEACHINGS At the heart of Luther’s teachings were several beliefs.

First, he rejected the Church doctrine that good deeds were necessary for salvation. Instead, Luther argued that salvation was achieved through faith alone

Second, Luther upheld the Bible as the sole source of religious truth. He denied other authorities, such as Church councils or the pope

Third, Luther rejected the idea that priests and the Church hierarchy had special powers

Instead, he talked of a “priesthood of all believers.” All Christians, he said, had equal access to God through faith and the Bible

Luther translated the Bible into the German vernacular so that ordinary people could study it by themselves. Every town, he said, should have a school so that girls and boys could learn to read the Bible.

LUTHER’S TEACHINGS (CONT.) Luther wanted to change other church practices

He rejected five of the seven sacraments because the Bible did not mention them.

He banned indulgences, confession, pilgrimages, and prayers to saints

He simplified the elaborate ritual of the mass and instead emphasized the sermon

And he permitted the clergy to marry

These and other changes were adopted by the Lutheran churches that were set up by Luther’s follows

SPREAD OF LUTHERAN IDEAS Luther’s ideas found a

fertile field in northern Germany and Scandinavia

While the new printing presses spread Luther’s writings, fiery preachers denounced Church abuses

By 1530, the Lutherans were using a new name, Protestant, for those who “protested” papal authority

Why did Lutheranism win widespread support? Many clergy saw Luther’s reforms as the answer to Church corruptio0n

A number of German princes, however, embraced Lutheran beliefs for more selfish reasons

Some saw Lutheranism as a way to throw off the rule of both the Church and the Holy Roman emperor

Others welcomed a chance to seize Church property in their territory

Other Germans supported Luther because of feelings of national loyalty because they were tired of German money going to support churches and clergy in Italy

WIDESPREAD SUPPORT

THE PEASANTS’ REVOLT Many peasants also took up Luther’s banner and hoped to gain

his support for social and economic change

In 1524, a Peasants’ Revolt erupted across Germany

The rebels called for an end to serfdom and demanded other changes in their harsh lives

Luther strongly favored social order and respect for political authority

As the Peasants’ Revolt grew more violent, Luther denounced it

With his support nobles suppressed the rebellion, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving thousands more homeless

During the 1530s and 1540s Holy Roman emperor Charles V tried to force Lutheran princes back into the Catholic Church, but with little success

Finally, after a number of brief wars, Charles and the princes reached a settlement

The Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, allowed each prince to decide which religion—Catholic or Lutheran—would be followed in his lands

Most northern German states chose Lutheranism and the south remained largely Catholic

THE PEACE OF AUGSBURG

JOHN CALVIN Two other reformers, Ulrich Zwingli and John

Calvin, presented further challenges to the Catholic Church

Zwingli, a priest and an admirer of Erasmus, lived in the Swiss city of Zurich

Like Luther, he rejected elaborate church rituals and stressed the importance of the Bible

John Calvin had a logical, razor-sharp mind and his ideas had a profound effect on the direction of the Reformation

TEACHINGS Calvin was born in France and trained as a

priest and lawyer

In 1536, Calvin published the Institutes of the Christian Religion

In this book, which was read by Protestants everywhere, he set forth his religious beliefs

He also provided advice on how to organize and run a Protestant church

TEACHINGS (C0NT.) Like Luther, Calvin believed that salvation was

gained through faith alone

He, too, regarded the Bible as the only source of religious truth

But the idea that God had long ago determined who would gain salvation

To Calvinists, the world was divided into kinds of people—saints and sinners

Calvinists tried to live like saints, believing that only those who were saved could live truly Christian lives

In 1541, Protestants in the city-stated of Geneva in Switzerland asked Calvin to lead their community

In keeping with his teachings, Calvin set up a theocracy, or government run by church leaders

Calvin’s followers in Geneva came to see themselves as a new “chosen people” entrusted by God to build a truly Christian society

Calvinists stress hard work, discipline, thrift, honesty, and morality

Citizens faced fines or other harsher punishments for offenses such as fighting, swearing, laughing in church, or dancing

CALVIN’S GENEVA

CALVIN’S GENEVA (CONT.) Calvin closed theaters on strict morality made

Calvinist Geneva seem a model community

Like Luther, Calvin believed in religious education for girls as well as for boys

Women, he felt, should read the Bible—in private

Calvin also allowed women to sing in church, a practice that many church leaders critized

Reformer from all over Europe visited Geneva and then returned home to spread Calvin’s ideas

By the late 1500s, Calvinism had taken root in Germany, France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland

This new challenge to the Roman Catholic Church set off bloody wars of religion across Europe

In Germany, Calvinists faced opposition not only from Catholics, but from Lutherans a well

SPREAD OF CALVINISM

SPREAD OF CALVINISM (CONT.) In France, wars raged between French Calvinists, called

Huguenots, and Catholics

Calvinists in the Netherlands organized the Dutch Reformed Church

To avoid persecution, “field preachers” gave sermons in the countryside, away from the eyes of town authorities

In Scotland, a Calvinist preacher named John Knox led a religious rebellion

Under Knox, Scottish Protestants overthrew their Catholic queen

They then set up the Scottish Presbyterian Church

REVIEW QUESTIONS Martin Luther- German Monk attacked indulgences and began the

Protestant Reformation

Theocracy- Church run State or Country

Indulgence- sold by the Catholic church to lessen punishment for sins

Predestination- God determined long ago who would achieve salvation, preached by John Calvin

Recant- give up your beliefs or views

Why did Luther criticize the Catholic Church? Selling indulgences

What was the main belief of Martin Luther dealing with Faith? Salvation by faith alone

BIBLIOGRAPHY http://

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Gethsemane_lutheran_church_austin_2009.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Peace-of-augsburg_1555.jpg

http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/C/John-Calvin-9235788-1-402.jpg

http://skepticism-images.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images/jreviews/John-Calvin-Geneva-1549.jpg