The Reformation

1
The Reformation
"The just shall live by faith".
2
The Protestant Reformation
Weakness of the Church by 1500

• The Renaissance emphasis on the secular and
  individual challenged Church authority and the
  printing press spread these ideas.
• Rulers began to challenge the authority of the
  pope.
• It was difficult for the pope to impose central
  authority in Germany because of so many competing
  states
• Northern merchants resented paying church taxes
  to Rome.

Criticisms of the Church

• Many leaders were corrupt including some popes
  who patronized the arts, spent extravagantly on
  personal pleasures and fought wars.
• Some had children and worldly affairs.
• The lower clergy were so poorly educated that
  many could hardly read. Others drank or gambled
  excessively.

3
Martin Luther
"The just shall live by faith".
Praying, fasting, and good works were not the key
to salvation. Instead, a strong faith in God was
all that mattered.
4
Johann Tetzel
Selling of Indulgences Pardon from Sins"
5
Martin Luthers Response
Posting of 95 Thesis on the church door in
Wittenberg, Germany challenging Tetzel and others
to debate the issue
6
Luthers Three Main Beliefs

1. Salvation by faith - good works would not save a
   person, faith in God was the only way to
   salvation
2. The Bible is the only authority for Christian
   life Both the pope and Church traditions were
   false authorities.
3. The Priesthood of all Believers - Each person had
   a relationship with God and all people with faith
   were equal. People did not need priests to
   interpret the Bible

The Church Response to Luther
Pope Leo X issue a papal decree (papal bull)
threatening Luther with excommunication if he
refused to recant his beliefs.
7
Luthers Response to the Church
Burning of the Papal Bull by Luther and his
followers in a bonfire.
8
Holy Roman Emperor Charles Vs Response to Luther
Diet of Worms to try Luther for Heresy. Luther
refuses to recant and is declared a heretic and
outlaw. His books are ordered to be burned
9
Luther is Protected
Luther translates the New Testament of the Bible
to German.
Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony houses Luther
in a castle and protects him from arrest
When he returns to Wittenberg in 1522 many of his
ideas had been put into practice by his
followers. They were known as Lutherans (Lutheran
Church)
10
The English Reformation

• When the pope refuses to annul Henrys marriage
  to Catherine he breaks from the Church and
  creates the Church of England
• The Act of Supremacy makes Henry the supreme head
  of the Church in England. He grants his own
  annulment.

11
SIR THOMAS MORE

• More refuses to sign the Act of Supremacy and is
  arrested, tried and found guilty of high treason.
  He is executed in 1535 at the Tower of London

12
John Calvin

• French follower of Luther who studied law in
  France.
• In 1536, he published Institutes of the Christian
  Religion which set forth a systematic Protestant
  philosophy about God, salvation, and human
  nature.
• His teachings became known as Calvinism.
• People are sinful by nature only the elect are
  saved
• Predestination God has always known who the
  elect are
• Government should be in the hands of religious
  leaders
• Morality should be rigidly regulated.

13
John Knox

• A preacher from Scotland who visited Geneva to
  see Calvin's ideas at work.
• Put Calvin's ideas to work in Scottish towns.
  Each community church was governed by a small
  group of laymen called presbyters.
• The Church became known as the Presbyterian
  Church.
• Calvinism became the official religion of
  Scotland in 1567.

14
Ignatius Loyola

• Spaniard who wrote a book titled Spiritual
  Exercises, which laid out a day-by-day plan of
  meditation, prayer, and study. He gathered a band
  of followers.
• In 1540, the pope recognized his group as a
  monastic order called the Society of Jesus. Known
  as Jesuits.
• Jesuits were well disciplined and were willing
  to go anywhere in the world to serve the pope.
• They concentrated on three major goals.
• Founding strong schools throughout Europe
• Convert non-Christians to Catholicism. They
  preached in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
• Prevent the spread of Protestantism.

15
The Council of Trent

• The pope's interpretation of the Bible was final.
  Any Christian who substituted his/her own
  interpretation was a heretic
• The Bible and Church tradition shared equal
  authority
• The false selling of indulgences were banned.
• Christians needed faith and good works for
  salvation. They were not saved by faith alone as
  taught by Luther.

16
Effects of the Reformation

• Greater emphasis put on education by Catholics
  and Protestants. New colleges and universities.
• Counter or Catholic Reformation led to greater
  unification of Catholics
• Forming of Protestant Churches
• Status of women improved
• Monarchs grew stronger leading to the development
  strong nation-states.
• Laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment
• Religious wars and persecution in Europe