The Reformation
The Definition of the Reformation
- • The Reformation was the final splitting of the Western Church into two halves.
- • The two branches of the Church were Catholicism and Protestantism.
Martin Luther
- Luther (1483-1546) was born into a middle class family in Saxony, Germany. He got a good education and began studying law. After almost being hit by lightning, he decided to become a monk.
- As a monk, he became obsessed with his own sinfulness, and pursued every possible opportunity to earn worthiness in God’s eyes (for example, self-flagellation) but he was still not satisfied, for he felt that God would never forgive a sinner like himself.
- Finally, he had an intense religious experience that led him to realize that justification in the eyes of God was based on faith alone and not on good works and sacraments.
- Then, in 1517, he saw a friar named Johann Tetzel peddling indulgences and claiming that by buying them, people could save themselves time in the purgatory. Since he said that by buying the indulgences, people could excuse sins, people were coming to buy the indulgences in droves. This outraged Luther, and on October 31st, 1517 he posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door.
- The theses explained that the Pope could remit only the penalties he or canon law imposed, and that for other sins, the faithful had only to sincerely repent to obtain an indulgence, not pay the Church.
- The theses made the profits from the indulgences drop off, and angered the order that supported Tetzel. Luther and the rival monks began to have theological discussions, which were at first ignored.
- But, by 1520 Luther had written three radical pamphlets:
- An Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation made a patriotic appeal to Germans to reject the foreign Pope’s authority.
- The Babylonian Captivity attacked the belief that the seven sacraments were the only means of attaining grace, saying that only two, baptism and the Eucharist (which were mentioned in the Bible) were important.
- The Liberty of the Christian Man explained his principle of salvation by faith alone.
The Diet of Worms
- Luther’s writings could no longer be ignored, and, in 1520, Pope Leo the Fifth excommunicated him, and Luther responded by calling the Pope an anti-Christ. So, Charles the Fifth ordered him to offer his defense against the decree at a Diet of the Empire at Worms.
- At Worms, Luther refused to retract his statements, asking to be proved wrong with the Bible. So, Charles ordered that Luther be arrested and his works burned, but Prince Frederick of Saxony came to Luther’s aid and allowed Luther to hide in his castle. There, Luther established the Lutheran doctrines.
Lutheran Doctrine and Practice
- Codified in the Augsburg Confession the Lutheran beliefs are as follows:
- Justification by faith alone, or the belief that faith alone, without the sacraments or good works, leads to an individual’s salvation.
- The Bible as the only authority, not any subsequent works.
- All people are equally capable of understanding God’s word as expressed in the Bible and can gain salvation without the help of an intermediary.
- No distinction between priests and laity.
- Consubstantiation (the presence of the substance and Christ coexist in the wafer and wine and no miracle occurs) instead of transubstantiation.
- A simplified ceremony with services not in Latin.
The Appeal of Protestantism
- Appeal to the peasants:
- » Message of equality in religion, which they extended to life in general.
- » A simplified religion with fewer rituals, which made it easier to understand.
- » Luther rebelled, which inspired many of them to do the same.
- Appeal to the middle class:
- » No tithe to pay, so more $ for them.
- » Now they can read the Bible and interpret it in their own way.
- » Concept of individualism – you are your own priest.
- Appeal to the nobles:
- » No tithe to pay, so $ stays in the country.
- » Since they are against Charles for political reasons, they can justify it by becoming Protestant.
- » No more church owned land, so they can get more land.
- » No tithe for peasants, so they can tax them more.
