The Protestant Reformation

Learning ObjectivesThe Students will be able

to:•Explain how Martin Luther’s

religious reforms led to the emergence of Protestantism

•Lavish lifestyle of Renaissance Popes

•Popes’ obsession with secular rather than spiritual affairs

•Flaunting of vows of celibacy

•Poorly educated clergy

• Italian friar who preached fiery sermons actually gained control of Florence for 4 years.

•(Guy who threw Medici out!)

• Criticism of Pope Alexander VI got him declared a heretic.

• Burned at the stake by people of Florence.

• Humanist movement that developed in the north with the spread of Italian Renaissance humanism

• Major goal was the reform of the Catholic Church• Believed that in order to change society, must first change the

humans who make it up

• Believed in ability of humans to reason and improve themselves

• If humans studied the classics it would lead to inner piety and the reform of the Church and society.

•Especially early Christian works

• Erasmus was the best known Christian Humanist

• The Praise of Folly•Most famous work

•Poked fun at various segments of society•Most stinging barbs were aimed at the church.

• Wanted to reform church, not break with it

• Christian humanist

• His book, Utopia, outlined what makes a truly good society

• Later lost his life when he refused to accept Henry VIII as head of the church

Key element in the religious revolution:

1. Allowed many writers to criticize the Renaissance popes.

2. Encouraged popular piety

3. Made the Bible available to all who could read.

4. Allowed new ideas to spread more quickly than ever before.

• Ordinary people desired meaningful religious expression and assurance of their salvation

• Collections of holy relics grew more popular;– Through veneration of a

holy relic one could gain an indulgence

• release from all or part of the punishment for sin

• Corruption in the Catholic church

• Popes failed to meet the churches spiritual needs – too concerned with worldly affairs

• Focus on money

• Sale of indulgences (reduction of time in purgatory)

• Modern Devotion - founded by Gerard Groote– Part of popular mystical movement that swept

Europe• downplayed religious dogma and stressed the need

to follow the teachings of Jesus

• Thought that the church's bishops and abbots were part of a wealthy and oppressive ruling class

• Dissatisfaction with church and whole social order

From this group would emerged the sects known historically as the

Anabaptists.

• Wished to manage their own religious affairs

•as they did their other businesses

• Had little in common with the church hierarchy

From this group would emerge the

Calvinist Churches

• Had long disputed with the church on matters of property, taxes, legal jurisdiction, and political influence

• Wanted to be in charge of their own territories.

• In this group, it was the power of such rulers that determined which form of religion should officially prevail.

• The Lutheran and Anglican churches were in this tradition

German monk & professor

Young Luther

• Born a peasant• Father sent him to school • Received a bachelors

degree after ONE YEAR in 1502

• 1505 earned a Masters degree

• Planned to attend law school but…

A Thunderous Incident• A lightening bolt struck

nearby as he was returning to school.

• Terrified, he cried out, "Help, St. Anne! I'll become a monk!"

• Spared of his life, but regretting his words, Luther kept his bargain.

• He dropped out of law school and entered the monastery there.

•Luther tried to be the “perfect monk” •Peace with God escaped him

•Devoted self to fasts, flagellations, long hours in prayer and pilgrimages and constant confession•The more he tried to do for God, it seemed, the more he became of his sinfulness

•Ordered by his superior to become a priest•1507 became a priest•1508 began teaching at University of Wittenburg

•Forced to study scripture in depth when preparing his lectures•Became concerned with meaning of penance and righteousness

•Romans 1:17•Luther now believed and taught that salvation is a gift of God's grace, received by faith and trust in God's promise to forgive sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross. •This, he believed was God's work from beginning to end.

“As soon as a coin in coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs”

Tetzel in Wittenberg• Came to sell indulgences

– Buy forgiveness for all past, present and future sins

– claimed that no repentance was necessary on the part of the buyer in order to obtain the benefit of the indulgence.

– Sold to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

– Tetzel was later denounced by the Catholic Church

• This seemed ludicrous to Martin Luther.

Indulgences• Jesus, Mary, and the saints did so

many good works that left behind "merit" that they didn't need.

• That "treasury" of merit is in the possession of the Church, and that merit, says the Roman Catholic Church, can be bestowed on others as the Church wills.

• There are some sins which only the “eternal punishment will suffice

• “temporal punishment must be endured and if not endured during this lifetime then it must be endured in purgatory

• Indulgences give the recipient a chance to shorten one’s sentence in purgatory

• Church at this time chose to sell them…– REALLY UPSET LUTHER!

St Peter’s Basilica

Built with Indulgence Money

Main ideas of the 95 Thesis:• Attack on the sale of

indulgences• Attacked church’s system of

sacraments (only baptism & communion)

• Salvation only through faith & grace, not works

• Only authority is the Bible• Called for clergy to marry

Results of 95 Theses• Powerful arguments against the

sale of indulgences and call for reform of the Catholic Church

• Tetzel was run out of town and forced to retire to a monastery

• Written in Latin• Only intended for Catholic

clergy to read• Theses was taken down and

translated into the modern vernacular

• Printed on the Printing press and circulated throughout Germany and all over Europe

• Europe exploded in support and outrage

1519-1520 – After his Theses –Luther set forth his main beliefs in two pamphlets: The Babylonian Captivity of the Church and On the Freedom of a Christian Man.

1. Declared that the way to salvation was through faith alone.

2. Declared that the claim of the clergy to be different from the laity was false.

3. He urged people to find Christian truth in the Bible and in the Bible only.

4. He denounced the reliance on fasts, pilgrimages, saints, and Masses.

5. He rejected the belief in purgatory.

6. He reduced the seven sacraments to two, baptism and communion, as he called the Mass.

7. He repudiated the new and "modern" doctrine of transubstantiation, while affirming that God was still somehow mysteriously present in the bread and wine.

8. He declared that the clergy should marry, chastised the prelates for their luxury, and demanded that monasticism be eliminated.

1520• Wrote, Address to the

Nobility of the German Nation (1520)

• He called upon the princes of Germany to deprive the clergy of their position in society.

• Through this writing he issued an invitation to the state to assume control over religion– an invitation that, in the days of

the New Monarchy, a good many rulers were enthusiastically willing to accept.

Excommunicated by Pope Leo XBased on the following actions of Luther, Pope Leo X decided to excommunicate Luther:

• Luther’s rejection of all the sacraments except baptism and communion

• Luther’s argument that the Pope had no special powers

• Luther’s calling the pope the “whore of Babylon.”

A Summons by Charles V

After refusing to recant, the Diet of Worms issued the Edict of Worms. Thus Luther was now an outlaw of the.

• On his way home from the meeting there were many plots to kill him

• Prince Frederick of Saxony arranged for Luther to be seized on his way home

•Seized by masked horsemen

•Carried him to the Castle of Wartburg

•Lived there for a year

•While there he grew a beard, took on the garb

of a knight and called himself “Jörg”

• Luther used this time to translate the Bible into German (language of the people)

•While there he would journey into the towns and villages

•Also received letters from friends while there

• Lutheranism swept Germany

Lutheranism• Gained the support of many

German rulers

• Set up new religious services to replace Catholic mass

• Became the first Protestant faith

Mrs. Martin Luther

• Katarina von Bora

• Sent to a convent at age of 4 when her father remarried

• Became a nun at age 16

• Dissatisfied with her life as a nun and became interested in reform movement

• Fled from the convent with Luther’s assistance

• 1525 Luther married Katarina

• Inspired by Luther's talk of religious freedom

• Luther Wrote “Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants”

• Supported the Nobles

Luther on Church and State

Religion Personal Between Man and God

In matters of state man owes perfect obedience to state

Charles V King of Spain/Holy Roman Emperor

• Tries to stop Reformation in Germany

• German princes divide between Catholics and Lutherans Grandson Grandson

of of Ferdinand Ferdinand andandIsabellaIsabella

Peace of Augsburg 1555 ends the war

• Each prince can choose religion of his state

• Did not recognize the right of individuals to chose their religion

• It formally accepted the division of Christianity in Germany