The Reformation

Renaissance emphasis on the secular and the individual challenged church authority Rulers challenged the Church ’ s political power Difficult to impose central authority – Ex: Germany had many states within Northern merchants resented paying church taxes to Rome The printing press and the Bible

Criticism of the Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church was totally dominant over religious life in N & W Europe Leaders worldly and corrupt Popes patronized the arts, spent on personal pleasure and fought wars Priests married, had kids, drank & gambled Questioned Pope ’ s world power and Church ’ s teachings

Martin Luther Martin Luther was a monk and a teacher who taught scripture at the Univ. of Wittenberg in the German state of Saxony Indulgence - A Pardon - released a sinner from performing the penalty a priest imposed for his sins (Buy your way into heaven) In response Martin Luther wrote 95 theses (formal statements) October 31, 1517, he posted these on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg and invited scholars to debate him Someone then took them to a printer to have copies made allowing his word to spread throughout Germany starting the Reformation

Luther ’ s Teachings Reformation - A movement for religious reform, led to the founding of Christian churches that did not accept the pope ’ s authority People could win salvation by faith alone NOT faith and “ good works ” Church teachings should be based on the Bible NOT the pope or Church traditions All people with faith are equal NOT priests needing to interpret the Bible for them

Response to Luther and Pope’s Threat Luther was shocked with how quickly his ideas spread and how many people agreed with him People saw his ideas as a way to challenge the Church’s control At first the church just thought that Luther was an out of control priest in need of punishment – they soon realized he was legit Luther once went so far as to suggest that people drive the pope from the church In 1520, the pope threatened Luther with Excommunication unless he took it all back Luther publically burned the threat and was quickly excommunicated

The Emperor’s Opposition The Holy Roman Emperor, a devout catholic also ordered Luther to recant his teachings Luther refused and The Emperor ordered the Edict of Worms saying nobody could help him and all his books were to be burned Luther took refuge with Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony and spent a year translating the new testament into German Luther returned to find his people practicing what he preached They formed a separate religious group called Lutherans

The Peasants Revolt There are always people who take things a bit too far Bands of peasants started roving the countryside sacking monasteries to end their serfdom Luther was appalled and the peasants were shown no mercy 100,000 dead. Lots of people reject Luther because of this.

Germany at War Many northern German princes supported Lutheranism Some agreed with him, some used it as an excuse to seize church property and assert independence from the emperor (Charles V) Luther’s enemies united against him for war, the princes that agreed with him signed a protest against this and Protestantism was officially born Charles V wins the war, but still cannot get everybody catholic again. Thus in 1555, he and all the princes sign the PEACE of AUGSBURG stating that all princes shall determine the religion of their kingdoms

The Early Christian Church Eastern Orthodoxy Roman CatholicProtestantismLutheranismAnglicanismEpiscopalianBaptistMethodistPentecostalCalvinismPresbyterianReformed

Roman Catholicism LutheranismCalvinismAnglicanism LeadershipPope is head of the Church Ministers lead congregations Council of elders govern each church English monarch is head of the Church SalvationSalvation by faith and good works Salvation by faith alone God has predetermined who will be saved Salvation by faith alone BibleChurch and Bible tradition are sources of revealed truth Bible is sole source of revealed truth Worship ServiceWorship service based on ritual Worship service focused on preaching and ritual Worship service focused on preaching Worship service based on ritual and preaching Interpretation of Beliefs Priests interpret Bible and Church teachings for believers Believers interpret the Bible for themselves Believers interpret the Bible using tradition and reason

England goes Protestant England will go protestant for personal reasons Henry VIII wanted a son His first wife Catherine of Aragon could not have a boy; therefore he wanted a divorce The catholic church refused to annul the marriage because of Catherine’s nephew Charles V so…he took power into his own hands

England’s Protestantism In 1529 Henry called the parliament into session to pass laws removing the popes power from England In 1533, Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn and the parliament legalized Henry’s divorce from Catherine In 1534 parliament completed the process by passing the Act of Supremacy making him in charge of the church in England Anne Boleyn did not give birth to a son, she gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth; She was charged with treason and executed Henry had three kids in total. Mary (from Catherine of Aragon), Elizabeth (from Anne Boleyn) and Edward (from Jane Seymour) All ruled…. Edward at age 9, Mary for a short time and Elizabeth for a long time

King Henry VIII’s Children Edward VI ruled for six years – young so his advisors basically ruled for him – strong protestants who reformed the Church Mary then took the throne and had tried to Catholicize England again she met great resistance and died after 5 years on the throne Elizabeth takes the throne next. She was a great ruler and in 1559 got parliament to set up the church of England or as we call it, the Anglican church Elizabeth did things to please both Catholics and protestants. In making the church protestant she kept around many of the old catholic trappings She faced many problems even trying to please all