The Reformation

Need for Reform  Increased fees on marriages, baptisms, and funerals  Indulgences  Money paid by a sinner for forgiveness  People protested them

Martin Luther  Became a Monk  Believed that fasting and prayer would not guarantee salvation  Denounced indulgences because people could not buy forgiveness  Started to speak out against the church

Luther’s 95 Theses  95 Theses  Posted on Wittenburg castle church on Oct 31, 1517  95 things he believed was wrong with the Catholic church, including indulgences and church taxes  Reprinted and spread throughout Europe

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon. 56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ -Martin Luther, 95 Theses

Luther’s Excommunication  Excommunicated by Pope Leo X  Appeared in front of the Diet of Worms  Declared him an outlaw, banned his books, and demanded he be arrested

Luther’s Teachings  3 Main Ideas  People could not achieve salvation through their own efforts  Bible is only for Christians  Emphasized the role of the individual  Translated the Bible into German  Landmark in German Language

Impact of Luther  People started to denounce the church and its taxes  Luther supported the people until they started to burn and loot churches  Ideas led to the Protestant Reformation