The Protestant Reformation
The Medieval Catholic Church (500-1500 AD) Church-only way to being saved and going to heaven was through the Roman Catholic Church However, with the new ideas of Renaissance humanism people within and outside the church began to question the Church’s teachings and practices
The Medieval Catholic Church Popes and monarchs (kings and queens) were in a power struggle Italian Papal states fought against France, Spain, Naples and Venice and the German-ruled Holy Roman Empire One Pope Julius II actually rode into battle against a French king and wore a suit of armor as the head of the Papal armies Popes would excommunicate kings and queens as way to keep power over them
Corruption in the Medieval Catholic Church Anger against the Church got to the point where the French kidnapped the 86-year-old Pope Boniface VII –he died from the trauma French set up the papacy in Avignon (SE France)-Babylonian Captivity of the Church
Medieval Church Abuses Priests supposed to be educated, but many could not read or write Priests and nuns having sex with each other and with parishioners Popes raised illegitimate children (Innocent VII and Alexander VI) Bishops and cardinals lived lives of luxury-(gold robes and sumptuous meals) while the common people were desperately poor
More Church Abuses and Corrupt Practices In order to help pay for their extravagant lifestyles, church leaders came up with some corrupt practices Church charged money for people to see holy relics- Mary’s “breast milk”, fragments of Jesus’ cross, straw from Jesus’ manger, Moses burning bush Simony- church positions went to highest bidder Mary’s “Breast Milk’
The most controversial and corrupt Practice- Selling of Indulgences Started in 1200s Christians would pay money to church officials to have their sins forgiven, get time off from purgatory and then get to heaven Some priests even had some of their people paying for dead family members to get to heaven
Early Calls for Reform Who were some of the first to speak out against the church corruption and teachings?
John Wycliffe Thought Christians didn’t need the Church or sacraments (communion, baptism, etc.) to achieve salvation Regarded Bible as most important source of religious authority Completed first translation of the Bible into our English language Outcome: the Church persecuted his followers as heretics
Jan Huss of the Czech Republic Criticized the wealth of the church Believed that religious services should be held in language of the common people, not Latin Spoke out against the indulgences Result: he was burned alive at the stake
Saint Catherine of Siena, Italy Mystic and nun- belief that any Christian could experience God on their own through prayer and direct meditation in God’s presence Viewed as a threat because she taught that the Church was unnecessary for a fulfilling life Result: she actually lived a long life and many in the church secretly followed her teachings
Martin Luther
Who was Martin Luther? German Catholic monk, turned priest turned protestant minister Left the church and got married Founder of the Lutherans
Why did he protest? Being saved is not by being good, but by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection (redemption) Forgiveness of sins should be by one’s own personal confession directly to God by His mercy, not confession to priest Angered by the sale of indulgences
How did Luther’s criticisms expand into an effort to form a new church? Wrote the 95 Theses to start debate on Church corruption and question church teachings He Said: Church congregations should be able to choose their own ministers Worshiping saints and the Virgin Mary was sinful Church Services and the Bible should be in one’s own language, not Latin Let the priests get married
Luther’s Ideas Spread Throughout Europe What other groups separated from the Catholic Church and formed new religions?
What allowed for Luther’s ideas to spread so quickly? Many leaders wanted to escape the power of the church People tired of corruption Rising literacy rates and the invention of the printing press allowed for rapid spread of ideas
Anabaptists In 1525 founded by Germans and Swiss who wanted to take Luther’s ideas even farther Christians should not be baptized until adulthood True Christians should go off and live separately and be pacifists (peace, no war) In the Netherlands, Menno Simons, gave up his position as a priest in the Catholic church, and embraced the Anabaptist beliefs. In 1676, his followers became the Mennonites. Jacob Amman broke away from the Mennonites and formed the Amish The Amish, Mennonites and Brethren came from Anabaptism- many of whom fled to America
Anglicans (1534) Founded by King Henry VIII of England Henry was angry at Pope Clement VII’s decision not to grant him a divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon Believed the King, not the pope, was the supreme religious authority in England Broke away from the catholic church, but beliefs kept very similar Formed the Church of England (The Anglicans) in America it branched off into Episcopalian, Methodist, and the Wesleyan churches
Calvinists Founded in 1546 by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland Believed in predestination-God had predetermined before creation who would be saved Believed a disciplined and strict life were for those who were chosen by God Ideas popular in France, Holland, Scotland and England Baptists, Pentecostals, Assemblies of God, Church of God, Presbyterians and the Church of Christ came from Calvinism
The Catholic Church’s Response to the Reformation
Catholic Church Changes (sort of)-The Catholic Reformation Positive changes: Missionary work by the Jesuits- spread message of Christ into Asia, Africa and the Americas Outlawed simony and indulgences Got rid of immoral priests and nuns But…. The Inquisition (1542)-imprisoned, exiled or executed those who had “heretical views” Still Bible and Church service should be in Latin only Censored (1539) the Protestant Bibles and writings of scientists like Copernicus and Galileo
This is the Catholic church in Philadelphia where I was baptized as a baby. My parents left when I was 6 and we became Protestants