The Reformation: Martin Luther and the End of Christian Religious Unity Essay Example

amount of time spent in purgatory; did not bring forgiveness of sin. Indulgences were sold to raise money for the church's increasing expenses. Luther found the answer he was looking for in Paul's Letter to the Romans (Romans 1:17 - "The righteous shall by his faith. ") Only faith (in the ultimate goodness of Jesus), not good deeds, could save a person. No good works, rituals, etc. would save a person if they did not believe. For me, as a Roman Catholic, indulgences are not that bad or evil. Maybe it was just the way on how people had implemented and understood it a long time ago.

Indulgences are some kind of donation that would help them in building or maintaining their church. But it should not also be forced to the people. It should be given willingly and not because of any “other reasons”. However, corruptions could not be avoided. It will always be present as long as money is involved. For Luther, this was an act of corruption. To express his growing concern of church corruption, Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses, which called for a full reform of the Christian Church. In it, he stressed the following points: •People could only win salvation by faith in God's forgiveness.

The Church taught that faith, along with good works was needed for salvation. •The Pope is a false authority. The bible was the one true authority. •All people with faith in Christ were equal. People did not need priest and bishops to interpret the bible for them. They could read it themselves and make up their own minds. Martin Luther tacked his 95 Theses on

October 31, 1517 to the church door at Wittenberg, in Saxony, Germany. Luther invited other scholars to debate him on the matter church policies. Luther led a strict life, but was worried about sin. Luther read the writings of early Christian theologians, including St.

Augustine, and the Bible. Overall, Luther was a rather crude man. He had no trouble with talking about taking up arms against those who opposed him. He also saw fit to use foul language to combat evil. For example, he dismissed the Jewish rabbis' interpretations of Scripture as "Jewish piss and shit. " He thought his physical ailments were caused by the devil, who was trying to stop him. Before Martin Luther died, when he was very ill, he told his wife, "I am fed up with the world, and it with me. I am like a ripe stool, and the world is like a gigantic anus, and so we're about to let go of each other. "

Luther’s 95 Theses was reprinted throughout Germany, and soon he attracted many followers. And also many enemies. In 1520, the Pope excommunicated Martin Luther. Luther responded by burning the papal decree in front of his students. In 1521, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V put Luther on trial, and had him declared an outlaw. Luther went into exile, living at Wartburg Castle, home to Prince Frederick the Wise, of Saxony. It was at this time that Luther translated the Bible into German making it possible for more people to read the Bible. When Luther emerged from his exile ten months later, he found many of his theories had been put into practice.

Priests now wore regular clothing,

and called themselves ministers. Religious services were held in German rather than Latin. And many of the clergy had begun to marry. Martin Luther himself married a former nun in 1524. Instead pushing for reforms, the protesting Christians had begun their own religion. Styling themselves after their founder, they called themselves Lutherans. Martin Luther’s message held great appeal for various groups, some of whom had less than spiritual concerns. Many Western European rulers resented the political power held by the Pope.

In addition, many northern merchants did not like paying heavy taxes to the Church, which was situated far away, in Rome. They welcomed a chance to break with Rome once and for all. Some local German churches accepted Luther's ideas. Lutheranism won enormous support and spread throughout Europe because: •People didn't like all their money going to Rome. • They didn't like the Italians controlling all church property. In 1529 several German princes banded together, and signed a decree at the Diet of Speyer, publicly declaring their support for Luther and his teachings.

They became known as the protesting princes. Hence the word Protestant. In the years following Martin Luther’s radical break with the church, much warfare occurred in and around Western Europe. Despite their best efforts, Catholic (as they were now referred to) rulers often could not bring their subjects back to the Church. In 1555, at the Peace of Augsburg, all German princes agreed that the religion of each German state was to be decided by its ruler. Elsewhere in Europe, the Wars of Religion were not so easily solved. The Protestants were really especially important in developing a new view of the family.

Because

Protestantism had eliminated any idea of special holiness for celibacy and had abolished both monasticism and a celibate clergy, the family could be placed at the center of human life, and a new stress on “mutual love between man and wife” could be extolled. But overall, the Protestant Reformation did not noticeably alter women’s subordinate place in society. Martin Luther and the protesting princes inspired an entire generation of people to break away from the Catholic Church. Men like John Calvin and John Knox became outspoken critics of Catholicism, and brought Protestantism to other parts of Western Europe.

King Henry VIII (the guy with all the wives) cleverly jumped on the protestant bandwagon, declaring himself head of the new Church of England. He then granted himself a very convenient divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Other groups, such as the Huguenots in France, and Anabaptists in the Netherlands would further divide the Christian religion. The Catholic Church scrambled to do damage control, initializing what would become the Counter Reformation (also known as the Catholic Reformation). However, they would not succeed in stamping out Protestantism. Never again would all Christians worship under one roof.