Chapter 11The Reformation

Protestant Reformation• Began in Northern Europe.

They attacked the Medieval Catholic Church.

• They were worried about the human capacity for evil and wanted parents, teachers and govt. officials to be strict.

• Driven by rejection of Papal Authority, many reformers were guild members who questioned centralized authority in any form.

• Priesthood of all believers v. privileged few.

WWJD?• The Modern Devotion or

Brothers of the Common Life began in the Netherlands and spread around Northern Europe.

• They built religious lives outside of formal church offices.

• They studied, educated, published and served the poor.

• Thomas Kempis: Imitation of Christ.

• Individual v. Church dependent

Martin Luther• 1483-1546• Educated by the Brothers

of the Common Life• Entered Order of the

Hermits of Saint Augustine in 1505 (Monastery)

• “Justification by Faith Alone!” v. Good Works

• God is not mans puppet• 95 Theses

Albrecht Durer• Greatest artist of the

Northern Renaissance

• Woodcuts, Paintings

Indulgences• Get out of Hell free card instead of

purgatory• Penance for your sins, Crusaders• 1343, Pope Clement VI (1342-1352)

proclaimed “treasury of merit” = Church has ability to free you of your sins

• 1476, Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) extended indulgences to all Christians in purgatory.

• Pope Julius II sold indulgences to pay for war and art.

• Pope Leo X sent John Tetzel to France to sell Indulgences to pay for reconstruction of St. Peters Basilica.

John Tetzel• Sold Indulgences like he

worked for the home shopping network

• "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul from purgatory springs.”

• Even promoted idea that indulgences could eliminate future sins.

• When Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg (October 31, 1517) he was especially protesting the idea that Tetzel could sell people salvation.

Luther’s Excommunication• Luther challenged the infallibility of the Pope and the

inerrancy of church councils.• Address to the Christian Nobility of the German

Nation urged princes to reform church in Germany.• Freedom of a Christian argued for salvation by faith

alone.• In 1520, Pope Leo’s bull Exsurge Domine (“Arise, O

Lord” condemned Luther, in 1521 he was excommunicated.

• Also in 1521, at Diet of Worms, Charles V of HRE ordered Luther to recant his beliefs. When he didn’t he became an outlaw.

Peasants Revolt• 1524-1525 Revolted, they thought

ML would be on their side• ML condemned them as

“unChristian”• Feudal landowners were raising

taxes, peasants wanted to be released from serfdom.

• 70,000-100,000 peasants died as revolt was crushed.

• Reformation was about religion, not social, moral or economic changes to society.

Ulrich Zwingli• 1484-1531, leader of the Swiss

Reformation• Anti-Indulgences, Critic of Swiss

mercenary service• Became “Peoples Priest” in Zurich.• He was against anything that lacked

literal support of scripture.• Questioned: purgatory, worship of

saints, fasting, clerical celibacy.• Zurich became center of Puritanical

Protestantism• Marburg Colloquy tried to get ML and

Z to agree. They didn’t.• Z died in battle during Swiss Civil War

between Protestants and Catholics.

Anabaptists• Anabaptism means rebaptize.• Rejected Infant Baptism, only

adult Baptism counts.• Started by Conrad Grebel

(1498-1526). He worked with Z but was more radical.

• They refused to swear oaths, were pacifists, would not serve in secular govts.

• Took over Munster (Germany) Protestants and Catholics united to crush them.

Other Radicals• Mennonites

– Moderate, Pacifist, Anabaptists

• Spiritualists– Wanted nothing to do with

organized church. They were basically hermits.

• Antitrinitarians– Commonsense, rational,

and ethical Protestantism– Trinity= God, Jesus and

Holy Spirit.

John Calvin

• 1509-1564• Divine Predestination,

individual responsibility to reorder society according to Gods plan.

• Geneva, Switzerland became home of Calvinism. (Women’s Paradise= men couldn’t beat their wives.)

• Calvinism replaced Lutheranism in the second half of the 16th century as the most powerful Protestant force in Europe.

Diet of Augsburg to Peace of Augsburg• In 1530, HRE Charles V tried to

get Catholics and Protestants to end hostilities and bring HRE together.

• It ended by ordering all Lutherans to convert to Catholicism. (Obvi this didn’t happen)

• Lutherans formed the Schmalkaldic League to help defend each other.

• They supported the Augsburg Confession, a moderate statement of Protestant beliefs written at D of A.

• 1555- The Peace of Augsburg established “Cuius regio, eius religio.” Meaning the ruler of the land established the religion of the territory.

English Reformation• Henry VIII, defended

Catholicism against Luther, was given title “Defender of the Faith” by Pope Leo X.

• Henry VIII, wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, when Pope denied it, Act of Supremacy made Henry head of Church of England, free to divorce and marry at will. He had 6 wives total.

• Anglican Church = Church of England.

Henry VIII (Tudor)

Counter-Reformation• Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

preached discipline and religious study. He wanted Catholics to deny themselves luxuries and vices, and to submit to Church authorities.

• Followers are Jesuits.• Council of Trent was Catholic

meeting to reform Church. It didn’t make any concessions theologically to Protestants. It reinforced rules that had gone unenforced, like clerical celibacy, veneration of saints, educated priests.

Family life: Changes(?)• Marriage

– Church approved age M-14, W-12. – 1500-1800 people waited until later

in life to marry.

• Birth Control– Church said sex was for making

babies.– People have tried to avoid

pregnancy in different ways since antiquity.

• Wet Nursing– Another woman would breast feed

infants.– Usually upper class, Church and

physicians thought this was a bad idea.

Miguel De Cervantes• Spanish (1547-1616)• Don Quixote is the story of a dim

witted middle aged man who thinks he is a knight and needs to do heroic deeds to prove it. He fights a windmill thinking it is a dragon.

• His squire is Sancho Panza, a clever, worldy peasant.

• DQ represents old fashioned religious idealism.

• SP represents down to earth realism.

• MC thinks both have their place and are necessary to a happy life.

William Shakespeare• English (1564-1616)

Married to Anne Hathaway!

• Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Sonnets

• His works were immensely popular during his lifetime in England and still are.