Protestant Reformation and CatholicCounter Reformation

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Protestant Reformation and Catholic/Counter
Reformation

• Advanced World History II
• J. Lilly

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Religion in the Middle Ages

• Religion is at the center of all life in the
  Middle Ages
• Sacraments of the Church were of central
  importance in the daily lives of the people
• (Ex. Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation,
  Confession, Ordination, Matrimony, Anointing of
  the Sick)
• Sacraments were seen as being essential for
  achieving grace and therefore salvation (right to
  go to Heaven)
• Veneration of Saints

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Scholasticism

• Scholasticism - studied at Universities during
  the middle ages.
• Goal is to reconcile reason and faith harmonize
  Church teachings with the writings of the Greeks.
• Thomas Aquinas
• Summa Theologica
• Faith and reason were not in conflict with
  another, but led to a greater understanding of
  God.

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Developments leading to the Protestant Reformation

• Christian Humanism- reform church
• This movement was led by Erasmus who believed in
  spreading the philosophy of Christ, works of
  Christianity, and criticize the abuses in the
  church.
• Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.
• Problems with the Church
• Popes failed to meet spiritual needs (politics)
• Church offices used for wealth and advancement
• Great Schism- 2 Popes weakened Authority
• Indulgences release from all or part of the
  punishment for sin (Hell)
  

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Martin LutherJustification by faith alone

• Luther - wealthy family in Saxony, Germany
  studied law. He claims to have been struck by
  lightening and he decided to dedicate his life to
  religion.
• In 1517, Albert Hohenzollern, bought the
  bishopric of Mainz for 10,000 ducats. This
  infuriated Luther.
• On October 31, 1517 Luther posted the 95
• Theses to the church door at Wittenberg
• in reaction to Tetzel and the Papacys
• teachings about indulgences.
• -1521 - Excommunicated by Charles V
• outlawed by the Edict of Worms

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95 Theses Religious Movement to Revolution

• 27. They preach man who say that so soon the
  penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies
  out of purgatory.
• 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.
• 47. Christians are to be taught that the buying
  of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of
  commandment.
• 54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the
  same sermon, an equal or a longer time Is spent
  on pardons than on his Word.

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Why follow Luther?

• The wealthy felt that by following Luther they
  had the chance to not be taxed by the church with
  the added benefit of achieving salvation.
• For the poor Luther offered individual dignity
  and respect, not servitude to Rome.
• Lutheranism was a way to attack the Holy Roman
  Empire and Charles V.

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Henry VIII - England

• Anglican Church (Church of England) - allows
  divorces/annulments

Marriages of Henry VIII -Catherine of
Aragon in 1509, divorcing her in 1533
(divorce) -Ann Bolyen, married in 1533, one
daughter, Elizabeth (executed for infidelity)
-Jane Seymour 1536, one son, Edward VI (died at
birth -mother) only true wife -Ann of Cleves
1540 (unattractive) -Catherine of Howard 1540
(executed for infidelity) -Catherine Parr 1543,
widowed in 1547
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John Calvin

• Humanist scholar
• By 1553 wrote book Institutes of the Christian
  Religion.
• Predestination. This claimed that man can do
  nothing to alter his fate. Good works continued
  to be necessary as they were divine signs that
  one was destined for heaven.
• Calvin became the political leader of Geneva,
  Switzerland where he preached the values of
• Wake up early
• Work hard
• Be concerned with good morals
• Be thrifty
• Abstain from worldly pleasures
• Be sober
• Be serious

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Radical ReformationAnabaptists

• The Anabaptists believed that they had an
  immediate and inner connection with God.
• Five Basic Principles
• Sola Scripture (holiness of the scripture)
• Separation of Church and State
• Freedom of Conscience
• Believers Baptism (adult)
• Holiness of Life
• Amish, Mennonites, Church of the
• Brethren, Hutterites

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Catholic/Counter Reformation

• Advanced World History II
• J. Lilly

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Council of Trent - 1545

• Catholic Church mobilizes to deal with the
  protestants
• Goal common body of scripture, duties,
  responsibilities to be followed by all
  Christians, reaffirmation of beliefs

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Comparing and Contrasting Calvinism and
Catholicism
Protestant Justification by faith -- Christ's
sacrifice atones for all sins, and it is only
necessary to believe in it to be saved. There is
nothing humans can do by their own efforts to add
or detract from it. The priesthood of all
believers -- all believers have equal access to
God and no other earthly intermediaries are
needed. This does not mean that the flock does
not need teachers, but there are no special
sacramental functions belonging to any particular
class. The scriptures as the only source of true
doctrine -- studying and understanding the
scriptures is therefore important to all
believers. Translating the Bible into the
vernacular tongues and making it available to all
is essential. Christ's sacrifice happened only
once, and no repeat of that sacrifice is
necessary. Although Calvinists and Lutherans
believe God is present at the sacrament and it
nourishes the faithful spiritually, the bread and
wine are not literally the body and blood of
Christ. Zwinglians take a more extreme view that
the sacrament is only symbolic. Everyone takes
both bread and wine. No heavenly intermediaries
are needed to intercede with God. Although the
Virgin Mary, saints, and angels are all in
heaven, they should not be the objects of prayer
or veneration. The making of images encourages
idolatrous worship that should be directed at the
more abstract concept of God. God's foreknowledge
and omnipotence mean that everyone is predestined
to their fate either to be or not to be one of
the elect. Human action avails nothing. The Bible
only documents two sacraments baptism and the
Lord's Supper (so called to distinguish the
Protestant practice from the Catholic Eucharist).
No priestly status is required to perform them,
although ministers to the church are necessary
and useful to directing and guiding it.
Catholic (Council of Trent) Both faith and good
works (acts of devotion, charity, the sacraments,
etc.) are necessary for salvation. The Catholic
priesthood is necessary as only priests can
perform the sacraments necessary for spiritual
health and correctly interpret the meaning of
scripture. Scripture is only one way in which
doctrine is revealed the decisions of church
councils, encyclicals from the Pope, tradition,
etc. are all part of it. Only the priesthood of
the church can correctly interpret the meaning of
scripture -- do not try this at home. The
Eucharist is a mystery in which the sacrifice of
Christ is reenacted the bread and wine become
spiritually transformed into the true body and
blood of the Lord (the doctrine of
transubstantiation). Only priests partake of the
wine and bread, the populace only takes the
bread. Although the saints and angels should not
be worshipped, their intercession is valuable and
necessary to helping the Christian to achieve
salvation. The Virgin Mary is especially honored
by God, and should be also by believers.
Religious images should not be worshipped, but
they help to inspire devotion (these fine points
were often lost on the average peasant). God's
omnipotence does not restrict human will, and
each individual is still responsible for earning
their own salvation. There are seven sacraments
baptism, Eucharist (see above), penance
(confession/ absolution), confirmation
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Reaffirmed

• The special place of Mary in Heaven
• Role of good works (salvation)
• The sacraments (salvation)
• The Saints and Angels
• Sole right of clergy to interpret scripture and
  the primacy of the pope

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Protestant Theology

• All reject papal authority and the supernatural
  character of the priesthood.
• All replaced Latin with the vernacular (language
  of the country) and accepted the authority of the
  Bible.
• All believed, with various interpretations, in
  justifications by faith alone
• (God exists because I believe he exists).
• All rejected purgatory obligatory confession.
• All reduced the number of sacraments, usually to
  two or three (Baptism, Communion, Confirmation)

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Counter Reformation

• Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded by Ignatius of
  Loyola.
• Called for a more educated and involved clergy.
• Dedicated to education and missionary work
  (America)

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Great Schism (1055)
Roman Catholic Church (West)
Eastern Orthodox Church (East)
1517
Roman Catholic Church (Headed by Pope)
Protestant Reformation
Lutheranism (Martin Luther) Presbyterian (John
Knox) Baptist Evangelical Episcopal
Methodist Anabaptist (Radical Ref.) Anglicans
(divorce) Puritans (John Calvin) Congregationali
st (Zwingli)