...In the 15th century, the Roman Catholic Church was very powerful in Europe. Popes had both spiritual power and political power. Meanwhile, Catholicism was the only religion recognized in the middle Ages. The questions then arise as to why was there a reformation or what was the state of the Church right before the reformation. In this essay, I will briefly talk about the corruption in the European Catholic Church with references to the film The Borgias and the lecture notes on Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. Simony The act of selling and buying church offices had widespread in Europe. In the first episode of The Borgias, the story starts with the death of Pope Innocent VIII in 1492, cardinals are fighting for the position of being the new pope. Rodrigo Borgias, aided by his eldest son, bribes the most of the cardinals in order to win this fight. It is absurd that Rodrigo becomes the new pope because he paid sufficient amount of gold and jewels to his colleague cardinals. Therefore, simony was a fundamental cause of the corruption of Catholic Church since positions were given to people who were able to afford it, not to the ones who are qualified as spiritual leaders. Too Rich In the film of The Borgias, I was surprised by the first glance of the luxury house of the Borgias’s. Additionally, when the eldest son, Cesare, helps his father to bribe the rest of the cardinals, he takes lots of gold ornaments and precious jewelries from the Church of Romagna. Those scenes reveal...
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...If the Reformation had never happened, if Martin Luther had never nailed his 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg, if Calvinism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism had never been created what would our world be like today ? This is an interesting alternate reality that we will never know. The reformation was not the work of a single rebel deciding the Church had gone too far. It was not a single act of the Church going too far. It was a culmination that had been building for centuries of the laity’s festering anger and doubt at the clergy’s unbridled depravity. The Church needed reform because the Church was corrupt, immoral and politically driven. The corruption of the Catholic Church was present on every level of the organization in every possible from. The corruption of the Church was very apparent in the sexual activities of the clergy and the rampant nepotism present in the Vatican. The Pope that truly exemplifies both of these common and widespread activities. This Pope had three children with Vanozza dei Cattanai and...
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...The Protestant Reformation was one of the most dramatic changes in the religious era that occurred in the Catholic Church. The Reformation showed the decline of the Catholic Church and the rise of questioning authority, leading to the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution showed a rise in observations, resulting in models that represented the universe and the decline of the authority of the Catholic Church. This all would soon lead into a new era of obtaining knowledge known as the Enlightment, the Age of Reason. The most dominant religion during the fifteen century was Roman Catholicism. The clergy were the only ones who had the power to say if a person could make it to heaven or not, and anyone who opposed them was severely...
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...history there are several religious reformations that shaped a majority of modern Europe. These reformations include the Protestant Reformation, the English Reformation, and the Catholic Reformation. The events that lead to these reformations during the 16th century are quite lengthy. During the 14th century, salvation outside of the church was not possible. Thus, religion played a prominent role in the daily lives of people. However, many issues began to rise amongst all things religion. In 1309, internal conflict within the Catholic Church caused for its capital to be moved from Rome to Avignon. This shift of power started a war between France and England that lasted for nearly a century. To add to the turmoil, in 1347 the Black Death took the lives of more than 25 million Europeans within four years. Due to the plague, the church saw that a second pope was needed and established one in Rome. Then again in 1409, a third pope was elected. As three popes were battling for power, ordinary Christians became confused on who to believe. By the time the church resolved its problems, simple teachings of Christ were abandoned, and people saw the need to reform (HistoryTubeTV). Also known as The Reformation, the Protestant Reformation’s main goal was to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. During the 15th century, the Christian church was the most powerful institute in medieval Europe, but the debauchery within the church eventually lead to its declining...
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...Donald Lee Prof: Amy Wallhermfechtel World History since 1500 February 10, 2016 The Reformation and the Scientific Method World History It is difficult to have an accurate idea of how much you currently owe to Martin Luther and the movement that originated around their thinking. Historically we can say that somehow upset the religious, social, economic, cultural and political order of his time. But, Martin Luther did not agree with what the Catholic Church was doing. Martin Luther started his own way when he knew that the Catholic Church was ecclesiastical corruption and lack of religious piety. Then, Luther created the Reformation so the west divided in two that was the Catholic Church and the other were building their own churches. By this many people started making their own believing. The Protestant Reformation movement has generated many changes in the lives of people and western society. Martin Luther changed the world for failing to be a monk for the Catholic Church and start their own faith. He started a movement called the Reformation. Luther began to increase their movement more people and talking to them and told them everything bad that by the Catholic Church. Thanks to this, people began to believe in the Reformation was a Catholic idea, but none of this was under the Catholic Church this was by Martin Luther believing. The Scientific Revolution was a time associated primarily with the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when new ideas and knowledge...
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...during the Reformation In this woodblock from 1568, the printer at left is removing a page from the press while the one at right inks the text-blocks Propaganda during the Reformation, helped by the spread of the printing press throughout Europe, and in particular within Germany, caused new ideas, thoughts, and doctrine to be made available to the public in ways that had never been seen before the sixteenth century. The printing press was invented in approximately 1450 and quickly spread to other major cities around Europe; by the time the Reformation was underway in 1517 there were printing centers in over 200 of the major European cities.[1] These centers became the primary producers of Reformation works by the Protestants, and in some cases anti-Reformation works put forth by the Roman Catholics. Printed texts and pamphlets There were a number of different methods of propaganda used during the Reformation including pamphlets/leaflets, texts, letters and translations of the Bible/New Testament. Pamphlets or leaflets were one of the most common forms of propaganda during the reformation period. Pamphlets usually consisted of approximately eight to sixteen pages and were relatively small and easy to conceal from the authorities, thus making them very useful to reformers whose ideas were not accepted by the Roman Catholic authorities. The majority of these pamphlets promoted the Reformation and the Protestant ideas; however pamphlets were also used by Roman Catholic propagandists...
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...PAPER 1 (PROTESTANT REFORMATION) DOUGLAS HOLLOWAY STUDENT ID# 23766838 CHHI 302_DO5_201340 FALL 2013 DR. KEITH GOAD LIBERTY UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER 05, 2013 As a result of increased corruption in the Catholic Church, a significant number of priests in the 16th century tried to transform Christianity back to its previous Biblical basis and simplicity. Initially, priests channeled much of their efforts in reforming the church, but they discovered that it was very challenging, and the only viable solution was to split completely from the Catholic Church. There were four movements as a result of the reformation events. They include the Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed Tradition (Calvin), and the Anabaptists. Key figures in the Protestants or protesters included John Knox, John Calvin, Zwingli, and Martin Luther. More doctrinal distinctions became obvious, and the previously integrated Christianity split into numerous warring groups. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of individuals were murdered as a result of Christian religion. In the current world, Protestants and Catholics in the spirit of ecumenism regard themselves as “brothers in Christ”. Martin Luther was in charge of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, Ulrich Zwingli for Reformed Churches, and Anabaptist and John Calvin broke with the beliefs of the Lutherans. The prominent figures in the reformed movement are discussed in details in this paper. Martin Luther (1843-1546) Martin Luther, a German reformer...
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...The Counter-Reformation: Catholic Baroque vs. the ‘Other’ Baroque With every change of power or order in society, whether it is in business or government, there is always a change in structure. Buildings and signage are redesigned with the idea of a complete marketing makeover. The same can be said for the Catholic Counter-Reformation of the mid sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, after the successful Protestant Reformation of the early 1500s. Rome called forth a physical change of the Catholic Church in response, and years later, the Calvinist churches (the Dutch Reformed Church) in the Netherlands called for a complete physical change of their structure as well. As a direct response to the Protestant movement that had turned successful, the Catholic Church met three times over nearly twenty years from 1545 until 1563 in what was called the Council of Trent. The Church decided to elicit an emotional response from current Catholics, as well as Catholics turned Protestants, with the hope of rejuvenating the foundations and population of the Church. Pope Paul III helped the council to redefine Catholic doctrine, as well as redefining the role of the clergy, which was deemed essential to the Church’s system of faith. During the sporadic meetings of the council, Pope Paul III commissioned artists and architects to create paintings and redesign buildings that would remind Catholics of the grandeur of their faith. The outcome needed by the Church was for its...
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...emerged differences over time. One difference relates to the Pope. The Roman Catholics, the Pope is reliable, he can contradict lower ranking church leaders. Mary shared Greek Orthodox believes a ‘highest bishop’, known as the ‘first among equals’. The bishop is not infallible and doesn’t have ultimate authority over the churches. The second difference that we discovered between the two religions is related to the language difference during the times. In Roman Catholic churches, Masses are delivered...
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...The Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation was a noteworthy sixteenth century European development pointed first at improving the convictions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Its religious viewpoints were supplemented by aggressive political rulers who needed to augment their energy and control to the detriment of the Church. The Reformation finished the solidarity forced by medieval Christianity and, according to numerous students of history, showed the start of a new period. A debilitation of the old ways was at that point under path in Northern Europe, as proven by the development of flourishing new urban communities and a decided white collar class. Martin Luther disagreed with aspects of Roman Catholic religious...
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...HST5152: CATHOLICS AND ELIZABETHAN POLITICS IN ENGLAND, 1558-1603: BOOK REVIEW Christopher Haigh- English reformations, religion, politics and society under the Tudors (Oxford University Press 1993) Through Haigh’s analysis, his book does not seek to offer explanations of a great English Reformation event; instead, it will seek to tell the story of all the lesser events which in sum became some English Reformations. This suggests Haigh’s book is delving into more detail over the causes which constituted a reformation. According to Christopher Haigh, in recent attempts to get at the grass roots of Reformation history are frustrating and perhaps futile. Why has it been so difficult for historians to uncover English Reformations? One historical and geographical reason could be: In Tudor England there was no public opinion polls and in a fragmented and localized society there was no public opinion towards the measure of reformation. Thus, there is no form of evidence that will tell us unequivocally what people believed. However there are several sorts of evidence which Haigh displays throughout his book, one being...
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...Protestant & Catholic Reformation On October 31st 1517, Martin Luther started the beginning of the Protestant Revolution by posting his 95 theses at Wittenberg’s castle. These 95 theses argued on the power and efficacy of indulgences and explained the fundamentals of justification by faith. Thus opened the eyes of the people who had begun to question centuries of Catholic beliefs. Luther and his supporters believed that the Church had been corrupted by power and wealth and therefore it needed to change for the better, however, the Church held strong to their own beliefs. With the constant attacks from the Protestants they fought back in what is known as the Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation. The goal of both reformations was to change the same basic cores of the Church that had been lost. The Protestant Revolution depicts the church as ruled in a totalitarian and authoritarian way by corrupt popes. They viewed the selling of indulgences, which had been initially given to people who went on the crusades, as a commercial exploitation to raise funds for non-religious purposes. The Catholic Church on the other hand, viewed this practice as a way of salvation for the community of Christian believers. Most of the funds raised by the selling of indulgences were used to build St. Peter’s Church. Luther’s followers and other Protestants believed that this was not a religious cause but a way to please the pope’s desire to show his superiority. Luther’s belief...
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...A Brief Talk on Protestant Reformation It was on the night before All Saints’ Day on which one of the largest crowds of the year would gather to see the relics which was rebuilt with the money came from the sale of indulgence in Wittenberg, Germany, Martin Luther posted on the door of the castle church his Ninety-five Theses, the Protestant Reformation began. That time was to some extent influenced by the Renaissance. On the one hand, the humanist called for a return to the study of classics and accurate texts, people applied recovery techniques to the study of the authorities and texts of the Church, prospering the printing industry by the large demand and flourishing the intellectual movement known as Christian humanism. A growing sense of individual accomplishment let people emphasize on good works, the obsession with original sin and salvation among the people imposed by the church made indulgence so popular. These factors spread the religion more widely and consolidated the status of Catholic Church. On the other hand, through the study of classical texts, people intended to believe the equality of everyone before God and questioned the use of indulgences which the church didn’t want to see. With the help of printing press, the new idea of church dispersed quickly. Besides, the princes wanted to centralized more power and money for the development of the social economy. The Church itself was always involved in the corruption scandal such as simony, nepotism, pluralism...
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...an 8:30am Classic Divine Worship Service at the First Lutheran Church of Gainesville. This service was quite different from my typical evening Sunday Mass at St. Augustines Catholic Church. I have only ever attended a Catholic service and I was excited to experience a new religious service. The reason I chose a Lutheran Church was because I have always been curious about this particular religion. Some of my friends are Lutheran and I wanted to see what the church was all about. In this paper I will argue that by attending this Lutheran Service I was able to visualize different symbols, participate in different rituals and experiences, listen to the leader and members of the church, and understand the purpose of the Lutheran Church and their relation to America as a larger society....
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...The Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation was the 16th century religious and political revolution that disintegrated the Catholic Church. This reformation would define Europe in the modern era. Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII contested the Church’s power and its faculty to divide Christian religion. On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther published his “95 Theses” which led to start the Protestant Reformation, in which it stated Luther’s terms of his protest against the Catholic Church. Martin Luther argued that Jesus died on the cross for our salvation; therefore, there was no need for lavish cathedrals and offerings that the Catholic Church was accustomed to. Also, he was opposed to the practice of the church collecting indulgences in order to shorten ones stay in purgatory. These indulgences were said to pave the way to heaven for any sinner. In Martin Luther’s 95 Theses the mentions the following: “Those who believe that, through letters of pardon, they are made sure of their own salvation will be eternally dammed along with their teacher”. After the Church’s unsuccessful rebuttal, they ended up excommunicating Luther in 1521. Luther went on to translating the bible into vernacular German, which up to this point was only in Latin and only available to priests who were they only ones who read and interpreted the bible to the masses. Luther’s translation was not word for word but rather sense for sense, which would help ordinary people, read the bible...
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