Introduction
Historical Situation
Christianity in the early 16th and 17th centuries went through a very rough and turbulent ride. Some may even argue that we are still feeling the effects of this time today. This was a time of great progress and change in the Catholic Church and much of Europe. This time saw many great minds and brought about many reformers. Some of the many were Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Erasmus. This in my opinion was the start of one of the most influential times not only in Christian history but also human history. The era ushered in a growth of the printing press, which ultimately lead to more educated people who were able to read not only scripture but scientific and other philosophical texts. …show more content…
Arguably the most influential character of the reformation, Martin Luther was born in what was then the Holy Roman Empire. He was a priest, monk and a professor. Many people credit Luther with officially starting the reformation by writing his 95 Theses. Luther argued passionately about many issues but the one that really started his disagreements with his church and a main point of his 95 theses is the church and their sale of indulgences. Though that is what started everything one of Luther 's new teachings was "Sola Fide". This is a Latin term which means "by faith alone". On page 213 of A Journey Through Christian Theology Anderson writes "Justification or salvation, Luther came to understand, depends on a new relationship to God through faith in Jesus Christ rather than on any work one could do to merit God 's favor. The righteousness of God is not so much divine requirement as forgiving grace" (Anderson …show more content…
The son of a catholic priest was born in the Netherlands. He was one of the main critics of the church criticizing them for their many abuses. In the year 1516 he completed his new edition of the New Testament in Greek which was the first version of the NT to be printed in Greek. Although they shared some similar views Erasmus and Luther disagreed on free will. In 1524 they debated predestination and free will. While Luther believed that salvation was through "faith alone" and wanted to reform the doctrine of the church Erasmus had little interest in any of that, he was for the most part focused on a "moral reform". Martin Luther was also a strong advocate of "sola scriptura" which means that scripture is the only source of truth. Erasmus on the other hand valued reason more than the
Historical Situation
Christianity in the early 16th and 17th centuries went through a very rough and turbulent ride. Some may even argue that we are still feeling the effects of this time today. This was a time of great progress and change in the Catholic Church and much of Europe. This time saw many great minds and brought about many reformers. Some of the many were Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Erasmus. This in my opinion was the start of one of the most influential times not only in Christian history but also human history. The era ushered in a growth of the printing press, which ultimately lead to more educated people who were able to read not only scripture but scientific and other philosophical texts. …show more content…
Arguably the most influential character of the reformation, Martin Luther was born in what was then the Holy Roman Empire. He was a priest, monk and a professor. Many people credit Luther with officially starting the reformation by writing his 95 Theses. Luther argued passionately about many issues but the one that really started his disagreements with his church and a main point of his 95 theses is the church and their sale of indulgences. Though that is what started everything one of Luther 's new teachings was "Sola Fide". This is a Latin term which means "by faith alone". On page 213 of A Journey Through Christian Theology Anderson writes "Justification or salvation, Luther came to understand, depends on a new relationship to God through faith in Jesus Christ rather than on any work one could do to merit God 's favor. The righteousness of God is not so much divine requirement as forgiving grace" (Anderson …show more content…
The son of a catholic priest was born in the Netherlands. He was one of the main critics of the church criticizing them for their many abuses. In the year 1516 he completed his new edition of the New Testament in Greek which was the first version of the NT to be printed in Greek. Although they shared some similar views Erasmus and Luther disagreed on free will. In 1524 they debated predestination and free will. While Luther believed that salvation was through "faith alone" and wanted to reform the doctrine of the church Erasmus had little interest in any of that, he was for the most part focused on a "moral reform". Martin Luther was also a strong advocate of "sola scriptura" which means that scripture is the only source of truth. Erasmus on the other hand valued reason more than the