The Reformation period took place during 1300-1500 A.D. The Reformation was a response to the Roman Catholic Church which had become corrupt by its leadership and practices. This was also during the Renaissance era, which means “rebirth” (HIST 1). The Italian philosopher, Marsilio Ficino wrote, “If we are to call any age golden, it is beyond doubt that age which brings forth golden talents in different places. That such is true of this our age [no one] will hardly doubt.” This ushered in the age of reason and paved the way for reform to the Holy Catholic Church and its fragmentation into the many different branches of Christianity we see today. The key figures of the Reformation that brought reform were: John Wycliffe, Erasmus and Martin Luther.
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He attacked the Church for its allowance of selling indulgences which contradicted the free gift of grace bestowed by God. Penance could not assure salvation only faith in God. This is much like when Jesus ran out the merchants in the temple of Jerusalem. In John 2:13-17, Jesus makes a whip of cord and drives out all the merchants selling sacrificial animals and condemns this practice vehemently. Likewise, Luther was disgusted by the Church’s deceit and on October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 theses to the Church doors. This document addressed the abuse of indulgences and did not directly attack the Church or the Pope. He was excommunicated after some time, but he did not stop fighting the Church (HIST …show more content…
He blames the clergy for their insolence by misconstruing Scripture and persuading the congregation to blindly accept their words. Since the Church has been wrong so many times in the past, even the claimed inerrant Pope, how are people to know unless someone else should prove it. Luther ends this section by solidifying his abhorrence of this policy and the how utterly defenseless they are to this claim. The last section of Luther’s essay addresses the fallibility of the Church’s efficacy of interpreting Scripture. Here Luther states referring to himself, “the first man who is able should… do what he can to bring about a truly free council [to oppose the Pope]”
He attacked the Church for its allowance of selling indulgences which contradicted the free gift of grace bestowed by God. Penance could not assure salvation only faith in God. This is much like when Jesus ran out the merchants in the temple of Jerusalem. In John 2:13-17, Jesus makes a whip of cord and drives out all the merchants selling sacrificial animals and condemns this practice vehemently. Likewise, Luther was disgusted by the Church’s deceit and on October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 theses to the Church doors. This document addressed the abuse of indulgences and did not directly attack the Church or the Pope. He was excommunicated after some time, but he did not stop fighting the Church (HIST …show more content…
He blames the clergy for their insolence by misconstruing Scripture and persuading the congregation to blindly accept their words. Since the Church has been wrong so many times in the past, even the claimed inerrant Pope, how are people to know unless someone else should prove it. Luther ends this section by solidifying his abhorrence of this policy and the how utterly defenseless they are to this claim. The last section of Luther’s essay addresses the fallibility of the Church’s efficacy of interpreting Scripture. Here Luther states referring to himself, “the first man who is able should… do what he can to bring about a truly free council [to oppose the Pope]”