The Influence Of The Protestant Reformation

Register to read the introduction… Around a hundred years before Luther's birth, a silver smith named Johann Gutenberg invented the device that would give Luther's writings the wings they needed to soar all over Europe. Reading Today says Gutenberg's printing press along with his refinements of the printing technique "made the world a different place" (1). Because of the press, books could be mass-produced for the first time, resulting in an explosion of knowledge throughout Europe and "an attitude toward learning that was utterly changed" (Reading Today 2). No longer a luxury for only the rich, books made their way into the hands of normal people. Gutenberg's Bible, famously called the 42-line Bible for the number of lines in each column, presented the opportunity for commoners to verify the teachings of the Church for themselves. The abounding knowledge of the people led to the return to classical learning known as Humanism. The return to the foundation of their beliefs led many Christians to doubt the practices of the Catholic Church and created a ripe audience for Luther's writings. Without the printing press the Protestant cause would never have spread so fast and may have never caught on at …show more content…
Consequently, religion in our country as we know it is greatly due to this rise of people who could no longer stand by while the church bargained with them for an imaginary passage to heaven. The Catholic Church has since reformed and condemned the selling of indulgences and has even attempted to repair its rivalry with the Lutheran Church, evidence that the effects of the Reformation are long reaching and continue to be revealed even today.

Works Cited

George, Timothy. "Battle for the Past." Christian History Vol.20. Nov. 1, 2001: pg 37.

"Gutenburg's Millenium." Reading Today Vol.18. Dec. 1, 2000: pg 41.

Hundersmarck, Lawrence F. "Martin Luther." Great Thinkers of the Western World Jan. 1, 1992: pg