Protestantism

years of war and persecution, but ultimately the development of the Protestant sect of Christianity. The philosophy behind Protestantism is holding the Christian ideals without practicing or abiding by Catholic doctrine, especially the rule and legitimacy of the Pope. The Encyclopedia of Religion summarizes this best stating, “The easiest way to put a boundary around Protestantism is to deal with it negatively and say that it is the form of Western…

the Catholic Reformation or the Counter-Reformation (Spielvogel, 389). Around 30 years later from Luther’s reforms, Catholic leaders, under the rule of Pope Paul II, formed the Council of Trent to assess and resolve the issues that arose from Protestantism. The Council decided in favor of traditional Roman Catholic principles and opposed Protestant beliefs. Spielvogel says that it also “…affirmed Scripture and tradition as equal authorities in religious matters; only the church could interpret…

Martin Luther, a german monk, to write the 95 theses, a list of complaints about the Roman Catholic Church and hammered them on a churches door in Wittenberg, Germany. Establishing the reformation. The reformation was highly significant because protestantism spread in Northern Europe, the counter Reformation starts within the Catholic Church, the renaissance was extended by starting the baroque period and the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. Johanne Gutenberg invented the printing…

call the voice of God, and in obedience to which it must be prepared to sacrifice all else” (69). In other words, the Reformers emphasized the importance of basing all the church’s doctrines on scripture. However, there are many weaknesses of Protestantism. Restoring the authority back to scripture led more and more theologians and scholars to have a “rigor scholasticus” (70) attitude to scripture. This led them to identify faults with certain texts in the Bible, a practice also known as…

In 16th century Worms, Germany, Martin Luther first published his 95 theses which questioned the authority of the Catholic Church. One of his main points of contention with the Catholic Church was the selling of indulgences; indulgences, the Church promised, would essentially help you buy your way into Heaven by cutting down on your time in Purgatory. Luther contested that this was merely a way for the Church to line its pockets with its people's money and brought his grievance to the public,…

The Age of Exploration and the Protestant Reformation had made great influences on the spread of printing presses throughout Europe. The spread of printing presses influenced writers, explorers and artists. Before the press, everything was expensive and hand written. There were only a few copies of everything. Explorers in the 1400s and 1500s had few, hand drawn, unrealistic maps to base their travel and explorations off of. Although the printing press made major consequences on both exploration…

The horrors and aftermath of World War I shook European Protestantism to its core. The promises and hopes of Protestant liberalism seen in the nineteenth century evaporated as Europe, seen as the cradle of Christendom, moved beyond Christendom. In this gap, what were once strongholds of Protestantism such as Germany, Scandinavia, and Great Britain witnessed a rise in secularism and skepticism. The theological response to the rise of secularism is seen in the work of Karl Barth, the son of a…

Protestantism is one of the forms of Christianity that started in Europe in the XVI century as a reaction to the doctrines established by the Roman Catholic Church. The first theologians who promoted the changes in the Church worked in the context of Roman Catholicism, so their works were mainly based on the criticism of the doctrines and practices of the day and eventually led to schism, which was a rejection of unity with the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church (Encyclopedia Britannica,…

Historically, it is accepted by many, that the Protestant Movement started the instant that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door. The roots of Protestantism, however, go far deeper than simply this outrage; with a series of events leading up to the eventual religious split from the Catholic Church. Beginning with the three simultaneously reigning Popes in the early 15th century, many including Luther, felt the Church become more and more corrupt. Arguably, what disgruntled many…

The 16th and 17th century were tumultuous times. Starting with one humble man, Martin Luther, the two centuries transform and have to conform to the religious changes. Protestants and Roman Catholics conflicted heavily with one another. Soon, Protestantism spread all over Europe and Protestants were rooted in most of the populations. However, the dominant religion changed with monarchs, and this pendulum caused discord within kingdoms. Monarchs for variety of reasons wanted to deal with the…