HERE IS THE THE READING AND I WILL POST THE QUESTIONS MARTIN LUTHER – What role did Martin Luther play in the Reformation?
Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses
Martin Luther objected to the corrupt practices of the Church and disagreed with some of the Church’s teachings. The Catholic Church taught that to get to heaven, people needed to have faith in Jesus Christ and do good works on earth. Luther argued that faith alone, not good works, was the way for people to achieve salvation. Luther also believed people should read the Bible for themselves. Because of his beliefs and the problems in the church, he thought the Church needed to be reformed, or improved.
In 1517, Luther wrote a list of propositions for a debate about some of the practices of the Catholic Church. According to legend, Luther nailed this list of propositions to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Then he spread this list of ideas among his friends and sent copies to several Church leaders. Luther called this document the Ninety-Five Theses. Theses are arguments or propositions. Luther’s ideas spread quickly throughout Germany, partly because of Johannes Gutenberg’s recent invention of the printing press. With the printing press, information could be printed more quickly and cheaply, and pamphlets explaining Luther’s ideas spread across Germany.
Reaction to Luther’s Ideas
Church leaders were angry with Luther, and the pope ordered Luther to recant, or take back, what he had written. Because Luther refused to recant, the pope excommunicated him. This meant that Luther was officially excluded from the Church. He could not attend worship services, he could not receive communion, and he could not be forgiven for his sins. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and a German king, declared that Luther was an outlaw, so Luther went into hiding in the castle of a German prince. Luther had hoped to change the Church but was now banished by both religious and political leaders.
While in hiding, Luther translated the Bible into German so that more people would be able to read it. He continued writing and trying to change the Church. His ideas gained support throughout Germany, and over time, people began forming new churches. Because they based their groups on the ideas of Martin Luther, these new churches became known as Lutheran churches. Many ordinary people followed Luther’s ideas because they wanted to be closer to God or because they felt that the Catholic Church had become too corrupt. Some German princes also supported Luther’s ideas. They believed the Catholic Church had become too powerful and wanted to reclaim some power for themselves.
A New Church
People who joined Luther in protesting against the Church became known as Protestants, and the movement to change or reform the Church became known as the Protestant Reformation. Although Luther and other Protestants had initially only wanted to change the Catholic Church, they ended up creating a number of brand new Protestant churches.
One of the central effects of the Protestant Reformation was a shift of political power away from the Catholic Church, which many Protestants viewed as corrupt. Many common people worried that the church was more concerned with enriching itself than helping people. This shift led to independent, self-governing congregations. These Protestants looked to the Bible, not Catholic tradition, to guide religious and political actions. Under the Catholic Church, not all men were considered equal. Some, like the pope, were considered to be spiritually superior. While the ideas of religious equality of the Reformation did not lead to political equality in Protestant kingdoms, the Reformation still gave common people greater power in their religious practice. It also introduced questions about why and how leaders held power.
The Reformation also benefitted some powerful leaders in Europe. Kings and nobles in many parts of Western Europe sided with the Protestant Reformers because it meant they no longer had to share power with Catholic Church and the pope. They were able to seize land and other property from the church, thereby increasing their own power. While this made individual leaders more wealthy and powerful, it de-centralized power across many Protestant regions. Also, Protestant kings no longer had the blessing of a powerful, central church as a religious justification for their political power.