Ch 13 Reformation Flashcards
What were three things the Christian Church was criticized for in the early 16th century?
Clerical immorality, Clerical ignorance, and Clerical Plurality
Give an example of Clerical immorality
Drunkards, neglecting the rule of celibacy, gambling, or indulging in fancy dress
Give an example or clerical ignorance
Barely literate priests who simply mumbled the Latin words of the Mass by rote without understanding their meaning
What is Clerical plurality?
Many clerics held several “benefices”, or offices, simultaneously, but they seldom visited them let alone performed the spiritual responsibilities. Collected revenues from all of them and hired a poor priest, paying him just a fraction of the income
A German professor turned theologian and priest who criticized the Catholic Church and became one of the founders of the Protestants
Martin Luther
How are Martins Luther’s beliefs about Christian doctrine often summarized?
“faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone”
- Salvation comes through faith.
- Faith is a free gift of God’s grace, not the result of human effort.
- God’s word is revealed only in Scripture, not in the traditions of the church.
How did Martin Luther feel about clerical celibacy?
He was against it
What were Indulgences?
An indulgence was a piece of paper, signed by the pope or another church official, that substituted a virtuous act from the treasury of merits for penance or time in purgatory.
How did Martin Luther feel about Indulgences?
He was against them. He was upset that many people believed they “had no further need for repentance (praying, fasting etc) once they had purchased indulgences
How did the Christian / Catholic Church feel about Martin Luther?
Condemned his ideas, ordered his books burned and told him he had to recant or be excommunicated from the church
Most important early reformer other than Martin Luther, a Swiss humanist, priest, and admirer of Erasmus
Ulrich Zwingli
What were Ulrich Zwingli’s beliefs?
Christian life rested on the Scriptures, which were the pure words of God and the sole basis of religious truth. He went on to attack indulgences, the Mass, and clerical celibacy.
According to protestants, how is a person saved?
Protestants held that salvation comes by faith alone, irrespective of good works or the sacraments.
God, not people, initiates salvation.
Traditional Catholic teaching held that salvation is achieved by both faith and good works.
What is the source of “religious authority” for Protestants?
Authority rested in God and the Bible alone.
not the teachings of the church
How did protestants believe people should live a “Christian life
Every person should serve God in his or her individual calling.
How did humanists feel about Martin Luther’s protestant ideas?
They agreed. He advocated a simpler personal religion based on faith, a return to the spirit of the early church, the centrality of the Scriptures, and the abolition of elaborate ceremonies — precisely the reforms the Christian humanists had been calling for.
How did townspeople and scholars feel bout Martin Luther’s protestant ideas?
The idea that everyone should read and reflect on the Scriptures attracted literate and thoughtful city residents.
Townspeople liked the idea that the clergy should also pay taxes and should not have special legal privileges.
What is one reason Martin Luther’s ideas spread so easily
The invention of the printing press
How did Luther and Zwingli feel about “church and state”?
They should be united
How did the radical reformists feel about “church and state”?
Wanted to create a “voluntary” community of believers separate from the state
What is an anabaptist?
Anabaptists are Christians who believe in delaying baptism until the candidate confesses his or her faith in Christ, as opposed to being baptized as an infant.
How did Catholic and Protestant authorities feel about the anabaptists?
Saw a state church as key to maintaining order. Anabaptists and other radicals were banished or cruelly executed by burning, beating, or drowning.
Who were the radical reformists?
They were a diverse group that had different beliefs (some tolerant, some strict etc..), but all believed in religious freedom rather than a state church.
Name a few religious groups that evolved out of the radical reformers
Quakers, Baptists, Congregationalists and US founders all have origins among these radicals
What was the German Peasants War of 1525?
• The radicals also called for social changes that were appealing to the German peasants
• The peasants made demands that they believed conformed to the Scriptures, and they cited radical thinkers as well as Luther as proof
• >75,000 peasants killed in 1525
The Reformation lost much of its popular appeal after the war (people thought it was screwed up!)
Did Luther support the war against the German Peasants War of 1525?
Yes. Luther wanted to avoid rebellion…he wanted freedom from the Catholic church but believed secular powers should have authority. He encouraged war against the peasants and they were crushed.
Did the Protestant reformers have more progressive vies about marriage?
They allowed divorce, and allowed pastors to marry, but otherwise no. Women had to be obedient.
What factors made the Holy Roman Empire ripe for reformation?
Hundreds of largely independent states.
Decentralization and strong local power.
How were the Hapsburg’s able to acquire such a large empire?
Through strategic marriages…
Fredrick III (Austria) and Eleonore (Portugal)- $$$
Their son Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy - Netherlands, Luxembourg, Burgundy
Max’s son and daughter married Ferdinand and Isabella
(Spain) kids
Max’s grandson was Charles V (became emperor of Hapsburg at age 19)
