Exam 2 - Reformation Questions Flashcards
Who was Erasmus and what was his relationship to early reformers like Luther?
a. Dutch humanist whose main emphasis was Christian Freedom.
b. Disagreed with Luther, ultimately rejected him for splitting the church rather than reforming it.
Who were John Wycliff and John Hus? What were their distinctive teachings and why were they not well received by the church?
a. They were pre-reformers who tried to spark reform against the Catholic church but failed. John criticized the pope and abuses of the church, emphasized Scripture over tradition, and believed in the priesthood of all believers. John Hus read everything Wycliffe wrote and latched on to criticism of transubstantiation. He fought for the laity to take communion in two kinds (bread and wine). Their teachings put the authority of the catholic church in tradition, papacy and authority over the sacraments in jeopardy.
How did the problems that the papacy had during the Late Middle Ages and the development of the conciliar movement contribute to the Reformation?
a. The popes were very immoral, and there were power struggles such as the Great Schism which led to multiple popes.
b. To solve this issues, a council was created to choose the pope. But this reform movement did not last once the pope received power again and it left people longing for further reformation.
How did the political/cultural situation in Germany contribute to the success of the German Reformation?
a. Emperor Charles was distracted by political conflict with Spain, France, and threat of the ottoman empire. Divided political situation that didn’t make it easy to stop movement. Lutheranism spreads and affects much of Europe.
b. Popular support was with Luther.
c. Luther enjoyed substantial support from prince Fredrick the Wise that allowed the movement to be protected in it’s early days.
What was immediate problem to which Martin Luther was responding when he posted his 95 theses? Why did he think this was such a problem?
a. He was responding to indulgences which were the complex ways that people received forgiveness dispensed by the papal authorities.
b. Three fronts, complained about the use of money from the poor to build ST Peter Basilica
c. Denied the pope had power to remit sin and its penalty in purgatory
d. Harmful consequences of indulgences that it gets in the way of the Gospel
What was Luther’s ‘theology of the cross’ and how did it shape his theology?
a. It pushed back on the catholic church’s “theology of glory” that made human self reliant. Instead a theology of the cross reveals we need to depend on God’s glory as revealed through the cross and see that it also reveals are sin. All of theology must depend on God rather than human wisdom.
What was the Peasant’s War and why did it cause problems for Luther? How did he respond to the war and why?
a. When surfs took up arms against their lords based on theology of separation of church and state.
b. Luther attempted to mediate. But when the peasants burned down buildings, rioted and became violent, he became disgusted with the peasants. He called for peace but to use force if necessary (Rom 13). This damage Luther’s reputation with the peasants.
Who was Philip Melancthon and what was his role in the Reformation?
a. Luther’s right hand man and directing publishing components of Lutheran movement. Wrote “Lutheran statement of faith, which was approved by Luther.
What was one major point of contention between Luther and Zwingli? Explain the nature of the problem.
a. The Lord’s supper. Zwingli – a memorial feast (they don’t become the body and blood of Jesus). They signified but didn’t become body and blood because Jesus is at right hand of God.
b. Luther – argues for the real presence because Jesus is omnipresence. Essence in the bread and wine. “Consubstantiation”
c. Bucer – spiritual presence in the bread
Who was John Calvin and why was he so important to the progress of the Reformation?
a. French reformer who did a majority of his studying, teaching and preaching in Geneva. His theological impact through things like the “institutes of Christian religion” and his academy in Geneva, and his vision for a well-functioning, biblically based Christian community in Geneva were responsible for spreading reform.
b. Some of his key theological impacts where:
i. Religious epistemology
ii. God’s sovereignty and predestination
iii. The spiritual presence of Jesus in the Lord’s supper
iv. Infant Baptism
What were the factors leading up to the Thirty Years War and what impact did it have on the progress of the Reformation?
a. The peace of Augsburg established “whose reign, whose religion” which presented problems since some leaders of one faith governed an area with many people personally holding another faith.
b. Many Lutherans didn’t listen to the agreement. And anabaptists, and Calvinists were entirely left out.
c. The war ended with peace of Westphalia that made both groups adhere to peace of Augsburg with the addition of minority Christian groups in each region being granted right to practice their faith in public during allotted times
What was the significance of the Peace of Westphalia?
It ended the Thirty Tears War and made both Catholics and Lutherans adhere to peace of Augsburg with the addition of minority Christian groups in each region being grated right to practice their faith in public during allotted times
Who were the Puritans and what were their primary characteristics? How were they different from the Pilgrims?
a. Puritans wished to purify the Church of England from all traces of Roman Catholic corruption. They would remain in the Anglican church but work for change. They demanded express Scriptural warrant for all details of faith and practice.
b. The Pilgrims shared similar beliefs but wanted to separate from the Church of England.
Be able to summarize the events leading up to the Act of Supremacy. How was the English Reformation different from that of Germany and Switzerland?
a. German and Switzerland was spurred on by doctrinal matters and religious primarily, but in England it was political in nature though doctrinal matters played some roles.
b. Henry was forced to marry his deceased brothers wife Catherine for political interests between England and Spain. But after she was unable to produce him kids, he requested to get the marriage annulled by the Pope since it was technically never legitimate under catholic law. The Pope denied this to appease the emperor.
c. This lead to Act of Supremacy in which Henry declared himself to be supreme head over church of England and break with church in Rome was complete.
We identified three different segments of the Radical Reformation. What were they and what are their primary characteristics?
a. Anabaptists – called for baptism as believers, religious liberty, radical discipleship and congregationalism (churches that governed themselves)
b. Spirituals – claimed to have received special revelation from Holy Spirit and sought to institute a spiritual utopia on earth
c. Rationalists – relied heavily on reason to develop theology. United in rejection of trinity and any view of substitutionary atonement
Why were the Anabaptists so severely persecuted by secular and religious authorities?
a. They went even farther than the reformers calling for a separation of church and state and religious liberty. In the views of society that tied religion so closely to the state, they thought this would have led to anarchy.
Why should developments in Catholicism be understood primarily as the Catholic “Reformation” rather than simply the “Counter-Reformation”?
a. The Catholic reformation can be traced to oratory of Divine Love was a group that formed in Rome prior to the reformation who desired to reform the church and wanted to focus on the individual soul.
b. Pope Paul III was one of the most sincere reformers who began cleaning up moral laxity of church hierarchy and appointing new cardinals.
c. While the council of Trent did seem to aim at countering reformation beliefs, it also called for moral reform in the catholic church leadership.
Why were the Jesuits so important to the development of Catholicism during this time?
a. The Jesuits were founded by Ignatius of Loyola with a small group of men who took monastic vows, dedicated themselves as soldiers of God with the Pope as their general. They were leaders in the catholic missionary movement that strengthened Catholics all over the world and fighting against Protestants.
Explain the significance of the Council of Trent both for its reformation of Catholicism and for its response to Protestantism.
a. It mainly doubled down on already existing catholic beliefs in a reactionary way to protestant beliefs, effectively eliminating all hope of reconciliation between the two churches.
b. As far as Catholic reformation, it admitted to the abuses of power and indulgences and sought to clean these up through Mass being celebrated with reverence, controlling indulgences, setting a minimum age of 25 for ordination to priesthood and urging bishops to live frugal lives. Because a council was called this led to overhaul of the administration of church.
