The Protestant Reformation, which lasted from the early-1500s to the mid-1600s, was brought on by society noticing weaknesses in the Catholic Church. Such persons as Martin Luther and John Calvin exposed these weaknesses to society and began a widespread reform of the Catholic Church. While the Reformation initially aimed to “renew” the Church, it evolved into a terrific revolt against it, and as a result The Protestant Reformation should be viewed as a theological revolutionary movement.
1 of the key difficulties of the Church that individuals had was the sale of indulgences. In a letter to the Archbishop of Mainz, Martin Luther stated that performs of “piety and adore are infinitely much better than indulgences, and but these are not preached with such ceremony or such zeal.” Luther feels that if it is the “first and sole duty” of bishops to preach the Gospel, and yet if Christ in no way taught that indulgences need to be preached, then why do the bishops permit the teachings of the Gospel to be unheard, and indulgences to nevertheless be sold. Martin Luther asserted in his very first 2, of 95, theses that Jesus Christ willed the whole life of believers to be 1 of repentance, and but if an complete life be “one of repentance”, then why do the clergy administer the sacrament of penance, and confession and satisfaction. In “Against Catholicism” by Martin Luther, Luther shows his position on the pope. Luther says that the cause he abolished his reverence of the pope was for the reason that the pope obtained authority over each and every aspect of the Christian Church. Luther agrees with the thought of possessing the pope as head of the Church on earth, if he only taught the gospel “pure and clear”, and not introduced “human inventions and lies in its stead.” Luther believes that the pope took upon him “power, rule, and authority” more than the Church, and over the Holy Scriptures and the Word of God, and Luther feels that no man must try to expound the Scriptures, and the pope doing this was not to be endured.
Yet another leader of the Reformation was John Calvin. In the Doctrine of Predestination, Calvin stated that God has already determined whom he would admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn to the torments of hell. Calvin feels that nothing the human beings might do can alter their fate, and that their…