The Protestant Reformation And Its Influence In Shaping The Future

The Protestant Reformation (also known as Lutheran Upheaval), is the result of an outrageous amount of corruption by the Catholic Church’s highest officials. Even though it was born in the Catholic Church, its events and people, as well as its publications, have left a lasting impression on Europe. Martin Luther’s words resonate not only with Christians in Europe, but also around the world. His publications and teachings have also inspired a lot of controversy among historians. Martin Luther was a reformer who shaped the modern European civilization.

In the beginning of 1500, the Catholics were led by some very corrupt individuals. Pope Alexander became the first one, and it is believed that he bribed 17 out of the 22 cardsinal votes he needed to become a public official. Along with these doubts, he also had 12 children who were not his legitimate offspring and 12 mistresses. (Nearly all used by him to gain or maintain political power.) Julius, Alexander’s second successor, personally led armies during the Italian Wars and the Holy League War. The corruption did not only affect the Pope. Many other Church leaders also committed similar crimes. A church bishop was often a politician as well as a priest. Martin Luther’s tale begins with his Catholic Church service. While he was working for the Catholic Church, he witnessed corruption of this kind and others. Martin Luther observed that his church colleagues lived lavishly, akin to royalty. While his petitioners were living in poverty, he watched his college members live a luxurious lifestyle. The money for these extravagant lifestyles came from indulgences that officials received as compensation for the sins of the petitioners.

His 95 thesis was a document in which he expressed his outrage at these atrocities. The document is a plainly-written document that outlines his grievances towards the Catholic church. In his 27th complaint he directly addressed indulgences. “There is not divine authority (for) preaching that souls fly out of Purgatory instantly after the money clicks in the bottom.

Luther’s intellectual circles were very supportive of the 95 Thesis. The 95 thesis was a hit with Luther’s intellectual circle. It was widely accepted and published in several languages shortly after its publication. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Luther’s massive publication was made possible by the invention of printing presses. The ideas were now available to a large number of people. The works appeared in Europe.

The Catholic Church did not respond immediately. The 95 Thesis appeared in 1517. Luther’s excommunication was not finalized until 1521. His work was also not banned until then. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison at the Diet of Worms. However, he refused to retract what he said. Fredrick III, the Elector for Saxony later placed him in isolation at Wartburg.

During this period he wrote “Refutation of Latomus Argument”. In this essay, he claimed that Faith was the only means to Heaven. According to him, no amount of good deeds or sacraments could make a person worthy enough to enter heaven. The sins of a person could not be atoned for by good works and sacraments. God’s saving love is the only way for a person to reach heaven.

Luther’s ideas may not be well known to the church, but they are certainly known by the rest of the world. As we’ve already mentioned, the printing press allowed Luther to make his ideas a common concept in Europe. It was praised and translated by intellectual friends, allowing it to be printed in many languages. This led to the un-coined idea of Cycle of Learning. The availability of printing sources made it possible to publish more ideas. More people were able to read and learn how write. In turn, this led to more people wanting to learn to read. Luther’s thoughts inspired others to share their opinions and ideas.

Martin Luther’s departure from his solitude was a clear demonstration of this concept. The reforms and ideas that Martin Luther had sought to promote were carried out by his supporters. German princes, in charge of various German territories, also showed their support for the new form. They declared it a religion. The German princes, who ruled over various territories in Germany, supported the new form of Christianity and declared it a formally established religion.

Luther’s reputation grew darker as his safety was ensured. In his final years, Luther wrote several works that encouraged the denigration and condemnation of Jews. On the Jews & Their Lies became his most famous and hateful piece of work during this dark period. He called for his followers to have “Sharp mercy” on the Jews by destroying their homes of worship and stealing their livelihood. By then, he held a high position in German Society and was not questioned. Therefore, when he said anti-Semitic things in Saxony or other German cities, many people took him seriously. Demonstrations forced many Jewish cities to evacuate.

This part of Luther’s legacy was used later as propaganda by the Nazi party to influence the German population in 1940s to accept their anti-Jewish campaign. Martin Luther was a major influence in Germany and Western Europe. The later works of Martin Luther, though they were dreadful, did not lessen his importance in the history of church reform. His Protestant reforms enabled other branches in Christianity to flourish. Zwingli’s Swiss words, which were based on Martin Luther’s teachings, also fought against the Catholic church. Calvinism, Anabaptism, and other branches of protestant Christianity would also be born from these teachings. The world would have been very different if Martin Luther never existed and the Lutheran Upheaval had never happened. There would be less information available, which could have led to other forms Christianity never taking root. It is difficult to say what exactly would have changed, but one can argue that Europe (and the rest of world) would look very different without the Protestant Reformation.