Joshua Hadfield Humanities Christianity Reformation

The Catholic Church had run rampant in Europe for close to one thousand years before a civil war among Christians broke out and reformation began. John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin were all key persons in reforming Christianity. Wycliffe called for something now days similar to separation between church and state. The Catholic leaders had power over land and even had power to appoint and control leaders. Luther opposed the church teaching that sins would be forgiven if a sufficient monetary offering would be made. John Calvin simply wanted the public to know and have access to the teachings and principles of the New Testament; he was very influential in translating the bible for the public to have access to Christs teachings. These men are three of the most influential reformers and believed whole heartedly in what they taught. Today we will focus on Martin Luther. Martin Luthers doctrine of justification was what some say started the Reformation of Christianity. Essentially, The Catholic Church had the power to forgive sins. Sins were forgiven through confession of ones sins to a member of clergy. Offerings of money to pay for sins and transgressions could purge the sins of a persons past. Luther knew that this could not be true. It destroyed the beliefs of Christianity and the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the World. (Talmage pg 497)It gave the Church the power to forgive sins through indulgences. Martin Luther taught that this was false. We can only be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ. He teaches that through our faith in Jesus Christ we change or repent for the things that

we have done in the past and through these acts of faith one can be purged from their sins thorough the sacrifice that was made to justify our sins. This sacrifice was done alone by Jesus Christ and could not be accessed through anyone else but him. Luther said in his Ninety Five theses When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh. As long as hatred of self abides (i.e. true inward repentance) the penalty of sin abides, viz., until we enter the kingdom of heaven. The pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law. This is part of the ninety five theses that was sent to the pope from Martin Luther himself. This doctrine, the doctrine of justification became the face of the reformation; it brought a new found divinity to Jesus Christ and opened the eyes of many to the errors of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was the head of the reformation and because of his boldness to challenge the church brought new freedoms to millions. Christians around the world are benefiting from his translation of the bible and other doctrinal teachings.

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther Luther. 95 Theses. April. 2014 http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm Talmage. James E. Jesus The Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret News. 1915