Download Theological Reform and New Perspectives WHAP/Napp “In 1500

Theological Reform and New Perspectives
WHAP/Napp
“In 1500 the papacy, the central government of Latin Christianity, was simultaneously
gaining stature and suffering from corruption and dissent. Larger donations and tax
receipts let popes fund ambitious construction projects in Rome, their capital city.
However, the church’s wealth and power also attracted ambitious men, some of whose
personal lives became the source of scandal. The jewel of the building projects was the
magnificent new Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The skillful overseer of the design and
financing of the new Saint Peter’s was Pope Leo X, a member of the wealthy Medici family
of Florence, famous for its patronage of the arts. Pope Leo’s artistic taste was superb and
his personal life free from scandal, but he was more a man of action than a spiritual leader.
One technique that he used to raise funds for the basilica was to authorize an indulgence –
a forgiveness of the punishment due for past sins, granted by church authorities as a
reward for a pious act such as making a pilgrimage, saying a particular prayer, or making
a donation to a religious cause.
A young professor of sacred scripture, Martin Luther, objected to the way the new
indulgence was preached. As the result of a powerful religious experience, Luther had
forsaken money and marriage for a monastic life of prayer, self-denial, and study. He
found personal consolation in his own religious quest in passage in Saint Paul’s Epistle to
the Romans that argued that salvation came not from ‘doing certain things’ but from
religious faith. That passage also led Luther to object to the way the indulgence preachers
appeared to emphasize giving money more than the faith behind the act. He wrote to Pope
Leo, asking him to stop this abuse, and challenged the preachers to a debate on the
theology of indulgences.
This theological dispute quickly escalated into a contest between two strong-minded men.
Largely ignoring Luther’s theological objections, Pope Leo regarded his letter as a
challenge to papal power and moved to silence the German monk. During a debate in 1519,
a papal representative led Luther into open disagreement with some church doctrines, for
which the papacy condemned him. Blocked in his effort to reform the church from within,
Luther burned the papal bull (document) of condemnation, rejecting the pope’s authority
and beginning the movement known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther insisted that
the only way to salvation was through faith in Jesus Christ. He further declared that
Christian belief must be based on the word of God in the Bible not on the authority of the
pope, as Catholics held. Eventually his conclusions led him to abandon his monastic
prayers and penances and to marry a former nun.” ~ The Earth and Its People
1. Luther's work had support because
2. Which of the following does NOT
(A) He attacked the sale of indulgences that accurately describe Martin Luther?
the poor could not afford.
(A) He authored the 95 Theses which
(B) Many Christians shared his concern
expressed concerns about indulgences.
about the corruption of the Church.
(B) He was an English reformer whose body
(C) Many German princes saw this as a way was exhumed and then burned for heresy.
to break away from the Church.
(C) He sparked the Protestant Reformation.
(D) He supported the translation of the
(D) He experienced a spiritual crisis.
Bible from Latin into the vernacular.
(E) He was a monk and professor of
(E) All of the above.
theology in Wittenberg, Germany.
Key Words/ I. The Protestant Reformation
Questions
A. Shattered the unity of Roman Catholic Christianity
B. Began in 1517 when a German priest, Martin Luther, publicly invited
debate about various abuses within the Roman Catholic Church
C. Luther posted a document, known as the Ninety-five Theses
D. Luther opposed the sale of indulgences (said to remove penalties for
sins) and held that salvation came through faith alone
1. Faith was a free gift of God, graciously granted to undeserving people
E. According to Luther, sole source of religious authority was the Bible
F. Contrary to original intentions; provoked a schism in Christianity
G. In Protestant-dominated areas, the veneration of Mary and female
saints ended and Protestant opposition to celibacy and monastic life
closed monasteries/convents
H. Reformation spread with invention of printing press by Gutenberg
I. Luther translated Bible into German (the vernacular)
J. For more than thirty years (1562-1598), French society was torn by
violence between Catholics and Protestant minority (Huguenots)
K. Henry IV issued Edict of Nantes (1598) granting measure of toleration
to French Protestants hoping they would return to Catholic Church
L. Culmination of European religious conflict took shape in Thirty Years’
War (1618-1648), Catholic-Protestant struggle in Holy Roman Empire
1. Peace of Westphalia brought conflict to an end with agreement that
each state was sovereign and chose its own religion
II. The Catholic Counter-Reformation
A. Catholics set about correcting abuses and corruption
B. Council of Trent (1545-1563): reaffirmed unique doctrines, such as
authority of pope, priestly celibacy, veneration of saint, good works
C. Inquisition, Catholic court: crackdown on dissidents and heretics
D. New religious orders, such as the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), established
III. Impact of Reformation
A. Catholic Spain and Portugal actively converted Amerindians
B. New England Puritans were not interested in converting Natives
C. Catholic missionaries actively spread Christianity
D. Missionaries had greatest successes in Spanish America and Philippines
E. But syncretism or blending Christian practices with indigenous ideas
IV. Encounters with Christianity
A. Miniscule number of Chinese converted to Christianity
B. Syncretic (blended) religions such as Vodou in Haiti, Santeria in Cuba
V. Other Global Religious Challenges
A. New converts did not generally give up older practices and to more
orthodox Muslims, this religious syncretism was heretical
B. In Arabia, Muslim theologian, Abd al- Wahhab (1703-1792) wanted a
return to a doctrinaire Islam in strict accordance with sharia
C. Kaozheng or “research based on evidence” took shape in China
D. Flourishing of a devotional form of Hinduism known as bhakti in India
Reflections:
1. Which of the following does NOT
belong in a list of Catholic
doctrines rejected by Martin
Luther?
(A) Papal authority
(B) Granting of indulgences
(C) Monasticism
(D) Priestly celibacy
(E) Acceptance of the Holy Trinity
2. Where did Luther’s movement first
take root?
(A) France
(B) England
(C) Spain
(D) Italy
(E) Germany
3. Which group traces its roots to the
Catholic Reformation, sometimes
referred to as the CounterReformation?
(A) Benedictine monks
(B) Coptic Christians
(C) Jesuits
(D) Liberation theologians
(E) Calvinists
4. France’s role in the Thirty Years’
War illustrates which of the
following?
(A) An emphasis on one’s own
geopolitical interests, rather
than religious belief
(B) A sincere commitment to
pacifistic principles
(C) The influence of religious faith
on military decision making
(D) A relentless pursuit of harsh
military treatment of civilians
(E) Strict neutrality
5. Which of the following belief
systems had little to no following in
India by 1750?
(A) Hinduism
(B) Islam
(C) Jainism
(D) Christianity
(E) Confucianism
6. What did Johannes Gutenberg
invent that transformed Europe?
(A) the steam engine
(B) the movable-type printing press
(C) the flying buttress
(D) the spinning jenny
(E) the steel plow
Thesis Practice: Change over Time
Analyze continuities and changes in Christian theology from the post-classical era to
the early modern era.
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An Examination of Change:
“The core areas of Western civilization changed dramatically between 1450 and 1750.
While remaining an agricultural society, the West became unusually commercially active
and developed a strong manufacturing sector. Governments increased their powers. In
intellectual life, science became the centerpiece for the first time in the history of any
society. Ideas of the family and personality also altered. The changes were stimulated by
overseas expansion and growing international commercial dominance. The internal
changes were marked by considerable conflict, with focal points centered on the state,
culture, and commerce, with support from technology.” ~ Stearns
 The Renaissance
- Began in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries as individuals challenged
medieval intellectual values and styles
- Italy’s urban, commercial economy and competitive state politics stimulated
the new movement
- Petrarch and Boccaccio challenged established literary canons, writing in
Italian instead of Latin
- They emphasized secular topics such as love and pride
- New realism appeared in painting, and religion declined as a central focus

The Northern Renaissance
- By the 16th century, Italy declined as the center of the Renaissance
- The northern Renaissance emerged in France, the Low Countries, Germany,
and England, and spread to eastern Europe
- Northern Humanists tended to be more concerned with religious matters
- Writers such as Shakespeare, Rabelais, and Cervantes mixed classical
themes with elements of medieval popular culture and established a new set
of classic works
- Northern rulers became patrons of the arts, tried to control the church, and
sponsored trading companies and colonial ventures

Changes in Family and Technology
- In 1500, fundamental changes were underway in Western society
- Contacts with Asia led to improvements in technology
- Printing helped to expand religious and technological thinking
- A European-style family emerged
- Ordinary people married at a later age, and a primary emphasis on the
nuclear family developed

The Catholic Church Faced Serious Challenges
- In 1517, Luther stressed that only faith could win salvation and challenged
many Catholic beliefs, including papal authority, monasticism, the roles of
priests, and priestly celibacy
- He said that the Bible should be translated into vernacular languages, and
read by individuals.
- Luther resisted papal pressure and gained support in Germany where papal
authority and taxes were resented