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1. Martin Luther

Martin Luther was dedicated to his monastic life until the year 1512, when he began questioning the issues within the Catholic Church. There was another key player that stood up against Luther and his stance on indulgences, and that person was the Dominican Friar Johann Tetzel. The Archbishop of Albrecht played a role in the reformation, in which he was the recipient of a letter from Luther questioning the sale of indulgences. What started Luther in questioning the churches doctrines was in regards to the penance and righteousness, which had to deal with conversion. Luther’s stance on conversion was that justification was the key to in other words salvation. When Luther brought the disagreement about justification to the attention of the church it caused a divide between them. Luther made it a point that salvation was by faith, and the church wanted to have him excommunicated. Martin Luther as he studied scriptures while teaching noticed even more discrepancies in the Catholic Church’s doctrine. Another of the discrepancies was the selling of indulgences, where the church rented or sold items supposedly touch or owned by the saints. This is when Tetzel was in charge of the selling of indulgences, he had taken it to the point of making fraudulent sales to the congregation. Luther brought out in the open what Tetzel was doing, and which became the catalyst for the reformation. Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses and nailed it to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther also demanded the end of the sale of indulgences. The theses spread throughout Europe, and Pope Leo X tried to stop the spread by having monks silenced. Due to the former friend of Luther Johann Eck that brought it all to a head and ended up with an assembly known as The Edict of Worms. This is when Luther spread the scriptures into the hands of the people by translating them into German.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Paul A. Bishop “Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation” Hillsborough Community College (2016), https://www.hccfl.edu/media/173616/ee2luther.pdf (accessed September 18, 2016).]

1. Anabaptists

Anabaptists were church members that were not Lutheran, Protestant or Catholic. Anabaptists believed that infant baptism was not scriptural. The way they believed was that baptism was after salvation. The key participants in the Anabaptist reformation were, Zwingli, Grebel, Manz, Blaurock, Ruebin, and Stumpf. From the beginning infant baptism was the main concern for Zwingli, and this concern is what started the reformation. There were other ceremonial practices the Catholic Church participated in that Zwingli, Grebel, and Manz disagreed with. First was the partaking of the Lord’s Supper by people who were not faithful to Christ. The Church was also allowing children partake in the Lord’s Supper until they reached an age when they understood the purpose. This began the Anabaptist theology which would still lead for more areas of reform. Zwingli began to “ban” non-members to partake in the Lord’s supper. There were two other areas where the Anabaptists disagreed with. First was the rejection of the Word is the sword of the Christian. Second, they rejected priesthood and mass including many other areas of worship that was not found in scripture.

Soon the Catholic Church began to persecute the Anabaptists, they began by throwing them into prison till death, Grebel was one who fell into that category. When that did not stop the spread of Anabaptists, the church began to drown the ones who were following them, Manz was one that was drowned. After the others watched none turned away from their faith, and soon 11 more followed the same fate. The remaining followers listed above turned from the Anabaptist beliefs. In conclusion, with all of the persecution it did not stop the growth. The Anabaptists spread to the point where we now have Mennonites who follow the Anabaptist faith.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Chris Good, “The Anabaptist and the Reformation,” Fellowship of Reformed Baptist Churches in New Zealand, (1998) http://www.rbc.org.nz/library/anabap.htm (Accessed September 19, 2016).]

3. John Calvin

John Calvin started to be a lead participant in the Protestant reformation when Luther and Zwingli could not reconcile their differences. Calvinism was a spin-off of the Lutheran church. The two main differences in theology from Martin Luther were predestination and church and state. Calvin never explained his conversion and salvation. When the government put pressure on him over is beliefs he fled, and in doing so wrote a book which became the statement of Calvinism. Calvin started his first church in Geneva, and published guidelines for the way the Geneva Christians should walk in their faith. Calvin was pushed out of Geneva by a faction in Bern, and went to France. Calvin became a pastor in Strasbourg, and translated the Bible into French. After a few years the faction in Geneva was voted out. Calvin went back to Geneva, and restructured the church. The church today gets the types of church hierarchy from how Calvin set it up in Geneva. The way the legislation of the church is set up with pastors, elders, teachers including deacons, is the creation of Calvin.

There was at one point in the Calvinist church in Geneva a threat to split it up. The old enemies of the church would at times start problems for the church, but they could not stop the growth in the area. Another key player in the churches history was Michael Servetus, an staunch unbeliever in the ways of the church. Servetus was considered a heretic for his beliefs and alienated all who heard him. He was arrested and Calvin had him kept in prison, until he was burned at the stake for his beliefs and the trouble he caused. Servetus was the main character in the start of the Unitarianism movement. Calvin’s churches spread through Europe and schools were erected to teach pastors. Calvin died in Geneva doing what he had al along writing to the churches across Europe.[footnoteRef:3] [3: DR E. L. Skip Knox, “Europe in the Age of the Reformation,” Boise State University, (2016) https://europeanhistory.boisestate.edu/reformation/reformers/calvin.shtml. (Accessed September 16, 2016).]

4. English Reformation

The English Reformation was also considered the Henrician Reformation; this was due to the acts of Henry VIII. What started the turn against the Catholic church was the marital issues that Henry VIII had in reference to the many wives and affairs that were covered up through the church. It all started with his first wife not being able to carry a child. The marriage to Henry’s first wife was due to the death of his brother, and Pope Julius II used to bible to marry Henry to her. The clergy at the time appeased Henry and allowed multiple separations from wives. The parliament made the king the head of the church of England, and in doing so it raised some eyebrows and immediately the reformation parliament began attacking the church of England. The people involved in the reformation included first Thomas Cromwell, who wanted the subordination of the clergy. Second, Thomas Cranmer who married a protestant and was burned at the stake. Third, Stephen Gardiner he backed Henry VIII and pushed for the divorce. Gardner believed that the church should submit to the rulers of the land, and made sure that Cromwell was stopped and imprisoned. Fifth, Thomas More who was a humanist and against the church’s abuse of power. Cromwell had More arrested with the help of Sir Richard Rich, and was put to death. Finally, when Henry was worried about France invading he endorsed transubstantiation. Henry continued to protect Protestants to the point where he hired protestant tutors for young Edward VI. Henry VIII brought about the dissolution of monasteries, which in turn the land was turned over to the monarchy. During the same time Tyndale translated the Bible to English, in which Henry was not pleased, but there was no way for him to stop the spread of it to the people. After the death of Edward VI and the beheading of Lady Jane who took over the throne, Mary had more protestants put to death then brought Catholicism back to England.[footnoteRef:4] [4: J.P. Sommerville, “The English Reformation,” Wisconsin University, (2016). http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/361-07.htm. (Accessed September 19, 2016).]

In conclusion, The Protestant reformation was a big step in the timeline of history for Christ and the church. Before Luther other men have tried to change the doctrines of the Catholic Church without any success. With the Protestant reformation, the people have changed how they view their faith in regards to salvation, and the way the church handles their business. The Reformation changed how we see the world in the sense of science, where the way the Universe is set and where the world is in that vast expanse. The reformation brought about another view of doctrine. One aspect was the doctrine of the Bible was the center of how Christians should live their lives. Second, where the call of salvation is a part of God’s glory not through man. Third, dealt with the Grace of God, salvation not by works. Fourth, where Christ is the one and only way to salvation. Fifth, God’s grace to salvation is through faith alone. The reformation also brought about the liberty to believe the way they wanted without the persecution of the Catholic Church. Last but not least the reformation brought God’s word to the world.[footnoteRef:5] [5: Dr. Jack L. Arnold, “The Cause and Results of the Reformation,” IIIM Magazine Online,(March 8 to March 14, 1999) Volume 1, Number 2, http://www.thirdmill.org/files/english/html/ch/CH.Arnold.RMT.2.HTML, (Accessed September 19, 2016).]

Bibliography

Arnold, Dr. Jack L, “The Cause and Results of the Reformation,” IIIM Magazine Online, (March

8 to March 14, 1999) Volume 1, Number 2, http://www.thirdmill.org/files/english/html/ch/CH.Arnold.RMT.2.HTML, (Accessed September 19, 2016).

Bishop, Paul A, “Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation” Hillsborough Community

College (2016), https://www.hccfl.edu/media/173616/ee2luther.pdf (accessed September 18, 2016).

Good, Chris, “The Anabaptist and the Reformation,” Fellowship of Reformed Baptist Churches

in New Zealand, (1998) http://www.rbc.org.nz/library/anabap.htm (Accessed September 19, 2016).

Knox, Dr. E.L. Skip, “Europe in the Age of the Reformation,” Boise State University, (2016)

https://europeanhistory.boisestate.edu/reformation/reformers/calvin.shtml. (Accessed September 16, 2016).

Sommerville, J.P, “The English Reformation,” Wisconsin University, (2016).

http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/361-07.htm. (Accessed September 19, 2016).

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