The Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther was the most important person in the Reformation of the Catholic Church. He was a German monk. He posted his "95 Theses" on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. This showed how he stood up against the church and criticized it for all of its faults. He criticized the Catholic Church for the sale of indulgences, and the failure of the church to meet the needs of the people of Europe. The church at this time was unable to satisfy the people spiritually and intellectually. He felt that only two of the seven sacraments were true to Christianity, as was written the Bible. He became the leader in the rebellion against the Catholic Church, and the leader in the formation of the Protestant Religion. His ideas and revolt against the church helped the people of Europe to break free from the power of guilt that the Catholic Church held over them. Though he was a major religious reformer, Luther did not want to reform soci
Though Zwingli and Luther shared somewhat similar ideas, they could not resolve their differences at a meeting in Marburg in 1529. Luther did not wish to reform society, but only wanted to change the Catholic Church. Both emphasized man's sinfulness and lack of free will. They both believed in the justification of religion only by faith in God. Zwingli's influence opened up new doors for reform and thinking for the Swiss people, much like Luther did for a majority of Europe. He was a strong believer and enforcer of the belief that if an idea could not be supported by an ancient scripture, then it should not be believed or practiced. Both rejected good works as a means to salvation and both rejected all sacraments except communion and baptism and both believed in upholding established authority. Ulrich Zwingli was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. By 1518, Zwingli, like Luther, protested the sale of indulgences. Calvin and Luther both saw the importance of religion in the lives of people, and gave their followers the intellectual skills they needed to further enhance themselves religiously. Although Calvin provided order and organization to the Protestant Reformation he accepted his role as ethical leader and believed that the church members' duty was to reshape society for the will of God. Calvin based his ideas on those of Luther. The "Institutes of the Christian Religion" by Calvin was considered one of the most important statements of the Protestant faith, similar to the "95 Theses" by Luther.
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