This continued until Henry VIII, so desperate to produce a male heir, broke Papal control over England and named himself Head of the Church that taught an offshoot of Christianity based on the teachings of Martin Luther, the Protestant Church of England. This change did not make much difference, as the main different was the head of the Church and belief about divorce. Many more changes came after Henry died in 1547 and Edward VI became king. Edward, led by his advisors, moved England completely from Catholicism and to Protestantism. He passed laws such as making churches and bishops more plain, services be said in English and creating the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and a refined version in 1552.
For example in the Lincoln Articles it states that the rebels wanted “an end to suppression of religious houses” and “bishops in England do not have… the faith of Christ”. Furthermore in the Pontefract Articles, it is said that the rebels wanted “the Pope as the Supreme Head of the Church of England”, “to end the heresies within this realm.” This shows that the Pilgrimage was a reaction from the peasants after the Break with Rome. Moreover the rebels marched behind the Five Wounds of Christ, showing that the peasants were heavily influenced by religion. Also, in the 16th century religion held communities together as people prayed and paid for the rituals of the Church, so the dissolution would have affected this. Historian Geoffrey Elton says that the uprising was religious and associated with Catherine of Aragon.
We see an example of one of Luther’s critical writings in Document 8. In this Document we see Luther take a strong anti Catholic stance and even go so far as to condemn the Pope. Document 9 also serves as another example and shows Luther’s being critical of the Churches officials and the need for priests by clamming “every baptized Christian is a priest already.” This last point struck a major cord with the peasants in Europe. Luther was telling them they could gain their own salvation by studying the bible for themselves. No longer would they need to be dependent on the Church.
He is famous for his 95 Theses, where he attacked the Catholic Church for selling indulgences and the corruption in the church. He believed that the indulgences were unfair because the lower social class could not afford them. He was then declared a heretic for his views on the Catholic Church. Luther later translated the New Testament from Greek to German allowing Germans to read the bible without having to know other languages. His ideas spread like wildfire to the population and forced the Catholic Church to bring reforms.
I believe that religious persecution was the principle reason for their voyage but also feel that their discontent with the English government played a key role in their leaving as well. In sixteenth century England there were people who wanted to see reform in English religion, society, and politics. They strove to do this by restricting church membership to the pious and godly and also by wanting the state to enforce non-bending moral codes. 1 These people were called Puritans. Those who made up the Puritan group were either Presbyterians or Congregationalists.
It spread quickly and within months was all throughout Europe. Albrecht of Mainz did not respond to the thesis. Pope Leo X had the theologian Sylvester Mazzolini draft a heresy against Luther, and summoned Luther to Rome. Luther was examined at Augsburg where the Imperial diet was held. The theologian Johann Maier had a goal to expose Luther and invited him to speak at a disputation: a public debate concerning the doctrines of free will and grace.
“Men, Women and Schools of thought love have reformed and/or revitalized the Christian Tradition” This statement remarkably reflects on Martin Luther’s impact on Christianity. Martin Luther generated significant effects on Christianity in his life time and in the present through institutional, theological and liturgical impacts. His influences has resulted in immense change in Christian denomination’s reforming and revitalizing their dynamic beliefs towards Christianity. Martin Luther’s disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of Selling Indulgences caused the different changes within Christianity and hugely impacted the foundation of the Protestant Reformation. He objected to the activities of the Church and attacked doctrines of indulgences and penance and published
Martin Luther, the most significant figure in the early development of Protestantism, took hold of the reformation during this period and popularised its beliefs, basing them on his interpretation of the scriptures. Although the responses from the majority of the leaders within the Catholic Church were political attacks aimed at clinging onto power and restricting the reformists’ influence, Luther’s motivation was religious and a product of a devotion to God, after being struck by lightning in 1505. Through this enlightenment, he sought to highlight the widespread abuses imposed by the Catholic Church, which were regularly authorised by the Pope. The resistance to Luther had been rife from the start; however as Luther’s support base grew and his beliefs became a threat to those in power, the counter-attacks increased in significance. Nevertheless, it could be argued that people misjudged Luther’s intentions as he never intended to reshape the power structure of the church just address the abuses.
It involved an entire reconstruction of the Church and of the social order. It meant revolution.”[3] The Reformers desired to reform the existing church, the “Radicals” desired to create a new church based on their theological convictions. [4] Some contend (incorrectly in this writer’s opinion) that the Anabaptists began with Thomas Müntzer (1490-1525). Müntzer was the spiritual revolutionary of the Peasant’s War that occurred in 1525, a leader in the social revolution of his time. He was a student of medieval realism, well studied in church history and the German mystics, and read many Reformation tracts and books.
October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest and Augustinian monk, nailed his 95 Theses on the entrance of the Wittenberg church, convicting the selling of “indulgences”, commissioned by Pope Leo X, as immoral conveniences (Oberman). These indulgences, for lack of a better term, were said to have guaranteed the diminution of sins and to have been used for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica and distribute funds to local districts (Graves). Tortured by obsessions of his own damnation, regardless of a life devoted to divine service, Luther came to consider that the customary means of achieving salvation were insufficient (“Martin Luther”). By nailing his 95 Theses to the gate of the Wittenberg church and stating the opinions