Henry VIII vs. John Calvin in the Protestant Reformation In the sixteenth century, stood the reformation of the Catholic Church in Western Europe. While the main focus was an internal renovation of the church, the outcome was much different than expected; the reformation led to a revolt against and an abandonment of principal Christian belief. The difference in the view and act of oneself was different from individual to individual during the reformation. While Calvin left for Geneva in 1536 from France because of the fear of persecution for the publically spread beliefs of his about the Church to the people, Henry VIII had manipulated the church for a way to receive a new wife in hopes for his first son. Different motivation stands for each of these people in what they did for the reformation.
Reading religious works, Europeans form own options about church which caused rulers start to challenge the church’s power. The making of the printing press helped spread this secular idea. Some contributors to the reformation were Desiderus Erasmus, Thomas More and Martin Luther. During the reformation Martin Luther stressed that all people with faith are equal and can interpret Bible without priest. He also posted his 95 thesis statement which launched a movement for religious reform.
He believed that the Catholic church was corrupt for selling indulgences as penance for sins in that the sale was a way for the Church to exploit the unfortunate and poor (Reformation 5). The final push for the need to change was the English reformation. During King Henry VIII’s rule in the sixteenth century, the Church of England was formed. He established the church because the Pope of the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon. The Anglican church had many similarities to the Catholic church: similar rituals and a bible titled the Book of Common Prayere (Reformation 9).
It must be remembered that James came from Scotland which was a Presbyterian nation and therefore came with his own set of beliefs and ideas. Elizabeth I had established the Church of England, and though it was principally run along Protestant lines there were still many Catholic elements around. The Catholic churches had lots of gold decorations and ornamentations, this angered the Puritans because they believed the main function of the Church was to preach and teach the Bible. They also believed that people would be distracted by the decorations and finery. This shows that as well as there being the
Luther’s first step was to attempt reform within the Catholic church was posting “The 95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” on the door of the church of Wittenberg to directly protest the selling of indulgences. Condemning indulgences was, in fact, condemning the pope, and his authority to grant pardons to the Catholics. Opposing indulgences was not the end of opposing the pope, however, when the pope sent Luther a letter telling him to take back his words or be excommunicated, Luther burned the letter publicly. Eventually when Luther was excommunicated, he continued to spread his heretical ideas especially through his writings, some of which included “On Christian Liberty” which led the peasant class to believe Lutheranism would lift their oppression and “An Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation” which invited Christian princes to take over the wealth of the German monasteries. Luther needed the support of the masses to bring about his reform.
The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America where they could have religious freedom. The puritans believed that the earth was fallen and that people were sinners who could only be redeemed by the grace of God. They also believed that God favored the rich and despised the poor. The Puritans tended to admire the early church fathers and quoted them freely in their works.
They both changed the church by limiting its power over land and many followers of the church ran from the church joining either the Church of England or joining the protestant reformation. They both gave the people a choice from just being a catholic they could be a part of the Church of England or become a protestant. Their choices affected everyone that came after them day we are affected by these men’s choices. Although these men are alike in some ways they are very different. Luther wrote the “95 Theses” because he saw that the church was doing wrong and he decided that it should be changed.
At the Council of Trent the Catholic authorities attempted to clean up the act of the Protestants by trying to persuade them to believe in all seven sacraments and reaffirmed this belief as well. Many other beliefs were reaffirmed as well; beliefs such as Monasteries, Miracles, Saints, Holy Relics, etc. Protestant beliefs constantly differed with a good amount of the beliefs from the Catholics, which caused it to branch off as a completely different religion itself, however the purpose of this council was to set the Protestants straight by reading to them doctrines from the Catholic Church, and other biblical beliefs. Although it might not have worked completely, it did subside some tensions between both
Luther’s arguments referred to a direct relationship with God and using the local vernacular to speak to the people. Luther’s arguments removed the absolute power from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. The revenue from the taxes paid to the Church would be reduced with Luther’s ideas, in part because of the removal of buying souls out of purgatory. And thanks to the printing press, Luther’s 95 Theses was reprinted throughout Germany, which soon attracted many followers, as well as many enemies. In 1520, the Pope excommunicated with Martin Luther.
The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement that significantly the political and social spheres of Europe. This reformation is a religious movement because Martian Luther and his colleagues came to understand that if sinners had to earn salvation by their own merits and good works, they would be lost and completely without hope. Pope Leo X told the people that indulgence was a pardon and he made people believe that you could buy your