The European Reformations: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Catholic (Research Paper Sample)

THE EUROPEAN REFORMATIONS
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The European Reformations
Introduction
The period between 1500 and 1700 is characterized by a number of several religious reformations in continental Europe, each of which had its pioneering reformist, reasons for emergence, and consequences. The reformations, which are ordinarily termed as the sixteenth century schist Protestant Reformation, began with Martin Luther as a religious revolt against the abuses that emanated from the belief and practices upheld by the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. This paper addresses four European reformations that include Martin Luther, John Calvin, the Catholic and English reformations, together with their causes and the effects.
Martin Luther (Lutheran Reformation)
Martin Luther was a German priest, who was dedicated to a monkish lifestyle before becoming the Reformation leader in the Germany. The Reformation in Germany began with Luther questioning and rejection of the universal preeminence of authority and the extraordinary sanctity that an individual human being called the Pope assumed. Another cause of the Reformation is that Luther challenged and condemned the idea of purchasing and selling indulgences by some Roman Catholic clergies, who ignored the truth that the remission of sin did not come from temporal pardons, but from sincere repentance. Indeed, Luther used the justification-by-faith doctrine as an insistent foundation for proving that salvation could not be attained from memberships in human institutions, but rather could be obtained as a God given gift to an individual. The doctrine of salvation by justification and full remission of sin through genuine repentance did not only serve as the foundation for Luther’s protest against Johann Tetzel and Roman Catholic, but also as a catalyst for his excommunication in 1521 by the Pope. Excommunication threats were utilized as a weapon of enforcing the commitment of the followers of the Roman Catholic doctrine that regarded the Pope as Christ’s supreme vicar and for punishing those who protested against practices instituted by the Church hierarchy. Martin Luther’s protestant reformation was also caused by the incorporation of the justification doctrine into baptism, the discarding of unction sacraments, and the denial of cup/wine withholding from the congregation or laity, transubstantiation, and mass sacrificial character canon. Other causes include the emergence of nationalism and imperial distractions in Germany, printing press inventions, and Luther’s protection support, among other economic and political, as well as social causes.
Martin Luther’s protestant reformation had a number of effects, and one of these is that it led to Luther’s excommunication from the Roman Catholic for perceived blasphemy against the Pope, and for failure to recant some doctrinal points scrapped from his ninety-five theses. Besides this, another effect of the reformation is that it culminated in a prearranged Martin Luther’s exile at Wartburg Castle and subjection to the edict of the diet of worms by Emperor Charles V. On top of this, the reformation led to the Peasants' War that lasted for one year from 1524, where the peasants erroneously translated Luther’s attack on the hierarchy of Roman Catholic Church and its hierarchy to attacks on social hierarchies. Other effects of the Lutheran reformation include German language stabilization, establishment of the foundation for individual conscience rights, and shaping of the outlook and understanding of history and contemporary law and politics.
John Calvin (Calvinist Reformation)
John Calvin, another Protestantism reformist, began Calvinism as the second European reformation by introducing the doctrine of predestination and God’s omnipotence, which is characterized by the fact that it is God’s will that some people are destined to salvation, while others to damnation. In this accord, Calvin’s belief or theology asserts that salvation and the atonement for sin is for some individuals of the depraved human race, who are elected by God, and made to persevere by God’s grace. Calvin, a theologian from France, began Calvinism in Switzerland as a way of enforcing profound transformations within the protestant churches that were still inexperienced after separation from the Roman Catholic during the Lutheran reformation. Specifically, Calvin’s preaching that eventually won sufficient followers to transform the Calvin’s church into an official religion inserted Protestantism into secular affairs as well as into state control. The Calvinist reformation, which was also against the hierarchy, purgatory and the rituals of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, was strengthened in Switzerland and other regions of Western Europe by the fact that Calvin exercised power over Geneva, while being helped by councils composed of clergies. With such councils, and with the Bible serving as the supreme law governing morality, Calvin was able to influence legislation, republican reforms, and other state affairs. This, together with publication of Calvin’s theological edition “Institutes of the Christian Religion” became instrumental techniques in transforming doctrines previously upheld by Martin Luther into a coherent legal system that eventually strengthened the Calvinist reformation and Protestantism.
The impacts of the Calvinist reformation are pronounced, and among them is the development of the Presbyterian Church, which has its headquarters in Geneva; courtesy of John Calvin. Another impact of the Calvinist reformation is that it attracted large numbers of women to join reading groups and participate in religious services. This in turn was followed by augmented transubstantiation of large numbers of men and families, as well as the establishment of new religious aid-giving organizations, nursing homes, and schools. There was also the emergence of ecclesiastically governed politics, reduced numbers of conservative extremists, and clearer distinctions between doctrine and gospel. Other impacts of this reformation include a shift towards upholding the Bible as the God’s supreme law that should guide moral behaviors, and changed perspectives of defining life’s tragedies with respect to God’s will.
Catholic Reformation (Counter Reformation)
The Catholic Reformation is a reform undertaken by the Roman Catholic Church itself beginning in the sixteenth century and extending to some portion of the seventeenth century. The main cause of this reform is the zeal of the Roman Catholic to strongly reaffirm its doctrines and structures, thus countering Protestantism intellectually. Therefore, the Counter Reformation was undertaken to raise clergies’ ethical and instructive standards in a way that could zealously inspire the church from the endangering impulses emanating from the firmly established Protestantism. Owing to the fact that the papacy was the main agent that was threatened by the former protestant reformations, the papacy was the primary agency in undertaking the Counter Reformation. This was accomplished with assistance from the Council of Trent and the Jesuits, as well as from the Roman Index of Prohibited Books. The parties involved in the Counter Reformation embraced an attitude of bigotry towards sacrilege, a spirit of passion for faith, and an uncompromised dedication reformation work, while recognizing the widespread abuses that had taken root in the church. Another cause of the Counter Reformation is the great influence that was starting to be realized from publications of medieval mystics during the seventeenth century.
One of the counter impacts of the Counter Reformation is that it served as an ultimate confirmation that the Roman Catholic would never reconcile with any of the Protestant movements that had sprung during Lutheran and Calvinist reformation. Indeed, it was maintained by the papacy and the other involved agencies that there was no room in the Roman Catholic Church for the forces that sustained the desire to reconcile with the Protestants, as the main mission of the agencies was to reject concession thoughts and suppress heresy without compromise. Another impact of the Counter Reformation is that the conservativeness of the Roman Catholic as an institution was augmented, whereby negative reactions towards almost everything fashioned by Protestants became more manifest. The missionary work in Africa and other underdeveloped nations of the globe is also felt to be a consequence of the Counter Reformation. Professor Walther confirms this by mentioning that, the false teachings of the Roman Catholic have successfully infiltrated the world’s religious systems, and Protestant churches continue to propagate these teachings, besides accepting them. Other impacts of the Counter Reformation include increased religion-based torture and imprisonments, attempts to transform the Orthodoxy to Catholicism, and suffering of innocent people in Rome and other locations in Europe.
The English Reformation
The English Reformation emanated from the splitting of the Church of England from the papacy and Catholic Church authority in the sixteenth century. There are several causes of this reformation, and the main cause is the desire of King Henry VIII to get divorced from Catherine, who only had one daughter and was moving out of childbearing age. This politically instigated decision of seeking a male heir, who would propagate the dynasty, while protecting it from future papacy threats, is thought to have emanated from either wrong conviction or the king’s desperation. Professor Andrew classifies it as a fateful decision, and says that the king took control over church assets through monastery dissolution after the a...