Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation marked the cropping of the protestant faith believers (Kreis, 2009). According to available historical information, the reformation idea started in the 14th century following the development of renaissance humanism and the philosophical notion of nominalism (Kreis, 209). It is claimed that people started doubting faith. This was further complicated by the breakdown of feudalism forms of governance and the many critics which termed the church as practicing ethnic discrimination.

However, it was not until during the 16th century that Protestant Reformation was successfully implemented (Harrison, 2000). This rebellion from the Roman Catholic was triggered by Martin Luther who accused the church of engaging in corrupt practices (Kreis, 209). This essay explains the development of the protestant reformation. The author in particular highlights the most important issues which raised the movement. There are various reasons behind the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The most cited reason is the question of corrupt dealings by the church (Kreis, 209).

By definition, the church is a representation of God in the world. This means that it is by nature expected to have a holistic form of structure and functionality. However, according to available information, the Catholic Church had failed to respect and uphold what it claimed to be the provisions of the Bible for acquiring salvation (Kreis, 209). During the time, getting clergy promotions was mainly through corruption. One of the most cited incidence is the promotion of Albert to become a bishop while he was below the required age.

As per the available information, he was required to bribe Pope Leo X with 12,000 ducats (Kreis, 209). Other cited forms of corruption perpetuated by the church included selling of clergy clothes to non-believers. This practice was seen as a violation of the holiness associated with such garments. Another form of corruption cited by Martin Luther was indulgence for the forgiveness of sins (Harrison, 2000). The church demanded an indulgence from church member as a way of having their sins forgiven.

The church claimed that indulgences were necessary for one to gain grace and freedom from the penance of sin rather than freedom from the sin itself. However, some priests like Tetzel of Germany sold indulgences with the notion that it could guarantee freedom from sin and any associated punishment. Still, he claimed that those in Purgatory can receive forgiven for their sins and their souls immediately fly to Heaven. According to Luther, this acts amounted to converting the church of God into a business rather than a congregation for guiding believers to Heaven (Kreis, 209).

This is because, as per the holy Bible, the power to forgive sins lies solely on the hands of the almighty God but not man. The question of translation of the Bible from Latin language to other languages was another cause for the Protestant Reformation (Kreis, 209). It is claimed that the catholic church of the time did not want any form of translation of the Bible to other languages. This deterred Christians from getting a chance to read, understand, and appreciate the truth of salvation as defined by the Bible.

Due to this reason, it was only the few, well educated members of the European community who knew the truth of the Christian faith. According to Martin Luther, this move by the church was to ensure that its followers are bound by the unbiblical church doctrine that existed in the church. Just to be appreciated is the fact that the word of God and His salvation are meant for all members of the society, a factor that was negated by the failure of the church to have the Bible translated (Kreis, 209). The problem of ethnic and social discrimination by the church is also to be cited as a cause for the reformation.

On this claim, the Catholic Church was blamed for it backing in the Joan of Arc and the 100 Years’ War (Kreis, 209). The main purpose of a church is to preach peace and equal rights for all. However, during the feudalism forms of governance in European when the church formed the noble members, ethnic discrimination was commonly eminent in the appointment of position holders to the government (Harrison, 2000). Still, being the largest owner of the land, the church imposed taxation fees on land users, a factor that compromised the food security of the minorities in the community.

Lastly, the Protestant Reformation was typically a direct result of the church to change it immoral practices to reflect the provisions of the Bible. True to the word, Martin Luther engaged the church in writing on the need to change the doctrine of the church and its operations (Kreis, 209). A good example of this is the letter he wrote to the Archbishop of Mainz in 1517 citing his objections to the sale of indulgences. Still, it is worth appreciating that despite his hard stand against the church, Luther did not resign from the church until he was excommunicated.

This has the implication that, the reformation was generally triggered by the failure of the roman catholic church to accept and appreciate the need for adopting a church doctrine and practices that did not contradict the provisions of the holy Bible. Reference Harrison, R. (2000). Protestant Reformation in the Baltic. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://depts. washington. edu/baltic/papers/reform. html Kreis, S. (2009). The Protestant Reformation. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from http://www. historyguide. org/earlymod/lecture3c. html

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