The Protestant Reformation in the History of Global Christianity

Introduction

Christianity has different branches, the main ones being Protestantism and Catholicism. The tenets of the roman catholic church guide the doctrines, beliefs, and practices of Catholics. On the other hand, the results and principles of the Protestant Reformation govern the religious philosophies, creeds, and perception of Protestantism. Therefore, to understand the origin and precepts of modern-day Christians, examining the events that lead to Protestant reformations is essential.

These events include splitting the church into Catholicism and Protestantism in European society. Similarly, assessing the outcomes of Protestantism reforms is vital in deciphering the origin and principles of current protestant churches and the division of the Christianism religion. For these reasons, the research will examine the people involved, major events, as well as main theological theories and principles of Martin Luther’s Protestantism reforms that significantly impacted the Christianism culture.

The People Involved

Martin Luther was among the people that supported and promoted the Martin Luther reformation. In this sense, Luther contributed to the growth of the protestant movement by resisting the roman catholic doctrines¹. In addition, Luther’s actions that enhanced the success of this reform included continuous protestation against the doctrines of the Jewish religion that had similarities with Catholicism².

In this case, Long describes Luther’s resistance towards Catholicism and the Jewish religion as “Luther’s defiance,” which dominates his theological ideas³. Generally, Martin Luther protested against any form of religious practice that was against the biblical doctrines that the catholic society supported. According to Harvey, Luther’s protested against the Roman Catholic Church because of corruption and other forms of impunity that dominated the religious lives and practices of the members⁴. As a result, Martin Luther, among other key reformers, concluded that Roman Catholicism needed urgent reforms to enhance compliance with bible teaching and requirements.

Major Events and Situations

The 95 Theses

Luther’s presentation of his 95 theses on the castle church in Wittenberg marked the beginning of the reform process. This major event in Luther’s protestant reform occurred in the 16^th century, primary in 1517, when the reformist was a German university professor⁵. As a result, this made the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V approached and confronted Luther for rebelling against the catholic church⁶. This led to the formation of alliances among the Christians that supported Luther’s ideas of reforming the church. For example, Mark indicates that the situation made Philip I, Landgrave and John Frederick I, Elector, join Luther as protestants against the impunity and corruption in the catholic church⁷.

In this case, the joining of the Duke of Hesse and Prince of Saxony made the protestants alliance stronger and functional because the prince and the Duke were popular and powerful during the roman empire era in Europe. As a result, the number of people that were willing to join the reform initiative against the catholic church increased.

Roman Catholic Response to Luther’s 95 Theses

After the presentation of the 95 Theses by Luther, the Roman Catholic leadership prepared a debate to respond to Martin Luther’s arguments. The event occurred at the Leipzig Fronts Harden in 1519⁸. During the debate, the Roman catholic acquired the best church leaders from Rome to represent them at Leipzig, including Johannes Eck, a theologian. The selection of high-profile clergy and other religious leaders from the Roman Empire helped the catholic church develop scholarly arguments against Luther’s theses, which contained key theological claims against Catholicism⁹. Besides, the roman catholic church also presented religious, ethical, and non-scholarly opinions against Luthers’ theses¹⁰. In this debate, Luther maintained his position of opposing the dishonesty and sleaze that existed in the catholic church¹¹. Luther argued strongly against Johannes Eck, making him propose his ex-communication for disobeying Papal supremacy.

The Formation of the Schmalkaldic League

The development of the Protestant and reformist alliance paved the way for the Schmalkaldic League’s creation. Mark shows that after the entry of Frederick and Landgrave, other church leaders joined the protestants community¹². Moreover, other political and societal leaders in the roman Empire also joined the alliance of the protestants. These heads included the Dukes and Princes in the European regions that were against the operations and deceptions that occurred in the Roman Catholic Church¹³. In this event, the entry of the powerful church, political, and protestant leaders made the Schmalkaldic team that supported Luther’s reforms strongly in the middle of the 16^th century¹⁴. The group had the necessary intellectual resources, manpower, and equipment to rebel against Catholicism, starting from Schmalkaldic to the entire Europe region.

The Spread of Luther’s Protestantism in Europe

Luther’s protest against Roman Catholicism started to spread in Europe after the major debate in Leipzig against the clergy from Rome. For instance, because of the Schmalkaldic League, Martin Luther’s Protestantism increased its dominance over roman catholic territories such as those led by Charles V.¹⁵. The Schmalkaldic fought and conquered European territories that were under the leadership of the Pope and Roman Empire. These include regions such as Vienna and Wittenberg, which the Pope and Roman emperors led during Luther’s protesting period¹⁶. Harvey adds that in conquering and spreading Protestantism in Europe, mercantilists, nationalists, and anticlericalists played vital roles. These groups of protestants resisted Roman Catholic control of Europeans’ church and social, political, and economic affairs¹⁷. In the end, the protestants reforms started to spread across western Europe and Germany aggressively.

The Rejection of Papal Rule

After the spread of Luther’s Protestation in Europe, the Christian protestants rebelled against the leadership of the Pope in Roman empire territories. According to Harvey, the rebellion against the Pope and Papal rule made the protestants oppose the Catholic church’s doctrines, teachings, and practices¹⁸. In these resistance movements, Luther insisted on the importance of following the Bible’s teachings instead of religious laws developed by corrupted leaders of the catholic church¹⁹. This resistance led to more rebellion against the roman Empire from other religions and social, economic, and political groups. For instance, the rejection of Papal law by Luther reformists made the King of England start opposing the Roman Empire and Catholicism. The change also supported the spread of Luther’s Protestantism in England and neighboring territories²⁰. In these events, Luther defended the importance of faith in God, the Bible, and God’s Grace as key salvation tools.

The Main Theological Points, Theories, Doctrines, and Practices

Faith in Jesus Christ and God

Martin Luther preached the importance of faith in God’s supremacy during salvation. The teaching harmonizes with Luther’s “faith alone” and “justification by faith” philosophies²¹. In these theories, Luther and his Protestant team argue that true Christians should believe in the supremacy of God. The theory also recommends that Christians use faith during repentance and praying to God. Concerning Banman’s stud, the “faith alone” principle of Luther’s Protestantism requires Christians to rely on faith while engaging in religious practices²². Faith enhances Christians’ trust in God, His teachings, and the ability to follow bible teachings.

Grace of God

Luther also stressed the role of God’s Grace in Christianism and Christians’ lives. The theologies of Luther’s reforms encouraged Christians to value God’s Grace as part of the fruits of the holy spirit. According to Banman, the dependency on Grace is a key factor that describes Christians’ identities and the beliefs of Christianists²³. In this case, the reformists, including Martin Luther, believed that because of Grace, God answers the Christians’ prayers. Similarly, the principle implies that through Grace, God forgives Christians’ sins and wrong deeds. Therefore, within church settings or religious events, Christians should seek and believe in the Grace that accompanies their faith in God.

The Bible

Luther’s reformism also emphasized the importance of Christians following bible doctrines. In the discussion about Luther’s Protestantism, Schwanda indicates that reading the Bible made Martin Luther understand Mysticism²⁴. In this case, Luther and his followers could understand the Bible’s teachings, differentiating them from Mystical theories about the church and God that the Catholics believed in. The consequence of this principle led to the interpretation of the Bible into diverse vernaculars²⁵. According to Schwanda, Luther supported the translation and writing of the Bible into different languages that Christians could understand²⁶. This would reduce the risks of Christians misinterpreting the Bible’s teachings and message because of language barriers.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Martin Luther was the main reformist in his Protestantism. The major events that describe Luther’s Protestantism include the 95 Theses, the Roman Catholic Response to Luther’s 95 Theses, The Formation of the Schmalkaldic League, The Spread of Luther’s Protestantism in Europe, and The Rejection of Papal Rule. On the other hand, the primary theological points of Luther’s reforms include faith, grace, and bible alone principles of Christianism. For these reasons, one can conclude that the events and theological perspectives of Luther protestation of Catholicism significantly impacted classical and modern Christianity.

Bibliography

Banman, Joel. “A Short Life of Martin Luther, Thomas Kaufmann, Eerdmans. (2016).” Reviews in Religion & Theology. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017: 521-524. Web.

Harvey, Roby. Protestant Reformation. Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University, n.d. Web.

Long, Roy. “Martin Luther and His Legacy: A Perspective on 500 Years of Reformation.” Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, Inc., 2017.

Mark, Nickens. A Survey of the history of global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic., 2020.

Morris, David. Martin Luther as priest, heretic, and outlaw: The reformation at 500. Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C: The Library of Congress (LOC), 2019. Web.

Schwanda, Tom. “The Long History of Mysticism: A Review of Bernard Mcginn’s Mysticism in the Reformation 1500–1650 Part 1, Volume VI of the Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. La Mirada, California: Biola University, 2017: 363-368. Web.

Footnotes

1. Long, Roy. “Martin Luther and His Legacy: A Perspective on 500 Years of Reformation.” Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, Inc., 2017., p.83.
2. Long, Roy., p.83.
3. Long, Roy., p.83.
4. Harvey, Roby. Protestant reformation. Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University, n.d.
5. Harvey, Roby.
6. Mark, Nickens. A Survey of the history of global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic. 2020.
7. Mark, Nickens.
8. Morris, David. Martin Luther as priest, heretic, and outlaw: The reformation at 500. Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C: The Library of Congress (LOC), 2019.
9. Morris, David.
10. Morris, David.
11. Morris, David.
12. Mark, Nickens. A Survey of the history of global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic. 2020.
13. Mark, Nickens.
14. Mark, Nickens. A Survey of the history of global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2020.
15. Mark, Nickens.
16. Mark, Nickens.
17. Harvey, Roby. Protestant reformation. Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University, n.d.
18. Harvey, Roby.
19. Harvey, Roby. Protestant reformation. Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University. n.d.
20. Harvey, Roby.
21. Mark, Nickens. A Survey of the history of global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2020.
22. Banman, Joel. “A Short Life of Martin Luther, Thomas Kaufmann, Eerdmans, (2016).” Reviews in Religion & Theology. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017: p. 522.
23. Banman, Joel. “A Short Life of Martin Luther, Thomas Kaufmann, Eerdmans, (2016).” Reviews in Religion & Theology. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017: p. 522.
24. Schwanda, Tom. “The Long History of Mysticism: A Review of Bernard Mcginn’s Mysticism in the Reformation 1500–1650 Part 1, Volume VI of the Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care La Mirada, California: Biola University, 2017: p.365.
25. Schwanda, Tom., p. 364.
26. Schwanda, Tom., p. 364.