Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation Worksheet

Renaissance and Reformation Topic 5: Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation Answer each of the following questions with answers of 200-300 words each. Use the textbook, class materials, and lecture notes to prepare your responses and include APA style citations. Include an APA style reference page at the end of this worksheet. 1. What was the condition of the Church in Rome on the eve of Luther’s reformation? What specific issues with doctrine, secular governance, and authority explain your assessment? Leading up to the reformation, the church and the Holy Roman Empire practically ruled most of Europe and those who had high positions within the clergy lived better lives than most. A large issue we see is during Luther’s time leading up to the 95 theses being published is he was never satisfied with the work he had done and felt there was simply something wrong with the church he had been preaching under. It was filled with corrupt leaders who “encouraged sinning and furthermore they kept people from knowing God” (Estep, 1986). On his trip to visit Rome and see the holy sites, it became apparent that the once great city was falling to corruption and “in the light of reality Rome had lost its halo” (Estep, 1986). He mentioned that “I went with onions and left with garlic” signifying that he went with high hopes that the city would renew his faith but only left with more disgust than before (Estep, 1986). The main thing we see though with any leadership back in the day that corresponds with his belief, is that when unchecked, leaders would find any reason to push themselves and their reach farther than what has rightfully afforded them. The Popes and cardinals lived more like Kings than religious leaders and demanded to be treated as such. 2. Why did the Church view Luther’s 95 Theses and subsequent writing subversive? How was Luther’s teachings received in Germany? Explain why some may have embraced Luther’s reforms as political opportunity. When Martin Luther nailed his theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, he was able to preach and talk to the people within the city to discuss his grievances and even when the monk Tetzel came to sell indulgences, and people went and purchased his sermon, they were still coming to the realization of what Luther was talking about. The Church itself was hurt by his statements as he appeared “to be writing against the abuses of the indulgence traffic, yet his charges constituted an assault upon the very foundation of the system itself” (Estep, 1986). A direct attack on the church was not acceptable and the church sent word to the Pope for further action which didn’t come right away. He even “attacked the object of expenditures – the building of St. Peter’s – as an unnecessary task, a waste of money and robbery of the German People” (Estep, 1986). Luther was fighting for the people of Germany and seeing the use of building more churches as a waste unless the Pope wanted to build it out of his own pocket vs by taxing the people heavily to then further tax them more after its completion and tithings. 3. How were the German people influenced by Luther’s writings? Explain the impact of Luther’s teachings on both followers and those that opposed his break with the church. It is hard to not look to Martin Luther in such a good light as we see the same name centuries later comes back with admiration with Martin Luther King Jr. paving the way for other important feats to human history, but this is about the original. Probably the most significant thing he did with his writing is translate the bible from Latin into German as “it was inconceivable to him that a German church could prosper or long exist without a fresh translation of the Scriptures into the German language” (Estep, 1986). For anyone to be able to truly be able to understand fully and truthfully the works of God and his plan for humanity, they would need to fully understand what they were reading and not just hear it read by a priest who could potentially misunderstand or misrepresent something. More notably, “it is now recognized that through his work as a translator he created the modern German language” (Estep, 1986). To say the least, Luther had a considerable hand to play in the lives of all of Germany, while at the time it may not have seen that much, as we see today, he is very well loved and cared for.