A WATERSHED IN HISTORY (1500 - 1 6 00 c E )
lending of money for interest ). 2 The church glorified “apostolic poverty" There always was some tendency during the Middle Ages to see the collecting of wealth as unchristian.
Despite these limits, trade eventually emerged in Europe as did manufacturing industries. Along with trade and manufacturing came an increase in growing cash crops (crops that were sold for money). For instance, English lords started converting their manors from subsistence farms to large pastures for raising sheep The wool from these sheep was sold to Holland to make cloth. Trade was not limited to regions within Europe but extended to Africa, the Middle East, India, and China.
By the late Middle Ages, many sections of Europe were actively trading with distant lands. Much of this trade traveled overland in long, difficult caravans. Often these trade routes were disrupted by war. Passage along the routes was often controlled by Muslims and Christian powers, such as the Italian city- states. The immense profits possible from trade drove some countries such as Portugal and Spain to seek sea routes.
In the early fifteenth century, Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) founded a school for navigators on the southern Portuguese coast From this base, expeditions were sent farther and farther down the west coast of Africa The Portuguese collected great wealth from their African trade in gold, ivory, sugar, and slaves. In 1498, Vasco da Gama (d. 1524) rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and successfully sailed to India This route opened vast new possibilities for profit and exploitation. The Portuguese also moved into South America.
The Spanish soon became involved in the quest for trade, colonies, and empire, but they traveled in a different direction. They pinned their hopes on an Italian, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506). Most of the profitable routes to India and the East Indies were controlled by Portugal. Like most educated people of his day, Columbus believed the world was round Queen Isabella of Castile supported his plan to sail west to reach the East Indies. On October 12, 1492, he landed on an island in the West Indies (Caribbean) thinking he had reached his goal Later explorations proved he had not found the East Indies and he died a disappointed man
The Spanish quickly established a vast empire in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America not occupied by the Portuguese Indigenous peoples were killed or enslaved Incredible amounts of gold and silver flowed from these possessions into the Spanish treasury The English, French, and Dutch founded colonies in the northern United States and Canada In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan traveled around the southern tip of South America, resulting in the first voyage around the world by a sailing ship.
1 82
THE REFORMATION
The world was effectively divided among the European nations. Their colonies were viewed as realms to be exploited. Little thought was given to the rights or needs of the indigenous peoples. Their colonies were sources of wealth and power. These new colonies also became sources of competition and warfare for the Europeans over the next several centuries Everywhere the conquerors, traders, and colonists went, the church followed. The sixteenth century was a great period of missionary expansion, which we will examine later in this chapter. 3
The Reformation occurred in this climate of political and economic change. During the Reformation religion was frequently used to justify political ends. Henry VIII found a religious motive to justify his break with Rome and to extend the national aims of England. The German princes defended Protestants against the emperor to undermine his control. Protestant ideas gave peasants and others without power a new focus for their frustrations with the powerful. They even found grounds for revolt against established institutions in the teachings of the Protestants. Many historians claim that the Reformation had more to do with political, social, and economic unrest than with religious revival.
There can be little doubt that religious unhappiness played an important role in the conflicts that emerged in the sixteenth century, however. Most of Europe was torn between a deep loyalty to the church and a profound awareness of its many faults. The Avignon papacy and the Great Western Schism had produced a heightened mistrust of the pope as a spiritual leader. Absenteeism, pluralism, and simony were common. Often the wealthy would buy positions for their children as bishops, abbots, and abbesses, resulting in children as young as five being placed in high offices. Popes and bishops could not be expected to reform these practices because they profited from them.
Marriage of clergy was forbidden, but many openly married or engaged in concubinage and displayed their illegitimate children. The quality of spiritual life in many monasteries declined The local clergy had almost no educational requirements. Learning declined even in the monasteries. New methods of historical study caused many thoughtful people to realize that some documents on which the church based its authority and practices were corrupt. Many desired a return to the simple purity of early Christianity. Spiritual dissatisfaction combined with Renaissance and humanistic ideas along with cultural pressures to move Europe toward the sweeping changes in the sixteenth century. The Reformation that emerged followed four main branches: Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinism), Anglican, and Anabaptist (Radical). (See the table on page 183.)
A WATERSHED IN HISTORY (1500 - 1600 c.E.)
Denominations from the Reformation
|
BRANCH |
DENOMINATIONS |
EARLY LEADERS |
|
Lutheranism |
Lutheran |
Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon |
|
Reformed Tradition (Calvinism) |
Reformed church Presbyterian Puritan Congregationalist United Church of Christ |
Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin John Knox |
|
Baptist |
John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Henry Jacobs |
|
|
Anglican (Church of England) |
Anglican Episcopal |
Henry VIII, Elizabeth I |
|
Methodist |
John and Charles Wesley |
|
|
Anabaptist (Radical) |
Swiss Brethren Mennonite Amish |
Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz Menno Simons |
|
Hutterite |
Jacob Huter |
|
|
Quaker |
George Fox |
|
|
Moravian Brethren |
Count Zinzendorf |
No other person symbolizes the Reformation like the German theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546). His spiritual struggle was similar to that of many of his day. The frustration he expressed was felt throughout Europe. The concepts he taught came to express the ideas of a new era. His teachings became the focus for the political desires of rich and poor alike. Yet the Reformation came about because the age was ripe for change, not because Luther deliberately set out to create it.
Luther and Early Lutheranism
Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany. His father was a poor miner who had risen to own several foundries. As was common for the time, discipline in Luther's home was strict and severe. School was an unhappy experience for young Luther and he was whipped for not learning his schoolwork These early experiences marked Luther's character and may explain much of his later struggle to free himself from guilt and the judgment of God.
Luther's father wanted him to study law But at the age of twenty-two he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt following an incident where he was trapped in a thunderstorm He was overcome by fear of death and hell. He promised Saint Anne he would become a monk. At Erfurt Luther excelled in discipline and devotion because he was driven by overwhelming fear of God's judgment of his sinfulness. He practiced good works, engaged in severe penance, and faithfully confessed his sins. Still he could not free himself from his terrible fear. Even the acts that were intended to free him from guilt left him in despair He felt he could not even love God
To overcome these problems Luther's confessor recommended that he study the Bible Biblical studies also prepared him to teach at the new University of Wittenberg In 1512 he received a doctorate in theology, though he was still in conflict. In 1513 he began lecturing on Psalms. About this time he began a study of Romans, which led him to discover the Gospel in a tower room at the Augustinian house in Wittenberg. In studying Romans 117, he suddenly realized that the justice of God and the Gospel were inseparably linked God does not judge sinners, but forgives them. Salvation can not be earned, it is freely promised and given by God. This promise only has to be claimed by faith The righteousness (justice) of God is transferred to the sinner. Luther's understanding of God was transformed. God's actions toward humans that he had seen as Law (judgment) now were understood as Gospel (good news).
It was as if the gate of paradise had been opened for Luther. Instead of the angry God who judges sinners, here was a God seeking to free sinners from guilt through Christ. This righteousness of Christ must simply be accepted by faith alone (sola fides). All that people had to do was to claim the joy that God offered The Scriptures were the source of authority through which the Word of God (Logos) reached sinners. They were the sole source of authority (sola scriptura ) for the faith. "By faith alone" and "by Scripture alone" became the watchwords of the Reformation.
After his great discovery, Luther went quietly back to teaching. He did not cause a stir. The Reformation was instigated more by the business of religion than by theological discoveries Religion was big business in Wittenberg. The church at Wittenberg Castle housed eighteen thousand relics. The local ruler, Frederick of Saxony, charged admission to pilgrims who came to see them Luther preached against this practice An even more unprincipled plot was brewing concerning indulgences. Pope Leo X (1475- 1521) was one of the most corrupt popes of the age He was obsessed with earning money to complete the building of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo secretly agreed with the Bishop-Prince Albert of Brandenberg and bankers to sell indulgences around Wittenberg and to split the profits. He sent the Dominican Johann
A WATERSHED IN HISTORY (1500 - 1600 c e )
Tetzel (1465- 1519) to head a group of preachers who would stimulate the sale of indulgences. Tetzel made outlandish claims about the effectiveness of indulgences for the living and the dead. One catchy marketing slogan claimed "as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs "
Luther and many others were furious at this perversion of church teaching This anger led Luther to prepare his Ninety-five Theses, which covered issues related to the sale of indulgences. Martin argued that forgiveness came only through repentance The pope had no power to forgive sins. He could only confirm what God already had done. Even if the pope had the power to free souls from purgatory, he should do so out of love, not for money In short, the selling of indulgences undermined true religion and the papacy.
On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed these theses to the door of the castle church at Wittenberg 4 This was not unusual as the church door served as the town bulletin board where announcements and topics for debate were frequently placed Luther invited scholars and theologians to debate the ideas presented He did not anticipate the stir that his action caused. The Ninety- five Theses struck at the heart of much of the religious frustration of the day They cried out against the exploitation church officials placed on the people. They also became the focus for rising German nationalism because they pointed to interference in German life by outside forces, in this case the pope Printers soon used the power of the new printing press to circulate copies in Latin and German throughout Europe. Emotions on both sides of the issues were so inflamed that October 31, 1517 is usually regarded as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
The Dominicans opposed Luther while the Augustinians supported him. The universities of Wittenberg and Paris also supported him, but other faculties were among the opposition. Various political leaders took sides In all of this controversy Luther did not see himself as breaking with the church. When Luther's enemies appealed to the pope to silence the dissenting monk, he welcomed the move. He was convinced that the pope did not know of the activities of Tetzel. Luther believed when the pope realized the abuses that were taking place, he would end them.
A series of events caused Luther to recognize the true character of the papacy and the radical nature of his own position One important event was the Leipzig Disputation, held in June and July of 1519. Johann Eck (1486- 1543), a professor at Ingolstadt, broke a temporary truce between Luther and his opponents by attacking a supporter of Luther, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt (ca 1480-1541). Luther took up the challenge and met Eck for a debate at Leipzig Eck maneuvered Luther into both defending the teachings of Hus and questioning the council that condemned Lius With this, Eck proved that Luther was a supporter of Hus and, thus, a heretic