Christian History, Ritual and
Biblical Interpretation
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The Church pervaded all aspects
of life (cathedral was city square)
Society was changing –
tradespeople, early
industrialization, education was
expanding
The invention of the printing
press (1440) made books
(e.g.Bible) more affordable
The Catholic Church held an
amazing amount of power –
politically, economically, socially
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With power came examples of Church abuses of
power
Priests were found to be selling indulgences
Indulgence – the remission of punishment from
sins after being absolved (usually through prayer,
alms, pilgrimage)
The money from such sales was used to build
churches
Priests were not always well trained
Bible interpretation was only undertaken by
priests and monks – believers were discouraged
from reading the Bible on their own
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Martin Luther (a German monk) noticed the
sale of indulgences
He posted his 95 Theses at his local church
Conflict resulted with the Pope, who
commanded that Luther recant
When Luther refused, he was excommunicated
Luther began a German translation of the Bible
Saw religious freedom as essential
The term “Protestant” refers to Christians who
are neither Catholic nor Orthodox.
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Luther taught that people are saved by faith and the
grace of God alone (sola fide, sola gratia), not by
actions
He taught that the Bible has authority (sola
scriptura) – and any Christian can interpret it
themselves
He taught that all Christians have a responsibility to
preach and spread the Gospel (priesthood of all
believers)
Later the Catholic Church accepted a version of this
teaching as well
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An example of a Protestant reform of Christianity is
the focus away from ritual
The 7 sacraments are maintained by Orthodoxy and
Roman Catholicism as “visible signs of God’s grace”
Fewer sacraments are recognized by Protestant
denominations (varies by movement)
Early Protestant leaders saw the 7 sacraments as
only loosely based on scripture
e.g. eucharist (frequency, form, who can receive),
matrimony, baptism (infant/adult, full
immersion/sprinkling)
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Anglicanism –
England broke away from Rome because King
Henry VIII wanted a divorce that the Pope
would not grant
Henry declared himself head of the Church of
England, although changed the teachings
very little
Hundreds of years of conflict resulted – the
state religion was determined by the monarch
Many martyrs from these conflicts
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Calvinism (reform traditions)
Calvin’s teachings went even further from
Roman Catholicism
Teachings:
total depravity of humans (people depend
entirely on God’s goodness)
Predestination (God has chosen who his mercy
is given to)
Jesus’ sacrifice only saves those God has
chosen
Modern reform traditions include the Baptists,
Presbyterians.
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Anabaptists –
did not agree with Luther or Calvin
Baptized only adults, teach pacifism (complete
peace, opposition to war) – includes Mennonites
Evangelicals –
More modern movement,“born again”
Teaches that the Bible is without error
Pentecostals –
Often grouped with evangelical (same view of the
Bible)
Focus on experiencing the Holy Spirit and the 2nd
coming of Christ
Believe in signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence
(speaking in tongues, slaying in the spirit)
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Fundamentalists –
Absolute authority of the Bible
Reject Darwin’s theory of evolution in favour
of the Genesis account of creation
NOTE: Protestantism is difficult to define in
modern times because there are so many
denominations – many terms overlap
Today hundreds of denominations exist, partly
because of the original teachings of Luther