The Protestant Reformation
1517
Martin
Luther:
The Rebel
One Opportunity.
Background – a loss of confidence
• The Catholic churchTHE church in
Western Europe
• Black Plague had
devastated Europe –
people thought God
was punishing them &
Church couldn’t stop
it
• Indulgences- pay
money in order to get
into heaven.
• The Church was
extremely wealthy
– Taxes
• Church officialsmany not very
concerned with
spiritual matters
• Pope Leo X was
trying to raise money
to build a big new
church in Rome
(selling indulgences)
Pope Leo and his crib
The Protester
• Martin Luther was a strange
person plagued by the idea
that he could never be good
enough for God to love
• Became a monk when he
was frightened by being
caught outside during a
thunder storm
• Was very worried about his
soul’s salvation – confessed
his sins for hours, fasted,
went without sleep, trying to
make up for sins
Luther’s cell as a monk
Cell
sweet
Cell
Luther’s Breakthrough
• Developed the idea of justification by faith
• Have faith in God-all that was needed to
get to heaven
• Luther wanted to share this information
with everyone
– Thought Pope would agree, but he didn’t
• The Pope just wanted $$ for his cathedral in Rome
The Conflict
• A Catholic agent was
in town, selling
indulgences (get out
of Purgatory free
cards), giving people
guilt-trips
• “As soon as the coin
in the coffer rings, the
soul from purgatory
springs” – John
Tetzel’s selling slogan
Signed by John Tetzel, with whom
Luther has his disagreement
The 95 Theses
• Luther began seeing
the church as corrupt,
especially in selling
indulgences
• Wrote 95 complaints
about indulgences
and the church’s
power
• Nailed them to the
castle church door in
Wittenberg, Germany
on October 31, 1517
causing a debate to
begin
Spread of Luther’s Ideas
• Printing press let Luther’s
ideas spread quickly –
Luther becomes even
more radical and gains
popular support
• Pope condemns Luther
• Luther burns the Pope’s
excommunication in the
public square
• German princes called
Luther to the town of
Worms, for a diet, or
meeting
• Told Luther to take back
what he’d said
• Luther refuses to take back
what he said and is forced
to go into hiding
• German princes use
Reformation as a rallying
cry to free Germany of
Papal interference
The Results
• People soon take up
Luther’s ideas,
sparking wars and
religious/political
problems all over
Europe
• The church in Europe
would never reunify –
it would remain split
between Catholics
and Protestants
Luther’s protector, Frederick the Wise
Protestant Reformation Task
• Create a comic strip (at least six slides)
depicting the stages of the Protestant
Reformation. Martin Luther is the main
character and should be included on every
slide.
• For each slide, write a short
explanation (at least two sentences
each).
• Last, go view the 95 Theses on
the door. Write one down and
explain what it means.