The Protestant
Reformation in Germany
Freedom v. Authority
The Cast of Characters
Martin Luther, an obscure
German monk. Changed the
medieval world and threatened
the Catholic Church like no
other.
Leo X, one of the most
extravagant Popes in history.
Made the mistake of not seeing
Luther as a threat to the power
of the Catholic Church.
Charles V, the Holy Roman
Emperor from 1500-1558.
Opposed Luther and tried to
outlaw him and his followers as
heretics.
Hans and Margarette Luther,
pious and hardworking Germans
whose son changed the world
forever.
Frederick the Wise, Elector of
Saxony from 1486-1525.
Supported Luther and his
teachings. Protected him in his
early years so the Reformation
had a chance to flourish.
Katharine von Bora, Luther’s
wife. Luther found peace when
he married this ex-nun whom he
had helped to escape from a
nunnery.
Martin Luther: Driven to Defiance

“I would never have
thought that such a
storm would rise from
Rome over one simple
scrap of paper...“
-- Martin Luther
Martin Luther, an obscure
Augustinian monk

Few if any men have changed the course of history
like Martin Luther.
 In less than ten years, this
dedicated German monk:


Upset a Church that had
ruled for a thousand years
Set in motion a sequence
of revolution, war, and
conflict that would reshape
Western civilization and
bring it into the Modern
Era.

Luther’s story is an account of:
 The
birth of the modern age
 The collapse of medieval feudalism
 The beginning of the ideals of freedom and liberty
that are at the core of the 21st century.
Martin Luther detail from the
Freedom Window War Memorial
Chapel Washington Cathedral.
(Noted are Moses, Abraham
Lincoln, Martin Luther, Paul
Revere and George Washington.)

But it is also an intensely human tale:
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It is the story of a man who begins his journey in the
depths of despair, triumphs, but turns to despair again when
he is faced with forces he cannot comprehend or control.
As his followers sought to build a new and just Europe
around him, he could only turn on them in frustration,
declaring that their only goal should be Heaven.
Martin Luther stands as a hero,
the man who built the bridge
between the Medieval and the
Modern. His tragedy was that
he would never find the
courage to cross it himself.

Martin Luther was born into a world dominated by the
Catholic Church, which held spiritual authority
over all the nations of Europe.
 For the intensely spiritual Luther,
the Church's promise of salvation
was irresistible. (According to
legend, he was caught in a thunderstorm, terrified by the possibility
of imminent death, and vowed to
become a monk.)
"God has given us the Papacy.
 But after entering the monastery,
Let us enjoy it!" – Pope Leo X
Luther became increasingly doubtful
that the Church could actually offer him salvation at all. His
views were upheld by a trip to Rome, where he found that
the capital of Catholicism was laden with corruption.

Wracked by despair, Luther finally finds release in the pages
of the Bible, when he discovers that it is not the Church, but
his own individual faith that will guarantee his salvation:
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Rom 3:28: "We maintain therefore that
a man is justified by faith apart from the
works of the law."
Rom 5:1-2: "Being therefore justified by
faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom
we also have our access by faith into
this grace in which we stand….”
Gal 2:15-16: “We, being Jews by nature, and not Gentile sinners, yet
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through
faith in Jesus Christ, even we had to become believers in Christ Jesus,
that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the
law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.”
Gal 3:11-12: “Now that no man is justified by the law before God is
evident for ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ The law is not of faith but
‘The man who does them will live by them.’”
The Problem of Authority
Luther’s discovery uncovered the problem of authority. Is the Bible the sole basis for
religious authority (as Luther claimed) or are the Bible and Church tradition the basis for
authority (as the Roman Catholic Church claimed)? Here’s how one Protestant
denomination today characterizes Luther’s contribution to Reformation theology:
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With this revelation, he turns on the
Church, attacking its practice of
selling Indulgences in the famous
95 Theses.
The key points of Luther's theses
were simple, but devastating:


A criticism of the Pope's purpose in raising
the money: "he is richer than Croesus, he
would do better to sell St Peters and give
the money to the poor people....“
A straightforward concern for his flock:
"indulgences are most pernicious because
they induce complacency and thereby
imperil salvation."

Luther was not only a revolutionary thinker, he would also
benefit from a revolutionary technology: the newly invented
machinery of printing.

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A single pamphlet would be carried from one town to another, where it
would be duplicated in a further print run of thousands.
Within three months, all Europe was awash with copies of Luther's 95
Theses.
Martin Luther had inadvertently
chosen unavoidable conflict with
the most powerful institution of
the day: the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary

"Here I stand, I can do no other, God help
me, Amen..." -- Martin Luther
Pope Leo X, Luther’s Adversary

The Catholic Church brought
all its considerable power to
bear to try and muzzle Luther,
including accusations of heresy
and excommunication.
 But protected by his local ruler,
Frederick the Wise, Luther
continued:


To write ever more radical
critiques of the Church
To develop a whole new system
of faith – one that puts the
freedom of the individual
believer above the rituals of
the Church.
ISSUE
MEDIEVAL
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
MARTIN LUTHER
Salvation
Faith plus good works required for salvation
Faith alone the basis for salvation
Religious authority
Religious authority rests with the Church
Bible is the basis for religious authority
Man’s relationship to God
Church served as intermediary between God
and man
Priesthood of all believers (no intermediary
required)
Sacraments
Baptism, penance, Holy Eucharist,
Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders.
Extreme Unction
Baptism, Holy Eucharist
Sacraments, dispensed by the Church, are
essential for salvation
Communion
Transubstantiation: Process whereby the
bread and wine is transformed into the body
and blood of Christ
Consubstantiation: Process whereby the
bread and wine and the body and blood of
Christ are both present
Calling
Limited to religious vocations
Broader concept of calling made secular life
respectable
Church government
Hierarchical (Pope, cardinals, archbishops,
priests, laymen)
Challenged papal authority
Civil government
Church has authority in religious matters;
state has authority in temporal matters. If
there is a conflict, Church authority takes
precedence.
Denied the right of rebellion (e.g., the
Peasants Revolt)
DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS
PROTESTANTS
CATHOLICS (COUNCIL OF TRENT)
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH: Christ's sacrifice atones for all sins,
and it is only necessary to believe in it to be saved. There is nothing
humans can do by their own efforts to add or detract from it.
Both FAITH AND GOOD WORKS (acts of devotion, charity, the
sacraments, etc.) are necessary for salvation.
The PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS: All believers have equal
access to God and no other earthly intermediaries are needed. This does
not mean that the flock does not need teachers, but there are no special
sacramental functions belonging to any particular class.
The CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD is necessary as only priests can
perform the sacraments necessary for spiritual health and correctly
interpret the meaning of scripture.
The SCRIPTURES AS THE ONLY SOURCE OF TRUE
DOCTRINE: Studying and understanding the scriptures is therefore
important to all believers. Translating the Bible into the vernacular
tongues and making it available to all is essential.
SCRIPTURE IS ONLY ONE WAY IN WHICH DOCTRINE IS
REVEALED. The decisions of church councils, encyclicals from the
Pope, tradition, etc., are all part of it. Only the priesthood of the church
can correctly interpret the meaning of scripture. Do not try this at home.
The LORD'S SUPPER IS SYMBOLIC and the body and blood of
Christ are not physically present. To believe otherwise is to commit
idolatry.
The EUCHARIST IS A MYSTERY in which the sacrifice of Christ is
reenacted; the bread and wine become spiritually transformed into the
true body and blood of the Lord.
NO HEAVENLY INTERMEDIARIES ARE NEEDED to intercede
with God. Although the Virgin Mary, saints, and angels are all in
heaven, they should not be the objects of prayer or veneration. The
making of images encourages idolatrous worship that should be directed
at the more abstract concept of God.
Although the saints and angels should not be worshipped, their
INTERCESSION IS VALUABLE AND NECESSARY to helping the
Christian to achieve salvation. The Virgin Mary is especially honored by
God, and should be also by believers. Religious images should not be
worshipped, but they help to inspire devotion. (These fine points were
often lost on the average peasant.)
God's foreknowledge and omnipotence mean that EVERYONE IS
PREDESTINED TO THEIR FATE: either to be or not to be one of
the elect. Human action avails nothing.
GOD'S OMNIPOTENCE DOES NOT RESTRICT HUMAN WILL,
and each individual is still responsible for earning their own salvation.
The Bible only documents TWO SACRAMENTS: BAPTISM AND
THE LORD'S SUPPER (so called to distinguish the Protestant practice
from the Catholic Eucharist)
There are SEVEN SACRAMENTS: Baptism, Holy Eucharist (see
above), Penance (confession/ absolution), Confirmation, Marriage, Holy
Orders, Extreme Unction (last rites). Of these, Baptism can be performed
by anyone in an emergency and marriage (a historical newcomer to the
list) is technically bestowed by the two partners on one another. All the
rest can only be performed by a priest or bishop
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His ideas spread like wildfire,
aided by the newly invented
printing press.
Finally he was called before the
German imperial parliament in
the city of Worms and told he
must recant.
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Convinced he would not survive
the trip to Worms but with
absolute faith he declared: "I am
not afraid for God's Will will be
done and I rejoice to suffer in so
noble a cause.“
Risking torture and execution,
Luther refused to recant and
proclaimed his right to believe
what he wished.

His stand became a legend
that inspired a continent to
revolution, overturning the
thousand-year old
domination of the Church.
 But as the reformation
expanded into a movement
for social freedom, Luther
found himself overwhelmed
by the pace of change. His
theological reformation had
become a social revolution.

The reform movement spread rapidly away
from Germany:
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To Switzerland and Holland where Calvin and
Knox founded societies based on Luther's
principles
To England, where it would take a bloody civil
war before Cromwell could establish his
Protestant democratic state
To the newly discovered lands of America,
where the Puritans would found John
Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” on Luther's
foundations of religious freedom.

But Luther never left his province in
Germany again.
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Instead he married an ex-nun named Katharine
von Bora, whom he had helped to escape from
her nunnery, and they had a large family
together.
Luther was able to devote himself to the
simpler pleasures of life: gardening, music, and
writing.
Luther finally died in the year 1543.
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Seized by a crippling heart attack, he held onto
his righteousness and rage until the very end.
"When I die,” he said, “I want to be a ghost...So
I can continue to pester the bishops, priests and
godless monks until that they have more trouble
with a dead Luther than they could have had
before with a thousand living ones."
Charles V: Powerful Adversary

Charles V decided that extinguishing Luther
would leave the Pope without a rival.
Charles V, Luther’s most
powerful adversary

At the age of 19, Charles V was the richest and most
powerful person of his time, but all the power in the
world did not stop Martin Luther from challenging his
Catholic empire.
 Born in 1500, Charles inherited a vast empire from his
parents:
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When his father Philip I died in 1516 Charles inherited control
over The Netherlands,
Luxembourg,
Artois and
Franche-Comté,
and the Free County of Burgundy.
In 1516 his maternal grandfather Ferdinand II died and he
inherited Aragon, Navarre, Granada, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia,
Spanish America, and joint kingship with his mother (who was
insane) over Castile.
Then in 1519 when his grandfather Maximilian I died, Charles
inherited the Hapsburg lands in Austria and was elected Holy
Roman emperor.
EUROPE
IN 1519
Boundary of the
Holy Roman Empire
House of Hapsburg
Brandenburg
Church lands
Bourbon lands

Charles V settled in Germany and sought to become
the leader of a universal empire. Through his reign
he would face ongoing battles with France, resist the
advance of the Ottoman Turks, and fail to check the
Reformation (because of political expediency and
inattention).
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Like many others, Charles underestimated the dissatisfaction of his
Catholic subjects and the influence
a humble German monk would
have through his defiant pen.
Despite being a devout Catholic
Charles V was acutely conscious
of Papal power and it was in his
interest for the Vatican to be put in its place.

At the Diet of Worms Charles absolutely
opposed Luther but had other things on his
mind thus saving Luther from execution as a
heretic.
 Charles
was soon preoccupied
by battles with France and the
Ottoman Turks and did not
check the spread of Protestantism sweeping his Empire.
 He spent the rest of his life waging war in France,
Germany and Spain. It was only after his death in
1558 that a peace treaty was signed with France.

Charles V, the most powerful man of his time:
 Failed
to achieve his dream of a universal empire,
thwarted by the political realities of Western
Europe.
 Failed to stop the Reformation and although he
bitterly opposed the views of Martin Luther he
never acted against him.

However, he is
remembered today
for his integrity,
strength of will,
and sense of duty.
Frederick the Wise: Strong Advocate

"Time, perhaps, will show if I have been a
good diviner." -- Frederick the Wise, 1517
Frederick the Wise, Luther’s
strong advocate and benefactor

Frederick the Wise is remembered
as the man who saved Martin
Luther from the fury of the
Catholic Church.
 Frederick was born in Hartenfels
Castle, Torgau in 1463, the first
son of the Elector Ernst of the
House of Wettin.

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In 1486 he succeeded his father,
together with his younger brother
John, as sovereign of Ernestine
Saxony.
He was a man of peaceful
conciliation and kept his territory out
of all warfare during his reign.

In 1502, Frederick founded the University of Wittenberg
where Martin Luther taught.
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During Luther's lifetime Wittenberg
was the home and intellectual centre
of the reformation movement.
Frederick was a reliable protector of
the movement, although only active
in the background.
At a crucial period for the early Reformation, Frederick
protected Luther from the Pope and the emperor, and took
him into custody at Wartburg castle after the Diet of Worms
(1521).
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This put Luther under the imperial ban.
Frederick’s collection of diplomatic
stalling tactics prevented his capture.
Frederick saw Luther as unjustly
persecuted because he could not be
found guilty of any real crime.
Wartburg Castle

Frederick, however, had little
personal contact with Luther and
remained a Catholic, although he
gradually inclined toward the
doctrines of the Reformation.

Erasmus von Rotterdam, a
northern Renaissance humanist,
remained a Catholic and wanted to
reform the church from within.

He formed his own opinion after
listening to his advisers and the
opinion of a recognized expert,
Renaissance humanist Erasmus
von Rotterdam.
He died at his hunting lodge in
Lochau in 1525.
Pope Leo X: Patron of the Arts

"The Church needs a reformation. And this
cannot be the work of a single man, as the pope –
but it must be that of the whole world." – Martin Luther
Pope Leo X, Luther’s adversary

Pope Leo X was born Giovanni de Medici in
1475 and raised in Italy's most culturally
sophisticated city, Florence, as part of the
prestigious de Medici family:
 Renowned
patrons of the arts
 Benefactors of scholarship
 Masters of political intrigue

He became one of the
most extravagant of all
Popes.
 He
was more a patron of
the arts, as his parents
were, than a significant
ecclesiastical figure.
 He was a skilful
administrator and
became Pope at the age
of 37 in 1513.
Raphael’s portrait of Leo X in the
company of two cardinals (1518)

Immediately Leo demonstrated his appreciation
of art by initiating a massive building project to
beautify the Vatican.
 The pomp and extravagance of his court was an
indirect cause of the Reformation.
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To acquire the enormous sums of money for
renovation, he encouraged the sale of
"Indulgences."
These promised to remove
the temporal punishment
due to sin after it was
forgiven.

In Germany this practice aroused the
anger of Martin Luther, who issued
ninety-five arguments for church
reform. Luther wrote in his 95 Theses,
his criticism of the Church – “why
doesn't the Pope build the basilica of
St Peter's out of his own money?”

German nobles saw an opportunity to cut
off currency flowing to Rome that was
very much needed at home, so they
backed Luther's cause.
 In 1520, Leo issued the papal bull
Exsurge Domine demanding Luther
retract 41 of his 95 theses, and after
Luther's refusal, excommunicated him.
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Some historians believe that Leo never
really took Luther's movement or his
followers seriously, even until the time of
his death in 1521. They also contend that
if he had been more interested in religion
than artwork, the Reformation may never
have happened.
Pope Leo X was also the Patron of the
artist Raphael and granted King Henry
VIII of England the title 'Defender of the
Faith'.
He was the last pope to look at the
papacy as a temporal monarchy.
Luther’s Parents: Hardworking & Pious

"When God wants to speak with us, he does not
avail himself of an angel but of parents."
-- Martin Luther
Hans and Margarette Luther,
hardworking and pious Germans

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Martin Luther was named after St.
Martin by his parents Hans and
Margarette Luther, a pair of
hardworking and pious Germans who
were determined their son would
succeed in life.
Hans Luther was a farmer's son but
turned his back on the land and
became a copper miner.
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In 1484, following the arrival of baby
Martin the Luthers moved from Eisleben
to Mansfeld to improve Hans' job
prospects.
Hans became a successful copper smelter
and by 1491 the Luthers were one of the
most respected families in Mansfeld.

Martin's mother, Margarette came from a small but very welloff family.
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Despite her soft upbringing, she did her share of the family's workload
but with three children to look after she was a harsh disciplinarian.
Luther recalled once that “for the
sake of stealing a nut, my mother
once beat me until the blood flowed.”
Hans also ruled his son with an
iron fist.

Martin later recalled: "my father once
whipped me so hard I ran away –
I hated him until he finally managed
to win me back."

Hans had high hopes for his first
son and had his heart set on
Martin becoming a lawyer which
would enable the Luthers to
climb even higher up the social
ladder.
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Young Martin followed his father's
wishes without protest.
He was sent to the best schools in
the area and then to the University
of Erfurt.
In 1505 Hans was devastated to
learn that his son, without
consulting him, had decided to
embrace religion and had sought
admission to the house of the
Augustinian Hermits in Erfurt.
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Both parents lived to see their
son married in 1525 and the birth
of several grandchildren before
Hans died in 1530 and
Margarette in 1531.
The Luthers, who were
disappointed that their son had
not become a middle-class
lawyer, both witnessed his
transformation into one of the
most famous and infamous
figures of the medieval world.
Katharine von Bora: Wife & Companion

"There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming
relationship, communion, or company than a good
marriage." – Martin Luther
Katharine von Bora, Luther’s wife
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Martin Luther found peace when he
married an ex-nun named Katharine von
Bora, whom he had helped to escape from
her nunnery in an empty fish barrel and
had taken refuge in Wittenberg.
Katharine von Bora was born in 1499, the
daughter of an impoverished nobleman.
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In 1504 she went to the convent school of the
Benedictine order in Brehna (near Halle) and
entered the convent of Nimbschen, near
Grimma in 1508.
In 1515 she took her vows and became a nun.
In 1523 she left the convent and ended up in
Wittenberg.
By June 1525, echoing a trend across
Europe as former nuns and monks
married, she became Mrs. Martin Luther.

Katharine was 16 years younger than Martin and
together they had six children.
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Katharine took over the household, particularly the
household expenses.
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Luther doted on his large family.
He was able to devote himself to the simpler pleasures of
life: music, gardening, and writing.
It is said that Dr. Luther did not have
a clue about how to run a household.
Katharine also proved herself to be a
good housewife and gardener.
Luther's household included:
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His wife and six children
One of Katharine's relatives
Six of Luther's sister's children (after 1529).
Students to help the family's financial situation.
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For recreation the Luthers enjoyed a bowling lane of sorts
in their garden, board games such as chess, and music.
They even had a pet dog.
They grew much of their own food in a small garden at the
Black Cloister and then later at a farm outside Wittenberg.
Luther and Katherine were
diligent parents.
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They disciplined their children,
but did so with love.
Their home was noted for its
liveliness and its happiness.
Katherine outlived her husband
by six years.

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She died on December 20, 1552,
in Torgau.
She had fled there to get away from the plague in Wittenberg.
Ten Things You Didn't
Know About Martin Luther
1. Alcohol cures all evils
Luther thoroughly approved
even advocated drinking
heavily. When a young man
wrote to him complaining of
despair at the prospect of
going to hell, Luther wrote
back advising him to go and
get drunk. That, he said, was
what he did when he felt
despair.
Luther’s tankard: “Bad and sad
thoughts must be followed by a
good and happy little song and a
friendly conversation.” -- Martin Luther
2. Let’s talk about sex
Luther also thoroughly
approved of sex; he said that
a woman had the right to take
on a lover, if her husband
wasn't able to satisfy her in
bed – and the husband should
look on this with composure.
3. Sing me a song
Luther was very keen on
music. An accomplished
lute player, he composed
countless hymns and he
is regarded as one of the
most important German
composers prior to Bach.
4. Wittenberg was an artists' colony
Wittenberg, where Luther lived
for much of his life, was a tiny
town in Germany at that time.
And yet Luther found himself
living only a few doors away
from two of the greatest
German painters of the day,
Lucius Cranach and his son.
The Cranachs are responsible
for the series of striking
portraits of Luther
that still survive.
5. The Fish Barrel incident
Luther's wife was an exnun who had managed to
escape from her convent
by hiding in a barrel that
had once contained pickled
fish.
6. The dawn of a new faith
With his translation of the
Bible into German Martin
Luther attained permanent
fame as far as a
unification of the German
language was concerned.
Today some 70 million
believers on all five
continents are members of
the Lutheran Church.
7. The animal activist
Luther was bitterly opposed
to hunting. When he was
disguised as a knight in the
castle at Wartburg, he
refused to take part in the
customary pursuit of rabbit
hunting. One ran up his leg
to escape the dogs, but they
still bit through the cloth and
killed it.
8. Surrounded by relics
Although Luther objected to the
holy relics he discovered in
Rome, there were at least as
many on his own doorstep. The
Castle Church of Wittenberg
contained a collection of over
1500 relics including bones of
saints and bits of the true cross.
Every All Saints day, these would
be spread on the grass in front of
the church for the local populace
to come and gaze at.
9. The most infamous woodworker
and gardener of his time
Luther was paid no wage, and
took no payment for his
services. At the end of his life,
with six children, he installed a
lathe and learned woodworking in order to keep the money
coming in. He was also a keen
gardener, apparently producing
fantastic lettuces, beans,
melons and cucumbers.
10. Extreme repentance
As a young monk Luther was
obsessed with atoning for his
sins and went to ridiculous
lengths to punish himself.
This ranged from extreme self
denial and physical and
mental tests to self
flagellation. One such
punishment consisted of lying
in the snow, through the night
at the height of winter until he
would have to be carried back
inside.
References
Adapted from the PBS website “Martin Luther: The Reluctant Revolutionary,”
http://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/index.html.
 Diagrams on the Problem of Authority from the Middletown Bible Church,
Middletown, Connecticut, “Chapter 10. The Reformation,” Great Events That
Changed the World, http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/greateve/greate.htm.
