The Protestant Reformation: Luther, Calvin, Knox and Zwingli

Along with this increased appreciation for art came the humanism previously discussed in the Renaissance lesson.  While the Church has always believed and taught the inherent dignity of mankind, some humanist ideas that cropped up at this time were in error about man and God.  Christian humanism understands that the beauty of man comes from his being created, male and female, in the image of God.  Certain men, studying the ancient texts and pagan philosophies rediscovered during this time, turned away from the Christian idea of humanism and made “man the measure of all things”, as ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras had stated in the 5^th century BC.  According to this viewpoint, man was the most important thing in the universe, rather than God. 

            Unfortunately, even some priests, bishops and Popes became confused with these ideas, and apparently loved the things of the world more than God.  Pope Leo X, upon learning that he was elected Pope, is reported to have said, “God has given us the papacy; now let us enjoy it!”  This attitude disturbed many Christians who tried to lead lives of prayer and asceticism. 

            Greed was also part of this new outlook on life.  If man was the measure of all things, then Heaven was meaningless and some people felt that they should enjoy things of this world without regard for their fellow man. 

            At the beginning of the sixteenth century, certain men had been authorized by Pope Sixtus IV to travel around Europe, offering indulgences in return for donations to aid in the renovation of St. Peter’s Basilica.  Indulgences are supposed to be accompanied by confession and penance.  But some irresponsible men, such as Johann Tetzel, began to tell people that they could have their sins forgiven merely by giving him money.  And indulgences are not meant for the forgiveness of sins!

            When a German priest named Martin Luther (1483-1546) heard about these evil men, he became very disturbed about the way in which the faith was being taught.  In 1517, he wrote a list of 95 theses, or issues, in the Church about which he was very concerned.  He nailed this list to the door of his parish church.  He also made copies of it and passed it around among his fellow priests at the University of Wittenberg.  Few people outside the clergy could read it, since he had written the list in Latin, so Luther translated it to German.  Now many people could read his 95 theses.

            Luther’s writings did not deny the Pope’s authority or question any doctrines or dogma of the Church.  But they did cause discussions about many things in the Church, such as indulgences.  The Pope, Leo X, ordered Luther to come to Rome.  Luther refused because he feared that he would be arrested.  He began to deny the Pope’s office as the leader of all Christians.

            The spread of these and other ideas caused great dissension in the church over the next few years.  Luther broke away from Rome and formed his own Lutheran Church.  He taught two particularly new and erroneous ideas: Sola Fide and Sola Scriptora.  The first meant to say that man was saved only by his faith in Christ and that any good works he did were meaningless.  The second idea, Sola Scriptora, meant that only the Bible, and not the traditions of the Church, could be used for teaching Christian truth. 

            Many Germans supported these ideas.  They became known as Reformers.  With Luther they changed the mass and the prayers people were to use.  They also permitted priests to marry and destroyed Catholic Churches, since they contained statues of saints, which were considered evil.  Andreas Karlstadt, one of Luther’s followers, threw away his priest’s robes, ordered all the images, paintings and statues in his church destroyed, and married a fifteen-year-old girl.  Others began to wander the countryside proclaiming to know the secrets of the Bible according to the “inner light” given by God.

            Later, in 1524 and 1525, many peasants were enthused with these ideas and rebelled against the nobles who ruled their lands just as Luther had rebelled against the Pope.  This is known as the Peasants’ War.  Luther, to the contrary of the peasants’ hopes, was horrified by this attack on authority.  He recommended that the nobles crush the peasants and they did.  Armies of professional soldiers killed more than 100,000 peasants before the war ended.

            In Switzerland, Luther’s ideas caught on with other preachers.  Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) a Swiss priest, ordered the destruction of all images in churches.  He also ordered people to destroy chalices, crucifixes and all other objects used in the mass.  During one of the wars caused by this reformation, Zwingli was killed in battle.

            A few years later, John Calvin (1509-1564) arrived in Geneva, Switzerland and preached predestination, another idea contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.  His movement became very popular.  John Knox (1514-1572) was influenced by Calvin and later formed the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

            In France, people who followed Calvin’s ideas were called Huguenots.  Throughout the sixteenth century and into the seventeenth, there was great conflict between Catholics and Huguenots.  In 1572, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Catholic leaders plotted and carried out a massacre of over 3,000 Huguenots in Paris.  In 1576, French King Henry III made a pact between the two sides.  This pact is known as the Edict of Beaulieu and it allowed tolerance of the Huguenots.  However, violence between Catholic and Huguenot would continue in France for the next century.

            In all of these countries, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and France (and also in the countries of Scandinavia) people who tried to remain Catholic were persecuted and often killed.  Those who went into schism were known as Protestants.