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Essay On How Did The Roman Catholic Church Reformism

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The religious ideals promoted by Reformation writers in the sixteenth century were in conflict with that of the Roman Catholic Church. The belief and practices of the Roman Catholic Church prompted others to examine the intentions and character of its theological viewpoints. Reformers disagreed with the practices of pious authority usurped by Roman authority, The Pope, and the misappropriation of religious sacraments. Differing opinions also appealed to the selling of papal documents that guaranteed the penitent their remission of sins called indulgences. These practices countered ambitious political rulers in their efforts of extending their power and influence at the churches expense. Thus, the Roman Catholic orthodoxy was challenged by theologians that wanted to see that the holy scriptures was leaned upon for spiritual guidance and salvation.

Reformists, such as John Wycliffe, were very much concerned with seeing the corruption within the church dissipate. In his day, those who could not read Latin, would study the Bible by merely listening to the preacher (those trained in religious matters). (Placher, 1988, vol. 1, pg.185). As did other reformist, Wycliffe felt very strongly that priests were not to stand in proxy and mediate the relationship between humanity and God. The Bible, not the pope, was the principal means of …show more content…

“Righteousness comes through faith, not from righteous deeds or practices done in penitence,” is one of many theological stances that Martin Luther promoted during the Reformation. (Lecture, March 5, 2017). Luther maintained that justification was a result of faith. He taught that salvation could not be achieved by good works therefore, the sacraments were not necessary in order to be

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During the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation began due to the use of the printing press to spread new religious ideas, the corruption of the clergy, and the Church’s practice of the sale of indulgences. The printing press was used to spread new

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Because one of the great grievances of the Church was the corruption of the hierarchy in the form of nepotism, many Protestants were not open to yet another hierarchical-based religious leadership structure. The Protestant Reformation spurned such an arrangement in favor of a more decentralized use of “pastors.” These, Luther once argued, were to be shepherds of men but not kings among them. This opposite organization of leadership was one of the fundamental traits that set many Protestant churches apart from their Catholic

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In the early to mid-1500s, church leaders were more focused on worldly affairs such as patronizing the arts, spending extravagantly, pleasing themselves, and fighting wars. In addition, the lower clergy of the Church, to whom were given the responsibility of educating the public by Church leaders, were, in fact, uneducated themselves. The Church leaders’ lack of interest in priests reflected directly on the integrity of their words and made them less credible. During the same time, the Church was giving indulgences as a reassurance of entering heaven, meanwhile, the Bible says one can only enter through faith. Indulgences are a prime example of the people trusting the church, and the uneducated clergy communicated that indulgences were good for the people.

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Martin Lutner had an idea and that was to write the 95 thesis, which questioned the pope and the church, and to rewrite the bible in German so

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Many reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliff, and John Calvin played prominent roles in sixteenth-century Europe; they helped to reform Catholic churches and change the Europeans’ ways of thinking. “The Reformation was a rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance” is a true statement. The main goal of the religious reformation was to bring back the former beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which were based off of the bible; this went against the Renaissance ideas. Martin Luther was one of the many important reformers in sixteenth century Europe. Luther helped to completely change the church systems by writing his 95 theses.

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The results of Protestant Reformation had came out to be the developments of individual values toward religion tolerance. As the heretics endured prosecution, more people yearned for an acknowledgement for religious freedom and

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As public opinion of the Church began to sway, the development of Protestant ideas began. The questions that arose form the public during the 14th century of the necessity of clergy and the usage of indulgences were the first widespread Protestant ideas seen prior to the actual Protestant Reformation. One of the first significant figures to question the Church was a man names John Wycliffe. Wycliffe was an English philosopher and Catholic Priest who lived during the 14th century. His ideas on the Catholic Church would have an important effect on the future of the Church, “he led a movement of opposition to the medieval Church and to some of its dogmas and institutions, and was a forerunner of the Reformation;” (Conti).

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By questioning the sale of indulgences and arguing that the pope does not have complete authority over forgiveness of sins and, to a larger extent, salvation, Luther established a precedent for the word of the Church to be called into question rather than it having absolute authority. Given that Luther opens his 95 Theses with “out of love and concern for the truth,” it is clear that his intentions are not necessarily to completely undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, but rather to open a dialogue between the Catholic Church and its faithful on what is actually true in regards to God. The collective judgment of the Catholic community, particularly those who did not have positions of power in the Church, would then have a much greater effect on the direction in which the Catholic Church took than it would have before Luther’s 95 Theses.

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Additionally, John Wycliff, an oxford professor, declared corruption in the Church. He used the bible as a source of Christian truth in place of The Church. Jan Hus also called for reforms and was supported by his followers called the Hussites. The Church persecuted Wycliffe and the Hussites in response and was angered with heresy (ideas contrary to Church teaching). This shows how people were no longer in full agreement with all of the Church’s ideas.

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Martin Luther was strict about these rules of the Protestant Reformation. He felt that people should confess their sins, and depending on how bad the sin is, he thinks that God should judge it. Simultaneously, he didn’t believe that “indulgences,” or state of satisfaction, can pay off the price for one’s sin because he believes that it is not holy nor righteous (“Martin Luther”). In the end, this movement was spread to many countries of Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and many

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Before the Reformation, and even contemporarily in the Catholic Church – and even in some Anglican churches, the questioning of doctrine and practice is strongly discouraged. Siting Vatican II, Bruce Sabalaskey – A Staunch Catholic who campaigns for the upholding of Catholic practices across the Church - writes against the clearly still active Spirit of Dissent, saying that “…the Church has always taught that submission of one's will to the doctrine of the Church is necessary for salvation…” (Sabalaskey, 2000) He writes that the Catholic Church teachings state clearly that Catholics must promulgate and defend doctrine, that obedience to said Church doctrine is required for salvation, and that the virtue of obedience, as opposed to the vice of dissent, is to be cherished. He even chastises the ‘Dissenters’ saying that the absence in the vocabulary of the dissenters is that very word obedience goes against the will of God and that Dissent is essentially rebellion or disobedience to the teachings of the Church, which are in reality Divine Truths revealed by God.

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The dark and hidden practices of the bishops and the greedy exploitation of the ignorant people by the Church were clearly seen and of course rejected. But what is more important is that people started to doubt about what they learnt from the representatives of God on earth concerning their religion. This could be a starting point for deeper skepticism on the correctness of the content of their

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Catholicism is a major part of Christianity in the world and has been for many years. The Catholic faith is based on seven sacraments, those being: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. These sacraments touch the important parts and all stages of a Christian's life. This paper will focus on the sacrament of penance and how it has shaped the Catholic faith and how it impacts the life of members of the Catholic Church. Penance as viewed by the Catholic catechism, which is the core of the Catholic Church, is intended to gain pardon from God's mercy and reconcile with the Catholic Church for the sin that a Christian commits.

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John Wycliffe, the most prominent of the reformers before the Reformation and was known as the “Morning Star of the Reformation” , was born at Yorkshire, England perhaps between 1320 and 1330 and he died at Lutterworth December 31, 1384. He was an English Protestant theologian, philosopher, church reformer best known for his role in producing the first complete translation of the Bible into the common language which is English. He is a critic of the Catholic Church as he is considered to be an early Reformer. In 1378, Wycliffe began a systematic attack on the beliefs and practices of the medieval church. He taught that the true church consisted of Jesus Christ and the rest of his followers not the Pope, saints and the selling of his indulgences.

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This strong disagreement among Catholics led them to reform the church. The Renaissance influenced people to believe that the church was no longer the

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