OCC CIV NOTES 10/5

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Authority of the Catholic Church had been essentially unchallenged up until Protestantism showed up
-there were minor challenges, but nothing effective at all
-the Protestant reformation was a HUGE challenge
-protestantism begins as a protest (makes sense, right) by a Catholic priest, Martin Luther
-he printed and circulated 95 criticisms of the Catholic church as it stood
-believed that the church had been corrupted since the time of christ, especially the hierarchy (read: pope)
-believed that the church was too focused on rituals, etc rather than individual belief
-the main example of this was 'indulgences'
-originally they were to allow people who couldn't physically go on crusades to let poor people go
-then they evolved into 'get out of jail free cards'
-essentially you pay the church money and get yourself or your relatives out of purgatory
-church basically became profit-driven
-example- papacy declares that warfare for territory gain is ok
-church fields own armies, owns huge tracts of its own lands
-Erasmus was in many ways the 'cleverest catholic', also raised a huge number of criticisms
-believed that the church was too focused on enforcing attendance and profit, rather than the people's salvation
-the bible wasn't even available in the vernacular, but only in latin and greek
-called for a reform of the church back to the primitive forms of worship, like they did in the years immediately after the death of christ
-Erasmus wished that everything he'd written had been burned, because Luther took them and got the idea that you needed to BREAK from the church
-Luther takes Erasmus's ideas and adds some of his own, which he claims he got from a 'conversion experience'
-luther was of a sect which believed that humans were innately sinful, including himself
-believed that he was too sinful, continually punished himself, lived austerely
-he says his conversion experience was experienced while reading the bible before giving a university lecture
-found a quote in the bible that jumped out at him- FAITH AND FAITH ALONE
-this became the central tenet of Lutheran Protestantism
-people are sinful. they can do nothing at all to change their fate by work or deeds, EXCEPT having faith
-the bible became the SOLE SOURCE of religious authority
-everything that the church or human authority says are only the work of a human church that is prone to error
-christians must be certain of his faith to be saved
-Believed that everything happened for a reason, and as a direct result of the will of God
-the world is ruled by satan- there is no free will here, you're satan's unless God wills otherwise
-since grace comes directly from scripture, there is NO NEED for priesthood
-believed that all believers were priests
-attacked the priesthood and monasteries
-whipped up on confessional, believed that Christ had died for our sins, there was no need to re-apologize
-Protestantism abolished the sort of cults around the Virgin Mary and the saints as idolatry
-there were seven sacrements in catholicism, but only two were actually mentioned in the bible
-protestantism took just those two- baptism and communion
-but transsubstantiation was BS for protestants, wine and wafer remain wine and wafer
-Catholicism replies angrily...
-luther goes against a millenium of the church, church doctrine, traditions, etc
-believed that so many people couldn't be wrong, especially when put in contrast with just one man on the other side
-scripture was not clear whether humans had free choice, in the catholic view
-but Luther's interpretation violates other parts of scripture
-most importantly, the idea that good deeds get moral reward
-also, how is God's justice just if God himself forces the actor to do wrong?
-if free will is done away with, there is no way that God can possibly be just
-they believe that Satan entices man, not takes them as proxies
-men could still resist the temptations of satan
-between 1517 and 1520, luther nails his objections to the door and wirtes three attacks on catholicism that begin to define protestantism
-by the time the three works were combined, it was clear he was attacking the entirety of catholicism
-luther gets excommunicated in 1520, luther calls the pope 'the antichrist'
-luther gets called to defend his beliefs by the holy roman emperor, arrested and about to be killed, but the ruler of saxony gets him off, because of his soverignty
-protestantism spreads like wildfire
-some places protestantism is declared official religion, other places not, but it infiltrates everywhere
-basically becomes Lutheran protestantism in the north, in the south, you get more Calvinism
-calvinism is much more austere, takes out every picture, statue, and song not based on psalms (believed that they are basically idolatry)
-many places in europe convert from above (kings and queens convert, aid in the conversion of their citizens) as well as from below (the people convert, pressure royalty to convert)
-by 1524, a peasant rebellion began in germany and spread real quick
-they claim that they were inspired by Luther
-wanted religious reforms FIRST, and then their own benefits SECOND
-believed that protestantism was egalitarian
-Luther responds to the peasants
-wrote that the peasants were wrong to rebel, called on the nobility to cut down the peasants
-baptism frees the soul, not body or property
-applauds the peasants' defeat in 1525
-this was an example of his support of SECULAR authority, rather than religious authority- believed that secular authority could reform religion
-Reformation gains support in 3 ways
1) appeals to those whose authority is increased by it
-the people who'd gain land by dissolution of the pope, etc
-especially true in england
2) appealed to those who were successful in worldly affairs
-protestantism was an essentially capitalist ethos
-for calvin, you're predestined for either salvation or damnation
-the only way to know was through outward success, so get rich for God!
3) appealed to women, because it improved their condition hugely
-this was part of why the priests hated it, because it unduly advantaged women
-women get literate through protestantism