counter reformation essay questions

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Europe 1300 - 1800

Course: europe 1300 - 1800   >   unit 8, the protestant reformation.

• Introduction to the Protestant Reformation: Setting the stage
• Introduction to the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther
• Introduction to the Protestant Reformation: The Counter-Reformation
• Introduction to the Protestant Reformation: Varieties of Protestantism
• The Council of Trent and the call to reform art
• Iconoclasm in the Netherlands in the Sixteenth Century

A challenge to the Church in Rome

The church and the state, martin luther, indulgences, faith alone, scripture alone, the counter-reformation, the council of trent.

Selected Outcomes of the Council of Trent:

The Council denied the Lutheran idea of justification by faith. They affirmed, in other words, their Doctrine of Merit, which allows human beings to redeem themselves through Good Works, and through the sacraments.

They affirmed the existence of purgatory and the usefulness of prayer and indulgences in shortening a person's stay in purgatory.

They reaffirmed the belief in transubstantiation and the importance of all seven sacraments.

They reaffirmed the authority of both scripture the teachings and traditions of the Church.

They reaffirmed the necessity and correctness of religious art (see below).

The Council of Trent on religious art

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Counter-Reformation Lesson

Learning objectives

In this lesson, students will learn about the Catholic Church's multifaceted response to the Protestant Reformation, known as the Counter-Reformation, which included the pivotal Council of Trent, the rise of influential religious orders like the Jesuits, and the impact of Baroque art and architecture. They will also explore the political, social, and cultural ramifications of these efforts to renew the Church's spiritual authority and counter the spread of Protestantism. Students will have the opportunity to achieve this through choosing their own method of learning, from reading and research options, as well as the chance to engage in extension activities. This lesson includes a self-marking quiz for students to demonstrate their learning.

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Option 1: reading.

Step 1: Download a copy of the reading questions worksheet below:

Step 2: Answer the set questions by reading the following web page:

Option 2: Internet research

Download a copy of the research worksheet and use the internet to complete the tables.

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7.5: Protestant Reformation and Counter – Reformation

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Protestant Reformation and Counter – Reformation

In the early 16th century, movements were begun by two theologians, Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli , who aimed to reform the Church; these reformers are distinguished from previous ones in that they considered the root of corruptions to be doctrinal (rather than simply a matter of moral weakness or lack of ecclesiastical discipline) and thus they aimed to change contemporary doctrines to accord with what they perceived to be the “true gospel.”

The Protestant Reformation

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is generally identified with Martin Luther and the posting of the 95 Theses on the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Early protest was against corruptions such as simony, episcopal vacancies, and the sale of indulgences. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes, such as sola scriptura —”scripture alone”—and sola fide —”faith alone.”

The three most important traditions to emerge directly from the Protestant Reformation were the Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist, Presbyterian, etc.), and Anglican traditions, though the latter group identifies as both “Reformed” and “Catholic,” and some subgroups reject the classification as “Protestant.”

John Calvin was a French cleric and doctor of law turned Protestant reformer. He belonged to the second generation of the Reformation, publishing his theological tome, the Institutes of the Christian Religion , in 1536 (later revised), and establishing himself as a leader of the Reformed church in Geneva, which became an “unofficial capital” of Reformed Christianity in the second half of the 16th century.

Calvin’s theology is best known for his doctrine of (double) predestination , which held that God had, from all eternity, providentially foreordained who would be saved ( the elect ) and likewise who would be damned ( the reprobate ). Predestination was not the dominant idea in Calvin’s works, but it would seemingly become so for many of his Reformed successors.

The English Reformation

Unlike other reform movements, the English Reformation began by royal influence. Henry VIII considered himself a thoroughly Catholic King, and in 1521 he defended the papacy against Luther in a book he commissioned entitled, The Defense of the Seven Sacraments, for which Pope Leo X awarded him the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith). However, the king came into conflict with the papacy when he wished to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, for which he needed papal sanction. Catherine, among many other noble relations, was the aunt of Emperor Charles V, the papacy’s most significant secular supporter. The ensuing dispute eventually leads to a break from Rome and the declaration of the King of England as head of the English Church. What emerged was a state church that considered itself both “Reformed” and “Catholic” but not “Roman” (and hesitated from the title “Protestant”), and other “unofficial” more radical movements such as the Puritans.

The Counter Reformation

The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely within the confines of Northern Europe, but did not take hold in certain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Germany.

The Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation is known as the Counter Reformation , or Catholic Reformation , which resulted in a reassertion of traditional doctrines and the emergence of new religious orders aimed at both moral reform and new missionary activity. The Counter Reformation reconverted approximately 33% of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initiated missions in South and Central America, Africa, Asia, and even China and Japan. Protestant expansion outside of Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonization of North America and areas of Africa.

Catholic missions was carried to new places beginning with the new Age of Discovery , and the Roman Catholic Church established a number of Missions in the Americas and other colonies in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples.

At the same time, missionaries, such as Francis Xavier, as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans were moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa. While some of these missions were associated with imperialism and oppression, others (notably Matteo Ricci’s Jesuit mission to China) were relatively peaceful and focused on integration rather than cultural imperialism.

English Puritans in the New World

The most famous colonization by Protestants in the New World was that of English Puritans in North America. Unlike the Spanish or French, the English colonists made surprisingly little effort to evangelize the native peoples. The Puritans, or Pilgrims, left England so that they could live in an area with Puritanism established as the exclusive civic religion. Though they had left England because of the suppression of their religious practice, most Puritans had thereafter originally settled in the Low Countries but found the licentiousness there, where the state hesitated from enforcing religious practice, as unacceptable, and thus they set out for the New World and the hopes of a Puritan utopia. (44)

The Great Awakenings

The First Great Awakening was a wave of religious enthusiasm among Protestants in the American colonies c. 1730–1740, emphasizing the traditional Reformed virtues of Godly preaching, rudimentary liturgy, and a deep sense of personal guilt and redemption by Christ Jesus. Historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom saw it as part of a “great international Protestant upheaval” that also created Pietism in Germany, the Evangelical Revival, and Methodism in England. It centered on reviving the spirituality of established congregations, and mostly affected Congregational, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, German Reformed, Baptist, and Methodist churches, while also spreading within the slave population.

The Second Great Awakening (1800–1830s), unlike the first, focused on the unchurched and sought to instill in them a deep sense of personal salvation as experienced in revival meetings. It also sparked the beginnings of groups such as the Mormons, the Restoration Movement and the Holiness movement.

The Third Great Awakening began from 1857 and was most notable for taking the movement throughout the world, especially in English speaking countries. The final group to emerge from the “great awakenings” in North America was Pentecostalism, which had its roots in the Methodist, Wesleyan, and Holiness movements, and began in 1906 on Azusa Street, in Los Angeles. Pentecostalism would later lead to the Charismatic movement. (44)

Contributors and Attributions

• History of Christianity. Authored by : Wikipedia for Schools. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christianity. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

The reformation.

Erasmus of Rotterdam

Hans Holbein the Younger (and Workshop(?))

Martin Luther (1483–1546)

Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder

• The Last Supper

Designed by Bernard van Orley

The Fifteen Mysteries and the Virgin of the Rosary

Netherlandish (Brussels) Painter

Albrecht Dürer

Four Scenes from the Passion

Follower of Bernard van Orley

Friedrich III (1463–1525), the Wise, Elector of Saxony

Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop

Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Johann I (1468–1532), the Constant, Elector of Saxony

The Last Judgment

Joos van Cleve

Chancellor Leonhard von Eck (1480–1550)

Barthel Beham

Anne de Pisseleu (1508–1576), Duchesse d'Étampes

Attributed to Corneille de Lyon

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

Christ and the Adulteress

Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop

The Calling of Saint Matthew

Copy after Jan Sanders van Hemessen

Christ Blessing the Children

Satire on the Papacy

Melchior Lorck

Christ Blessing, Surrounded by a Donor Family

German Painter

Jacob Wisse Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University

October 2002

Unleashed in the early sixteenth century, the Reformation put an abrupt end to the relative unity that had existed for the previous thousand years in Western Christendom under the Roman Catholic Church . The Reformation, which began in Germany but spread quickly throughout Europe, was initiated in response to the growing sense of corruption and administrative abuse in the church. It expressed an alternate vision of Christian practice, and led to the creation and rise of Protestantism, with all its individual branches. Images, especially, became effective tools for disseminating negative portrayals of the church ( 53.677.5 ), and for popularizing Reformation ideas; art, in turn, was revolutionized by the movement.

Though rooted in a broad dissatisfaction with the church, the birth of the Reformation can be traced to the protests of one man, the German Augustinian monk Martin Luther (1483–1546) ( 20.64.21 ; 55.220.2 ). In 1517, he nailed to a church door in Wittenberg, Saxony, a manifesto listing ninety-five arguments, or Theses, against the use and abuse of indulgences, which were official pardons for sins granted after guilt had been forgiven through penance. Particularly objectionable to the reformers was the selling of indulgences, which essentially allowed sinners to buy their way into heaven, and which, from the beginning of the sixteenth century, had become common practice. But, more fundamentally, Luther questioned basic tenets of the Roman Church, including the clergy’s exclusive right to grant salvation. He believed human salvation depended on individual faith, not on clerical mediation, and conceived of the Bible as the ultimate and sole source of Christian truth. He also advocated the abolition of monasteries and criticized the church’s materialistic use of art. Luther was excommunicated in 1520, but was granted protection by the elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise (r. 1483–1525) ( 46.179.1 ), and given safe conduct to the Imperial Diet in Worms and then asylum in Wartburg.

The movement Luther initiated spread and grew in popularity—especially in Northern Europe, though reaction to the protests against the church varied from country to country. In 1529, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V tried, for the most part unsuccessfully, to stamp out dissension among German Catholics. Elector John the Constant (r. 1525–32) ( 46.179.2 ), Frederick’s brother and successor, was actively hostile to the emperor and one of the fiercest defenders of Protestantism. By the middle of the century, most of north and west Germany had become Protestant. King Henry VIII of England (r. 1509–47), who had been a steadfast Catholic, broke with the church over the pope’s refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the first of Henry’s six wives. With the Act of Supremacy in 1534, Henry was made head of the Church of England, a title that would be shared by all future kings. John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) codified the doctrines of the new faith, becoming the basis for Presbyterianism. In the moderate camp, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (ca. 1466–1536), though an opponent of the Reformation, remained committed to the reconciliation of Catholics and Protestants—an ideal that would be at least partially realized in 1555 with the Religious Peace of Augsburg, a ruling by the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire granting freedom of worship to Protestants.

With recognition of the reformers’ criticism and acceptance of their ideology, Protestants were able to put their beliefs on display in art ( 17.190.13–15 ). Artists sympathetic to the movement developed a new repertoire of subjects, or adapted traditional ones, to reflect and emphasize Protestant ideals and teaching ( 1982.60.35 ;  1982.60.36 ;  71.155 ;  1975.1.1915 ). More broadly, the balance of power gradually shifted from religious to secular authorities in western Europe, initiating a decline of Christian imagery in the Protestant Church. Meanwhile, the Roman Church mounted the Counter-Reformation, through which it denounced Lutheranism and reaffirmed Catholic doctrine. In Italy and Spain, the Counter-Reformation had an immense impact on the visual arts; while in the North , the sound made by the nails driven through Luther’s manifesto continued to reverberate.

Wisse, Jacob. “The Reformation.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/refo/hd_refo.htm (October 2002)

Further Reading

Coulton, G. G. Art and the Reformation . 2d ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953.

Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Reformation of the Image . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Additional Essays by Jacob Wisse

• Wisse, Jacob. “ Northern Mannerism in the Early Sixteenth Century .” (October 2002)
• Wisse, Jacob. “ Prague during the Rule of Rudolf II (1583–1612) .” (November 2013)
• Wisse, Jacob. “ Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) .” (October 2002)
• Wisse, Jacob. “ Burgundian Netherlands: Court Life and Patronage .” (October 2002)
• Wisse, Jacob. “ Burgundian Netherlands: Private Life .” (October 2002)
• Wisse, Jacob. “ Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525–1569) .” (October 2002)

Related Essays

• Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
• Baroque Rome
• Elizabethan England
• The Papacy and the Vatican Palace
• The Papacy during the Renaissance
• Abraham and David Roentgen
• Ceramics in the French Renaissance
• The Crucifixion and Passion of Christ in Italian Painting
• European Tapestry Production and Patronage, 1400–1600
• Genre Painting in Northern Europe
• The Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs, 1400–1600
• How Medieval and Renaissance Tapestries Were Made
• Late Medieval German Sculpture: Images for the Cult and for Private Devotion
• Monasticism in Western Medieval Europe
• Music in the Renaissance
• Northern Mannerism in the Early Sixteenth Century
• Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
• Pastoral Charms in the French Renaissance
• Patronage at the Later Valois Courts (1461–1589)
• Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525–1569)
• Portrait Painting in England, 1600–1800
• Portraiture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe
• Profane Love and Erotic Art in the Italian Renaissance
• Sixteenth-Century Painting in Lombardy

List of Rulers

• List of Rulers of Europe
• Central Europe (including Germany), 1400–1600 A.D.
• Central Europe (including Germany), 1600–1800 A.D.
• Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1400–1600 A.D.
• France, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Great Britain and Ireland, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Iberian Peninsula, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Rome and Southern Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Venice and Northern Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.
• 16th Century A.D.
• 17th Century A.D.
• The Annunciation
• Baroque Art
• Central Europe
• Central Italy
• Christianity
• The Crucifixion
• Gilt Silver
• Great Britain and Ireland
• High Renaissance
• Holy Roman Empire
• Literature / Poetry
• Madonna and Child
• Monasticism
• The Nativity
• The Netherlands
• Northern Italy
• Printmaking
• Religious Art
• Renaissance Art
• Southern Italy
• Virgin Mary

Artist or Maker

• Beham, Barthel
• Cranach, Lucas, the Elder
• Cranach, Lucas, the Younger
• Daucher, Hans
• De Lyon, Corneille
• De Pannemaker, Pieter
• Dürer, Albrecht
• Holbein, Hans, the Younger
• Tom Ring, Ludger, the Younger
• Van Cleve, Joos
• Van Der Weyden, Goswijn
• Van Hemessen, Jan Sanders
• Van Orley, Bernard

Study Like a Boss

Counter Reformation

In order to understand the Counter Reformation one must consider the political factors and motivators behind them as well as the belief factors when examining clashes with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church during 16th century experienced a reformation that was both politically and belief driven. The Catholic Reformation also known as the Counter Reformation allowed the church to clearly define its position, eliminate unchristian practices and examine its role in world.

This paper will address the political motivators of the Counter Reformation, the unchristian practices that fueled corruption and the clearly defined religious concerns of reformers . It will establish that the use of patronage and nepotism ultimately undermined the spiritual piety of the church. Also, the movements that brought spirituality back to the church will be addressed along with those movements that led to separation from church.

In detailing the events and character of this era and analyzing the outcomes of reform it will be concluded that the Counter Reformation was the beginning of a stronger church and an end to an era that quite possibly could have led to the dissolution of the Catholic Church. One must understand the political make up of the Catholic Church during this period prior to addressing the reforms to the church. The church was far more than a religious institution. The Catholic Church was supreme in Europe. The power of the pope was total and this was supplemented by the power the Holy Roman Emperor had as temporal defender of the Catholic Church.

Even though the church had no determinate territory it was a state. It had a monarch as a pope, it princes in prelates and its subjects in Western Christendom. It had legislative assemblies in ecumenical councils, a constitution in cannon law, and fiscal agency in the Curia. It went to war, negotiated treaties and collected taxies. The church was the Holy Roman Empire with a stronghold throughout Europe. But this would quickly change. (www. History) At the time of the reformation there was great concern that the Old Church with all its history and tradition was in trouble.

This concern came from both within the church and outside the church. Protestant and Catholic reformers alike were troubled by the corruption in the church and its inner workings. Reformers saw that the Christian faith had in many ways been taken captive by a religious system more interested in politics and social accomplishment than in following the example of Christ. They saw the church and its leadership filled with corruption and greed. The Renaissance popes who led the church were not spiritual leaders. Those at the top of the clergy were wealthy and lived lavish lifestyles.

They indulged in nepotism, power politics and patronage. Furthermore, the priests at the bottom were poor and unable to administer to the multiple parishes in their charge. Thus it can be said that Counter Reformation was a response to a need for clarity in purpose. But also, one can also say that the Counter Reformation was a natural and necessary response to the Protestant reformation. Catholic reform was slow until after the Protestant Revolution began to make serious in roads upon the ancient faith. A variety of Protestant sects had made their ways into almost half the nations of the Europe by the 16th century .

Catholics were dismayed by the great increase in unorthodoxy. Many claim that the Counter Reformation was initiated to win back lost souls. Thus it can be said that the Counter Reformation was a response to maintain and gain back the followers. (Bossy) There were a variety of movements that initiated reform within the church. The Catholic Church during the Middles Ages had lost much as a religious institution. During this period ignorance and corruption in the church was insidious. One only has to look at the church leaders in Spain as evidence.

Some priest didn’t even understand the Latin in the mass, monks kept concubines and clerics ran taverns and brothels. In response steps were taken toward reform as early as the end of the 15th century. This initial reform from within started as a grassroots effort by zealous monastic groups. Reformers like Cardinal Jimenez realized that the only way to succeed in the war against heresy was to reform the church. Jimenez devoted his life to reforming and educating the clergy. His work came on the heals of the Spanish Inquisition. Through his works the Spanish church by the time of his death in 1517 rested on a moral foundation of iron.

Yet Christianity throughout the rest of Europe was sinking deeper into scandal and corruption. (103TL) Another initiative that led to reform was the revival of mysticism and monasticism. Both mysticism and monasticism gave the Church’s followers a more personal relationship with God . Actually one can look to Teresa of Avila as an example. Her reconversion to the faith led to the establishment of 17 convents of the Carmelite Order. Through her works a movement of Christianity arose that could be practiced and experienced from within the believer.

This kind of reform was another factor why the Protestant movement did not take hold in Spain. Followers had faith that stressed personal devotion so why would they look to change faiths. (Bell and Sumner) Like Spain reform had begun in the church’s strong hold Italy prior to the Counter Reformation. There were reasons that Protestantism did gain the firm foothold it gained in the north. “Most prosperous Italians were secularly and humanistically inclined and found little in the dour doctrines of the north to inspire a transfer of allegiance, they also saw Catholicism as a buttress of social order .

The papacy was a cherished institution and the source of great wealth which few cared to see destroyed. Reform in Italy was largely motivated by monastic groups that were compelled to spread their religion and due good works”. (103Simon ) The revival of Monasticism strengthened during the Counter Reformation. The reforming monasteries were known to address the social and religious needs of the masses. Orders like the Capuchins, the Theatines, and the Barbanites began to appear. Probably the most important new order was the Society of Jesus.

The Jesuits were founded by the great reformer Ignatius of Loyola. The Jesuits emphasized obedience to Christ and the Church of Rome. They devoted themselves to service to God. The Jesuits were a highly selective order and they only welcomed those who spirituality reflected Loyola. One must be willing to engage in unquestionable obedience to the Pope in this order. The mission of the Jesuits was to educate the young, lead the Protestant back to Catholicism and take the Catholic message to the world. The Jesuit Order made the church stronger in that it brought back standards of Catholic priests.

Their mission was huge, it was the whole world and their efforts led to the spread of Christianity outside of Europe. Their efforts strengthened the church and increased the number of followers. The renewed Church of the latter 16th Century was largely a product of the Jesuits. (Koch) Another group that favored reform was the humanists. The humanists were a scholarly group that was well versed on the Bible. They knew that the Catholic Church needed to reform from within if it was to look anything like what written about in the Book of Acts. Their concern was addressed through the working of Contarini.

Contarini had drawn up a report on the papacy for Pope Paul III which clearly outlined the problems in the Catholic Church identifying secularism, materialism and abuses from the office of the pope. From these concerns Paul the reigning pope made changes in the government of the papacy and he eliminated the taking money for church appointments. Pope Paul III was different from him predecessors in that he was a reformer pope. (Bell Sumner) The contribution to reform from these groups might not have been huge but it was the start of something big.

The humanist, mystics, and monastics were the product of Renaissance thinking which allowed one to question. Their concerns with faith, spirit and mission showed how far the church had strayed. The churchs focus was power and that needed to be addressed. In troubling times there is always tension between groups that have the desire to reform and those that wish to separate from it. When viewing the Counter Reformation as an after effect of the Protestant Reformation one must address the concerns held by Martin Luther.

The Protestant Reformation lead by Martin Luther was set in motion over the scandalous hawking of indulgences, during the reign of Pope Leo X. Indulgences were sold as a guarantee for salvation. Christians were actually purchasing or performing services in return for indulgences. Thus these “magical cleaners” would purify them without having to change their behaviors; a true mockery to God’s saving power. Selling of indulgences had been endorsed by the popes in order to support the church and the papacy’s greed. (Simon) This scandalous practice was the cornerstone to change.

One must understand how far the selling of indulgences was from the original intent of the church. The original intention of indulgences was to offer Christians a way of dong good as penance for their sins. Money that was raised from the selling of indulgences was used to construct lavish churches while the common people lived in basically abject poverty. In essence indulgences were a source of funding for the church through coercion and threats that made the masses of believers into the financial supporters of a chosen few. Thus one can assume as did Luther that the religious practices of the church were in need of reform.

Martin Luther’s, an Augustinian Monk, discontentment with the practices of the church resulted in a respectfully worded letter to the Archbishop Albert stating his concern. His 95 These proposed dramatic reform to the church. With the advent of the printing press Luther’s manifesto spread far and wide. As the masses discussed these Theses they naturally began to take sides on the issues and the Church as a whole. Could the pope grant indulgences? Wasn’t faith enough for salvation? Wasn’t the Bible the only source of Christian Faith? How should the money collected from indulgences be used?

Luther proclaimed that the Bible was the sole supreme authority in the life of a Christian. Contrary to the church’s position that the Bible and the Church tradition have equal authority. Luther’s point was that people cannot merit or earn salvation by doing good works; salvation comes as a sheer gift. He placed indulgences in the same category as all other efforts to secure god’s grace. Martin Luther called for a general council to address these concerns. His appeal was met with indifference and thus a break away movement from the church commenced.

The movement spread quickly across Europe. This was a clear indication of the dissatisfaction with Catholic practices. The discontented separated. Within a short time new forms of religious practices, doctrines and dogmas including Lutherans, Calvinism and Anglicans were attracting adherents all over Europe. The discontented were not only in the form of followers but as nations as a whole. Rulers chose the religions of their nations. By the mid 16th century parts of Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, England and parts of Eastern Europe had split from the church.

For those who separated from the church it meant independence from church taxes and the Holy Roman Emperor. With the Catholic Church’s loss of control and power went the financial support of these nations. Of course, the loss of so many followers should be considered as an impetus to the Counter Reformation, but not a spiritual impetus. In response to the new Protestant churches, the Catholic Church underwent a reformation. Catholics were dismayed by the great increase in unorthodoxy. It seemed as if nothing would stop the Protestant revolution from engulfing the whole continent.

With the church being challenged by kings for its hand in their domestic power and revenues, scholars like Luther, questioning the dogma, men of all classes chafed under the taxes laid on the laity and bitter grievances against the church’s wealth the reformation was a necessary outcome. When looking at the motivators of reform one must remember the power of the church and its leaders. It’s quite ironic that Pope Paul III who can be credited as the initiator of reform in the papacy was the product of Renaissance luxury and continued the practice of patronage by appointing his nephews as cardinals.

Likewise he lavishly patronized the arts. Yet Pope Paul III was a transition figure in the Church. Still maintaining ways of the past he addressed the issues at hand. The Catholic Church was well aware that changes needed to be made and of its shortcomings. It recognized the gap between ideals and practices. Paul III, in 1534 called for the Council of Trent to resolve the religious difference created by the Protestant revolt. Protestants were to be invited and their concerns were to be addressed, yet they were not allowed to participate.

Here one can sees that political motivation outweighs the belief factor. Even a reformer like Paul III wanted to maintain control by having only Catholics involved. The council was to have two purposes. First to bring Protestant and Catholic back together and second to state clearly the ideals of the Catholic Church. The first purpose was dropped as a consideration when the Lutherans failed to attend. (Mac Culloch) The Council of Trent met sporadically over the next three decades in three sessions.

The reason for the longevity and sporadicness of the Council is seen the Roman Catholic Church’s preoccupation with wars and serious religious arguments. (1545-1547, 1551-1552, 1562-1563) Even with these interruptions the council resulted in a spectacular resurgence for Catholicism. At Trent, Catholic leaders rejected all attempts to compromise with Protestantism and retained the basic positions of the Roman Church, including the Latin Mass, the veneration of saints, the cult of the Virgin Mary, all seven sacraments are valid, the Mass is a sacrifice and the notion that salvation required both faith and good works.

They defended Catholic theology and emphasized reforms, ordering an end to abuses of power and corruption within the clergy and establishing seminaries to educate priests. Finally, the council came out strongly in support of papal power, strengthening the authority of the papacy. (www. BBC) After the Council of Trent the Roman Catholic Church gained an organizational framework, a clear body of doctrine, and unified church under the supremacy of the papacy. Many of the teachings that were reaffirmed at the Council of Trent gave the church greater power.

For example, it was confirmed that Christian faith is based in the Bible and also the traditions of the Catholic Church which left no room for interpretation of the Bible. The papacy’s interpretation of the Bible was the final word . Salvation comes through both having faith and doing good works. Not from favors through patronage. Gone were the days of cynical pleasure loving popes. Throughout and prior to the Reformation Period, many of the higher clergy were the wealthy and the privileged.

In order to maintain a following and to perform one’s duties bishops who lived outside their dioceses were ordered to return. This was the end to pluralism and believers would have leaders in their dioceses. Celibacy for priest was upheld. The coverting would end. Bishops were ordered to eliminate abuses surrounding the granting of indulgences. This was clearly in reference to the corruption and Luther. Each diocese that did not have a university was to set up a seminary for training priests. This was to maintain the stronghold of the church and gain followers.

To strengthen and direct the religious teachings the pope was to follow up the meetings with a catechism, a book of daily prayers for priests and an index of forbidden books that contradicted the faith . a commission composed a missal that standardized prayers and ritual of the mass. A reform that would clarify the teachings. All and all the most positive effect of the Council is that it did reform many of the church abuses. Religious orders returned to their rules, and new orders were founded to undertake the reform started by the council.

Reform was achieved by the council of Trent but not unity. A strengthened church would be able to rebuild and grow. The council of Trent failed to reunite the followers of Protestant sects. The decisions for reform came too late and most of the decisions supported Catholic teaching. In addition, the period of the Council of Trent was marred by a revival of inquisition most notably in Spain. As one takes a closer look at the inner workings of the Council of Trent it is clearly evident that the proceedings were politically motivated by the papal authority.

There was a difference of opinion about the function of the council, particularly between Paul and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had been calling for reform for a long time. Spain had long since reformed, and was the only place in modern day Europe with little or no Protestantism. Charles expected the council to ‘clean up’ the church, remove abuses etc. that he believed were causing the flow of Catholic defectors. Paul however, had no such wish. He believed that drawing up in black and white what was acceptable and what was heretical to the church, in defense to the Protestant attacks on Catholic beliefs.

Although at the time it was agreed to look at both complaints simultaneously, as it turned out, Paul had little intention of looking at the issue of abuses. Because of this, Charles quickly lost interest in the council, meaning that there was now no France and no Spain attending the council, leaving the way open for the Pope to have a freer run of the council, which he did. He focused on the exact recording of Catholic beliefs; this was intended to force Catholics who sympathized with some Protestant beliefs, to decide one way or another whose side they were on.

This is what it did, rather successfully. Paul was not interested in reaching any kind of compromise with the Protestants; instead he wished to oust them from the Church, as far as he was concerned, they were heretics, who would burn in hell for the rest of eternity. For him to compromise with them would be a heretical act in itself. Also ignored were the protests of Catholic humanist theologians, who had for some time believed that reform was necessary, and who also believed that with the arrival of the council, these matters would be addressed.

This was not the case, and the theologians that attended the council to put across their point of view , were usually outmaneuvered by the council Legates, who although being mainly of an Italian nationality, were seen generally as ‘neutral chairmen’. These legates quite often employed Jesuit theologians to argue their cases for them. This was extremely effective; indeed, one could say that they were the reason that a lot of Protestant arguments never really got off the ground. (coursework. web) Another implication of Council of Trent was in the calling together of a council.

Many believed like Luther that a council should be called to address issues concerning the papacy, not the pope addressing the issues. There had been great fear of conciliatory meetings prior to the Council of Trent because it was believed by the popes that the council would try to take papal control away from the Pope. And in all actuality the Council of Trent reflected this concern. The 270 bishops who attended the Council of Trent were mainly Italians which were a great bonus to the pope as they were under his control. So it can be said that what passed at Trent was what was acceptable to the Pope.

The problem of patronage that was so evident in this society was actually playing a role in the Council of Trent. But that would change with a reformed church. Patronage is for the most part power-who gets it, who keeps it, and what they do with it. Power in this case is the control over the behaviors of others, and it may be derived from physical force, control over scarce economic resources, social prestige, or a mix of all of these. Patronage is an indirect for of power, a patron influences the behaviors of others in order in order to advance or withdraw benefits.

The debt which his clients have allows the patron the ability to manipulate them; his control over their behaviors gives him power. (Kettering) In a society based on favors the Counter-Reformation was in some instances a shift of power. Prior to the Reformation the wealthy and privileged had the opportunity to place members of their families, kin into the clergy. Actually some patrons were able to expand their power through this method. For power and privilege were the driving forces of the Renaissance Italian society. During the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent a large shift in power occurred in Italy.

The Pope who was once a large political figure in Italy had lost his political power but gained Religious Power. Patrons, who had dispersed kin as clergy members all over Italy, also lost power. Their power of placement of clergy was no longer allowed and bishops were given the choice of where clergy members should be located. The Political power that had once belonged to both the Pope and the Patrons had now been given to the sovereigns of the separated nations, who full well knew that in the Council of Trent their power would grow.

The Council of was a turning-point in the Catholic Church. There was a certainty in practices and beliefs, the church’s foundation had been strengthened and there was a base to grow. Catholicism had reestablished itself and it was a force to be dealt with. By the end of the sixteenth century the Catholic Church was still making some serious reforms. This reform movement which extended into the seventeenth century raised moral and educational standards of the clergy. All inspired by the church with a new zeal and morale. One must conclude that reform was needed.

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Introduction to the Protestant Reformation (part 1 of 4): Setting the stage

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Nov 21 2017

Answer These Questions About the Reformation

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By Bryan Caplan, Nov 21 2017

This semester, my homeschoolers are unofficially taking a GMU class on Religions of the West .  Here’s a list of questions about the Protestant Reformation (and a few other topics) they composed to discuss with their professor during office hours.  Paternal bias aside, I say these are fine issues to ponder.

If you’ve got your own answers to some or all of the questions, please share in the comments.

The Protestant Reformation

1. Why did the Protestant Reformation happen? Standard story or more to it?

2. Largest positive effects of the Reformation?

3. Largest negative effects of the Reformation?

4. Does the corruption of the Catholic church justify the actions of Protestant militants?

5. Calvin (double predestination) vs Luther (single predestination), which has the superior interpretation of the Augustinian tradition? Is either right according to the Bible?

6. Although Martin Luther was early on against violence towards Catholics, he later reversed his position. Why?

7. Does the brutality of John Calvin’s theocratic regime in Geneva render his teachings immoral? To what extent can the murders committed by the founder of a religion and his early followers be used to discredit the idea that said religion is one of peace?

8. Of the wars caused by the Protestant Reformation, to what extent can they be blamed on political motivations rather than religious ones?

9. When John Knox wrote his The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women , did he essentially argue that no form of government ruled by a woman is legitimate?

1. How powerful is hindsight bias (the tendency to believe that certain events which happened were inevitable) among historians? Should people stay away from calling historical events inevitable?

2. “Historical relativism.” Do you agree with it?

3. Baron d’Holbach wrote: “All religions are ancient monuments to superstition, ignorance, and ferocity; and modern religions are only ancient follies rejuvenated.” To what extent was he right?

4. On the (earthly) net, would it have been better (measured by the quality/quantity of human lives) if no organized religion had ever existed?

READER COMMENTS

• READ COMMENT POLICY

Nov 21 2017 at 3:38pm

1) Proximately, Luther himself was motivated by the issues of justification and papal authority. Ultimately, the abuses of the Catholic church and the Latin/Germanic cultural split basically guaranteed something like it would snowball eventually.

2) Mass literacy and the removal of the taboo on lending at interest.

3) The clearing away of many of the cultural “antibodies” that the Catholic church had accumulated against fundamentalist interpretations. Also set the stage for solipsistic rationalism (Sola scriptura, perspicuity of scripture, etc.), which inhibited the formation of further antibodies.

5) I’ve always maintained that single predestination is just a way to avoid saying “God damns people” by laundering it through an active/passive distinction that makes no sense applied to an omnipotent being.

7) It’s a strike against it, but not an automatic discredit in light of subsequent behavior. Calvinists have long condemned the Geneva theocracy, unlike apologists for other so-called religions of peace. Abraham Kuyper, one of the most prominent Dutch Calvinists, said “I not only deplore that one stake [at which Servetus was burned], but I unconditionally disapprove of it.”

3) I’m willing to accept this statement, with the caveat that “monuments to superstition, ignorance, and ferocity” of some sort or another are probably necessary to coordinate social action at any appreciable scale.

4) No organized religion, no neolithic revolution. I understand some people glamorize tribal life, but I tend to think agriculture and modernity were positive steps for humanity.

Nov 21 2017 at 3:46pm

8. 100%, although some of that may have been political motivations within the religious organizations.

Yaakov Schatz

Nov 21 2017 at 4:21pm.

1) In using the word inevitable I do not think they mean had to happen, only that it was very likely.

As an example I would like to give the question was the state of Israel a consequence of the holocaust? many answer this question to the affirmative saying that the holocaust brought about a positive attitude towards the Jews in the international arena and that helped establish the state of Israel. Yeshayahu Leibowitz claims that the establishment of the state of Israel was inevitable and therefore the holocaust did not bring about the state of Israel. He claims that the mass of half a million Jews concentrated in Palestine, together with the world wide ending of the colonization, would have brought about the state of Israel in any event, regardless of the holocaust. That does not mean the state of Israel was absolutely inevitable, but that that was the direction of history and you had to work very hard against it.

I believe a similar argument can be brought regarding the end of slavery.

3) It is very hard to give an unbiased answer to this question. Religious people point out that religious people live longer and healthier lives. You could check that for some religions.

4) I think any answer to this question would be just speculation.

Nov 21 2017 at 4:50pm

5) Calvinism largely hangs on Eph 1:4-5 (below) ESV (which I believe is the most accurate of the different bible versions):

“4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will”

For Calvinism to make sense the above words in him has to be ignored, and, if ignored, it could be read each individual is predestined to be chosen. The proper reading, that corresponds to other biblical scriptures, simply states that before the foundation of the world God predestined those who are Christians to be holy and blameless before him.

Nov 21 2017 at 5:10pm

7) This question doesn’t make sense unless you’re implying that Calvinism is a religion different from Christianity.

Every religion must primarily be judged by its founder’s teaching, therefore Christianity is a religion of peace, and similarly Islam is not regardless of what Pres. Bush claimed.

Roger D. McKinney

Nov 21 2017 at 9:43pm.

Christianity is an orthodox religion, meaning what adherents believe is important, as opposed to orthopraxis religions like Judaism and Islam in which ritual is far more important than belief. Because Christianity places so much importance on doctrine people have worked hard to get it right.

Constantine corrupted Christianity when he made it the state religion, so one could say the Reformation was his fault. Several attempts at reformation were made between Constantine and Luther and were partially successful. Luther’s was just the latest in a series of reformations. The difference was that the Church has become very politically powerful and decided to kill all who opposed it. That was the first time it had attempted to kill millions of people who disagreed with it. Protestants were merely defending themselves.

The hockey stick climb in per capita GDP that McCloskey writes about. The Catholic theologians at the University of Salamanca got inspiration from Luther and other reformers to abandon a millenium of bad economics in the Church. They distilled the principles of capitalism that Smith gets credit for. But only Protestant nations embraced them. Protestant Dutch Republic was the first capitalist nation according to Smith.

Also, the Counter-Reformation seriously cleaned up the Catholic Church.

Finally, the Reformation gave the world freedom of thought for the first time in history.

Can’t think of any. The Reformation did not cause the millions of deaths. That was the Church’s reaction to it. It didn’t have to react that way.

That’s a matter of perspective. If you’re an atheist it all sounds very silly. If religion and Christianity are important to you than yeah it justifies them. The Catholic church had moved so far from historical Christianity that it was no longer Christian. All the Reformers wanted was to worship as first century Christians had.

Not sure how they relate to Augustine, but the Lutheran is closest to Biblical teaching.

7. Does the brutality of John Calvin’s theocratic regime in Geneva render his teachings immoral?

Well his teaching justifying the brutal practices were immoral. Not all of his teachings were. But like the founding fathers of the US who owned slaves, Christians sometimes have blind spots. Calvin rejected Catholic customs and teaching about salvation but not about the organization of society. His brutality was just a continuation of medieval thought on government. Can you name any place in Europe that was less brutal than Geneva?

His teaching were moral if they followed the NT and not where they diverged. The actions of fallible people have no bearing on the morality and teachings of Jesus.

As Alfred North Whitehead wrote, Christianity and Judaism are the only religions based on reason because God created reason. That’s why it could birth modern science. Islam and the eastern religions have capricious irrational deities. But atheism is the most irrational faith of all.

That’s an irrational lumping of all religions together as if there are no differences. Some have been worse than others. Islam has killed more people than any faith other than atheism. Tamerlane was Muslim. But historians have labeled the 20th century the bloodiest in the history of mankind largely because of the murders by atheist regimes like those of Stalin and Mao.

Whitehead wrote that Christianity’s fixation on reason launched modern science. Larry Siedentop of Oxford says it gave us individualism, natural rights and freedom. It gave us the principles of capitalism that the Dutch Republic implemented.

If the world had always been atheist none of those things would have happened.

Nov 21 2017 at 10:19pm

1. More to it – more of a civil war. The Catholic church was modeled after the Roman imperial system, holding together disparate tribal and ethnic groups. It was ruthless in putting down dissent that questioned the authority of the church. The Reformation splintered its rule. 4. The corruption of the church justified separation from the Church, but not persecution of those who stayed with the Church. To the degree that violence stemmed from self-defense, it can be justified. Massacre of Catholics was not justified. 5. The debate over predestination cannot be settled in a comments section of a blog. The Bible is ambiguous over this issue, primarily because the concept of unrestricted free will is, culturally, relatively recent. 7. Calvinism started but did not end with Calvin. He had many valid insights, and he had many invalid insights. However, he did not really start a “religion”. 8. Throughout most of history, church and state were one and the same. Ironically, one of the justifications of separating the church from the state was a belief by some that the church couldn’t survive without state support. Turns out, the church does better without state support. 1. depends on whether you believe in predestination. 2. to an extent, but not in the absolute. Context is essential for understanding and explaining historical events, but not necessarily for judging or learning from history. 3. I would extend that to non-religious philosophies and political ideologies. It doesn’t mean that they are wrong, just that stupidity is not confined to “religion”, but a part of the human condition. 4. Many scholars argue that the church actually served as a restraint on the tendency towards violence of its subjects. The only counterfactual we have is the 20th century, and the rise of atheistic state-sponsored violence, and the end of Chivalry. I’ve seen a curious tendency among atheists recently to claim Hitler was a Christian…

John Alcorn

Nov 21 2017 at 10:26pm.

“How powerful is hindsight bias (the tendency to believe that certain events which happened were inevitable) among historians? Should people stay away from calling historical events inevitable?”

Historians who keep in mind a few plain truths generally avoid talk of necessitation (inevitability): 1) History is result of human action, not of human design. 2) Individuals have free will. 3) Causal explanations are the trickiest part of the historian’s craft. See Bryan Caplan’s previous post about historical explanation, and readers’ comments, here .

Occasionally, there is strong evidence that “something was in the air.” For example, there have been many independent discoveries in science. See Robert K. Merton, “Singletons and Multiples in Scientific Discovery: A Chapter in the Sociology of Science,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 105:5 (1961) 470-486.

Given that most historians are not trained in philosophy or econometrics, they rely mainly on a mix of common sense and uncommon acquaintance with evidence when making causal judgments. Common sense is vulnerable to a wide range of cognitive biases. One hopes that peer review helps to correct fallibility and bias. Given that “facts don’t kick” in historical inquiry, ultimately there is no substitute for a culture of sound epistemic norms among historians. (By contrast, in engineering, chemistry, and so on, facts do kick.)

A note on terminology: Hindsight can distort cognition in various ways. One is “the tendency to believe that certain events which happened were inevitable.” Although the standard term for this psychological phenomenon is hindsight bias, a more precise term would be necessitation bias . Another way in which hindsight distorts cognition occurs when historians interpret an event’s contemporary significance in light of what happened thereafter, despite the fact that contemporary observers did not know the future. To my knowledge, this type of hindsight-induced cognitive distortion does not have a specific term of art.

Kevin LeCureux

Nov 21 2017 at 10:58pm.

Regarding the first #4, see this article by RC Sproul. I find his writing delightfully well thought out without being wonkish.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/double-predestination/

Nov 22 2017 at 1:07am

“‘Historical relativism.’ Do you agree with it?”

Here are two arguments for historical relativism (i.e., a stance of reluctance to pass judgment on historical figures). They are arguments from humility. One is cognitive, the other is moral. I shall use Calvin as a placeholder.

The cognitive argument: Can I know beyond a reasonable doubt Calvin’s innermost motives? (Calvin would say no, only God can.)

The moral argument: Who am I to pass judgment on Calvin? Would I have chosen more wisely in his circumstances?

Unlike jurors in criminal cases, historians are not required to pass judgment. However, because historical figures cannot mount a defense, historians regrettably often indulge unchecked in convicting and sentencing, with weak standards of proof. It might be objected that moralizing about Calvin does no harm, because he died long ago. This seems a tepid argument against historical relativism.

Historians do have special expertise about historical circumstances; for example, period moral standards, conventions, and norms. Therefore, historians are specially equipped to answer a different set of questions: Did Calvin’s behaviors meet the moral standards of his time? Did contemporaries judge him favorably? Could his hidden behaviors have stood the light of day? Such questions are the bread and butter of historical relativism.

It might be objected that bedrock moral intuitions—for example, norms against aggression and fraud—are universal. However, it seems that a lot of history, including the Reformation, involved complex legitimations of aggression and fraud.

Nov 24 2017 at 6:02pm

My oblique answer to number 3: John Napier, whose inventions we use every day, was obsessed with End Times, much like Newton. For me, the Apocalypse hysteria is the worst effect of the Reformation, dued to its endurance. I think this obsession with the great destruction of the End of Time is at the root of all forms of scientism, particularly eugenics.

Had John Calvin never been born, we would have never have to suffer (or enjoy) a John Dewey.

Of course, the Apocalypse scam was not invented at the beginning of the 16th Century. It goes much deeper in History. There are some indications of such forms of political and economic abuse everywhere: Sumer, Egypt, India, the far East, the Olmecs.

But the anarchistic explossion that (unintendedly) happened after the Reformation has helped the whole world to overcome much of the fraud. By having theologians ridiculing each other, everyone was given the chance to opt out.

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This article is part of the Questions and Answers series.

Q: Why did the Reformation happen?

A: The Reformation happened for two main reasons. The first was that the church in Western Europe, which was theoretically united under the authority of the pope in Rome, was in crisis. Many of the popes were corrupt and abusing their power. Discipline in the church was also very lax. Priests were supposed to be celibate, but many kept concubines and had illegitimate children who then had to be supported out of church funds that were intended for other purposes. Worship services were conducted in Latin, which ordinary people did not understand, and much popular devotion was just superstition. But education was improving and more people were questioning the legitimacy of the pope’s claim to be Christ’s representative (or “vicar”) on earth and the successor of the apostle Peter. It was discovered that the documents used to justify these claims had been forged and that the Bible gave no support to them.

The second main reason why there was a Reformation was that many ordinary people wanted to get closer to God. They were particularly worried about what would happen to them when they died. The church was teaching that most of them were not good enough to go straight to heaven, so they would be sent instead to a place called “purgatory”. This was invented in the twelfth century as a way of comforting people who knew that heaven was beyond their reach. In purgatory, they would be given a second chance to work off their sins and would eventually become good enough to go to heaven. The church offered to speed up the process by selling what they called “indulgences”. An indulgence was a kind of voucher that gave them time off from purgatory. You could get one by doing something to demonstrate your devotion to God, like going on a pilgrimage for example or taking part in a crusade against Muslims or pagans, but as time went on, you could also buy them. This option became a popular form of fundraising for the church, but it meant that people could purchase the grace of God without showing any sign of personal devotion or repentance for sin. It was the scandal caused by the sale of indulgences that moved Martin Luther to protest, and that lit the fuse which led to the Reformation in 1517.

Reformation Theology

Matthew barrett.

Offering readers a comprehensive summary of the major tenets of Reformation theology, this volume convincingly demonstrates the Reformation’s enduring importance for the church today.

Q: What did the Reformers believe?

A: The Reformation was not just a protest against the abuses of the church. Luther and others soon realized that their objections were rooted in theological convictions that were plainly taught in the Bible but that the church had been ignoring. The most important of these was the message that people were saved not by what they did, but by what they believed. It was by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and not by any action on our part, that our sins were paid for. Those who trusted in Christ had their sins covered by his atoning sacrifice and they were admitted to heaven because of their faith in him. What we cannot do for ourselves, he has done for us. This made any idea of purgatory redundant. Human beings do not have to become perfect in order to inherit eternal life as long as they trust in Christ. This is what theologians call “justification by faith alone”.

Closely tied to this is what flows from justification. Those who trust in Christ are given his Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in their hearts by faith, giving them a new and personal relationship with God which the Bible calls a new birth or a new creation. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians are able to live the kind of life that God expects of us, though we continue to struggle against our old nature and against hostile forces in this world that keep trying to take us away from God. A saint is not a perfect person who has earned his or her way into heaven, but a sinner who has been justified by faith.

Most importantly, the Bible tells us (Romans 8:38–39) that nothing can separate us from the love of God. The church claimed the power, not only to help people to get to heaven, but also to keep them out of it. This exclusion was done by a process called “excommunication”, by which an offender would be expelled from the church, cut off from the grace of God, and denied any hope of ever going to heaven. People were excommunicated for disobeying priests, for failing to contribute financially to the church, and even for ignoring things like fasting, but these were man-made rules that had no basis in the Bible. A person who is born again in Christ, by the power of his Holy Spirit, can rest assured of going to be with him in eternity. Our sins are real and they are serious, but they have been forgiven by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. What we have to do is repent of those sins, claim Christ’s forgiveness by faith and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as we try to live a Christian life. The church cannot control this any more that anyone else can, because we are answerable not to human authorities but to God.

Q: Why are there so many Protestant churches?

A: Martin Luther had no intention of dividing the church. He believed that what he was teaching was obvious from the Bible and he expected everyone, including the pope, to accept it. Unfortunately, his hopes were to be disappointed. Some people thought that Luther did not go far enough in his criticisms and wanted a more radical break with the past than he thought was necessary. Others had different priorities. In Switzerland, for example, the Reformers of Zurich and Geneva went further than Luther in their objections to the traditional understanding of the sacraments as means by which God gave grace to human beings. In particular, they did not believe that baptism made a person Christian, nor did they accept that the body and blood of Christ were present in the bread and wine that were consecrated and shared in holy communion. There were attempts made to overcome these differences, but they failed, and so different churches emerged. In England, the state tried to impose a compromise form of worship, but many people objected to that, and created independent congregations that we now call “denominations”.

These were unfortunate developments in many ways, but Protestants believe that the true church is an invisible, spiritual community of true believers who are united in the Holy Spirit, even if they disagree in many outward details. This makes it possible for Lutherans, Presbyterians (Reformed), Anglicans (Episcopalians), Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals to have fellowship with each other in spite of their differences. In recent years many causes of division have faded into the background and common points of unity have come to the fore instead. This has not produced one big institutional church, but it has allowed for practical co-operation and a degree of flexibility so that people can usually move from one Protestant denomination or congregation to another without difficulty.

Q: What are the big differences between Protestants and Catholics?

A: The biggest differences between Protestants and Catholics lie in the ways in which they understand how the Holy Spirit works in the life of the Christian community. To put it simply, Catholics tend to emphasize the external work of the Spirit, whereas Protestants emphasize his internal work instead. The effect of this can be seen at many levels. First of all, there is the question of how we become Christians. For Catholics, anyone who is baptized in the name of the Trinity is a Christian. They recognize that there are many people who ignore their baptism and even deny it, but they are “lapsed Catholics”, that is to say, Christians who do not practice their faith. Protestants generally disagree with this. They accept the necessity for baptism but do not believe that pouring water over someone makes that person a Christian. That can only happen when the Holy Spirit works in his or her heart. Baptism is a promise of what can and will happen to a believer, but it does not (and cannot) create the faith that is needed. There are no “lapsed Protestants”—either you are a Christian or you are not!

Catholics also believe that it is necessary for Christians to belong to the Catholic Church and participate in its worship (including the reception of the sacraments) if they hope to go to heaven when they die. But no Catholic can be sure of that outcome. Apart from a very few who manage to achieve spiritual perfection in this life, and who are therefore canonized as “saints”, almost everyone will have to spend time in purgatory. They will get to heaven eventually, but they do not know when or how. Protestants reject that way of thinking. They agree that Christians must join a church, participate in its worship, receive the sacraments, and so on, but they do not think of these activities as counting in their favor with God. Instead they insist that because they have been adopted as God’s children by the Holy Spirit, they will go to heaven when they die even though they are not perfect. This is a major difference of outlook and one that frequently pits Protestants and Catholics against each other. Catholics tend to think that Protestants are presumptuous when they say that they are going to heaven when they die, whereas Protestants think that Catholics have failed to understand what salvation in Christ really means.

Another area of fundamental disagreement concerns the way the Holy Spirit builds up the church. For Catholics this happens through external rites, and in particular, through the ordination of priests who have the authority to dispense God’s grace through the sacraments. A priest has the power to turn bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ by changing their underlying “substance”. This belief is not based on the Bible but on a theory that can be traced ack to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who believed that all reality consists of substances that appear in different forms, which he called “accidents”. In the priestly act of consecration, the substance of bread and wine changes but the accidents (color, taste, etc.) remain the same. This is called transubstantiation, and all Protestants reject it. Protestants believe that it is impossible to change material substances into something they are not. Bread and wine remain what they are and communion with Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and mind of the believer. Protestant clergy are therefore not “priests” in the Catholic sense, nor do they believe that they can be. God works in his people by convicting them of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, and this conviction comes by the preaching of his Word, revealed in the Bible and applied by the Holy Spirit to those who accept its message in faith.

What counts is our faithfulness and obedience to the Word that we have received.

Q: Do we need another Reformation today?

A: This is a hard question to answer in a simple way. We cannot go back and re-create the circumstances of the sixteenth century, so even if we think it would be nice to have another Luther, that is not going to happen. On the other hand, the modern church is far from perfect and there are many things that could be improved. Too many Christians fail to understand the implications of their faith for everyday life and need the Holy Spirit to work a change in their hearts and minds – a personal reformation, if you like, that in its own way is just as important as the Reformation was 500 years ago. Many churches have grown into business enterprises, more interested in increasing numbers and budgets than in extending the kingdom of God. That too, needs to be changed. Some people have become very involved in dubious forms of political engagement that end up compromising the witness of the gospel, and there again, reform and renewal are to be desired. Whether these things require a mass movement of the Spirit or not is impossible to say.

God may choose to work in that way, and if he does, then we must be grateful to him for his mercy towards us. But whatever he decides to do, each of us has a duty to hear his voice and obey it in the place and in the circumstances where he has called us. Our witness may not be glamorous or famous, but that does not matter. What counts is our faithfulness and obedience to the Word that we have received. If we think like that, then we shall see the Holy Spirit at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us, and who knows? One day we may look back and be able to say: “That was a new Reformation after all”. It was only with hindsight that Luther and his colleagues realized what had happened, and most probably, the same will be true for us.

Gerald Bray is a contributor to Reformation Theology: A Systematic Summary edited by Matthew Barrett.

Gerald Bray  (DLitt, University of Paris-Sorbonne) is research professor at Beeson Divinity School and director of research for the Latimer Trust. He is a prolific writer and has authored or edited numerous books, including The Doctrine of God ;  Biblical Interpretation ;  God Is Love ;   and God Has Spoken .

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