Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian, who openly criticized the corruption within the Roman Catholic Church, and attacked the practical doings of the popes. Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10th, 1483, into peasantry with his father Hans Luther, as a copper miner. He received his education at Mansfeld, Magedeburg, and Eisenach before enrolling at the University of Erfurt in 1501, where he received a master’s degree in law in 1505. As his father wished, Martin Luther was intended to study law, but in the summer of 1505, he abandoned his studies, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. Luther later explained his actions by recalling several near-death experiences, which he claimed opened his eyes to life, after which he swore to become a monk (Hooker, 1). In 1506, Luther was chosen for priesthood by his superiors but did not find the peace in God which he had expected at the monastery. Luther approached his first celebration of mass in 1507, after which he was asked to study theology in order to become a professor at a German university. He was assigned by Johann von Staupitz in 1508 to give introductory lectures in moral philosophy at the new University of Wittenberg, but received his bachelor’s degree in theology in 1509 and returned to Erfurt where he taught and studied. In November 1511, on behalf of seven Augustinian monasteries, he journeyed to Rome, where he performed religious duties, and was appalled by what he saw. In Rome, Luther was horrified by the wealth and luxury of the Roman Catholic Church, compared to the poverty of the people of Germany (MSN Encarta Online, 1). He had not only seen popes who had been married, which was not approved of by Christianity, but also was shocked to witness that they had also been involved in sexual intercourse with their wives. These acts had been considered as “cheating the people” and using God in vain. Luther therefore believed that the greatest threat to Christianity itself were the popes, due to their unholy actions. Also, Luther had criticized the Catholic Bishops, dubbing them as “absent landlords”. These Bishops ruled over Germany, yet lived in Rome; therefore they were utterly unaware of the poverty and poor conditions in Germany. However through study of the Bible, particularly the books of the Pslams, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, Luther was convinced that good works and confession could not earn one salvation; justification was by faith alone and was the gift of God (BELIEVE, 1). He came to believe that the church’s teachings, that pilgrimages, relics, and penances could earn salvation, were false. These ceremonies, along with the sale of indulgences, were simply a way for the Roman Catholic Church and its popes to scam the already poor peasants to help their own financial situation. In 1516-1517, Luther was horrified when the church sent the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel around Germany to sell indulgences in the town squares in order to raise funds for the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and raise money for itself (Tiscali Reference, 1). This was known as the German Indulgence Scandal. During the Middle Ages, the sale of indulgences and abuses were common during times of growing papal financial difficulty. Indulgences, in this case money, substitute as part of an individual’s sequential penalty for sin. It was stated in the Bible that “one cannot buy away their sins”, therefore making the sale of indulgences by the church not only against the Bible, but against the teachings of God himself. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, mainly attacking the sale and abuse of indulgences, initially meaning to cause debate and discussion. Within his Theses, Luther attacked the practices of the church and suggested that religion was an inward relationship with God, and was summoned to Rome the following year to defend his actions (BELIEVE, 1). His reply to this was to attack the papal system more fiercely, and published his three greatest works in 1520, Address to the German Nobility, On Christian Liberty, and On the Babylonish Captivity of the Church, expressing his views (Vincent, 1). In Address to the German Nobility, Luther attacked the authority of the pope by calling on the German people to reform the church. He argued in On Christian Liberty that “the soul is justified by faith alone, and not be any works” which became the founding principle of the Reformation theology. Finally, in On the Babylonish Captivity of the, Luther rejected five of the seven sacraments and the doctrine of transubstantiation. Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet of Worms on January 21st, 1521, where Holy Roman Emperor Charles V demanded that Luther retract his statements. Luther refused to do so and in defiance, was deemed a heretic and his writings were banned, marking the start of the Reformation. Fearing his safety, Fredrick the Wise arranged for Luther’s kidnapping on his way from the Diet, and was locked away in the at Eisenach, where he began to translate the New Testament into German (Edith, 180). By 1530, Luther’s initial attack on the Catholic Church had spread like wildfire. Throughout Europe, his 95 Theses had been translated into German, printed, and broadcasted abroad, turning an initial attack on the actions of the popes into the greatest crisis in the history of the Western Church (Butler, 52).
Desiderius Erasmus was a Danish born devote Catholic monk who disagreed with the practices of the popes and agreed with Martin Luther’s criticisms of the corruption within the church, not necessarily theology itself. Unlike Luther, Erasmus was not a religious reformer, but rather a man of letters and a humanist. Erasmus was born out of wedlock on October 27th, 1464 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to a priest, Roger Gerard, and Margaret, a daughter of a physician. He was well cared for by his parents until they died of plague in 1483, and was given the best possible education through monastic and semi-monastic schools. In 1492, Erasmus admitted into priesthood and took monastic vows at approximately the age of twenty-five, but never appeared to work as a priest, although monasticism was one of the main points in his lifelong attacks against the church (Collison, 195). Throughout his life, Erasmus preferred to live as an independent scholar and made a persistent effort to avoid any actions that might have inhibited his freedom of intellect and literary expression, and denied the countless honorary academic positions offered to him (Wikipedia, 1). Literary productivity was late to come in Erasmus’s life and began when he mastered Latin and began to express his views on the church. His criticisms of the church did not result from doubts about the truth of the traditional doctrine, but rather he felt called upon to promote purification of the doctrine and liberalization of Christian institutions. As a scholar, he tried to free the methods of scholarship from those of the medieval traditions, but was not satisfied with this as he saw himself as a preacher of righteousness. It was this state of thought that allowed Erasmus to criticize the actions of the popes without fear of the Catholic Church, leading a life of unity and consistency rather than of contradictions. While in England, Erasmus began to examine the manuscripts of the New Testament, which he translated into Latin. This edition was published by Froben of Basel in 1516 and was the basis of most of the scientific study of the Bible during the Reformation (Dickens, 67). In 1517, Erasmus’s character was challenged with the beginning of Martin Luther’s movement. At this point, the debated between European society and the Roman Catholic Church was present to all. Inevitably, Erasmus was called upon to take sides, but this was against his nature and habits. In his criticisms of clerical follies, he had always made it clear that he was not attacking the church itself as he had no enmity towards the churchmen. However, Erasmus was in sympathy with the main points of Luther’s criticisms of the church. Erasmus greatly respected Luther, who had admired him for all he had done towards reforming a reasonable Christianity. Even with his respect for Luther, Erasmus declined the offer to join the Lutheran party as he argued that doing so would endanger his position as a leader in the movement for pure scholarship which he regarded as his only purpose in life. He believed that only as an independent scholar could he influence the reform of religion (Great Site Marketing, 1). Despite his beliefs, he dreaded any change in doctrine and believed that there was room within existing formulas for positive reform. Unlike Luther, throughout his life, Erasmus chose to simply express his views of the practices of the church peacefully in his texts. In 1503, he published Enchiridion Militis Christiani or “Handbook of Christian Soldier”. This was a short work, in which Erasmus outlined the views of a normal Christian life. However, he states that formalism is the “chief evil of the day”, a respect for traditions without consideration for the true teaching of Christ. Erasmus believed that the popes did not preach the Bible in the way that it was intended to be by Jesus Christ himself, and therefore was disrespect to Christianity. Erasmus published Ecclesiastes or “Gospel Preacher” in 1535. In this text, he emphasized the Protestant view that the function of preaching is the most important office of the Christian priest. This was the basis for his definition of “free choice” as he felt that the Catholic Church has not been preaching the Bible justly to the people and they should be free to interpret it themselves and have access to Holy Scriptures for this reason. In 1508 however, prior to “Gospel Preacher”, Erasmus had published his most famous work of all, his book entitled In The Praise of Folly. In this text, Erasmus describes monks as being beggars, the clergy as being greedy, and that the pope had no resemblance to the Apostles, who were the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus to preach gospel (Webmasters, 1). Although he was not, Erasmus was accused of being a Lutheran, but continued to criticize the corruption within the church itself, not Christianity, through his works, until his death, after which his writings were placed in the Index of Prohibited Books.
King Henry VIII, Martin Luther, and Erasmus were individuals in 16th century Europe who opposed not the doctrine of the Catholic Church itself, but rather its structures, political position, and doings of the pope. King Henry VIII first wished to divorce and re-marry in order to produce a male heir; but instead changed the religious structure within England for his own better as well as take over the church to benefit from the peasants. Martin Luther criticized the Roman Catholic Church for improper procedures and was thought to be a heretic, causing mass chaos throughout Europe. Erasmus also disagreed with the actions of the popes and expressed his views through his written works; peacefully addressing the corruption of the church. The Reformation not only separated Christianity into Catholic and Protestant, but it changed the world in such a way that the effect still continues today. People began to question the credibility of the pope’s preaching, and were exposed to God through personal relationships for the first time. Not only do people today question credibility, but some also question the validity of religious values, and in some cases, religion altogether. Today many people still believe that it is not necessary to attend church or mass prayer in order to please God, but they can do so in the comfort of their own homes; an idea formulized from the Reformation. Many people believe that religious institutions still take money from their followers and use this as personal profit, not benefiting those attend the institutions in any way. Political powers still manipulate religion in a way which it will work to their advantage, whether they believe in the faith or not, in order to gain popularity. Also, those in power manipulate society as well in order to gain personal profit and pleasure, sometime even through funding received through religious institutions. Religions, not only Christianity, but others such as those of Islamic faith, have been divided due to the conflict between practices within the faith. Religion no longer possesses the unity which it once did, but instead can be interpreted in many ways. Everyone is able to possess a personal opinion on religion and express it through endless forms of media whether it be print, internet, or any other, and is able to do so without feeling threatened. Through realization of these flaws we can clearly see that the Reformation may be been a breakthrough in religious freedom, but it has also corrupted the society in which we live today.
