The Protestant Reformation

1. The Protestant Reformation Religious earthquake in Europe at the height of the Renaissance.

2. What beliefs and practices did the reformers reject? • The authority of the Pope. • The merit of good works. • Indulgences • All but the two sacraments initiated by Christ • Transubstantiation • The mediation of Mary and the Saints • Purgatory and prayers for the dead • Confessions to a priest • The use of Latin (in services and the Bible)

3. What were the theological issues? • Evangelical Protestants saw the Reformation as a call back to biblical Christianity. • For reformers there were four key issues:- • Sola Scriptura • Sola Fide • Sola Gratia • The Priesthood of all believers

4. Sola Scriptura • “By scripture alone” – the sole authority. • Scripture is the only authority for the Christian in matters of faith, life and conduct. • The teachings and traditions of the church are completely subordinate to the Scriptures. • The Roman Catholic Church believes that Scripture and Tradition are equally inspired by God.

5. Sola Fide • “By faith alone” – the only way to salvation. • We are justified before God (and thus saved) by faith alone. • We cannot be saved by our own good deeds. • We cannot be saved by anything that the church does for us. • The only way to salvation is through personal belief in the teachings of scripture and a life which reflects this belief.

6. Sola Gratia • “By grace alone”. • Sola Fide is anchored in this co-principal. • God is the sole arbitrator of who is ‘saved’ and who is not. • Ephesians 2:8 was the basic scriptural teaching for evangelical Christians. • “We are saved by grace through faith and that is the gift of God alone”.

7. The Priesthood of All Believers • Believers are a “holy priesthood” (1Peter 2:5). • All believers are priests before God and access Him through the great High Priest, Jesus Christ • “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ”. • Hence there is no need for an earthly mediator. • The role of elected leaders in the Protestant churches was to promote Scripture, supervise church activities and finances. Also to monitor moral standards in the church and the community.

8. Who Were the Precursors to the Reformation? • John Wycliffe (1330-84). • Attacked:- corruption within the church, pilgrimages, the sale of indulgences, pilgrimages, excessive veneration of the saints and low moral standards in the priesthood. • Repudiated ‘transubstantiation’. • Said that the authority of the Pope was not based on Scripture. • His followers translated the Bible into English. • The Lollards opposed clerical celibacy and confession to priests. They stressed the Bible was the sole authority and called on believers to interpret it for themselves. • Jan Huss (1369-1415). Bohemian priest burned at the stake for preaching that Christ was the true head of the church.

9. Martin Luther 1483-1546 • German theologian, Augustinian monk and ecclesiastical reformer whose writings inspired the Reformation. • Called on the church to return to the teachings of the Bible. • Deeply influenced the doctrines and new traditions of the Protestant Church. • Prompted the Counter-Reformation in the Catholic Church. • Translated the Bible into German and wrote hymns to enrich worship. • Famous for nailing his ‘95 Theses’ (95 propositions – an invitation to debate) to the door of a church in Wittenberg.

10. Jean Calvin1509-1564 • French theologian and church reformer. • Fled persecution in 1536 and settled in Geneva. • Instituted a new form of church management called Presbyterianism. The congregation led and the pastor followed their wishes. • Insisted on a strict moral code by the pastor and the church community • Geneva became a theocracy for a time.

11. Next time • Geneva in the sixteenth century. Calvin and Zwingli and the rule by theocracy. • The spread of Lutheranism and the other reformed churches in northern Europe. • TUESDAY 19th November 2pm.