Chapter Summary
Few sixteenth-century men and women could have predicted a drastic reform of the medieval Church. However, in October 1517 Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses. This forever altered the religious unity of Europe. Luther's important declaration gave rise to the Protestant Reformation, which split Europe into different theological factions, each of which was prepared for intense intellectual, and in some cases physical, combat over the course of the sixteenth and into the seventeenth centuries. Nearly everyone was impacted. This Reformation, like all revolutions, forced people to make decisions; the decisions one made could often mean the difference between life and death.
Few doubted that the Church was in need of reform. The Lollards and Hussites had already planted the seeds of discontent in the fifteenth century. The satirical works of Desiderius Erasmus fueled the criticisms of the Christian humanists, while at the same time worrying the Church. Was the Church capable of reforming itself? Why did the Church need to be reformed? How could the Church reconcile the vast differences in wealth between the nobility of the clergy and the lay people they "served?" Where was salvation to be found? Was the Church necessary for salvation?
Martin Luther believed he had found the answers to some of these questions. From his Augustinian conscience, Luther faced the greatest issue of faithhow do I find salvation? The Church's practice of selling indulgencesan individual's attempt to "buy" his or her way into heavenwas not the answer. The concept of justification through faith alone was. The notion of predestination one's salvation depends upon the will of God aloneseemed like a more authentic answer than transacting in indulgences. Such a drastic proposition had enormous consequences for it meant that the intercession of the pope and bishops had nothing to do with either faith or salvation. What Luther had done was internalize faith; rather than depend upon external devices for salvation, Luther turned inward. It is there that he found the comfort for his troubled conscience.
Of course, the greatest issue to consider is why so many people followed Luther, Calvin, and others into an opposing camp. What did Protestantism promise that the medieval Church could not deliver? In general, Luther told people what they wanted to hear. What he and Calvin offered was an alternative, something more appealing and perhaps emotional.