PROTESTANT TRANSFORMATIONS

Protestant is derived from, ‘protest,’ therefore it implies that it is a remonstration Reformation emphasizes on changes that affect current or previous operation of a body or an institution. The protestant reformation came about in early 1500s being pioneered and propelled by Martin Luther, a German monk trained as a priest and John Calvin also a priest. The reformation came at a time of greatness for the Catholic Church. At this time, Catholic was the single most powerful institution in Europe, exercising powers that were beyond its jurisdiction such as in politics. During this and the previous, Catholic Church leaders lived in extremely good conditions, sometimes characterized as kinglike living.

Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses that talked of his thoughts about the corruption of the Church and misconceptions that have been integrated into the mainstream Catholic beliefs (Bainton, 2013). One, he believed that the individual relationship between a believer and God was enough and complete and did not require the intervention of the pope or priests. He believed that the leaders of the Catholic Church contained no special powers that allowed them to intervene for believer or forgive their sin. To this extent, he was guided by his knowledge; after all, he was trained to be a priest.

John Franklin in his part effected the belief of predestination. This thought argued that there were those among the believers born already chosen for heaven (Harkness, 1931). His belief turned incited a reformation that saw his followers live extremely stringent lives in a bid to uphold their ‘status’ as predestined persons.

In the above context, the leaders of the Protestant reformation have been discussed briefly as well as the believes they harbored and consequently used to turn the reformations in the Catholic Church. The reformations triggered mass conversions and the Catholic Church responded by a reformation back to the traditional belief system. The impacts of the transformation were felt in the social, economic and political sectors.

References

Bainton, R. H. (2013). Here I stand: A life of Martin Luther. Abingdon Press.

Spitz, L. W. (1985). The Protestant Reformation, 1517-1559 (Vol. 3). Harpercollins.

Harkness, G. (1931). John Calvin: the man and his ethics.